I'm Gonna Change the World

Though most of the people who love Return to the Forbidden Planet (and there are tons of them!) might think I'm crazy, I see real depth and substance in this show, underneath all the wackiness and wah-ooo's. The same is true of Bat Boy, Rocky Horror, Urinetown, and many of the crazier shows we've produced.

At the center of this tale is the biggest of all moral questions: should we restrict or block science, even when it crosses into moral gray area? It's a question that's also at the center of American moral debate right now.

In the musical, Dr. Prospero’s discovery of telegenesis (you'll have to see the show to find out exacty what that is) seems to him a great step forward for humankind, an expansion and extension of human consciousness greater than any that has come before. But he doesn’t foresee the inherent downside, that he would greatly intensify the mind’s power without also greatly increasing the mind’s ability to control itself.

In almost any endeavor, increasing power without increasing control usually leads to disaster. It’s a problem we keep bumping up against repeatedly as we evolve. But it's even worse when it comes to the Wild West of the human mind. Consider that old joke, “Don’t think about a pink elephant.” It’s nearly impossible to do because the mind is hard to consciously control. Strangely enough, that's at the center of the story of this show.

Consider this: Decades ago, we discovered nuclear power, but we still can’t control or contain it. The world’s greatest fear today is that Iran or North Korea or, worse yet, a band of rebel terrorists, will get hold of a nuclear bomb and use it. We increased our power without sufficient control over it.

We invented the internet, wildly expanding the reach of human consciousness, but with it came online predators, the loss of privacy, and the erosion of copyright laws through viral videos and file sharing. Again, we increased our power but not our control (although some believe, myself included, that the internet should not ever be controlled).

And two of our newest technologies, gene mapping and embryonic stem cell research already scare people who foresee human cloning and “designer babies.” Imagine how terrified they'd be if someone actually discovered telegenesis. This is the real issue at the heart of Return to the Forbidden Planet, and it’s why this story remains so fascinating. Dr. Prospero believes that Knowledge is Good, but he forgets that Knowledge is often Dangerous too.

Futuristic food for thought.

Long Live the Musical!
Scott

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

Pardon me while I gush...

I LOVE THIS SHOW!

Now I understand why there is this international cult following around Return to the Forbidden Planet. We ran Act I tonight and it is so fucking crazy! It's funny, it's intelligent, it's just smart-ass enough, it's really well-constructed, and it's one of the highest energy shows I've ever worked on. And when I say that, you have to keep in mind that I've worked on some really high-energy shows. But this is one of those that will leave the cast huffing and puffing at intermission. Especially the smokers.

As I watched it tonight I realized that I just can not imagine anyone not having a blast watching this show. And despite the sometimes dense Shakespearean language, it's so easy to follow the story, the characters, the relationships. There may be a few folks who are so scared of ol' Bill Shakespeare that they'll just tune out right at the beginning, but I think they will be few. It's so easy to understand this stuff.

The other surprise is that there are several genuinely emotional moments -- when Prospero tells us the story of being betrayed and banished by his ex-wife, when Cookie is rejected by Miranda and he gets a juicy Shakespeare-style Mad Scene (incorporating bits of King Lear and the awesome song "She's Not There")... which is followed by Prospero's own Mad Scene (including "Shakin' All Over") as he seethes in anger over his daughter's abandonment of him for the studly Capt. Tempest (and thereby invoking the dreaded Id Monster!).

And I have to give a shout-out to Phil, our Bosun, who is hilarious whenever your eye happens to catch him, just sitting there, watching, reacting. He's so fully in it. He such has a great expressive face, and though what he's doing is pretty subtle, it's very funny stuff...

I offer my kudos to the whole cast. They're all working their butts off and creating some wonderful, funny, beautiful moments. I can't wait to get to work on Act II...

Watch -- they'll all suck now. Just kidding.

Long Live the Musical!
Scott

That's Where It Is

Rehearsals continue apace...

When I first read the Forbidden Planet script, I knew this was one of those shows that reads well, but not nearly as well as it plays. I could tell that as much fun as it was to read (truly laugh-out-loud funny), much more coolness would reveal itself once the show got up on its feet. The same was true of Rocky Horror, Bat Boy, Nervous Set, High Fidelity, and many of the shows we've produced.

It's certainly true of Forbidden Planet. As we block Act I we find such richness in the characters and such intelligence in the comedy. We realized this week that the male characters are all just full of rabid 1950s sexism, trying to cram their women into the 50s most restrictive categories -- either virgin or whore, nothing in between. It's a phenomenon we see illustrated in Grease, Rocky Horror, The Nervous Set, and other shows that comment on those times. But it's extra-funny in this context because this is a 1950s view of the future, so here the future takes on the regressive social politics of the mid-20th century.

We also realized that the show consciously subverts the usual 1950s heroic spaceship captain character by making Capt. Tempest utterly incompetent, ill-prepared, and an all-around terrible leader. He fights with his science officer (who happens to be a woman), he panics in the face of danger, and he's terrible at making decisions. He is the average 1950s American -- baffled by technology, scared of what he doesn't understand, and held back by a hermetically closed mind.

But we also discovered the feel of this show, the energy of it, the pacing, the heightened acting style, the incredibly high stakes for these characters, and so much more. We're having so much fun!

The hardest challenge is meshing these three seemingly incompatible storytelling forms: Shakespeare, 50s sci-fi, and rock and roll. I told the cast they have to really be rock stars when they sing, to find the rawness and sexuality and emotion of these classic rock songs; but at the same time they have to be the same character in the same style whether they're singing rock and roll or speaking the "Fakespeare" lines, all while living convincingly in this sci-fi universe. That's not easy -- but even after only two blocking rehearsals, they're already finding that common ground where all three elements come together.

With some of our more unusual shows, it takes a while for the actors to figure out how this particular universe sounds and moves. Usually, I have to convince them that I know where we're going and they can trust that I'll take care of them. That was true of Urinetown, Anyone Can Whistle, The Cradle Will Rock, and lots of others. But this time, the whole cast seems so tuned in to the material, even at this early stage, and that will make the whole process easier and a lot more fun...

This isn't an easy show to bring to life -- it's such a unique and complex piece of theatre, and it's got fairly serious undertones that can't be allowed to get in the way of the wackiness (much like Urinetown) -- but we're really on the right road. And everybody seems delighted to be traveling that road together.

The fun is only beginning. I predict that this will be one of those shows the whole cast will hate to close on May 23. I know I will.

Long Live the Musical!
Scott

Great Balls of Fire!

So we blocked the first section of Act I of Forbidden Planet last night. What a relief! My ideas work and the show is every bit as funny as I hoped it would be. Even in this very early stage, it's really, really funny!

And just as wonderful is this: every actor in the show is so willing to be silly and ridiculous, to throw themselves to the floor when the ship crashes, all of them screaming and singing as they pass through the meteor storm (hence the title of this entry), all of it... It's a very physical show, and every bit as wild and wacky as Bat Boy or Urinetown. And everybody seems ready and willing to go for broke. As we like to say, it's all about "the depth of sincerity, the height of expression" -- the emotions are honest and real, the stakes are high, but the style is BIG and outrageous (like Bat Boy, Urinetown, Little Shop). It's going to be a very funny rehearsal process...

The other cool part is that I'm sure now that this was a good show to put in our season. Having never actually seen the show onstage -- and despite the many, MANY truly terrible YouTube videos of college productions -- I read it and listened to the cast album and felt that this was a really original, interesting show, something our audiences would enjoy, high energy, big laughs, a bit of seriousness underneath it all, and my favorite thing of all -- a genuine roller coaster ride.

We've only staged 17 pages, but I am so sure now that audiences are going to fall in love with this bizarre show. I can't wait to share it with them! After all, we do all this for the audience -- without them, it's not a show, it's just a run-through...

Long Live the Musical!
Scott

Go Now

Such are the trials and tribulations of a small professional theatre company:

A while back I had emailed the Forbidden Planet cast with details about when rehearsals started, etc., and I had heard back from all but one of them. So last Friday, a few days before rehearsals started, I called Wayne, the one actor I hadn't heard from. But I couldn't get through -- his phone had been turned off. Luckily, another friend had a number in Colorado where Wayne (to my great surprise) was at the moment.

I talked to Wayne, who said he'd be back in St. Louis that weekend and he'd be at the first rehearsal Monday night. He said he was just in Colorado for a dance performance he was in.

Monday night, Wayne didn't show up. We tried that Colorado number, but no one answered. So after rehearsal, I sent him an email and messages on both MySpace and Facebook, asking what was up. The next morning, Wayne had uploaded pictures of himself and his friends drinking in Colorado, but he did not answer any of my messages. And then he didn't show up Tuesday night either.

Then I noticed on both his MySpace page and his Facebook page, he now listed Colorado City as his city. Huh??? I left more messages, email, voice mail, the whole shebang... And to this day, a week later, he will not respond.

I realize now Wayne has moved to Colorado to stay. (He's even offering dance lessons to people in Colorado City on his MySpace page.) And it seems pretty clear that he already knew that long before he and I talked on the phone and before he promised me he'd be back to start work on the show.

This doesn't happen often, but actors do drop out on occasion, sometimes for legitimate reasons, often not... But because we had already started rehearsals and were already learning the score, replacing Wayne was urgent. I put the word out to all my theatre friends that I needed a replacement.

Then I get a call from Nick Kelly, longtime New Liner -- actor, director, and our official fight choreographer when we need one -- he teaches acting and he knew an actor who was interested in stepping in, Mike Dowdy. I had seen Dowdy do improv (he's hilarious) and heard him sing (terrific tenor voice), so I talked to Mike about the details, and the Deal was Done. Crisis Averted.

Of course, now Mike has to do a lot of catch-up. But I think he'll be great. And I doubt he'll move to Colorado any time soon.

Long Live the Musical!
Scott