December, 1996 ----------------------------In this issue------------------------------------------ Rubin’s Corner: Martin Guerre Revisited Steel Pier: A New Musical The Play’s the Thing: Dear Santa Voices: But why do we need the NEA? TRE Trivia, What's New & Gossip du jour ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gossip du jour... •The smash of the Christmas season, Chicago will tour this spring - sending out two companies, both of which are expected to feature stars in the roles now played by Ann Reinking and Bebe Newirth •Marshall Barer, lyricist for Once Upon a Mattress has been barred from the theatre where the revival is in previews. He blames director Gerald Gutierrez who, in his view, "ruined my show", while others report Barer was banned by the production as an entity for being a "destructive force" that was undermining the rehearsal process. •The creator of another Broadway Bound musical is also creating havoc and jeopardizing the show's opening because of a problem with the way the material is being staged. •Michael McGrath, who left the Groucho role in Cocoanuts to go to Once Upon a Mattress then left Mattress and will be returning to Cocoanuts before it closes •Andrew Lloyd Webber is taking a rest from composing, saying that he has no ideas at the moment, except for a revival of Aspects of Love, has already written more musicals than Rodgers & Hammerstein, and is going to "take stock of things and recharge the batteries" •Stephen Sondheim, on the other hand, has a work in progress expected at Kennedy Center this June - Wise Guys, about the Mizner brothers, is expected to be "a vaudeville" according to Maestro Sondheim and "creepy fun," according librettist John Weidman ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rubin's Corner Martin Guerre Revisited In 1991 Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, creators of "Les Miserables" and "Miss Saigon", began work on a new musical. The next word on this musical was from Cameron Mackintosh in 1993 when he announced that Martin Guerre would open in the West End of London at the beginning of 1995. In January of 1996 Mackintosh announced that the show would open in June of 1996 with Iain Glen as the male lead and Juliette Canton as the female lead. Mackintosh then postponed the opening for four weeks "to develop the special choreographic style of the production". In June, last minute rewrites alleged to have "rescued" the show days before its official opening on July 10, 1996. "Martin Guerre" received mixed reviews from critics. The show has been plagued by technical problems and power failures, resulting in some performances being canceled. Boubil and Schonberg begin major restructuring with new lyricist Stephen Clark. In September, Cameron Mackintosh announced that the show will close for four days in October to introduce changes. The show closed for four days to introduce the changes and there was an announcement that the CD would be only a single one, not a double as was expected. Rebecca Lock, who plays certain performances, is heard as the female lead on the CD. On November 11, 1996 Martin Guerre has its second press night. Cameron Mackintosh is not giving up on the show. He is giving it all he can to make it succeed. He has not only made dramatic changes to the story and music, but he has created a TV advertising blitz, which is rare in the UK, plus the launch of the CD to the show. According the majority of the London press the changes have done wonders for it. It is less complicated and more emotional. The first act looked like a new show. A new opening number called "Working on the Land" has been added to the production. Many of the existing lyrics have been rewritten or completely changed by Stephen Clark. Another significant change is the last 10 to 15 minutes is a far better ending in this version of the show. The wooden set which was used in the first act is almost non existent. Juliette Caton now shares the performances with Rebecca Lock. The producers say this is because the changes made on the show is more demanding for the role of Bertrande, so they thought it best to share the roles. It is rumored that Mackintosh will assess the show in January and decide its future. The rewriting of "Martin Guerre" is the second show within a few years to follow this policy. Andrew Lloyd Webber closed "Sunset Boulevard" and changes stars and staging after a number of months. There are many people in the theater community who feel this is really unfair to the audiences who have paid full price to see what they thought was the final version of the show. However, there are those that feel that the reworking of an important show like "Guerre" can keep a large cast and crew working for a longer period of time until the final successful form of the show can be found by its creators. Other theater members are pointing to the success of "By Jeeves" which was re-written fifteen years after it debut. Perhaps, if I present my August, 1996 ticket to "Guerre" in February, 1997 I will receive a discount. Where did I put that ticket stub? STEEL PIER A New Musical STEEL PIER, the new musical by the legendary team of John Kander and Fred Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman), will open at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre (226 West 46th Street) on Thursday, April 24, 1997. Directed by Scott Ellis, (She Loves Me, Company, And the World Goes 'Round) with choreography by Susan Stroman (Crazy for You, Showboat, and a book by David Thompson (And the World Goes 'Round, the updated Flora, the Red Menace, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Music of the Night tour), STEEL PIER will feature a 30-member cast and begins previews on Thursday, March 27. STEEL PIER is a romance set in 1930's Atlantic City, with much of the action centering around a dance marathon that takes place on what was the resort's grandest site, the legendary Steel Pier. The legend of Salt Water Taffy originated in Atlantic City. During the summer of 1883 a candy merchant, with a boardwalk shop at St. James Place, turned a mishap into a big PLUS! When a storm tide wet down his stock of taffy candy, he started calling it "salt water" taffy. It became a hit! He never copyrighted the name, and is has been used by various candy makers over the years. Famous Fralinger's taffy of Atlantic City is still available today. Parker Brother's board game "Monopoly" made Atlantic City real estate familiar to millions of game fans the world over! The 1930's was the pinnacle of success in the "Golden Age" of big bands, and many were appearing at Atlantic City's hotels and piers. Benny Goodman's Orchestra was earning upwards of $10,000 per week. Tommy Dorsey was in the $7,500 class, while Guy Lombardo and Eddy Duchin could command $8,500 a week. The Steel Pier became famous as a show place, also known as "The Amusement City at Sea" the "in" spot of Atlantic City. The big pier featured afternoon and evening concerts headlined by the cream of the nation's top performers including Benny Goodman, Guy Lombardo, Rudy Valee, Fanny Brice, and Eddie Cantor. The high Diving Horse on Steel Pier was for decades the best-known stunt of all. This stunt was featured on so many billboards, postcards, magazines and vacation snapshots that it emerged as an icon of the era. It wasn't as hard as it looked -- for the horse or the rider. The horse knew what to do. The biggest problem was getting him to delay Its leaps in order to build suspense. Steel Pier's motorcycle stunt featured a spinner named CeDora, who roared around the inside of a sixteen-foot globe at seventy-five miles per hour. "Shipwreck Kelly" sat atop a flagpole on Steel Pier for 49 days and one hour. The first Miss America Pageant took place on Steel Pier. The book for this musical is being written by David Thompson. The music John Kander who will be assisted by musical director & vocal arranger David Loud. The dance arranger atre by Glen Kelly while the lyrics are by Fred Ebb. Orchestrations are being done by Michael Gibson. The set design is being done by the veteran Tony Walton and the costume design is by William Ivey Long with lighting by Peter Kaczorowski and sound by Tony Meola. The cast includes Karen Ziemba, DanieI McDonaId, Debra Monk, Gregory Harrison, Ronn Carrol, Lesile Bell, Kristen Chenoweth, Alison Bevan, Joel Blum, Marc Kudisch, John C. Havens and Jim Newman The performance schedule is Mondav to Saturday evenings at 8PM.and Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2PM. Prices for weekdays are: Orch/Front Mezz ,$67.50; Rear Mezzanine,$54.00; and Rear Mezzanine, $40.50. Saturday evenings are: Orch/Front Mezz, $75.00; Rear Mezzanine,$60.00; and Rear Mezzanine, $45.00. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TRE Trivia: •In 1776 John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson each have a different choice for a bird to act as symbol for the new nation - what are they? •Who originated the roles Thomas Jefferson and his wife Martha? •With the movie of Evita coming out, there's much talk about all the stage-Evitas Patti LuPone, Elaine Paige and Florence Lacey - but who truly originated the role, on the British concept album ? •"In those days there were 3 directors of promise" - name them, and the source of the quote •Name two historical characters from the novel and stage play of E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime who were omitted from the movie •What is the setting of Martin Guerre ? Answers to last month's trivia: •A Midsummer Night's Dream: all the other titles: Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet are all either currently released on about to be released as new films - challenging Jane Austin's claim to the most successful dead screenwriter crown. •False Spike Heels is not about corruption in a fashion shoe-empire. •In Lend Me a Tenor, the Tenor Tito has come to Cleveland to sing Othello •City of Angels is set simultaneously in the gritty world of a fictional Private Investigator and in hollywood where his creator is trying to get the novel made into a movie •The part of the investigator was created by James Naughton •The quote about Nabisco introducing the idea of "munching" to the third world is from Lily Tomlin's Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, and was the sentence that led to bag-lady Trudy decision to trade a career in advertising for life on the street. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Play's the Thing Dear Santa Ho, Ho, Ho everyone and Merry Christmas. Caprice Woosley, the regularly featured columnist, is on vacation this month preparing for the holidays so she asked me to share with you some of the letters I have received this month from all her theatre friends. As you can guess, they all have many requests of old Santa, so the elves are working hard trying to fill their orders. From Travis Mader, dramaturg at the Alley Theatre of Houston, Texas: Dear Santa: It is my wish to bring to stage the following plays. Here's the list of my season: 1) QUILLS, by Doug Wright. A contemporary play that wickedly examines the Marquis de Sade's stay at the asylum at Charenton. 2) A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY, by Tony Kushner. Early Kushner, Weimar Germany meets America during the Reagan Years. 3) LITTLE EYOLF, by Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen's little-produced play about a crippled child's effects on a family. 4) A stage adaptation of LIGHT IN AUGUST, by William Faulkner. Faulkner's southern gothic story of the biracial Joe Christmas, set in Faulkner's mythic Mississippi. 5) THE CHANGELING, by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley. Renaissance horror. 6) SPLENDID'S, by Jean Genet. Genet's "found" play about a group of thugs who hold a woman hostage in a high-rise. 7) A stage adaptation of INVISIBLE MAN, by Ralph Ellison. Ellison's impressionistic story about one black man's experiences in America. 8) POOR SUPER MAN, by Brad Fraser. AIDS, transgenderism, and loyalty in contemporary Canada. The aim of this season is to present plays from around the world, from European masters Ibsen and Genet, to adaptations of distinctly American novels. In addition to the classics, I believe the presentation of newer, more provocative work, links the theatre to a younger audience (as in Poor Super Man, Bright Room, and Quills). Seasons Greetings, Travis Mader Alley Theatre The next letter comes from Louis Catron, directing and playwriting professor at William and Mary in Virginia (and as I have told Lou before, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!"). Lou is also the author of many theatre industry books including Writing, Producing, and Selling Your Play (Prentice-Hall), Playwriting (Waveland Press), The Director's Vision (Mayfield Publishing), Overcoming Directorial Blocks about Blocking (Samuel French), and The Elements of Playwriting (Macmillan). Lou's letter touched my heart because he asked for so many things that the theatre community at large needs. Dear Santa Claus, What I want, then, isn't this or that play. I want the National Endowment for the Arts to be richly and fully funded; I want Newt and Jesse and Rush and their ilk to be forced to remain forever silent about the fate of the National Endowment for the Arts and the use of those funds; I want each individual state to have increased sensitivity to the need to support the arts within their borders; and I want all local and state educational systems to have full funding for the arts in the schools. I want every state to have a first class regional theatre --- at least one, and perhaps two, established geographically for citizen access. I want a national Celebration Of The Arts week held annually. It will include at least one day of vacation. I want at least one new publication dedicated to either theatre or to all the arts. John-John's "George" looks like a good size/approach. I want each television network to dedicate an two-hour, minimum, weekly program to The Arts --- perhaps symphonies, dance companies, museums, theatre, and the like. With all of the expertise and concern that TV gives to football coverage. I want talk show host Charlie Rose to have a regular network program interviewing people in the arts. And, finally, I want the "minimum wage" policy to apply to everyone in the arts so they get paid for each hour of labor. (Wow.) There. That's a start toward my Christmas Wish List. An Artful Christmas! Louis Catron from Marie Mersinger, the MSN Theatre Forum manager. Marie writes: Dear Santa: For Christmas I would like to produce the following theatre season. I've gone for diversity here - while it'd be possible to make up a "theme season" about Isolation or Loneliness or Hope or all-women playwrights, etc. I'd rather create a sampler of the many ways theatre can be wonderful. Ideas - M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang - this play has a complex, highly political agenda, which it communicates with an understated and elegant simplicity Words - Broadway Bound by Neil Simon - The conclusion of Neil Simon's may not be his cheeriest outing, but it may well be his best writing. Tight - particular themes echo in unexpected places on a tenth or twentieth viewing (sort of like Sondheim without the music). And it's a lovely story. Wit - Private Lives by Noel Coward - who knew sophistication could be so much fun. Amanda and Ellyot used to be married, now they're each on their honeymoon with spouse #2 when they find themselves in adjoining rooms. A Feel-Good Romp - Noises Off by Michael Frayn "And god said let there be doors that open when they open and close when they close and let the doors separate the world in front of the set from the world behind it" A Classic - Machiavelli's La Mandragola (The Mandrake) - typical Italian Renaissance setup, our hero is madly in love with a very pious local lady married to a man who a man much to old to show her a good time, who doesn't have the imagination to cheat on him. This setup runs through all renaissance comedies, but Machiavelli's treatment is probably the funniest - and it still plays today without a masters class in history & lit. - oh, and yes it's the same Machiavelli that wrote The Prince. A Shocker - Canadian Badboy Brad Frazier's Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love. Best ensemble acting I've ever seen has come together in this bizarre story of a gay Canadian actor and his circle of friends and lovers as they meet and mix in the shadow of a psychopathic killer. A Musical - gosh, there are so many wonderful Sondheim's, it's hard to choose. Assassins - with the additional stipulation that we display the Andy Warhol exhibit that explores much of the same themes Little-Known Jewel: Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's MacBeth - vintage Tom Stoppard - act I teaches us the nonsense language of Dogg in a series of skits, culminating in a truncated performance of Hamlet. Act II is set in an Orwellian future where attending the performance is a crime. Something for the Kids - a collection of Japanese fairy-tales. These include such marvelous stories - foxes and badgers are trixter characters, but badgers at least return generosity when they receive it. Urashima Taro is a Rip Van Winkle character - except his tale doesn't have a happy ending. My Children My Africa - Athol Fugard has been playing with the 3 character format for some time now (Master Harold, Road to Mecca) and here, it is perfect. Within 2 minutes of meeting this trio we realize they are on a collision course because of the people they are - we know too that when the collision comes it's not going to be pleasant - but we're drawn in anyway, because they characters are so very engaging. One more - something else for the Kids - The Secret Garden - not the musical, a straight adaptation. it is a very beautiful story, and it brings out the best in directors, actors and designers. Santa, I know you are very busy this time of year, but I have been very, very good and I can get you comp tickets to any of these shows! Merry Christmas, Marie Mersinger Elizabeth Appell, a playwright in Northern California, wrote me a letter and shared a list of her favorite plays. Her list included: Dear Santa: My favorite plays at the moment: Love, Valor and Compassion, Damage, Le Cage Aux Folles, Death of a Salesman, Before the Fall, Confessions of a Catholic Child (if I may be so blatant to include my own)! Happy Holidays, Elizabeth Appell Winston Neutel, MFA Candidate and Dramaturg from New York City sent me his request for a theatrical season. Dear Santa, I know it's late (sorry, it's been the busiest few weeks of my life) but here's my dream season: White Biting Dog, by Judith Thompson. A very powerful early play from one of Canada's most important playwrights. Through fervent use of percussive sounds, strong visuals (several involving peat moss), and n arresting images in the spoken text, this play grabs the audience by the lapels and asks what are you living for. Tartuffe, by Moliere, translated by Rod MacLucas I just finished working as dramaturg on the first production of this translation, and I really love it. It really captures the nature of Moliere's humor better than other translations do. It's laugh-until-you-ache funny. Nothing Sacred, by George F. Walker Another major Canadian playwright with his adaptation of Turgenev's Fathers and Sons. Somewhere between Turgenev and a B-movie, we see that the generational struggle hasn't really changed over the past century. The Elektra Fugues, libretto by Ruth Margraff, score by Matthew Pierce. The subtitle is: "An 8 Track Opera Based In Vocal Cadence, Punk & Classical Strings." I went to see it premiere earlier this week. I went in skeptical, but came out saying "Wow." It's an incredible experience. Woyzeck, by Georg Bchner Woyzeck is a man discarded by a world obsessed with progress and new ways of understanding reality. What could be more contemporary? Marat/Sade, by Peter Weiss The ultimate theatrical game. Put's the word "play" back into play. How can theatre compete with increasingly spectacular entertainments? Not by trying to imitate a movie's special effects (that's a losing game) but by relying on the spectacular effects that live theatre does best. They're all in here. There would have to be a one-act festival in the season too. Some things are best communicated with a short quick hit. One acts would include: Garage Sale, by Gwen Pharis Ringwood Krapp's Last Tape, by Samuel Beckett No One Will Be Immune, by David Mamet Cobler, Stick To Thy Last, by Kay Hill Warm Holiday Regards, Winston Neutel The next letter comes to us from Jason Travis. Jason is an actor currently trying to survive without waiting tables in Ft.Lauderdale, FL. He has toured nationally The Fantasticks and has appeared in various stock and dinner theater companies around the country. He has quite a list for me, and the elves are near exhaustion trying to fill the order! Jason writes: Dear Santa: If I could, I would design a themed season, but instead I'll rattle off the 10 shows I would like to be involved in somehow: Five musicals, tried to get a good mix of stuff Sunday in the Park with George (Love it, difficult to pull off) Candide (Gotta have Bernstein, besides WSS, and satisfies an "old school" slot) Chess (Good modern rock opera, never performed) Falsettos (modern/broadway-ish, good themes) City of Angels (For the whole family, jazzy music) Plays Ghetto (Seldom done, horrifying play with music) Noises Off (gotta be done) Come Blow Your Horn (old Neil Simon, not done much) A Comedy of Errors Macbeth (give 'em two sides of the spectrum!) If a company could do ten shows in a season, and that doesn't exhaust them, I'm not sure what will. Other shows I would consider: West Side Story (done a lot), Little Shop of Horrors (big name, not currently done a lot), Bent (if Ghetto and Falsettos weren't in there) Brighton Beach/Biloxi/Broadway Bound...Something Tennessee Williams...And maybe a new play somewhere in there. My actual favorite season was actually done, and we discovered accidentally that all the shows somehow were thematically connected: "peasants/immigrants/class structure/family structure" motif: Evita Brighton Beach Memoirs Love Letters Quilters I Do I Do Broadway Bound Fiddler on the Roof Thank you Santa. Some think the theatre needs Angels, when all we really need is you! Holiday Greetings, Jason Travis Robert Rubin is a resident of New York City's, Greenwich Village. Along with his wife Ronnie, he sees forty to fifty Broadway and Off-Broadway shows and makes several trips to London each year to catch up on the latest theater in that region of the world. He sent me a list for an improved Broadway season. Now I can't work miracles but maybe Broadway needs a special stocking stuffer from me this year. Robert makes some great suggestions: Dear Santa: Here is my list for the 1997 Broadway theater season 1. "Jekyll and Hyde" finally makes it to Broadway and is a success after years on the road 2. "Martin Guerre" finally decides on its final version 3. "Ragtime" is the smash hit that Broadway has needed for the last two years. 4. Steven Pimlott produces Tennessee William's "Camino Real" to Broadway 5. Paul Scofield return to Broadway in "John Gabriel Brokman' 6. A full stage version of "King David" by Disney 7. A least two new hit American original dramas open with big screen stars 8. Harold Prince cancels his 23rd or is it his 99th production of "Candide" 9. Peter Hall brings a new production to Broadway 10. A revival of the musical "Golden Boy" starring Savion Glover Any help you can give Broadway will be greatly appreciated. A Broadway Holiday to you, Robert Rubin Well everyone, as you can see, I am going to be very busy over the next few weeks trying to fill all these Christmas wish lists. I can't promise to fill all the orders, but if everyone will do their part to promote the theatre arts in their local areas, maybe these wishes will come true. And remember, I know if you've been bad or good . . . I read the reviews! Happy Holidays to all the readers of TRE! Santa Claus --- Caprice Woosley is currently pursuing her BFA in theater (directing and playwriting), after 25 years working in and around community theater. She is a playwright, produced but not published, actress, and amateur dramaturg who enjoys researching plays. She is a host in the Writing Forum where she co-hosts a Writing Discussion Group. She also hosted "Shakespeare Unplugged" and "Murder and Mayhem" in the Theatre Forum. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ W H A T ' S N E W in the Theatre & Performance Forum BROADWAY CHRISTMAS CHATS Every Tuesday in December, the regular Tuesday Night "Broadway Chats" will focus on Christmastime in the Big Apple past and present. We'll talk about the holiday shows that have become traditions: A Christmas Carol and Radio City Music Hall, plus give you the low-down on the new Winter Season, discuss ideas for after-the-show treats, Christmas traditions in NYC, the tree in Rockefeller Center, tea at Rumplemeyers, etc. A CHRISTMAS CAROL MURDER MYSTERY Every theatre in the western world seems to do A Christmas Carol this time of year - it's time someone put a spin on it. For example: Ever notice that Ebenezer Scrooge has absolutely no alibi for Christmas Eve and does some highly suspicious things Christmas Day? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Voices: But why do we NEED the NEA? You all know how this works right - there's a very wise and creative little corner of your brain called the subconscious that works through your hopes and anxieties while you're asleep. And either because it's easier to deal with painful subjects when there's a buffer of symbols and codes, or just 'cause it's more interesting, the subconscious deals in symbols and imagery rather than literal reenactments. Society also has a subconscious - it's called the arts. You want to know what we wished for and what scared the hell out of us in any era, examine its novels, films and stage plays (and its visual arts if you're not of the "my 8 year old" mentality). You'll see dreams of wealth conflicting with a growing distrust of wealth and industrialization in the 30s & 40s (read some Steinbeck, Eugene O'Neil), you'll see a sneaking suspicion that the women they came home to were not the innocent young girls the GIs left before the war in the films noir of the 40s and early 50s. You'll see a rampant fear of disguised fascism & communism, secret fears about hypocrisy - particularly hypocrisy about the ideals of democracy, and of course full-blown terror of nuclear annhilation in the works of the next decade. If you think these common themes only become apparent with the benefit of 30-years hindsight, I'd suggest taking a look at a random sampling of the plays and musicals of the last 5-6 years and see if there's any way to avoid noticing the number of gay plays (gee, wonder what we're working thru here?), the number of characters set adrift because the rules governing the social roles they've assumed have all changed, the overwhelming number of plays about people afraid of intimacy, or desperate for intimacy but unable to find points of contact with others. -- No need to confine yourself to closet-pieces, either. Commercial fare like Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast & Passion will do as well as Angels in America, Unidentified Human Remains or Six Degrees of Separation. Let's be perfectly pragmatic for a minute: One has to wonder why an age obsessed with economic success, the arts that represent an accessible (no need for expensive and misleading polls & focus groups) indicator of what we, the "target market" & voters really want and are really afraid of, why these arts have to beg for government funding in order to starve to death a little slower - or why they should fear censorship that will only make "the meter" harder to read. The reasons why corporations and politicians should be lining up to support the arts are cynical, self-serving, and crass. They would make the more idealistic & sensitive artists pop a legion of blood vessels in contempt if the aforementions corporations and politicians ever figure it out. Let's hope it's a problem we'll all have to face anyway. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1996, Mersinger Theatrical Services