SEPTEMBER 1997 ----------------------------In this issue------------------------------------------ Voices in Contemporary Theatre: "Voices of the Season" The Play's the Thing: The Biographical Play Enter Laughing: Feeling Peevish? CyberTheatre Monthly: The Ultimate Broadway Midi Site Rubin's Corner: Goodbye to the Old Vic Trivia, Norman's Theatre & News ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Voices in Contemporary Theatre With a brand new Theatre Season kicking off, it's time, instead of concentrating on a single voice - to listen to the delightful, ludicrous, insightful, trite, irritating, inspired harmonies they can create when blended together: "A Few Helpful Notes for the Playwright: Allow me to offer my credentials. I am a professor of ancient languages (Emeritus), and as such do not often attend contemporary theater, which is no match for, let us say, Sophocles.... You should understand that such negligence will put you in bad odor with the more demanding theater-goers of serious taste, among whom I count myself. No one would tolerate a shoddy "Antigone"! " --an audience member at Cynthia Ozick's The Shawl, off-Broadway "You get to a point sometimes where you think you know everything. And you begin to feel a little smug--that's dangerous. So, suddenly this show presented itself and I'm waking up at 3:00 in the morning with my eyes wide open, singing and worrying. I haven't done that since I was a kid, but it's a great feeling. And I'm onstage with some real meat eaters! We're not playing games--these people really sing" --F. Murray Abraham in rehearsal for Triumph of Love "It is self evident that many of the beneficiaries of NEA grants are contemptuous of traditional moral standards... phony, self-appointed artists who insist on using the American taxpayers' money to finance anything they want to drag up from the sewer and declare to be art." --Senator Jesse Helms, debate to dismantle the National Endowment for the Arts " There is a personal connection in theatre. There is a personal enlightening that we will always want to share and be a part of. And there is a life in theatre, in that it is live, it is real, it is people you and me and them and when we gather for that show we come in alone and leave with a piece of every actor who moved us and every audience memeber who cried and laughed with us." --Leila, MSN Theatre Forum Bulletin Board "Today's audiences are very sophisticated - you can't get much by them. So you need to start with something that is quite profound psychologically and add those rich layers of art design - it's is a layering effect - what the audience finally experiences is a theatre-art piece. " Franz Harary, Illusionist for Ragtime " Two of the shows I helped originate are already in revival (1776 & Promises Promises), so I guess that I am considered the senior musical theatre lady of this group... I say (to the cast) "You guys have to listen to me. I am the oldest!" --Betty Buckley, in rehearal for Triumph of Love "We can't wait for other people to do our work for us. Either we're going we're going to do it, or we're going to sell shoes." --Goodspeed Musicals' Michael Price, on the return to plays based on life rather than movies "I just feel like a bird being let out, I feel that it is time to risk it all" --Lucy Lawless on her Broadway debut in Grease! Trevor Nunn's first production as the National's director is as bustling and busy as any of the mega-musicals he has staged.--Benedict Nightingale's review of "An Enemy of the People" "I had a lousy night's sleep, often a symptom of the proximity of great art. " --Teller, of the Magician Team Penn & Teller "I like that part a lot, being able to write in lots of different voices, lots of different styles. You have to remember that I cut my teeth writing dialogue back when I was writing plays and getting them produced. I love theater, love plays, and love really well done or rich dialogue. So it echoes that now...which as you say isn't necessarily the style of dialogue seen on most television (which is why a few react weirdly to it), but I like it, and it's my show.... " -- J. Michael Straczynski, of the television series Babylon 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Play's the Thing The Biographical Play The world of theatre has many types of plays for an audience to enjoy. There are musicals for those who love pageantry and sound. There are comedies for those nights that laughter should be the best medicine. There are serious dramas for a three-tissue night at the theatre. For those in the mood to look back over the lives of individuals who have made lasting marks on our history and society there is nothing better than a biographical play. We love to know about the lives of famous people. If watching a play makes the audience think they are peeking into a private world on the stage, then peeking into the life of a real person is even better. We have a voyeuristic need to see into this private world to better understand those who have been given the position of social icons in our society. As the tabloid ad has said for years, "Enquiring Minds Want To Know." The actor, portraying the real life author, actor, musician or politician, can sweep the audience up and take them on a journey through time. Over the course of two hours the audience may discover things about the person that they never knew. With the actor at the helm, guiding the experience, the audience can start to believe that the real-life character has been resurrected for that brief time on stage. Interaction between history and the present time occurs. Biographical plays can be a sweet and sour experience for the performer playing a well-known person. Obvious comparisons as to appearance are drawn. You can hear the audience whispering, "He looks nothing like Harry Truman," or "The resemblance to Lillian Hellman is remarkable." If the actor misses the mark on vocal patterns that might be familiar about the historical figure, the audience might become restless since their expectations have not been met. For example, the world knows the breathy voice of Marilyn Monroe. If an actress were to try and play Marilyn without the characteristic sound of her voice, the audience would not accept the performance as authentic. Two years ago I saw a production of Always, Pasty Cline. The actress portraying Pasty had obviously studied her walk, mannerisms and most noticeable, Patsy's haunting singing voice. I believed that Patsy Cline had walked onto the stage and that I was finally seeing the legend of country music live. The need for believability on the stage when playing a real person means a lot of work for the actor. If film footage or recordings of the person are available, the actor has a useful tool to fill out the external representations of the character played. If the person lived before the age of recordings, the actor has to depend of historical accounts of the specific details of a person. Sometimes the information is nothing more than knowing Richard III had a hunched back, or that Julius Caesar was subject to epileptic seizures. Many times paintings provide guides to external details of the subject played. The same level of believability is necessary throughout the play. Music, sets and costumes can be employed to designate a historical time that the person lived in. A dramaturg can be quite useful in these situations, acting as the research arm of the production. The dramaturg can assist the actors, director and designers in finding out the accurate information regarding the specific times and specific qualities of a particular person from the past. The attention to these details will heighten the experience for the audience and pull them into the historical world that surrounds the biographical figure on stage. Plays are filled with historic figures. Shakespeare wrote many of his plays about the famous figures of history. Plays from Anthony and Cleopatra to Henry V were filled with the deeds of these characters, even if the content was fictionalized somewhat for the stage. There are musicals that contain biographical portraits, such as 1776, and even the recent Titanic. One of the most interesting forms of biographical plays are the one-actor shows. The audience is invited into the private world of one individual and becomes the extra characters in the play. The actor deals with the audience directly and will at times include the members of the audience in conversations. Though performing a one-actor play can be difficult for the actor, the reward of personally touching an audience and being their only conduit to experiencing the life of a famous person is worth all the effort. The playwright William Luce seems to have made a career of the one-actor show. Luce specializes in biographical plays and is probably among the best playwrights to handle historic characters. His plays range from the haunting portrait of Emily Dickinson in The Belle of Amherst up to the recent Barrymore (which is actually a two-character play). His has written about the lives of Zelda Fitzgerald, Izak Dineson, Caruso, Lillian Hellman (which was done at the request and full assistance of Miss Hellman before her death) and Charlotte Bronte. Julie Harris, who won the 1977 Tony for her portrayal of Emily Dickinson in The Belle of Amherst, has appeared in many of Luce's other plays. One of the other benefits of the biographical play is in the reading of the play itself. These plays are like reading a biography of the person but in a small, condensed form. From the play the reader can pick up on the highlights of a person's life. The play might contain just enough information to make the reader want more. Sometimes it might contain information that makes you think it is historically correct but might also be the invention of the playwright. A good example of this is, oddly enough, in William Luce's play, The Belle of Amherst. In the play Emily Dickinson describes a cake she used to make. While researching internet sites for this article I found the excerpt from the play, with the recipe. Apparently many Dickinson fans are trying to establish whether this cake is historical fact or fiction. They are digging into the life of Miss Dickinson to find out. What a better way to learn about a biographical figure than with a verification scavenger hunt for facts! Biographies are hot properties at the moment. The cable channel A & E has a popular series called Biography that plays daily. People always want to know more about those that have made lasting impressions on their lives. They want to reach out and touch those memories. They want to make contact with those who have gone before us. Why not spend two hours in a stage and experience a bit of that life as close to being real as it can get? Internet Sites with Information on Biographical Plays Herald Sun 12 September 1994 - Amadeus, the play Three women to tell inspiring story of 19th-century female composer Theatre Mirror Reviews - Barrymore Belle of Amherst Black Cake Recipe Driftwood--February 28 1997--Lillian Is That Really You TDI Broadway Aisle Say Home Page A brief list of biographical plays that might interest readers: The Belle of Amherst by William Luce Based on the life of Emily Dickinson, the play explores her life from 15 to her death as a recluse at 56. Julie Harris won the 1977 Tony for the role. Bravo, Caruso! by William Luce The play takes you backstage in 1920 to Enrico Caruso's dressing room where his valet Mario helps him prepare for what will be his last night on stage. Bronte by William Luce One woman show. Again Julie Harris plays Charlotte Bronte, author of Jane Eyre. Bully by Jerome Alden The life of Theodore Roosevelt is revealed from his emotional reaction to his oldest son's death to his own battlefield exploits and physical fitness craze. Clarence Darrow by David Rintels The famous attorney reminiscing over his career also comments on much of America's legal history with a wry sense of humor. Confessions of a Nightingale by Charlotte Chandler and Ray Stricklyn During the course of an interview, an unheard reporter asks questions of Tennessee Williams who responds to the audience as though they are asking the questions. Give 'Em Hell, Harry! by Carl Eugene Bolte The Truman White House Years and the women in Truman's life are recreated on stage. The Last Flapper by William Luce Based on her letters, the play details the life of F. Scott's Fitzgerald's wife Zelda. It is set in an asylum on the last day of Zelda's life. Lillian by William Luce As her lover Dashiell Hammet lies dying in a hospital room, Lillian Hellman recalls her life with the writer and memories of her childhood. A Lovely Light by Dorothy Stickney A biographical dramatization of the poems and letters of Edna St. Vincent Millay. Lucifer's Child by William Luce One woman show. Julie Harris starred on Broadway as Baroness Karen Blixen, who wrote Out of Africa under the pen name Izak Dineson. The Baroness tells the story of her marriage and life in Africa with the Baron, whose unfaithfulness and syphilis the Baroness was forced to deal with. The Novelist by Howard Fast During the last year of her life Jane Austen is courted by a retired navy captain who has read all her books and thinks her a kindred spirit. --- Caprice Woosley is currently pursuing her BFA in theater (directing and playwriting), after 25 years working in and around the theater. She is a produced playwright, 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Enter Laughing: Feeling Peevish? We all have our "Pet Peeves" and when it comes to going to the theatre, I have quite a few it would seem. What better forum than this to air them out in public? Please forgive my presumptuousness in thinking that you'd be interested in hearing about them. But hey, it's my column, and there's the rub. However ,I think you'll find that my pet peeves annoy you just as much. Together we must bond and defeat the evil surrounding us.... Pet Peeve #1: Ticket prices! The phrase "do whatever you can to see this show, sell your house if you must" used to be said tongue in cheek. Now it's almost a prerequisite. God forbid I should actually live in New York. Being so addicted to the theater as I am, I'm afraid I'd be reduced to selling my body on 42nd Street just to be able to see a show. And if you've ever seen me, you'd know where that would get me. - Maybe some freebee Shakespeare in the Park. Pet Peeve #2: Candy wrappers. Something has GOT to be done about them. Sure, I've contemplated suggesting that all customers be bound and handcuffed on entering the theatre to prevent hands from wandering into purses or pockets for that odd piece of candy whose wrapper is not just stuck but actually embedded in it. I've also thought about suggesting that candywrapper-fumblers be brought up on stage and asked to explain why they did not bring enough to share with everyone. But, out of the kindness of my heart, I simply stare at the culprits and fume silently: pretend the wrapper is edible and pop the whole damn thing in your mouth and END IT. Those of you who play the slow-motion unwrapper, or who tear your candy wrappers during bursts of laughter or applause: you're not fooling anyone. We hear you. Oh do we hear you. And we thik unkind thoughts about you! We picture you slowly sticking that candy into your mouth and just as your tongue touches the sweet sugar surface of the candy, your head explodes. Surely you can wait two hours before sticking something in your mouth that has been crusting at the bottom of your purse for two years. Pet Peeve #3 Armchair critics. I was strolling around the lobby during the intermission of Ragtime, when an older man remarked to no one in particular "Is it just me or is this show kinda not about anything" Hel-lo? Since when do shows have to be ABOUT something to be good? Quick, what was A Chorus Line "about" ? Anyone who said "About 2 1/2 hours" can now leave this column and logoff. Some folks don't get it. Like the guy during the intermission of King Lear who honestly said: "This is boring, what show are we seeing?" Apparently Sleeping Beauty forgot to bring his copy of the Cliffs Notes for this production. If I were King, I'd require that anyone who wanted to make silly comments about a show during or after a performance must be certified and licensed in critical analysis. Final Pet Peeve: Armchair Singers. I sat next to a woman at Rent who sang along with every song - and not very well, I might add. When I remarked at intermission that, while she did have a lovely voice, I'd appreciate hearing the version of the actors on stage, she reacted as if I'd torn off her lips. For the remainder of the show, she mouthed the words, bopping along with the beat. I felt as if I was watchign the show with Helen Keller. SO much for the kindness of strangers. After the shows finale, I stood up, turned to her and applauded, yelling "Brava" until she squirmed away. Well that's abou tit. I'd be interested i nknowing your Theater Pet Peeves if they have not been listed here. E-mail me at dog_lover@msn.com and I'll make a list. Wayne Disher: Born and raised on the beaches of California in Santa Cruz, lived a 'white trash' childhood. Miraculously, developed a passion for culture and attended UCLA in hopes of becoming the next Barrymore. I settled on a degree in English. Later I obtained a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University, and now serve the public as 'Super-Librarian' for the City of San Jose. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CyberTheatre Monthly The Ultimate Broadway Midi Site No one is ever going to give The Ultimate Broadway Midi Site a design award - visually its a bit of an aesthetic garage sale. Doesn't matter a bit because no one is here to admire the wall paper. What the Broadway Midi Site contains is, as you may have deduced from the title, a collection of midi files of Broadway Showtunes, A very thorough collection ranging from Chicago to Cats to Rent to Guys and Dolls to...you get the idea. That would be enough for a mention in this column by itself, but you can also order CDs there from Music Boulevard - not quite as ecclectic an inventory as Footlight, but perfectly adequate for most titles. Have an idea for CyberTheatre Monthly? Send your suggestions to Theatre_msn@msn.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rubin's Corner Goodbye to the Old Vic The Old Vic Theatre, in London's South End, under its various names has a continuous history of 175 years. Since 1993 Ed and David Mirvish have directed the Old Vic, first as a short run theatre and from 1987 to 1990 under Jonathan Miller's guidance. These years included some outstanding performances, Eric Porter as King Lear; Fiona Shaw as Rosalind; Glenda Jackson as Phedra; and several fine display of musical theatre (Kiss Me Kate, Candide and Carmen Jones). In June of 1996, the Peter Hall Company took over the production responsibility. Hall has worked many times on Broadway, winning Tony Awards for The Homecoming and Amadeus. Tears will be shed for the departure of the Peter Hall Company from the Old Vic on December 6, 1997 even if nobody, least of all Hall can be very surprised. The historic theatre is now up for sale with a 10 million price tag. At the beginning the Canadian entrepreneur, David Mirvish sank 11 million dollars into the deal and Hall was told them if he lost, that he would be thrown out. Clearly, he has lost a great deal more, and right from the beginning it was reported from Canada that Mirvish was feeling that the project was getting out of control. He was not the only producer that was unable to control Hall. Did Mirvish have plans to sell the theater, even before Hall had a chance to work his magic? Hall says, "this theater was unfamiliar to most people under 35 years of age, was part of the problem of selling tickets". Undoubtedly, the company has made a huge contribution to London theatre this summer. There has been a real pleasure in seeing the same people in different plays, and there have been some tremendous successes from the opening night production of Waste to the recent Waiting for Godot. The failure of the Old Vic, under Hall, has caused the end of the National Theatre Studio next door. This site, which was donated by Mirvish for free, allowed talented young writers and directors to try out their craft. Only the National Lottery could save the Studio Theatre. There are still a number of repertory companies, such as the Royal Court, trying to do the best dramas and new plays in their theater. However, the failure of the Peter Hall Company at The Old Vic is a failure that can be heard around the world. Mirvish is no longer interest in a repertory for Canada or the United States. We have always dreamed of an American National Theatre Company. After watching this experiment, what producer would like to try a repertory company. It could be years before producers a ready to assemble a company to work in new and old plays. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1997, Mersinger Theatrical Services