I'm watching the Democratic Presidential debate on CNN (I'm a total junkie for this stuff) and the electricity in that theatre is amazing. Such passion! Such intensity! I read recently that the turnout for the Democratic primaries has been at least double the size of 2004 and 2000 in every state so far, sometimes even bigger.
As the song says, something's comin', I don't know when, but it's soon...
I think political theatre is always important -- which is why New Line does so much of it, why we're working on Assassins now, and why we're doing Hair in the fall. But if there was ever any doubt, I think it's obvious that, at least in 2008, we are in the center of a nation just itching to talk seriously about the great issues of our times. And if we don't meet that demand, we're idiots.
New Line is organizaing the second St. Louis Political Theatre Festival for this fall, leading up to election day. Our production of Hair will be part of that, closing just a few days before the election. I'm more convinced now than ever that this is a great idea. Americans are engaged like never before, and we owe our audiences good, juicy, intelligent, political theatre.
I reject the notion that people go to the theatre to escape -- I've never believed it and I never will -- and I fully embrace the notion that we are the shamans of our tribe. We are the ones chosen to tell our stories, to document our civilization and our history, to make sense of our world, to start conversations about everything that matters in our lives. Shamans are the intermediaries between the natural world and the spiritual world, and I can't imagine a better definition of a theatre artist.
No one who makes theatre can miss this golden opportunity, when our nation is at a crossroads and we have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to make a profound, concrete difference. Art matters, and we make art.
That's what I think, anyway.
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
They Hear the Music
Just a quick thought for the day...
Y'ever notice who doesn't try to kill presidents?
Black people and gay people.
Only staight, white people try to kill the president. Which proves that straight, white people tend to be a little crazier than black people and gay people. Because if you think about it, surely black people and gay people have more reason to want to kill the president than straight, white people do. America's pretty good to straight, white people. Generally speaking.
And now that I think about it, Hillary does remind me more than a little of Sara Jane Moore... Hmmmm...
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
Y'ever notice who doesn't try to kill presidents?
Black people and gay people.
Only staight, white people try to kill the president. Which proves that straight, white people tend to be a little crazier than black people and gay people. Because if you think about it, surely black people and gay people have more reason to want to kill the president than straight, white people do. America's pretty good to straight, white people. Generally speaking.
And now that I think about it, Hillary does remind me more than a little of Sara Jane Moore... Hmmmm...
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
Someone Tell the Story
Why You Don't Want to Run a Theatre Company. Lesson One.
So a couple weeks ago, we found out the guy playing Guiteau wouldn't be able to do the show. Luckily we had already talked about Zak, one of the ensemble guys, for that role early on, so I asked him if he'd step into it, and he was happy to do so. Aaron Lawson, who had done our last two shows, stepped into Zak's old spot. Problem solved. With minimal disruption.
And then, one of the other ensemble guys had a death in the family and had to drop out to take care of family business. We talked about it at length and decided we didn't have to replace him. With only minor adjustments, we reduced the ensemble for five to four. I doubt the audience will ever even guess there used to be one more. Unless they're reading this.
Then a couple nights ago, we found out the guy playing the Balladeer has a conflict with another show and can't be at all our performances. With enormous reluctance, we decided there was no good way to deal with that (companies our size don't have understudies, and we can't ask someone to learn a role that large just to do it once or twice).
So last night, I conferred with Alison, a New Line board member, my personal sounding board, and also someone who directed this show with me back in 1998. We decided that Andrew Keller, another of the ensemble guys, is capable of handling the Balladeer. So I had him sing through some of the relevant songs for me, to make sure everything would be cool, and I offered him the part.
But we can't reduce the ensemble any more, so we needed a replacement for Andrew. Lucky for me, John Sparger, one of my best friends in the world -- who also happens to be an incredible performer -- is moving back here from Kansas City. I called him and asked if he would jump into the ensemble the minute he returns. Lucky for me, Sparger loves me and said yes. He usually plays leads for us (Berger in Hair, Jesus and Judas alternating in Jesus Christ Superstar, and Johnny in Johnny Appleweed), but he is virtually ego-free and an incredible friend, so he said he'd be happy to step in...
(Because of the complexities of the rehearsal schedule and Sparger's timing getting back to the Lou, if we had asked him to do the Balladeer, it would've been a much bigger headache, and we'd've had too many rehearsals without the show's narrator, but having him in the ensemble creates almost no problems at all.)
So once again the Force is back in balance. At least as it applies to New Line's spring show.
And this is why you never want to run a theatre company. Trust me on this. Now excuse me while I go pop another Pepcid.
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
So a couple weeks ago, we found out the guy playing Guiteau wouldn't be able to do the show. Luckily we had already talked about Zak, one of the ensemble guys, for that role early on, so I asked him if he'd step into it, and he was happy to do so. Aaron Lawson, who had done our last two shows, stepped into Zak's old spot. Problem solved. With minimal disruption.
And then, one of the other ensemble guys had a death in the family and had to drop out to take care of family business. We talked about it at length and decided we didn't have to replace him. With only minor adjustments, we reduced the ensemble for five to four. I doubt the audience will ever even guess there used to be one more. Unless they're reading this.
Then a couple nights ago, we found out the guy playing the Balladeer has a conflict with another show and can't be at all our performances. With enormous reluctance, we decided there was no good way to deal with that (companies our size don't have understudies, and we can't ask someone to learn a role that large just to do it once or twice).
So last night, I conferred with Alison, a New Line board member, my personal sounding board, and also someone who directed this show with me back in 1998. We decided that Andrew Keller, another of the ensemble guys, is capable of handling the Balladeer. So I had him sing through some of the relevant songs for me, to make sure everything would be cool, and I offered him the part.
But we can't reduce the ensemble any more, so we needed a replacement for Andrew. Lucky for me, John Sparger, one of my best friends in the world -- who also happens to be an incredible performer -- is moving back here from Kansas City. I called him and asked if he would jump into the ensemble the minute he returns. Lucky for me, Sparger loves me and said yes. He usually plays leads for us (Berger in Hair, Jesus and Judas alternating in Jesus Christ Superstar, and Johnny in Johnny Appleweed), but he is virtually ego-free and an incredible friend, so he said he'd be happy to step in...
(Because of the complexities of the rehearsal schedule and Sparger's timing getting back to the Lou, if we had asked him to do the Balladeer, it would've been a much bigger headache, and we'd've had too many rehearsals without the show's narrator, but having him in the ensemble creates almost no problems at all.)
So once again the Force is back in balance. At least as it applies to New Line's spring show.
And this is why you never want to run a theatre company. Trust me on this. Now excuse me while I go pop another Pepcid.
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
All You Have to Do is Move Your Little Finger and You Can Change the World
Why are we doing Assassins for a third time? Just a few reasons...
December 24, 2007 – a couple in their twenties shot and killed six members of their family, including two children, on Christmas Eve
December 11, 2007 – two students shot and wounded six other students at a Las Vegas school bus stop, in a dispute over a girlfriend
December 9, 2007 – a 24-year-old gunman killed two and wounded three at a mega-church in Colorado Springs, then was shot and killed
December 9, 2007 – the same gunman shot four people, killing two, at a Missionary Training Center outside Denver
December 5, 2007 – a 19-year-old boy opened fire in an Omaha, Nebraska mall, killing eight, wounding five, then killing himself
April 16, 2007 – a student at Virginia Tech killed thirty-two students and faculty before killing himself
Oct. 2, 2006 – a 32-year-old man took ten girls hostage in an Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, then killed five of them before killing himself
Sept. 27, 2006 – a 53-year-old man took six girls hostage at a high school in Colorado, molesting them before fatally shooting one girl and then himself
March 21, 2005 – a student at Red Lake High School in Minnesota killed nine people, then killed himself
Feb. 11, 2004 – a ten-year-old child was shot in the face outside an elementary school in Philadelphia, and later died, having been caught in a shootout between two rival gangs
Apr. 14, 2003 – gunmen armed with an AK-47 rifle and a handgun opened fire in the packed gymnasium of a high school in New Orleans; one student was killed and three others were wounded
Mar. 5, 2001 – a 15-year-old boy killed two students and wounded thirteen others at a high school in Santee, California
Feb. 29, 2000 – a first-grade boy in Mount Morris Township, Michigan fatally shot a 6-year-old classmate after the two children had an argument
July 29, 1999 – a stock trader opened fire in his office, killing nine people and wounded thirteen, before killing himself
That's why we're doing Assassins for the third time.
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
December 24, 2007 – a couple in their twenties shot and killed six members of their family, including two children, on Christmas Eve
December 11, 2007 – two students shot and wounded six other students at a Las Vegas school bus stop, in a dispute over a girlfriend
December 9, 2007 – a 24-year-old gunman killed two and wounded three at a mega-church in Colorado Springs, then was shot and killed
December 9, 2007 – the same gunman shot four people, killing two, at a Missionary Training Center outside Denver
December 5, 2007 – a 19-year-old boy opened fire in an Omaha, Nebraska mall, killing eight, wounding five, then killing himself
April 16, 2007 – a student at Virginia Tech killed thirty-two students and faculty before killing himself
Oct. 2, 2006 – a 32-year-old man took ten girls hostage in an Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, then killed five of them before killing himself
Sept. 27, 2006 – a 53-year-old man took six girls hostage at a high school in Colorado, molesting them before fatally shooting one girl and then himself
March 21, 2005 – a student at Red Lake High School in Minnesota killed nine people, then killed himself
Feb. 11, 2004 – a ten-year-old child was shot in the face outside an elementary school in Philadelphia, and later died, having been caught in a shootout between two rival gangs
Apr. 14, 2003 – gunmen armed with an AK-47 rifle and a handgun opened fire in the packed gymnasium of a high school in New Orleans; one student was killed and three others were wounded
Mar. 5, 2001 – a 15-year-old boy killed two students and wounded thirteen others at a high school in Santee, California
Feb. 29, 2000 – a first-grade boy in Mount Morris Township, Michigan fatally shot a 6-year-old classmate after the two children had an argument
July 29, 1999 – a stock trader opened fire in his office, killing nine people and wounded thirteen, before killing himself
That's why we're doing Assassins for the third time.
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
C'mere and Kill a President.
So I got that horrible cold that's been going around. Several of us have had it now. So my apologies to the 3 1/2 people who read my blog for falling down on the job... I think I'm feeling better now though that might just be the Sudafed, Loratadine, Mucinex, and Dayquil... not sure... wait, what was I talking about...?
We started rehearsals last week and we learned the whole score in three rehearsals. We usually take more time than that, but there aren't as many songs in this show as there are in most other musicals. And though some of the songs are pretty weird, pretty hard Sondheimy stuff, this is a kick-ass cast and they're handling it all quite ably.
Last night, we had a "Table Talk" night. For those who don't know, that's a night when all we do is sit around and talk about the show, its themes, its style and construction, the historical context, all that stuff. We don't do this for every show; sometimes that work is done over time, as we rehearse and stage the show. But when a show has a really specific historical context, it really can be very valuable to take the time for this. And in this case, not only does Assassins have extensive historical content, but it's also quite remarkable how accurately it handles those factual details.
For instance, the show includes a scene in which Charles Guiteau tries -- unsuccessfully -- to score with Sara Jane Moore. It's a very funny scene, but it also reveals some concrete historical facts that contribute to both characters. The real Sara Jane had five husbands (two of them at the same time) and was always trying to hook another one. And Guiteau was a notorious flirt throughout his life, coming on to women constantly, always being shot down, and yet never getting discouraged. This scene, which may seem to some like a throwaway scene, really does reveal interesting character-based truth about both of them.
So last night I started by talking for a while about the material, about how it works, how we'll approach it, and why it remains so scarily relevant. I told the cast that I decided we should repeat this show -- the only show we've ever produced three times, the last time in 1998 -- the day the Virginia Tech shootings happened. I sat there watching MSNBC, thinking the same thing I always think when these things happen: When will someone step up and speak the unspeakable, that guns are inherently bad, that their sole and explicit purpose is to kill, that the countries with the fewest guns also have the fewest violent deaths? And then I called Alison (a New Line board member and also now playing Emma Goldman) and said, "I think it's time we do Assassins again." She agreed and that was that.
I've said many times, and I really believe this, that every high school in America should be required to produce Assassins at least once every four years. This is a very smart, very insightful piece of theatre about what's wrong with America -- too many guns, too much anger, a bullshit American Dream continually promised but never delivered upon, and a culture crazy in love with violence. This is a country built on guns, won with guns, and now killing its own children with guns. Every time young people go on a shooting rampage (Virginia Tech, Omaha, Colorado, etc.), we shake our heads in amazement and wonder "How could this have happened?" Maybe if schools were required to stage Assassins and to engage the kids in a discussion of the issues in the show we wouldn't be so clueless. And maybe a frank, open discussion about violence and anger in America would diffuse some of the rage that, left unchecked, eventually explodes in death and tragedy.
There. I said it. That's my soapbox for the night.
After I spoke, we went around and each actor playing an assassin talked about his or her character, biographical details, etc. We were amazed at the dozens of parallels among the assassins. With each assassin we found similarities to several of the others, some minor, some huge. Booth, Czolgosz, and Byck all had legitimate political beefs. Both Guiteau and Byck were serial failures throughout their lives. Both Hinckely and Fromme were investigated by the FBI and deemed "not a threat." Both Byck and Hinckley wrote scary letters to celebrities. Both Czolgosz and Zangara were victims of class injustice. Both Moore and Byck tried to get stopped by police on their way to their assassination attempts. The list goes on and on.
Most notably, most of the assassins (Booth being a major exception) led very sad, very lonely lives that left them feeling left out of the American Dream, disenfranchised, ignored, betrayed by their country. (Contrary to the Balladeer's claims, Booth was at the pinnacle of his career, universally praised as America's greatest actor, and making $20,000-30,000 a year -- in 1865!)
It occurred to me while I listened that, had these folks lived today, many of them could have had the voice they never had in real life -- through blogs and many other newly democratized outlets. Booth, Czolgosz, Byck and others had passionate political views, and perhaps had they had a soapbox of sorts, they would've felt less disenfranchised, less hopeless. It's impossible to really know something like this, but I couldn't help wondering...
All in all, it was a fascinating rehearsal, and I was happy to hear afterward that everyone felt it had been a valuable exercise. I think stuff like this makes our shows so much richer and more truthful. The audience won't know all we know about these people, but now these characters are so much realer to all of us and I think it gives us a deeper commitment to playing them as honestly as we can. Almost like we owe them that.
As I said to the actors, the most brilliant thing about Assassins (which the 2004 Broadway revival did not understand) is that the show never judges these people. It allows them to speak in their own voices, tell their own stories, and make their own cases. This makes it a difficult show to watch sometimes, more disturbing, more complicated, but also far more satisfying.
Like they say, if we ignore history, we are doomed to repeat it. Somebody say Amen.
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
We started rehearsals last week and we learned the whole score in three rehearsals. We usually take more time than that, but there aren't as many songs in this show as there are in most other musicals. And though some of the songs are pretty weird, pretty hard Sondheimy stuff, this is a kick-ass cast and they're handling it all quite ably.
Last night, we had a "Table Talk" night. For those who don't know, that's a night when all we do is sit around and talk about the show, its themes, its style and construction, the historical context, all that stuff. We don't do this for every show; sometimes that work is done over time, as we rehearse and stage the show. But when a show has a really specific historical context, it really can be very valuable to take the time for this. And in this case, not only does Assassins have extensive historical content, but it's also quite remarkable how accurately it handles those factual details.
For instance, the show includes a scene in which Charles Guiteau tries -- unsuccessfully -- to score with Sara Jane Moore. It's a very funny scene, but it also reveals some concrete historical facts that contribute to both characters. The real Sara Jane had five husbands (two of them at the same time) and was always trying to hook another one. And Guiteau was a notorious flirt throughout his life, coming on to women constantly, always being shot down, and yet never getting discouraged. This scene, which may seem to some like a throwaway scene, really does reveal interesting character-based truth about both of them.
So last night I started by talking for a while about the material, about how it works, how we'll approach it, and why it remains so scarily relevant. I told the cast that I decided we should repeat this show -- the only show we've ever produced three times, the last time in 1998 -- the day the Virginia Tech shootings happened. I sat there watching MSNBC, thinking the same thing I always think when these things happen: When will someone step up and speak the unspeakable, that guns are inherently bad, that their sole and explicit purpose is to kill, that the countries with the fewest guns also have the fewest violent deaths? And then I called Alison (a New Line board member and also now playing Emma Goldman) and said, "I think it's time we do Assassins again." She agreed and that was that.
I've said many times, and I really believe this, that every high school in America should be required to produce Assassins at least once every four years. This is a very smart, very insightful piece of theatre about what's wrong with America -- too many guns, too much anger, a bullshit American Dream continually promised but never delivered upon, and a culture crazy in love with violence. This is a country built on guns, won with guns, and now killing its own children with guns. Every time young people go on a shooting rampage (Virginia Tech, Omaha, Colorado, etc.), we shake our heads in amazement and wonder "How could this have happened?" Maybe if schools were required to stage Assassins and to engage the kids in a discussion of the issues in the show we wouldn't be so clueless. And maybe a frank, open discussion about violence and anger in America would diffuse some of the rage that, left unchecked, eventually explodes in death and tragedy.
There. I said it. That's my soapbox for the night.
After I spoke, we went around and each actor playing an assassin talked about his or her character, biographical details, etc. We were amazed at the dozens of parallels among the assassins. With each assassin we found similarities to several of the others, some minor, some huge. Booth, Czolgosz, and Byck all had legitimate political beefs. Both Guiteau and Byck were serial failures throughout their lives. Both Hinckely and Fromme were investigated by the FBI and deemed "not a threat." Both Byck and Hinckley wrote scary letters to celebrities. Both Czolgosz and Zangara were victims of class injustice. Both Moore and Byck tried to get stopped by police on their way to their assassination attempts. The list goes on and on.
Most notably, most of the assassins (Booth being a major exception) led very sad, very lonely lives that left them feeling left out of the American Dream, disenfranchised, ignored, betrayed by their country. (Contrary to the Balladeer's claims, Booth was at the pinnacle of his career, universally praised as America's greatest actor, and making $20,000-30,000 a year -- in 1865!)
It occurred to me while I listened that, had these folks lived today, many of them could have had the voice they never had in real life -- through blogs and many other newly democratized outlets. Booth, Czolgosz, Byck and others had passionate political views, and perhaps had they had a soapbox of sorts, they would've felt less disenfranchised, less hopeless. It's impossible to really know something like this, but I couldn't help wondering...
All in all, it was a fascinating rehearsal, and I was happy to hear afterward that everyone felt it had been a valuable exercise. I think stuff like this makes our shows so much richer and more truthful. The audience won't know all we know about these people, but now these characters are so much realer to all of us and I think it gives us a deeper commitment to playing them as honestly as we can. Almost like we owe them that.
As I said to the actors, the most brilliant thing about Assassins (which the 2004 Broadway revival did not understand) is that the show never judges these people. It allows them to speak in their own voices, tell their own stories, and make their own cases. This makes it a difficult show to watch sometimes, more disturbing, more complicated, but also far more satisfying.
Like they say, if we ignore history, we are doomed to repeat it. Somebody say Amen.
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
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