#and of course the act one finale of urinetown

[wren-stirlinglove]

Falling in love with a revolutionist was terrifying. And utterly thrilling. Every time he spoke, he inspired masses, and you had the chance to observe— always close enough to appreciate, close enough that you were in real danger of getting burnt by the bright flame that shone from behind his eyes. 

He had a real gift for speeches, and he always knew exactly when to use them to evoke whatever emotion he had to draw from those around him. It reminded you of a puppet master, pulling the strings to make the marionettes dance. You blink, and you almost catch a glimpse of each silvery thread as he marches his way to the front of the gathering. You worry his charisma and draw will be the death of him. He never knows when to stop. 

Words dripped from his lips like honey and everyone reached out for a taste of the liquid sugar. You find it enticing, but you know behind the honey is venom. He saves the real sweetness for when you’re alone— tells you about how he made these plans for you both. He whispers about going off the grid and nurturing the revolution, and it lulls you into a sense of fuzziness where you aren’t quite asleep, but not in control. 

He shows you glimpses of what he calls your child— the proof of your love and devotion, the masses that buy into the shit that he’s selling— and you watch as they parrot his hollow words back to him. They go out and cause problems. They go out and draw attention. They go out and get shot. 

You come back to yourself for a bit, distraught that your child has begun imploding. That these impressionable minds that you have been shaping have forgotten what it means to be human. They don’t get it and you finally realize that you have lost control. 

“But we’ve been following our heart— our primal instincts. They’re the predators. They are the ones swallowing us whole. We need to protect ourselves by any means. Only the best of us can survive their attack. That’s you. And that’s me. We don’t need no one else.” 

He’s whispering, but you don’t remember him coming into the room. That’s been happening more often lately, and you haven’t seen your third for lack of a better word in a couple days. You already know he’s found a way to silence her. 

“She was trying to get between us.” He spits the words at you, and you vaguely register that you are no longer in the kitchen surrounded by the others. You aren’t really sure where you are. You start sleeping more. 

“It’s survival of the fittest baby.” He whispered softly. “Don’t we love our boys? What happened to taking care of them?” 

“You’ve revolutionized them. Hell, they don’t even know their own names anymore.” You can’t cry. You’ve been feeling numb lately. 

“I’m just trying to keep us safe.”

It echoes around you. 

Safe. You start to run. 

Safe. He doesn’t chase. Just laughs. It follows you as you jump over the porch steps and run through the streets. It takes a couple minutes, but you register the screams first. They’re primal and ugly— like an animal struggling to take each breath. You register the tears next, as your cheeks grow cold. 

Finally, you collapse in the middle of the street. He’s there not too long after. 

“Come on. Let’s get you home.” He wraps his warm arm around your neck, and you don’t fight as he drags you up and towards the house. “I’m sure that felt great.” 

It feels like you should scream for help, but you’ve been out of air for so long that you are scared you are going to lose it all again if you let go. Besides, he would never hurt you. 

You wake up a few hours or maybe a few days or it could even have been a month later. You’ve been lying in the plaid sheets for a while, wrapped in a fluffy blanket of ignorance. He’s gone— inspiring and spreading his message. You aren’t even really  sure who’s in on it and who isn’t at this point. Everywhere you turn is another knowing smirk, another threat, another lost cause. 

You feel empty noticing them. 

[sassyscribbler]

Underrated Musicals

So I was thinking about one of my favorite musicals earlier and realized how few people have heard of it. I got to thinking about a few others and thought that some of you guys on here might wanna try them if you’re looking for new musicals to listen to. They honestly deserve so much more attention than they currently have, so even if you’re just curious, I’d suggest listening to one or two of the songs (I’ll try to suggest the best ones that don’t contain spoilers.) Anyway, here we go!

1. The Theory of Relativity - The Theory of Relativity is a one hour-long musical based on--of course--Einstein’s theory of relativity. Sound boring? Think again, kids! My theatre class and I got to watch this the final night of Georgia Theatre Conference, and (among the vast majority) it was the best show we saw all weekend.

There’s no overarching plot, but it goes into each character’s lives, showing you their background, dating life, and/or day-to-day struggles and how their lives connect with other characters’. If you’re not in the mood to focus on a story line, but still want the vast, well-thought character development that comes with it, this is a great show. If you’d like to try it out, I recommend Relativity, Me & Ricky, and You Will Never Know.

2. Ruthless! The Stage Mother of All Musicals - Ruthless is an early 1990′s musical with a comedic style similar to that of Heathers. But, instead of two teenagers killing off their classmates, a little girl is making her rise to fame... By murdering anyone who stands in her way. With the help of her new manager Sylvia St. Croix, eight year-old Tina Denmark is bound to be on the stage in no time. But, can a wig, a jump rope, and a mime dog make Tina’s future take a turn from Broadway to San Quentin? (Yes, you read every part of that correctly. Also, yes, I do realize how stupid that description sounds, but give me a break.)

This was one of the two musicals my school performed last semester, and we loved it from the second our teacher first told us about. Ruthless has a cast of mainly female characters, save for Tina’s father who is only on-stage for the final minute of the show. Several of the characters, primarily Sylvia St. Croix, are usually performed in drag, though. So, if you’re feeling up for a step-to-step guide on how to get to Broadway in six murders or more, this is definitely the show for you! I highly recommend Tina’s Mother, Born to Entertain, and I Hate Musicals (Warning: West Side Story stans have high chances of being offended.)

3. Aida - Aida is a blessing to all mankind about a Nubian princess who is captured and brought into Egyptian slavery. While fighting for her people’s freedom, she and the head guard/future king fall in love, despite his prior engagement to an Egyptian princess. I can’t even put into words how good of a show this is, but I think letting you know that Elton John and Tim Rice wrote the entire soundtrack should be enough to sum it up.

This is a beautifully tragic show, perfect for anyone who wants to hear about a nice, angsty love story. Like Romeo and Juliette. Romeo and Juliette: Egyptian Edition. Ignore me. My top recommendations from this show are Every Story is a Love Story, Dance of the Robe, and Easy as Life.

4. Urinetown - Imagine Newsies, but instead it’s a town fighting for the right to pee without paying... I don’t know how else to explain this. I don’t know how to tell you if you’re the target audience, either. Wanna find out how to stand up for the right to urinate in your own home? Listen to Urinetown! So I guess just give it a go--it’s fun, I promise. I recommend Privilege to Pee (The Bottom Line), Mr. Cladwell (The Bottom Line: In Pulitzer’s Mind), and Follow Your Heart (Something to Believe In, but in Act 1.)

5. Hadestown - Depressed? In the mood for another angsty love story (guess you already finished Aida)? Wish Persephone would get it together and head back to the underworld to see her hubby again? Well, have I got just the thing for you! Hadestown is based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. I won’t go too into detail, but here’s an article that sums up their story pretty well--Orpheus and Eurydice. Basically, Orpheus is a son of Apollo and Calliope, who was a gifted musician (more important in the context of the story). While he was away for a while, Eurydice was bitten by a snake and died. The musical is the story of Orpheus going into Hadestown to get her back, but it also shares some focus on the struggling relationship between Persephone and Hades.

If you’re a Greek mythology fanatic, like me, this show is not one to disappoint. Beautiful mix of jazz and blues music, well-written (and, more importantly, accurate) interpretation of the ancient myth, and a cast of all-around gifted performers. Also, good news for any of you who become a fan, Hadestown will officially be on Broadway by early 2019! So get your bags packed and get ready to beg your families to let you go, cause I know I will be! To get you started, I recommend Way Down Hadestown, Chant, and Hey Little Songbird.

These were just a few of my personal favorites, but if you guys would like to hear more, feel free to let me know. I’d love to hear what you think about the shows or any underrated musicals you think deserve a bigger fanbase. Hope you all enjoy!

[allswellthatendswithmonique]

Monique’s Top Ten

It’s that time of year when we all reflect on the year that was and make our top ten lists.  As you can imagine, it was actually very difficult for me to pare down my list to just 10 roles.  I also faced issues of what constituted a role . . . as my fans are well aware, I perform an improvised one-woman show on a daily basis. You may remember my triumphs in Monique Buys a Shower Curtain and Monique and the Waiter Engage in Small Talk, or of course my acclaimed performance piece Monique, Dream or Nightmare?

However, many of the unenlightened believe that improvised acting is not acting at all, or if they see one show, they have seen them all and there is no reason to return even though it is in fact a different show every time and there is a lot of skill and practice involved in creating an improvised show and even though nobody will review it because they relegate it to “comedy,” like stand-up, improv is a very visceral art, much more similar to theatre than to stand-up and, in some cities, the improv and theatre communities are much more intertwined and the similarities and comparable skills are celebrated and supported, because honestly lots can be learned about “being in the moment” watching talented improvisers do their thing. 

But I digress. 

May I present Monique, Ten Performances That Changed the World . . . in 2019.

1.     Monique in Urinetown at TheatreLab.  My performance as a citizen of an icky town of fishnet stockings and expressions reminiscent of the national cheerleading finals (one would think cheerleaders would be happy, but if you’ve ever watched those tournaments, they all cultivate an “Don’t Come For Me Unless I’ve Sent You An Engraved Invitation” look) stunned even the other actors.  One of them actually had to drop character and rip up my prop program, clearly because she felt upstaged by my fishnets.  In case you were wondering, I thought outside the box and constructed my costume out of fishing nets and live and almost dead and surely dead fish.

2.    Monique in Once at Virginia Rep.  My performance as Girl was highly lauded.  Now, to be fair, there was another actress also playing a character named Girl.  But I am a Girl, and I was at the show.

3.    Monique in Every Brilliant Thing at HATTheatre.  While I am always delighted to perform in HATTheatre’s charming black box, I must honestly say that, crazy as it sounds, the producers must not have been familiar with my previous work.   They clearly were not convinced that I was professional and would obviously be off book. Instead, they handed me my lines (along with a cue number) when I arrived.  Naturally, I tore them up and delivered my lines when, and only when, the moment was correct.  The dramatic pauses were achingly anticipatory.  Unfortunately, many others remained on book.  Sad.

4.    Monique in The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Swift Creek.  I voted for myself.  Rosa Bud is a well-known Russian operative, and I do not accept my defeat.  I feel strongly that, even though I may have lost the popular vote, the electrician’s collage would have named me the winner. I’ve never really understood how the electrician’s collage works, but it sounds like a blue-collar vision board, which I fully support.

5.    Monique in Falsettos at Richmond Triangle Players.  Four Jews in a room bitching.  None of them actually on stage, but me and a few other tribe members appreciated the shout out.  

6.    Monique in Lost Boy at Whole Foods.  I was practicing my drag and became confused in the organic kelp granule aisle. Riveting, I am told.

7.    Monique in Taming of the Shrew at Quill Theatre.  I was pleased to lead a protest against this shrew-shaming show.  Bullies of any kind are unacceptable.  What’s next?  Mean-shaming?  Forgerer-shaming?  Wicked stepmother-shaming?  The protest began with a fruit and cheese spread on the lawn of Agecroft and ended with the protestors rising to their feet and slapping the palms of their hands together in a heartwarming show of solidarity for shrews everywhere.  Now that I have shined a light on this oppressed group, catch my upcoming performances in A Shrew, Good Men; The Shrew Story; and Shrew Christmas.

8.    Monique in Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England at Richmond Triangle Players. A very challenging role where I looked as though I was a woman in the audience of a show in Scott’s Addition, but all my lines were lines of audience members around me, and I was frozen in one position.  Very, very challenging.  And I wore fur.

9.    Monique in Cinderella at Virginia Rep.  With a different costume for each act, as well as a “traveling” costume for my end-of-show exit, I performed the near impossible.  I changed my costume right in my seat in the audience to gasps and complaints.  It’s true that my costume changes were not quite as smooth or fast as Cinderella’s, but then she was the title character.  Good for her.  I chose the more challenging role of Patron Whobravedalotofpuddlesdowntown.  The budget for my costumes may not have been as large as Cinderella’s, but, ask the patron in D8, sometimes using “look over there” as misdirection can work just as well as a fortune’s worth of snaps, ties, and Velcro.

10.  Monique in BINGO at CAT Theatre.  I received so many varied compliments on my performance as Bingo Winner Eating Popcorn it’s hard to narrow down why this performance touched so many.  It may have something to do with my good luck charms:  a botox syringe, my mink ballgown, and the aromatherapy wind chime I hung above my seat.  

Happy New Year Everyone!    

[northeastern-alexishester]

What Time is It? Theater Time

I don’t know if you guys know this, but I love, love theater. I did theater all through high school, and I knew I wanted to get involved in college. Luckily, when I went to Fall Fest my freshman year, I finally found What I’d Been Looking For! Northeastern has a ton of theater options that fit everyone, whether you want to act, crew, or just see the shows! Let’s see how you can Get’cha Head in the (theater) Game

Acting Out

Acting Out gets first dibs because it’s my group! At Acting Out, we don’t Stick to the Status Quo - all of our shows are socially relevant, so they discuss big issues like addiction or feminism, or Northeastern-specific issues like co-op and group projects. In the fall, we do a published play, and in the spring we do a student-written play. I’ve been a part of three AO shows; Lysistrata, a student-written murder mystery about a group project, and a student-written play about last year’s election. It’s been a blast performing with AO, and although I’ve been too busy this year to be a in show, next year I’m going to make sure to Work This Out and perform again!

NU Stage

Because I Don’t Dance, I like to stick with the plays, but we do musicals here too! NU Stage does two shows every semester; a revue full of various songs fitting a theme (they’ve done Villians, Disney, and more!) and a mainstage musical. This year, the musical is American Idiot; in other years, we’ve done Legally Blonde, Urinetown, and Catch Me if You Can! Do I try to go to every show? You can Bet On It! I love going to NU Stage’s shows, and I’ve heard they’re tons of fun to perform in, too!

NU Shakespeare Society

Two years ago, the Shakepeare Society was created as the Start of Something New. As you may expect, this group does Shakespeare plays! So far they’re done shows like Twelth Night, Romeo and Juliet, and Midsummer Night’s Dream. Of course, they don’t just do boring Shakespeare; this group said “I’ve Gotta Go My Own Way”, and makes every play exciting in a different way. Romeo and Juliet had more modernized setting, and took place in a classroom; Twelfth Night was done entirely while sitting on exercise balls (I didn’t get a chance to see it, but I heard it was excellent). Plus, the spring show is done on Centennial Quad, and everyone knows Shakespeare in the park is the best.

Silver Masque

Silver Masque is our oldest theater group, and they host one of my favorite theater events - Fortnight! Every other Thursday, we go into the theater building at midnight for a Night to Remember, full of skits, songs, improv, and 10-minute plays. Anyone can come or perform, and it’s an awesome way to meet kids from other theater groups. Because We’re All in This Together, of course!

The Theater Department

Finally, the theater department does two shows every semester. Even if you’re not a theater major or minor, you can get involved with one of these shows. They’re usually smaller-scale plays or musicals, but they’re always Fabulous! My favorite shows have been The Last Five Years and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The coolest thing is that they change the layout of the theater to fit every show; so for one play they did, the seating was on two sides, with the stage in the middle, but for Spelling Bee the theater was made to look like a school gym! I never want to Walk Away from these shows!

Of course, the best part about all of Northeastern’s shows is that they’re all incredibly cheap to see - many are free, and they’re usually no more than $10! And if you’re thinking, “but I Want It All!” then no problem - many people join multiple groups at once. There’s always some amazing theater going on here, which is one of the many reasons why I love Northeastern. So make sure you check out the shows this semester! It’s Now or Never!

[ismael37olson]

The Power of Love Can Make a Zombie Too!

It's hard to believe it's over. It was five years ago that I set out to write The Zombies of Penzance. It seemed so perfect, so deliciously fucked up, and the process of "translating" the story , the changing of Gilbert's pirates into zombies, hardly disturbed the plot at all (though I later made some larger plot changes). I know you want to ask, so yes, I was seriously stoned when I thought of the idea. I immediately loved everything about it. I already deeply loved The Pirates of Penzance. I love zombie movies. I love mashups. Plus, I quickly decided that my approach would include an elaborate, though entirely false, backstory about the creation of The Zombies of Penzance. In fact, that meta-layer became an important part of the humor. We tell the audience Gilbert wrote these zombie lyrics, but then throughout the evening, we keep smacking them with anachronisms, four-letter words, and other morsels that Gilbert would/could never have written -- including every reference to zombies, which hadn't entered the awareness of Western culture yet. I loved all of that. The inherent wrongness of it all. More than anything what I loved most was the fundamental idea of telling a horror story in the language of English light opera, possibly the most "wrong" storytelling form imaginable for this content. That was the appeal for me, more than anything else. I love things, particularly art, that are obviously wrong or fucked-up. That's so interesting, and often, so funny. I also loved the idea that this would be New Line's second zombie musical, since we did the very serious Night of the Living Dead in 2013. And its our seventh horror musical, following our productions of Rocky Horror, Sweeney Todd, Bat Boy, In the Blood, and Lizzie. Should we also count Urinetown...? Throughout the time I've been working on this, I was always mindful of the fact that no matter how funny or meta-ironic my text was, it had no real value on the page. It's only a zombie operetta when it's live (dead?) onstage. I needed lots of people to make it into live theatre. That's true of all our shows, but since this was an awfully odd experiment, it was constantly in my awareness. When I talked to friends about it, at some point I'd always throw in, "...if I ever finish it, and if we produce it..." We held a public reading in January. To my amazement, 150 people showed up, and to my greater amazement they followed the plot easily and fully embraced my multiple layers of meta, my blatant anachronisms, and the four-letter words sprinkled throughout. The audience really loved both the ways in which I had stayed true to Gilbert & Sullivan and their traditions, and also the ways in which I violated that. It's actually a fairly complex piece, and I was delighted that many of the reviewers noticed and appreciated that. Paul Friswold wrote in his Riverfront Times review:

Scott Miller and John Gerdes are the responsible parties, tinkering with Gilbert's lyrics and Sullivan's music to create something more than the sum of the parts. The two St. Louisans have added modern references, profanity and a careful adherence to the spirit of the original operetta. Portraits of George A. Romero and Queen Victoria hang above the old-fashioned stage and its working footlights, hinting at the twin forces at work here. Romero is the godfather of zombies in popular entertainment, and Victoria led the society that simultaneously embraced Gilbert & Sullivan's jaunty work and harbored a morbid fascination with life after death. All of these elements come together on stage, to strange and often comic effect. . . . But it's not all fun and pop-culture riffs. Despite his lethal nature, the Major-General has a most troubled conscience. The second-act song "When the World Went Bad" cracks open the show's candy coating to reveal the darkness within. Stanley sings of his fears about the forces bringing the dead to life, and worries about the coarsening of his soul. Is he less moral than the Zombie King, who spares some people (albeit under false pretenses)? The Major-General kills them all, and then shakes with terror and remorse late at night. Is he worse than what he hunts? It's a question that harkens back to Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am Legend, which was Romero's own inspiration. The book also informs the finale, which is preceded by a delightfully ridiculous brawl between the Stanley daughters, who are in their bloomers and bearing cricket bats and nunchucks, and the zombie horde. Things become very dark indeed. But you know what they say: It's always darkest before the dawn of the dead.

Some people reflexively dismissed the show -- without seeing it of course -- as a stunt, a bastardization, a one-joke show. I'll admit that my new Major-General lyric is a stunt, but so is Gilbert's original. That's what patter songs are. Beyond that, The Zombies of Penzance is an experiment in form and content, it's a big over-arching meta-joke about lost and discarded works, and it's a translation in terms of cultural context and also in terms of themes. As I wrote in another blog post, The Pirates of Penzance is about how absurd and arbitrary class distinctions are. But though I changed the basic story very little, the substitution of monsters (zombies) for "monsters" (pirates) changes more than you'd expect. The Zombies of Penzance is about the Other-ing of those who are different from us, particularly by those who claim the moral high ground.

And also, because I cut the policemen from the story, and gave their songs to the Stanley daughters, who are now trained zombie hunters, it's also a story about women standing up for themselves, fighting back, solving their own problems. I was honestly shocked at how empowering it apparently felt for women in our audience when the daughters marched on in their zombie hunter clothes in mid-Act II, particularly I think for women who know Pirates. The journey's been five years for me, but it's also been two years for John Gerdes, who adapted the music and orchestrated it. He adapted and orchestrated all the music for our reading last January, then he orchestrated Yeast Nation for us, then he came back to Zombies, finished his work and incorporated my rewrites from the reading. And then John and his wife Lea played in the band for the show. So I suspect John will have some zombie withdrawal as well. This amazing cast has been working on this show since last November, when we started rehearsals for the reading. They have worked so hard on this score, both musically and conceptually. I realized early on that we had to apply the lessons of Little Shop, Bat Boy, and Urinetown to The Zombies of Penzance. The more seriously we take it, the funnier it gets; and in parallel to that, the better we sing the music, the more seriously we take that, the funnier the show gets. This isn't Evil Dead. To maintain the crazy meta-story, our audience had to believe this was intended to be performed at the Savoy Theatre in 1879. The more legit the music, the funnier the show.

And likewise, the better the craft -- rhymes, scansion, etc. -- the funnier the show. The Major-General's big patter song, "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Era Zombie Killer," is funny partly because the craft is good. Really, I guess all this is a lesson Gilbert and Sullivan learned long before Little Shop of Horrors. Almost all their shows are inherently ridiculous stories (about inherently ridiculous aspects of Western culture) which they present utterly straight-faced. No matter how wacky Gilbert's text gets, Sullivan's music is always straight-faced. This has been such a wonderful experience for me, bringing two of my greatest loves together, G&S and zombies. To quote my own lyric:

Hail, zombies, thou heav’n-made dead! Forsaken by the God we dread. Great metaphor for all we fear! All hail the end of all that we hold dear!

I was very lucky to find a cast full of really strong, funny, talented, fearless actors to bring my show to life, and almost all of them have stayed with the show since last November. I am very grateful. And then to get such warm, overwhelming responses to it! Look at some of these press quotes:

"Another triumph for New Line. . . a hilariously inspired joke." -- Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch "The funniest show that New Line Theatre has ever mounted." -- Judy Newmark, All The World's a Stage "Both a nightmare and a delight — let's call it a delightmare." -- Paul Friswold, The Riverfront Times "Uproarious." -- Jeff Ritter, Critical Blast "It's amazing. . . so much fun." -- Kevin Brackett, ReviewSTL "A wonderful whirlwind of apocalyptic delight." -- Tanya Seale, BroadwayWorld "Reverently irreverent and witty. . . a delightfully fun, pointedly funny musical." -- Tina Farmer KDHX "Let the wackiness ensue." -- Lynn Venhaus, STL Limelight "In terms of humor and sheer musicality, it’s remarkable." -- Michelle Kenyon, Snoop's Theatre Thoughts

But our show has closed and my zombie journey ends, for now. We've already gotten a couple requests for rights to perform the show, so the Zombie King may live (die?) on. But for all practical purposes, the ride is over. I will miss these characters and this beautiful music, and this extraordinary cast. It was so thrilling every night when they sang the a cappella chorale late in Act I, "Hail Zombies!" -- such a massive, gorgeous sound (due in large part to music director Nic Valdez)! John and I will be cleaning up / correcting the script and score, and then we'll publish them on Amazon, so they'll be available soon. And I won't swear to it, but we also may be releasing a live cast album. And yes, we will license other theatres to produce it.

And don't tell anybody... but I'm already working on another "new" G&S show. No promises, but I may end up writing a G&S horror trilogy before I'm done. I can hear the heads of G&S fans exploding as I type this... Suggestions are welcome for source material for the third in the trilogy. I'll leave you with one of my favorite bits from Zombies. Thank you, St. Louis, for once again, taking a chance on us and totally embracing the insanity we've wrought. We owe you so much!

My zombie hunting habits, though a potent, little metaphor, Are really more subversive than the critics give me credit for. In nineteenth cent’ry operetta, comedy or thriller, I am still the very model of a modern-era zombie killer!

Long Live the Musical! Scott from The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre http://newlinetheatre.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-power-of-love-can-make-zombie-too.html

[demitgibbs]

Behind the Scenes: Cirque Du Soleil’s ‘OVO’ Comes to Sunrise & Miami

Cirque du Soleil will be performing in Florida in July 2017 with “OVO,” its newest touring show in arenas. The show will perform in Sunrise at the BB&T Center from July 13-July 23 and in Miami at the American Airlines Arena from July 28-30 as part of a global tour in arenas around North America.

Thrilling more than 5 million people worldwide since the show premiered in Montreal in 2009 as a Big Top show, “OVO” will embark on a new journey, performing the same captivating production, but now in arenas, giving more people the opportunity to enjoy a Cirque du Soleil show in their own town.

“OVO,” meaning “egg” in Portuguese, is a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement.

When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. It is love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye – and the feeling is mutual.

Cirque du Soleil has brought wonder and delight to more than 160 million spectators in more than 400 cities on six continents. Cirque du Soleil has close to 4,000 employees, including 1,300 performing artists from close to 50 different countries.

It was a pleasure to sit down with the Artistic Director of “OVO,” Tim Bennett, for this exclusive Hotspots interview:

What was your first job in a theater?

At 19 I was hired to do a dance show at Hershey Park in central PA. It’s a theme park adjacent to the chocolate factory. That was my first professional job.

When did you know entertainment would be your career?

I always did school plays growing up, but when I was in junior high school I started to feel the very strong urge to go into acting. The summer after I graduated from Junior High, I went to NYC (first time) and saw my first Broadway show – the original production of ‘Chicago.”  I was so impressed and inspired by it, that I decided there was nothing else that would fulfill me as much as working as an actor.

When you were acting, what was your favorite part(s)?

I’ve always loved farces – classic 5 door farces with fast paced action, mistaken identities, chases, slamming doors, bad puns, and girls in their underwear. There was a farce called “Scapino” that was a modern day telling of an old Moliere play. Jim Dale had done it on Broadway back in the 1970s. I had the opportunity to play the title role and had more fun with it than any other role that I’ve ever done.

You have also directed many shows, other than Cirque, which was your favorite(s)?

I have two – because they were very different jobs. The first is “The Lion King,” where I was the Resident Director of the Las Vegas company. I enjoyed working on “Lion King” more than any other show. I love the story and its universal message, the music, and the many styles of storytelling – from puppetry, shadow play, clowning, modern dance, praise poetry, and classic musical theatre. We also had a wonderful cast of Broadway veterans, who were amazing artists. Being able to work on that show was a real gift.

But I didn’t create “Lion King,” as Resident Director I maintained it. As an original director/choreographer, my favorite show was “Urinetown.” I love the story and message of it, as well as the very farcical playful way that it is written. I also love the opportunity as a choreographer, to create material that pays homage to (some say parodies) other classic musicals and their styles.

How did you come to get hired by Cirque?

I saw my first Cirque show, “NouvelleExperience,” on the Santa Monica Pier back in the early 1990’s and absolutely fell in love with it. The wild imagination that spawned the costumes, music, make-up, and Cirque environment, as well as the incredible acrobatics blew my mind. I thought that it was one of the most creative shows that I had ever seen, and thought to myself “I really want to work with this new company Cirque du Soleil.” At the time, I was still a performer but I had no acrobatic skills, so there wasn’t a place for me. Fast forward a few years to when I moved to Las Vegas with “The Lion King.” There I was surrounded by Cirque shows, and I went to see every one of them. My passion to work for Cirque was reignited. My job at “The Lion King,” was very similar to what I do for Cirque, and when “The Lion King,” eventually closed, I reached out to Cirque right away.

Your title is Artistic Director. What exactly does that entail?

I’m responsible for the artistic integrity of the show. My job is make sure that the show is as exciting, surprising, fresh, and looks as great as it did on the day that it opened. I’m also responsible to maintain the original director’s vision of the show. I do whatever is necessary to make sure that happens. I run rehearsals, work with the coaches in trainings, cast and integrate new artists, work with the Performance Medicine teams to keep the acrobats healthy and rehabilitate injuries, give notes on the shows to artists and the technical departments, add new acts or change existing ones, and coordinate with the PR teams to create events. I also do a lot of operations work from budgeting to scheduling, to casting, and long range planning for the show.

I’m not going to ask you what your favorite part of “OVO” is as I think that would be unfair, but is there a particular act that gets talked about more than the rest?

We have a few unique acts that come up a lot in conversation because they aren’t seen a lot of places, or because our particular take on them is different and special. We have a Chinese “foot juggling” act that most people haven’t ever seen before. It’s a team of 6 Chinese acrobat Ants who juggle various pieces of their “food” and then eventually each other…with their feet.

We have an act that is a combination of trampoline and a crazy huge climbing wall – the biggest of its kind. Since crickets can jump 300 times their body height, we have our crickets jumping, bouncing, and leaping all over the wall via the trampolines. Finally, we have a straps act where our two butterflies soar and dance at the top of the arena in what is the most beautiful and exciting love duet that I’ve ever seen. Audience members always comment about it.

What makes “OVO” special, and what should the South Florida audiences expect from “OVO”?

There are a number of things that make “OVO” unique. It is one of the most playful, colorful, positive, and energetic of Cirque’s shows. It also has a great Brazilian flavor – from its samba music to its characters, to its name (OVO is Portuguese for “egg.”) We also have some of the top circus artists in the world, working alongside Olympic gymnasts and world champion acrobats in some acts that are pretty unique. It’s not a Cirque show that you’ve ever seen before.

But I think what makes it the most special is its message. It’s a story of inclusion, and how a community of insects first reject a “Foreigner” insect because he is different from them. They don’t understand him or his ways and therefore they are threatened by him. Over the course of the story, they realize that they and the stranger are more alike than they are different, and they come to understand and eventually accept and even love him.

What I really love is that “OVO” is a wonderful representation of the culture and world of Cirque du Soleil itself. Inclusion is one of the greatest strengths at Cirque. Our production consists of a troupe of over 100 artists, technicians, and staff from 21 different countries working together as story tellers to amaze and delight audiences. We are a mix of many languages, skin colors, religions, and cultures – French, Russian, American, Ukranian, Brazilian, British…and many more. We work as a team without regard to politics or borders, and the trust between us has to be uncompromising. If we can all work together at the circus to do what we do, there is no reason why others around the world can’t do the same.

Tickets which start at $35 for adults (subject to change) and $25 for children. Senior, military, student discounts and family 4-packs are all available at cirquedusoleil.com/ovo.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/07/12/behind-the-scenes-cirque-du-soleils-ovo-comes-to-sunrise-miami/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/162902477060

[cynthiajayusa]

Behind the Scenes: Cirque Du Soleil’s ‘OVO’ Comes to Sunrise & Miami

Cirque du Soleil will be performing in Florida in July 2017 with “OVO,” its newest touring show in arenas. The show will perform in Sunrise at the BB&T Center from July 13-July 23 and in Miami at the American Airlines Arena from July 28-30 as part of a global tour in arenas around North America.

Thrilling more than 5 million people worldwide since the show premiered in Montreal in 2009 as a Big Top show, “OVO” will embark on a new journey, performing the same captivating production, but now in arenas, giving more people the opportunity to enjoy a Cirque du Soleil show in their own town.

“OVO,” meaning “egg” in Portuguese, is a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement.

When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. It is love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye – and the feeling is mutual.

Cirque du Soleil has brought wonder and delight to more than 160 million spectators in more than 400 cities on six continents. Cirque du Soleil has close to 4,000 employees, including 1,300 performing artists from close to 50 different countries.

It was a pleasure to sit down with the Artistic Director of “OVO,” Tim Bennett, for this exclusive Hotspots interview:

What was your first job in a theater?

At 19 I was hired to do a dance show at Hershey Park in central PA. It’s a theme park adjacent to the chocolate factory. That was my first professional job.

When did you know entertainment would be your career?

I always did school plays growing up, but when I was in junior high school I started to feel the very strong urge to go into acting. The summer after I graduated from Junior High, I went to NYC (first time) and saw my first Broadway show – the original production of ‘Chicago.”  I was so impressed and inspired by it, that I decided there was nothing else that would fulfill me as much as working as an actor.

When you were acting, what was your favorite part(s)?

I’ve always loved farces – classic 5 door farces with fast paced action, mistaken identities, chases, slamming doors, bad puns, and girls in their underwear. There was a farce called “Scapino” that was a modern day telling of an old Moliere play. Jim Dale had done it on Broadway back in the 1970s. I had the opportunity to play the title role and had more fun with it than any other role that I’ve ever done.

You have also directed many shows, other than Cirque, which was your favorite(s)?

I have two – because they were very different jobs. The first is “The Lion King,” where I was the Resident Director of the Las Vegas company. I enjoyed working on “Lion King” more than any other show. I love the story and its universal message, the music, and the many styles of storytelling – from puppetry, shadow play, clowning, modern dance, praise poetry, and classic musical theatre. We also had a wonderful cast of Broadway veterans, who were amazing artists. Being able to work on that show was a real gift.

But I didn’t create “Lion King,” as Resident Director I maintained it. As an original director/choreographer, my favorite show was “Urinetown.” I love the story and message of it, as well as the very farcical playful way that it is written. I also love the opportunity as a choreographer, to create material that pays homage to (some say parodies) other classic musicals and their styles.

How did you come to get hired by Cirque?

I saw my first Cirque show, “NouvelleExperience,” on the Santa Monica Pier back in the early 1990’s and absolutely fell in love with it. The wild imagination that spawned the costumes, music, make-up, and Cirque environment, as well as the incredible acrobatics blew my mind. I thought that it was one of the most creative shows that I had ever seen, and thought to myself “I really want to work with this new company Cirque du Soleil.” At the time, I was still a performer but I had no acrobatic skills, so there wasn’t a place for me. Fast forward a few years to when I moved to Las Vegas with “The Lion King.” There I was surrounded by Cirque shows, and I went to see every one of them. My passion to work for Cirque was reignited. My job at “The Lion King,” was very similar to what I do for Cirque, and when “The Lion King,” eventually closed, I reached out to Cirque right away.

Your title is Artistic Director. What exactly does that entail?

I’m responsible for the artistic integrity of the show. My job is make sure that the show is as exciting, surprising, fresh, and looks as great as it did on the day that it opened. I’m also responsible to maintain the original director’s vision of the show. I do whatever is necessary to make sure that happens. I run rehearsals, work with the coaches in trainings, cast and integrate new artists, work with the Performance Medicine teams to keep the acrobats healthy and rehabilitate injuries, give notes on the shows to artists and the technical departments, add new acts or change existing ones, and coordinate with the PR teams to create events. I also do a lot of operations work from budgeting to scheduling, to casting, and long range planning for the show.

I’m not going to ask you what your favorite part of “OVO” is as I think that would be unfair, but is there a particular act that gets talked about more than the rest?

We have a few unique acts that come up a lot in conversation because they aren’t seen a lot of places, or because our particular take on them is different and special. We have a Chinese “foot juggling” act that most people haven’t ever seen before. It’s a team of 6 Chinese acrobat Ants who juggle various pieces of their “food” and then eventually each other…with their feet.

We have an act that is a combination of trampoline and a crazy huge climbing wall – the biggest of its kind. Since crickets can jump 300 times their body height, we have our crickets jumping, bouncing, and leaping all over the wall via the trampolines. Finally, we have a straps act where our two butterflies soar and dance at the top of the arena in what is the most beautiful and exciting love duet that I’ve ever seen. Audience members always comment about it.

What makes “OVO” special, and what should the South Florida audiences expect from “OVO”?

There are a number of things that make “OVO” unique. It is one of the most playful, colorful, positive, and energetic of Cirque’s shows. It also has a great Brazilian flavor – from its samba music to its characters, to its name (OVO is Portuguese for “egg.”) We also have some of the top circus artists in the world, working alongside Olympic gymnasts and world champion acrobats in some acts that are pretty unique. It’s not a Cirque show that you’ve ever seen before.

But I think what makes it the most special is its message. It’s a story of inclusion, and how a community of insects first reject a “Foreigner” insect because he is different from them. They don’t understand him or his ways and therefore they are threatened by him. Over the course of the story, they realize that they and the stranger are more alike than they are different, and they come to understand and eventually accept and even love him.

What I really love is that “OVO” is a wonderful representation of the culture and world of Cirque du Soleil itself. Inclusion is one of the greatest strengths at Cirque. Our production consists of a troupe of over 100 artists, technicians, and staff from 21 different countries working together as story tellers to amaze and delight audiences. We are a mix of many languages, skin colors, religions, and cultures – French, Russian, American, Ukranian, Brazilian, British…and many more. We work as a team without regard to politics or borders, and the trust between us has to be uncompromising. If we can all work together at the circus to do what we do, there is no reason why others around the world can’t do the same.

Tickets which start at $35 for adults (subject to change) and $25 for children. Senior, military, student discounts and family 4-packs are all available at cirquedusoleil.com/ovo.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/07/12/behind-the-scenes-cirque-du-soleils-ovo-comes-to-sunrise-miami/ from Hot Spots Magazine http://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2017/07/behind-scenes-cirque-du-soleils-ovo.html

[hotspotsmagazine]

Behind the Scenes: Cirque Du Soleil’s ‘OVO’ Comes to Sunrise & Miami

Cirque du Soleil will be performing in Florida in July 2017 with “OVO,” its newest touring show in arenas. The show will perform in Sunrise at the BB&T Center from July 13-July 23 and in Miami at the American Airlines Arena from July 28-30 as part of a global tour in arenas around North America.

Thrilling more than 5 million people worldwide since the show premiered in Montreal in 2009 as a Big Top show, “OVO” will embark on a new journey, performing the same captivating production, but now in arenas, giving more people the opportunity to enjoy a Cirque du Soleil show in their own town.

“OVO,” meaning “egg” in Portuguese, is a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement.

When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. It is love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye – and the feeling is mutual.

Cirque du Soleil has brought wonder and delight to more than 160 million spectators in more than 400 cities on six continents. Cirque du Soleil has close to 4,000 employees, including 1,300 performing artists from close to 50 different countries.

It was a pleasure to sit down with the Artistic Director of “OVO,” Tim Bennett, for this exclusive Hotspots interview:

What was your first job in a theater?

At 19 I was hired to do a dance show at Hershey Park in central PA. It’s a theme park adjacent to the chocolate factory. That was my first professional job.

When did you know entertainment would be your career?

I always did school plays growing up, but when I was in junior high school I started to feel the very strong urge to go into acting. The summer after I graduated from Junior High, I went to NYC (first time) and saw my first Broadway show – the original production of ‘Chicago.”  I was so impressed and inspired by it, that I decided there was nothing else that would fulfill me as much as working as an actor.

When you were acting, what was your favorite part(s)?

I’ve always loved farces – classic 5 door farces with fast paced action, mistaken identities, chases, slamming doors, bad puns, and girls in their underwear. There was a farce called “Scapino” that was a modern day telling of an old Moliere play. Jim Dale had done it on Broadway back in the 1970s. I had the opportunity to play the title role and had more fun with it than any other role that I’ve ever done.

You have also directed many shows, other than Cirque, which was your favorite(s)?

I have two – because they were very different jobs. The first is “The Lion King,” where I was the Resident Director of the Las Vegas company. I enjoyed working on “Lion King” more than any other show. I love the story and its universal message, the music, and the many styles of storytelling – from puppetry, shadow play, clowning, modern dance, praise poetry, and classic musical theatre. We also had a wonderful cast of Broadway veterans, who were amazing artists. Being able to work on that show was a real gift.

But I didn’t create “Lion King,” as Resident Director I maintained it. As an original director/choreographer, my favorite show was “Urinetown.” I love the story and message of it, as well as the very farcical playful way that it is written. I also love the opportunity as a choreographer, to create material that pays homage to (some say parodies) other classic musicals and their styles.

How did you come to get hired by Cirque?

I saw my first Cirque show, “NouvelleExperience,” on the Santa Monica Pier back in the early 1990’s and absolutely fell in love with it. The wild imagination that spawned the costumes, music, make-up, and Cirque environment, as well as the incredible acrobatics blew my mind. I thought that it was one of the most creative shows that I had ever seen, and thought to myself “I really want to work with this new company Cirque du Soleil.” At the time, I was still a performer but I had no acrobatic skills, so there wasn’t a place for me. Fast forward a few years to when I moved to Las Vegas with “The Lion King.” There I was surrounded by Cirque shows, and I went to see every one of them. My passion to work for Cirque was reignited. My job at “The Lion King,” was very similar to what I do for Cirque, and when “The Lion King,” eventually closed, I reached out to Cirque right away.

Your title is Artistic Director. What exactly does that entail?

I’m responsible for the artistic integrity of the show. My job is make sure that the show is as exciting, surprising, fresh, and looks as great as it did on the day that it opened. I’m also responsible to maintain the original director’s vision of the show. I do whatever is necessary to make sure that happens. I run rehearsals, work with the coaches in trainings, cast and integrate new artists, work with the Performance Medicine teams to keep the acrobats healthy and rehabilitate injuries, give notes on the shows to artists and the technical departments, add new acts or change existing ones, and coordinate with the PR teams to create events. I also do a lot of operations work from budgeting to scheduling, to casting, and long range planning for the show.

I’m not going to ask you what your favorite part of “OVO” is as I think that would be unfair, but is there a particular act that gets talked about more than the rest?

We have a few unique acts that come up a lot in conversation because they aren’t seen a lot of places, or because our particular take on them is different and special. We have a Chinese “foot juggling” act that most people haven’t ever seen before. It’s a team of 6 Chinese acrobat Ants who juggle various pieces of their “food” and then eventually each other…with their feet.

We have an act that is a combination of trampoline and a crazy huge climbing wall – the biggest of its kind. Since crickets can jump 300 times their body height, we have our crickets jumping, bouncing, and leaping all over the wall via the trampolines. Finally, we have a straps act where our two butterflies soar and dance at the top of the arena in what is the most beautiful and exciting love duet that I’ve ever seen. Audience members always comment about it.

What makes “OVO” special, and what should the South Florida audiences expect from “OVO”?

There are a number of things that make “OVO” unique. It is one of the most playful, colorful, positive, and energetic of Cirque’s shows. It also has a great Brazilian flavor – from its samba music to its characters, to its name (OVO is Portuguese for “egg.”) We also have some of the top circus artists in the world, working alongside Olympic gymnasts and world champion acrobats in some acts that are pretty unique. It’s not a Cirque show that you’ve ever seen before.

But I think what makes it the most special is its message. It’s a story of inclusion, and how a community of insects first reject a “Foreigner” insect because he is different from them. They don’t understand him or his ways and therefore they are threatened by him. Over the course of the story, they realize that they and the stranger are more alike than they are different, and they come to understand and eventually accept and even love him.

What I really love is that “OVO” is a wonderful representation of the culture and world of Cirque du Soleil itself. Inclusion is one of the greatest strengths at Cirque. Our production consists of a troupe of over 100 artists, technicians, and staff from 21 different countries working together as story tellers to amaze and delight audiences. We are a mix of many languages, skin colors, religions, and cultures – French, Russian, American, Ukranian, Brazilian, British…and many more. We work as a team without regard to politics or borders, and the trust between us has to be uncompromising. If we can all work together at the circus to do what we do, there is no reason why others around the world can’t do the same.

Tickets which start at $35 for adults (subject to change) and $25 for children. Senior, military, student discounts and family 4-packs are all available at cirquedusoleil.com/ovo.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/07/12/behind-the-scenes-cirque-du-soleils-ovo-comes-to-sunrise-miami/

[londontheatre]

Urinetown Trinity Laban Musical Theatre students

From the moment the curtain raised, there was a first class execution of performance skills from all cast members, which was pleasing to see and I am sure director Michael Howcroft will be extremely proud of the young people and their talents.

The musical theatre degree course at Laban has only been running for a handful of years, but that doesn’t show at all in this weird, satirical, yet polished production of Urinetown.

However, not knowing the musical Urinetown by playwright Greg Kotis, which first premiered on Broadway in 2001. I entered Stratford Circus Arts Centre, with eyes wide open.

The show itself, the material, (mainly the score) is hugely vast in style moving from jazz, swing, soul, and so on to create a mash-up that for me, just didn’t quite work and although the audience, made up of parents of students and who I assumed were Trinity Laban students, were very (and sometimes overly) reactive and seemed to enjoy being in Urinetown.

On a side note, the audience were whispering, talking and at one point I saw a mobile phone being used. There were no ushers to be seen in the auditorium throughout the performance which is curious given that theatre etiquette is in the news regularly now. This is not a reflection on the musical but was hugely distracting.

The melodramatic acting style was in keeping with the outrageous storylines and songs such as ‘Cop Song’, ‘Mr. Caldwell’, and Act 1 Finale ‘Don’t be a Bunny’. ‘Cop Song’ was reminiscent of the musical ‘Spamalot’ – another musical I sadly didn’t gel with.

If the idea of this musical is to make fun and parody other musicals, then it sadly didn’t. Perhaps this sits with the directorial choices or possibly it just wasn’t clear enough within the libretto. This led to a very confusing, conflicting set of ideas that was presented.

With regard to the students, they really must pride themselves with their vocals, which were strong from all, with stand-out vocal performances from Molly Osborne as ‘Hope’ a star in the making and ‘Little Sally’ played by Danielle Whittaker who’s characterisation was fantastic.

Musical Director, Verity Quade has clearly worked hard in honing the vocals, harmonies and sound of both the cast and the band. The band, made up of 5 members (including Quade) was on stage at all times, I just wish I could have seen more of them as a curtain was pulled around them for most of the show. I understand this could have been distracting as an audience member but could have been made a much larger part of the set, seeing how they are on stage for the whole performance.

One must not forget, whilst writing, that this is a 2nd-year musical theatre public performance, which truly showcased the hard work, dedication, skills, techniques, and abilities of the students. I am sure over the course of the next year the students will grow and improve massively, ready for the hugely competitive world of musical theatre.

I am really pleased that Trinity Laban are using public platforms such as Stratford Circus to raise the profile of the musical theatre side of the institution and they are doing a superb job at nurturing the talent of the future. Perhaps next time, choose a different musical.

Review by Benjamin Wainwright

What happens when a twenty-year drought makes public hygiene a major issue? Urinetown received rave reviews in the West End in 2014, and this summer, Trinity Laban Musical Theatre second year students bring it back to the stage. A brilliant satire, Director Michael Howcroft and Musical Director Verity Quade bring this ‘anti-musical’ to life, which is fast, funny and full of great songs.

Listings Information Urinetown Thurs 15 June – Sat 17 June 2017 Stratford Circus Arts Centre, E15 1BX http://ift.tt/zasVV1

Made In Dagenham Fri 23 June – Sun 25 June 2017 Stratford Circus Arts Centre, E15 1BX http://ift.tt/zasVV1

http://ift.tt/2sE1k2w LondonTheatre1.com

[northeastern-alexishester]

Hi there! I'm the anon from Christine's blog, and I'd love to know a little more about the productions on campus. Are there a lot of performance opportunities throughout the year? Is it mostly plays or is it a combination of plays and musicals? Are there a lot of theatre student groups and if so how do they work/how do you get involved? What do you think of the facilities and production quality? Finally, how do you like living in Boston? Thank you so much for the help!

Hey anon, glad you reached out! I was super excited to see your question on her blog. I don’t get to talk about theater nearly as much as I’d like! (Warning, this is going to be hecka long)

We have a ton of musical opportunities on campus, both through the theatre department and outside of it. There are a few main groups that do performances every semester. The theater department itself does a few shows a semester; some are musicals and some are plays, but they’re all fantastic. This semester, I think they’re doing Hair and a play that I can’t think of. Anyone can audition for these, not just people who have majors/minors within the theater department. NUStage is an entirely student-run organization that does a musical and a revue every semester, plus a few other smaller performances through the year; in the past, they’ve done Legally Blonde, Catch Me if You Can, and Urinetown. Acting Out, the group that I’ve been most involved with, does plays that have social relevance; we do a published play in the fall (my freshman year for example we did Lysistrata) and a student-written play in the spring. Finally, we have NU Shakespeare Society, which (of course) does a Shakespeare play ever semester. Outside of theater, we have choruses and a crazy number of really fantastic acapella groups (our Nor’easters won the ICCA last year!) 

My best suggestion for getting involved is to go to the Activity Fair at your summer orientation session, as well as the Activity Fair in the first week of school. Most of the theater groups should be there, and you can ask them about auditions. All of the groups are really connected and supportive of each other, and so once you’ve found one, they’ll help you figure out when the auditions for all of the groups are. Groups also tend to get together to see the other groups’ shows, and it’s really nice to be part of such a supportive community!

I’ve found the quality of the shows to be pretty good, especially the Theater department shows. They do their shows in a lovely blackbox theater and change the layout to fit every show beautifully (my favorite was when they did Spelling Bee and it was literally a high school gym, it was adorable). I honestly have been too busy recently to be in or even see any shows, so I don’t know what they’ve done recently, but I’ve loved everything I’ve seen in the past! 

In terms of living in Boston, I absolutely LOVE it. I’m not a city person, so I was very surprised by that fact. But it’s a wonderful city with so many opportunities and things to do. We have many different forms of theater and other arts, from the Broadway touring series to the Boston Ballet to the Boston Pops orchestra, which is literally down the street from campus. All of these theaters have student deals and there are often campus events that bring students to shows. Plus, there are so many smaller theaters in the area - my personal favorite is the American Reperatory Theater in Cambridge, which had the out of town tryouts for Finding Neverland (which I literally saw four times), Great Comet, and Waitress. And it’s a very easy trip to New York if you want to see shows there. Basically, Boston is an excellent place for a theater kid to be!

That was long so I’m gonna cut myself off now. But let me know if you have any other questions!

[ismael37olson]

I've Been a Sinner, I've Been a Scamp

A lot of musical theatre fans love Anything Goes, but consider it a guilty pleasure, the artsy equivalent of Mississippi mud cake, just a mindless, old-fashioned musical comedy confection. They register great surprise when I describe it as a sharp satire. But it is. Musical comedy had dealt in gentle social satire since the beginning, but Anything Goes was the first successful Broadway musical comedy to build its story on two parallel threads of fierce, pointed satire. This time the plot came out of the satirical agenda, rather than the satire being just a fun side joke. I've written a lot about the neo musical comedy, which emerged in the 1990s as one of the dominant musical theatre forms. A neo musical comedy involves the devices and conventions -- and usually the full-out joy -- of old-fashioned musical comedy, but with a more socio-political, more ironic, and often more subversive point of view. Think of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Bat Boy, Urinetown, Heathers, Something Rotten, The Scottsboro Boys, Cry-Baby; but there were a few examples even earlier, like Little Shop of Horrors in 1982, The Cradle Will Rock in 1937, and really, The Threepenny Opera in 1928. And arguably, Anything Goes in 1934. Anything Goes was a dead-on satirical chronicle of That Moment... which also happen to be This Moment. Maybe we're just too used to Anything Goes at this point, to see it as it once was. But this is a show that includes a mock religious hymn to a (supposed) murderer, skeet shooting with a machine gun, a love song that mentions snorting coke, and a parody religious revival meeting featuring a song with a slyly sexual hook line. If you doubt the double entendre of "Blow Gabriel, Blow," this is the same songwriter who wrote in the title song, "If love affairs you like with young bears you like..." That meant then what it means today. And notice in the scene leading up to the song, most of the confessions are sexual. Reno is presented as an explicitly sexual presence from the beginning, so her spot as lead singer / evangelist, and with her randy angels as back-up, it's hard not to read the song as sexual double entendre.

In comic counterpoint to that, the language of the "Blow, Gabriel" lyric is Religious Symbolism as a Second Language. This is an amateur, or more to the point, a religious outsider, leading this revival meeting -- with the help of the fake-minister "Dr. Moon." It's obvious neither of them are really believers, and that doesn't seem to bother the crowd a bit. And by the way, why do we want Gabriel to blow his horn? The Bible says that "an archangel with the trumpet of God" will announce the Second Coming, and people have assumed that's Gabriel, particularly since Milton made that connection in Paradise Lost. During the Depression, many American believed that they were living through the "great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be." (Matthew 24:21) So riffing on that, Reno and her angels (I think we're supposed to assume this is one of their regular numbers) pray for the archangel to signal the end of the tribulations (Prohibition, the Depression) and announce with his trumpet the coming of Christ. Reno assures Gabriel she's ready to "trim [her] lamp," a Bible metaphor meaning she'll work at and maintain her faith (to keep oil lamps burning brightly and consistently, you have to trim the wick back), that she's mended her ways (we can only guess what those ways included), that now, "I'm good by day and I'm good by night." Of course, that line assumes that Reno hasn't always been "good by night." But these "sinners" aren't asking for forgiveness or anything; they just want to "play all day in the Promised Land." It's a remarkably crass take on the Book of Revelation's thousand years of peace and righteousness. And all this to jazz music, until recently considered the devil's music... In one section, they all chant:

Satan, you stay away from me, 'Cause you ain't the man I wanna see! I'm gonna be good as the day I was born, 'Cause I heard that man with the horn! Do ya hear it?

Once you really pay attention to this lyric, you realize this section is all about the End Times. They want to be good, because Jesus and Judgment Day are coming soon! One of the more subtle jokes in the show is in this song, when the women take the melody and the men sing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" in counterpart, also a song about angels taking "me" to heaven. Since this is the male passengers and crew singing this counter-melody, are we to read that as spontaneous, that religious fervor is taking them over? Since this is always a big, involved, full-company, Broadway musical comedy dance number, it lays on top of our fake revival meeting an even more cynical layer of comment -- religion really is show business. But there's even more swimming around in Anything Goes. When the show opened in late 1934, Prohibition had ended just a year earlier, but the Depression rolled on, and the Dust Bowl kept destroying lives. The FBI was at the height of its notoriety, but the public loved some of the gangsters on the FBI's Most Wanted list (which is the whole point of "Public Enemy Number One"). Importantly, the FBI -- standing in for law and order in general -- is not on board the S.S. American. In fact, they arrest the wrong guy at the beginning of the show, and leave the ship! They're not up to the job. They can't/won't protect us. Was this a comment on how hard it was for law enforcement to catch America's celebrity criminals, John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Bonnie & Clyde, et al.?

Here on the S.S. American, we are in Shakespeare's metaphorical woods, away from laws and civilization, where two things will happen. First, love will get "fixed" as our characters de-couple from the wrong partners and re-couple with the right partners. Second, with lots of liquor and very little "law," these passengers are free to act on their impulses, to chase after various forms of vice, to be their "natural" selves. And notice that the ship is called the "American" -- this place of no rules and no law is 1930s America, where (until a year earlier) lots of Americans broke the law by drinking alcohol. When that many Americans broke the law, when they stopped believing in the institutions that failed them, America became functionally lawless. By calling the ship the S.S. American, the show's writers were underlining their social commentary. As a comic microcosm of our country, these passengers showcase the worst of the American inclination to make celebrities out of criminals and show biz out of religion, an inclination as prevalent today as it was in the thirties. But the satiric aim is more pointed than just those two overarching themes. So what else does Anything Goes satirize? A lot. Even though economists will tell you the 1929 stock market crash did not "cause" the Depression, it was still the starting pistol, and most people in 1934 believed rich Wall Street types were to blame. Notice that in Anything Goes we have two representatives of Wall Street -- the drunken, horny, nearly blind Mr. Whitney, and the shit-disturbing rogue Billy Crocker. The name Crocker comes from the French for "heartbreak." In this story Wall Street is decidedly undependable.

Richard Whitney had been the very famous president of the New York Stock Exchange and during the 1930s, he was famed for steering his clients through the treacherous waters of the Depression. But his success was a scam of the proportions of Enron and Bernie Madoff, and he was finally caught in 1938 when his firm collapsed. Still, as audiences watched Anything Goes in 1934, Whitney was the hero of the rich, so naming Billy's boss Whitney -- and making him a drunk -- was a pretty subversive reference. According to Wikipedia:

On October 24, 1929, Black Thursday, Whitney attempted to avert the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Alarmed by rapidly falling stock prices, several leading Wall Street bankers met to find a solution to the panic and chaos on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The meeting included Thomas W. Lamont, acting head of Morgan Bank; Albert Wiggin, head of the Chase National Bank; and Charles E. Mitchell, president of the National City Bank of New York. They chose Whitney, then vice president of the Exchange, to act on their behalf.  With the bankers' financial resources behind him, Whitney went onto the floor of the Exchange and ostentatiously placed a bid to purchase a large block of shares in U.S. Steel at a price well above the current market. As traders watched, Whitney then placed similar bids on other "blue chip" stocks. This tactic was similar to a tactic that had ended the Panic of 1907, and succeeded in halting the slide that day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered with a slight increase, closing with it down only 6.38 points for that day. In this case, however, the respite was only temporary; stocks subsequently collapsed catastrophically on Black Tuesday, October 29. Whitney's actions gained him the sobriquet, "White Knight of Wall Street."

It is a little weird that Mr. Whitney's first name is Elijah, coincidentally (?) named after the nineteenth-century inventor and arms manufacturer... The Harcourts (and Mrs. Wentworth, in the '34 version) stand in for America's "cafe society," the 1% of 1934. In the original version of the show, the Harcourts' family business was in serious trouble and needed saving, which was the reason for the arranged marriage. Is it any wonder Billy and Hope both would like to escape this culture? According to an article on the PBS website:

The Great Depression was partly caused by the great inequality between the rich who accounted for a third of all wealth and the poor who had no savings at all. As the economy worsened many lost their fortunes, and some members of high society were forced to curb their extravagant lifestyles. But for others the Depression was simply an inconvenience especially in New York where the city’s glamorous venues – places to see and be seen – such as El Morocco and The Stork Club were heaving with celebrities, socialites and aristocrats. For the vast majority the 1930s was a time of misery. But for many American dynastic families, parties helped to escape the reality on the street and the grander the better.

Parties and trans-Atlantic cruises. Many stories of the Great Depression show us the shattered and disenfranchised turning to religion in their time of need. But church attendance grew during the Depression only about five percent. Notably, no one aboard the S.S. American in Anything Goes has that spiritual need, and so for these people religion becomes show business, entertainment, the latest fad. Though the content of "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" is basically reverent, the song's rowdy, fast, jazz music quickly and comically short-circuits any hint of real religion fervor. This is religion as party. The only genuine symbol of religion we see in the show is the comically clueless Bishop Dobson, who's banished from this community (i.e.,mistakenly arrested) before the ship even sets sail; and all we're left with is the fake religion of fake-minister "Dr." Moon, and the gambling "Christian converts." Genuine religion (and conventional morality), the Baptist tent revivals and religious radio shows of the 1930s, are all missing from this place. Here there is no moral control -- it's Shakespeare's woods. In the 1930s, the 1960s, and also today, Dark Times bring forth the most pointed satire. Anything Goes opened halfway through the Depression, which also begat brilliant satires like Of Thee I Sing, Let 'Em Eat Cake, and The Cradle Will Rock.. The 1962 revival opened at the start of one of the most divided, angry decades in American history. The 1987 revival opened on the infamous Black Monday, the day the stock market crashed again. None of the show's targets feel dated, because we're struggling with all the same things now. Still today, religion is often repackaged as slick, high-budget show biz. When America's evangelicals strongly support the womanizing vulgarian and sexual predator Donald Trump, religion in America is on life support. And still today, we make celebrities out of criminals, and depending where the various investigations lead, Trump may be the best illustration of that too. Cole Porter's songs have all the bite, the sophistication, and the smartass humor of Ira Gershwin and Yip Harburg, but Porter's songs often bite a little harder, his lyrics closer to how people talk, instead of always just building toward a funny rhyme. Like those of the great George M. Cohan, Porter's lyrics sound like they could actually come out of the mouths of the characters. If his songs can often be transplanted from one show to another, that's only because many of his shows were about the same kind of people -- smartass, subversive, sexual, clever, ironic, complicated, and contradictory. Just think for a second about all the characters in Anything Goes that have contradictory impulses. Porter wrote both in contemporary slang and in genuinely elevated, powerfully poetic language when the moment called for it. His songs can be emotionally shattering and they can be icily cynical, about the most intimate insecurities or the most macro satire. Porter and his co-writers were writing old-school musical comedy, but they were also chronicling our times -- then and now -- most insightfully. It's so much fun working on this rich, crazy material. Long Live the Musical! Scott from The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre http://newlinetheatre.blogspot.com/2018/01/ive-been-sinner-ive-been-scamp.html