MARCH - APRIL 2000 ----------------------------In this issue--------------------------------------- The Play's the Thing: Arthur Miller's Ride Down Broadway, by new Play's the Thing columnist: Yvonne Hudson Voices in Contemporary Theatre: From the Mailbag: The Ballad of Us and Them Theatre is Alive and Well in Providence Rubin's Corner: The Lady in the Van E Enter Laughing: Stage Manager 1.0, a Tech Support Transcript CyberTheatre Monthly: Shakespeare Sites, New Additions in Stages, DramaInfo Listserve -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE PLAY'S THE THING Arthur Miller's Ride Down Broadway You can hold your breath about as long as it seems to take Arthur Miller to have another play on the boards. At age 84, Miller surprises with his staying power and production of new works, but it's no surprise he continues to serve up plays that explore the most complex human situations and emotions. In his mature years, he has not yet disappointed audiences. He has not only written more plays, such as last year's Mr. Peter's Connections, but some of his major works have been given vibrant new productions. These have not been just "dusting off" the classics; Miller's plays resonate and take on new layers of relevance as we have crossed with them into a new century. For much of the last century, Miller's work has been the benchmark for American playwrights. He has said that he believes in "a theatre in which an adult who wants to live can find that plays will heighten his awareness of what living in our times involves." Miller has made us expect playwrights to contribute meaningfully as they take on the earthquakes that rock our society-the Holocaust, downsizing, McCarthyism-and the individuals who live in it-sexual identity, sibling rivalry, and human dignity. The psychological territory Miller explores is treacherous and palatable; we can almost taste the survivor's guilt that lurks in Broken Glass. It is an example of the sinister, invisible forces Miller conjures so that he can explore them as we experience them from the audience. So it's not surprising that just after the successful Broadway revivals of Death of a Salesman and The Price, another Miller play is making its Broadway debut. The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, though premiered in London in 1996, was produced by The Public Theater in New York. Now, Mt. Morgan will be have a limited 18-week run, March 21-April 23, at the Ambasssor Theatre in Manhattan. Patrick Stewart and Blythe Danner fill the leading roles as they embrace the words of America's master playwright. Initially, two things are intriguing on the face of Mt. Morgan. The first is the fact that is it billed as a comic drama. The more significant aspect of the play is that the play delves in a dark masculine dilemma. Stewart plays a man whose bigamy is unexpectedly revealed to both of his wives when he slides into an accident on Mt. Morgan. The emotional ride begins when both women show up to be at their husband's hospital bed. As in Mr. Peter's Connections, Miller spins nuances of love and desire in a somewhat dreamlike atmosphere. I had the opportunity to hear Miller read from Mr. Peter's Connections prior to its opening. I was struck with his overt references to a beautiful and attractive woman who was not unlike Marilyn Monroe. No, I was convinced the woman was Marilyn. It was bittersweet that the playwright's second wife was so alive and sexy and present in his play. Thus, whatever the playwright says-as many authors say-the similarity to our characters to those persons living and dead is usually quite apparent, if unintentional. Sometimes we apologize for it. Sometimes we try to deny it. That's the risk writers take as they keep writing. A play like Mt. Morgan might be revealing how an older writer indeed thumbs through the relationships and memories that comprise his or her life. Perhaps Miller is exploring-on the stage before our eyes-his relationships with several women, although he is now only married to one of them. He may even be attempting to force us up another emotionally slippery slope-those places in our hearts where we store dormant feelings for past loves. To follow a playwright as prolific as Miller allows us to spy the shards of his own life as they pop up in his plays. We're lucky that he takes the risk, as the perspective of his more than eight decades is valuable both in his work and in our lives. And, if the American theatre is to get off to a strong start in this century, we should hope that he writes some more. We that we also see ourselves in the mirror he holds up in his Willie, Linda, Biff, and many other characters. May we look forward to spending more time with all of them in the years ahead. Links About Miller on the Internet: For Arthur's Miller's story of his life and works in his own words and other background: Timebends :a life by Miller, Arthur Published by Harper & Row,1988, c1987 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140249176/1501broadwaycom/) Interviews and biographical details from Hollywood.com (http://www.hollywood.com/movietalk/celebrities/amiller/html/bios.html) The Arthur Miller Society's comprehensive collection (http://metalab.unc.edu/miller) For American Drama's 1996 issue on the playwright (http://uc.edu/www/amdrama/61miller.html) Full concordances of Death of Salesman (http://www.public.iastate.edu/~spires/Concord/death.html) Past reviews and details on The Ride Down Mt. Morgan from Curtainup.com (http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/1068/mtmorga2.html) Background on Arthur Miller and his works, as well as other playwrights (http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/index.htm) Background on the 1999-2000 production of The Price (http://www.theprice.net/) An examination of the history behind the Salem Witch Trials and The Crucible (http://www.ogram.org/17thc/crucible.shtml) Background on the musical version of A View from the Bridge (http://www.lyricopera.org/Season/Productions/view.html) Arthur Miller's Plays: After the Fall (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140481621/1501broadwaycom/) All My Sons Miller's first major success, 1947 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0822200163/1501broadwaycom) The Archbishop's Ceiling/the American Clock : Two Plays. The latter is adapted from Studs Terkel's Hard Times (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802131271/1501broadwaycom) Broken Glass (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140249389/1501broadwaycom) The Crucible : A Play in Four Acts (Penguin Plays) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140481389/1501broadwaycom/) An Enemy of the People: adapted from Ibsen't play, 1950 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140481400/1501broadwaycom) Death of a Salesman: 50th Anniversary Edition (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140285652/1501broadwaycom) Incident at Vichy : A Play (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140481931/1501broadwaycom) The Price (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/014048194X/1501broadwaycom) The Ride down Mt. Morgan (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/014048244X/1501broadwaycom) View from the Bridge (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140481354/1501broadwaycom) The Theater Essays of Arthur Miller (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0306807327/1501broadwaycom) Approaches to Teaching Miller's Death of a Salesman (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0873527275/1501broadwaycom) Bloom's Reviews: Comprehensive Research Study Guide/Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0791041182/1501broadwaycom) Bloom's Reviews: Comprehensive Research Study Guide/Arthur Miller's the Crucible (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0791041174/1501broadwaycom) *** YVONNE HUDSON is a writer, actress and singer whose career has placed her on both sides of the footlights. In addition to her professional roles with many arts and higher education institutions, her marketing and communications consultancy, New Place Communications, has worked with many theater, music, visual arts and educational organizations. (Her writing, reviews and notes have appeared in American Theater, many arts program magazines, and newspapers.) In Pittsburgh, PA, she was public relations and marketing director for organizations such as Three Rivers Arts Festival and City Theatre Company, a producer of new American plays. In New York, she has been magazine editor and has directed marketing projects at Yeshiva University and, now, New York Law School, just blocks from Broadway in TriBeCa's financial and government district. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOICES IN CONTEMPORARY THEATRE Theatre is Alive and Well in Providence Meshugah at Trinity Repertory Company, Providence, Rhode Island A Tale Of Lost Souls And Survival With Emily Mann 's stage adaptation of Isaac Bashevis Singer's novel Meshugah, (meaning "crazy" in Yiddish) the Trinity Repertory Company continues its 36th season in the tradition of shall we say "interesting" if not always outstanding theatre. Meshugah, the latest in a long line of plays representing post-traumatic history and how it plays itself out, has much to offer anyone interested in their own "raison d'être". Directed by Trinity Rep's Artistic Director Oskar Eustis, Meshugah is an effective story about the spiritual cost of survival and the saving grace of love. Singer's unequaled voice combines the complexities of comedy, tragedy, and passion in a portentous story of the human condition. An exquisite visual portrait of dreams and desire, hope and healing, Meshugah presents an intriguing love triangle between Miriam, a young woman, and two different men. A middle-aged Yiddish writer who has seemingly lost his way and an older (married) man who capitalizes on those opportunities which he embraces under the guise of "helping" others. The production not only draws you into the world of Jewish émigrés living on the Upper West Side of New York City (post World War II) but into their nightmares as well. Tortured by guilt at having escaped from Poland just before the Holocaust, Aaron Greidinger finds love suddenly when he meets Miriam, who herself is a survivor of the Holocaust, harboring her own dark and guilty secrets. Introduced by Aaron's old friend Max, who believes that the "vimmen" and the Christians invented monogamy, Miriam and Aaron embark on a journey which illuminates the inequities of sweeping judgments based in mis-information, guilt, and one's own (subjective) moral certitude. One of the most intricate and splendid love stories imaginable, Meshugah is a play not only for Jews, but one that is utterly universal. Emily Mann, Artistic Director of the McCarter Theatre, delighted Trinity Rep audiences two seasons ago with her stage adaptation of Having our Say, the story of Sadie and Bessie Delany, the centenarian sisters. The production enjoyed an extended run, not once, but twice. Meshugah may possibly be as well received. Skillfully executing roles in Meshugah (in spite of the sometimes unintelligible - Yiddish - dialogue and accents) are Trinity Rep veterans Stephen Berenson, Barbara Orson, Anne Scurria, Trinity Rep's Professional Theater Intern Mauro Hantman, who are accompanied by three new members of the Trinity Rep company. Performing as Aaron is Sam Tsoutsouvas, who boasts numerous New York and regional credits including the title role in The Puppetmaster of Lodz at American Jewish Rep. Dianna LaMar, who plays Miriam, was seen last season in the Broadway production of Wait Until Dark. Appearing as Max is Tom Brennan, who has more than twenty seasons at Williamstown to his credit and was last seen on Broadway as the old Man in Prelude to a Kiss. A powerful set, which includes a back wall comprised entirely of vintage suitcases and strategically placed towering pillars of (faith) stone and mosaic tiles denoting the Temple at Jerusalem, simultaneously encourage feelings of ultimate anguish and perpetual hope. All in all Meshugah is a play worth seeing as it has something important to say to each and every one of us! We all may not agree with exactly what that is, but we will agree that it moved us! The Ballad of Us and Them An editorial from the TRE Mailbag Want a disturbing picture of the state of the arts, forget the politicians on C-SPAN and eavesdrop for a few hours at the local hangout of enlightened artistes. As a writing or acting exercise sit, listen, and make a mental catalog of the instances when someone cordons off a group of other people: men, women, rich theatres, audiences, Americans, poor people, academics, minorities, foreigners, conservatives, young, old, etc. any grouping, then watch for: THE GENERALIZATION. Watch how the generalization boxes these people up and limits them. If you're wondering how an artist can possibly create true and honest characters while systematically boxing and labeling everyone but the guy in the mirror, they can't. Their only real characters are the ones they identify with personally, and the resulting scripts and performances are heavy-handed and unengaging. 1 or 2 real people, and a collection of straw men who exist only to advance the plot or make the all-important point about the inferiority of the rest of the species. Remedy? well if individuals take the time to examine the circumstances surrounding "the generalization" and envision it from the POV of each individual involved, they'll be able to create a scripts and performances where not just the hero, but the villain and the secondary characters are all real people. Then Maybe, just maybe they'll be able to connect with those politicians on C-SPAN and make them recognize the arts as a viable reflection of our lives. Quote of the Month: German post-war theatre became so over-intellectualized and lifeless, that even the intellectuals started to watch TV instead of going to theatre. I believe "real" theatre can be understood by anybody, because it uses a language of the heart and is dealing with the deep truths in life that we are all able to recognize. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RUBIN'S CORNER THE LADY IN THE VAN Rufus came to her funeral and as the coffin was slid into the hearse he remarked loudly as ever, "Well, it's a cut above her previous vehicle." So ends the story of Miss Shepherd, the lady in the van. This is the latest vehicle to bring Maggie Smith to the London stage. I had a chance to see her, in this her best performance since she first walked onto the stage in As You Like I, during my recent trip to London. Once more Alan Bennet, or should I say both Alan Bennet's, have written a funny play that tells the story of Miss Shepherd. She and her van move into the end of Bennet's driveway and the fun begins. The story takes place in the late Sixties when there was less dereliction on the streets of London than there is today. Camden Town has its resident company of tramps and eccentrics. Several of these familiar figures were long-term residents of Arlington House, among the last of the Rowton Houses that provided cheap accommodation for the working men in London. There's very little in the substance of the play that is not fact though some adjustments have had to be made. Over the years Miss Shepherd was visited by a succession of social worker so the character is a composite figure. To begin with the social workers got short shrift since their only function in Miss Shepherd's view was to get her another walking stick. For all the doubts I voice about tramps in the play, when one comes across such a fugitive from Godot it's had to think that Beckett's role as social observer has been underestimated. Beside Maggie Smith, Nicholas Farrell and Kevin McNally play Alan Bennett, Michael Culkin and Geraldine Fitgerald play Rufus and Pauline the couple who represent British Society, and Lorraine Brunning represent all the social works in Miss Shepherd's life. Mark Thompson did the clever sets including the van and its car. The entire production is well directed by Nicholas Hytner. You may remember Mr Hytner from his recent production of Carousel and his wonderful movie The Madness of King George. All their wonderful work is dull compare to Ms. Smith brilliant performance. She is even better than the role she played in London and New York in Lettice and Lovage. Ms Smith describes Miss Shepherd's in this little poem: But (when so sad thou canst not sadder) Cry; and upon they sore loss Shall shine the traffic of Jacob's ladder Pitched betwixt heaven and Charing Cross Yea, in the night, my soul, my daughter Cry - clinging heaven by the hems; And to, Christ walking on the water Not of Gennesareth, but Thames The Lady in the Van is at the Queen's Theatre on Shaftbury Avenue in the West End of London. Make sure you get in you van and see this wonderful evening of theater as soon as possible. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENTER LAUGHING Stage Manager 1.0 - the Help Desk For those who've been enjoying the e-mails circulating re Microsoft Wife & Microsoft Husband, we offer the following Tech Support transcript for Microsoft Stagemanager. Last year I upgraded from Community Theatre 5.0 to Small Professional Theatre 1.0 and noticed that the new program began making unexpected changes. It installed something called Microsoft Stagemanager (TM) which it launches whenever rehearsal software is powered up, severely limiting access to munchies, praise, and practical joke applications that operated flawlessly under rehearsal software with Community Theatre 5.0. No mention of this phenomenon was included in the product brochure. In addition, Stage Manager 1.0 uninstalls many other valuable programs such as Hamming 2.0, Smoking in costume 7.5, Coming and Going at will 5.6, Unlimited Comps 8.3 and Borrowing Theatre's Equipment 2.3 and installs new, undesirable programs such as Schedule 3.1, Discipline 1.3, Expectations 5.0, and Accountability 2.4. Divafit 4.1 no longer runs, and invariably crashes the system. Under no circumstances will it run Whining 14.1. I've tried running Attitude 5.3 to fix Stage Manager 1.0, but this all purpose utility is of limited effectiveness. Can you help please ?!!!! Jane Dear Jane: This is a very common problem many actors complain about, but is mostly due to a primary misconception. Many people upgrade from Community Theatre 5.0 to Small Professional Theatre 1.0 with no idea that Community Theatre 5.0 is merely an ENTERTAINMENT package. However, Small Professional Theatre 1.0 and is an OPERATING SYSTEM and was designed by its creator to run as few applications as possible, eliminating unnecessary routines and delegating as many tasks as it can to the end-user to conserve all system resources for its own use. It is impossible to uninstall, delete, or purge the Stage Manager files from the system, once installed, as Stage Manager 1.0 rewrites your other software so that it rejects Community Theatre 5.0 routines once exposed to SM's superior methods. Having Stage Manager 1.0 installed myself, I would suggest you read the entire section of the owners manual regarding General Director Faults (GDFs). This is a wonderful feature of Stage Manager 1.0, secretly installed by the parent company as an integral part of the operating system. Stage Manager 1.0 will take on ALL responsibility for ALL faults and problems, regardless of root cause, and will somehow solve EVERYTHING. To activate this great feature enter the command "C:\ DIRECTOR\SCATTERED DREAMER\CAN'T FUNCTION WITHOUT YOU Sometimes ActorsRIdiots 6.2 must be run simultaneously while entering the command. Stage Manager 1.0 should then run the applications Organize 12.3 and Miracles 7.8. TECH TIP! Avoid excessive use of this feature. Overuse can create additional and more serious GDFs, and ultimately you may have to give a C:\APOLOGIZE\RAISE\PERSONAL DAY command before the system will return to normal operations. Overuse can also cause Stage Manager 1.0 to default to GrumpySilence 2.5, or worse yet, ArtSearch 6.0 . GrumpySilence 2.5 is a very bad program that can create Disfunctional.act files that clog all rehearsal and performance programs and are very hard to delete. Save yourself some trouble by following this tech tip! Just remember, The system will run smoothly and take the blame for all GDFs, but because of this fine feature it can only intermittently run all the entertainment applications Community Theatre 5.0 ran. After several years of use, Stage Manager 1.0 will become familiar and you will find many valuable embedded features such as FixesBrokenThings 2.1, Ensemble Loyalty 4.2. A final word of caution! Do NOT, under any circumstances, install MeddlesomAdministrator 1.0. This is not a supported application, and will cause selective shut down of the operating system. StageManager 1.0 will run only CurtGoingThrutheMotions 9.4 and CovertArtSearch 5.2 until MeddlesomeAdministrator 1.0 is uninstalled. I hope these notes have helped. Thank you for choosing to install Small Professional Theatre 1.0 and we here at Tech Support wish you the best of luck in coming years. "We trust you will learn to fully enjoy this product!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shakespeare Surfing with the Bard: Your Shakespeare Classroom on the Internet! complete with a section of lesson plans for teaching Shakespeare. http://www.ulen.com/shakespeare/ Shakespeare Magazine http://www.shakespearemag.com/ Be sure to check out all the links along the way too! New Stages Visitors to 1501broadway.com may notice some new additions to the Stages Bookstore - Books for Playwrights introduces a new area with many playwright-centered resources. We're starting with books, each recommended BY working playwrights, for beginners. Also check out the Best of Stages - which titles are you, the readers, actually clicking on and buying. Forbidden Broadway Cleans Up Its Act!: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000I9DA/1501broadwaycom/ Okay, y'know what, it's not as clever or as funny as its predecessor Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back. But if this Forbidden Broadway tends to repeat itself, you can at least enjoy the Forbidden Broadway drinking game: just try it, drink a shot at each cheap shot taken at: "theme park shows" Disney too much set too little set too many revivals "really long note" Also, drink when it contradicts itself by slamming a show for: too simple plot too complex plot too pretentious too condescending too cynical too sentimental too much sex not enough sex DramaInfo a new eGroup call Dramainfo this can be found at: http://www.egroups.com/group/dramainfo/info.html Group Description: This is a list for all teachers and students who are involved with Drama. It also supports the book Using the Internet: Drama written by Kenneth Taylor and published by Pearson Publishing Group email addresses: Post Message dramainfo@eGroups.com Subscribe dramainfo-subscribe@eGroups.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2000, Mersinger Theatrical Services