Where in the World is the Nymph Errant Day 1

Just like with businesses, home values, and so many other things… Nymph Errant is all about Location, Location, Location.  Well, ok, maybe not all about… there’s a lot about love, romance, sex, and singing too… but location is up there.

Over the next week or so I want to play a little game, my loyal Moonies. 

Where in the World is the Nymph Errant.  Each day I’ll have a picture, and somewhere in that picture our intrepid heroine Evangeline Edwards, will be hidden.  The game has two parts, one you must find her, and two, you must discover where she is given a few hints.  This is all on your honor, so have fun with it!

Clue 1.  This location was renamed by Cole Porter (but just by one letter!)

Too easy?  Do you know the location? 

Clue 2.  It is fabled to be the inspirational spot for Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale.

Almost got it… it’s on the tip of your tongue…

Clue 3.  Coco Chanel opened one of her first shops here…

Have you got it?

Clue 4.  In 2011 it hosted the 37th Annual G8 summit.

You’ll find out the answer in our next installment.

By the way, did you find our Evangeline in the picture?  She’s there.. I swear.

If you can’t find her in the picture, come see her on stage.  Sharon Rietkerk stars in Cole Porter’s Nymph Errant playing through October 23, 2011.  For tickets call (415) 255-8207 or click here.

Life Upon the Wicked Stage: The Actors of Once in a Million Moons

As we prepare for Once in a Million Moons: A Jerome Kern Salon, I thought it would be interesting to find out who has the most previous experience with Kern.  Below, you'll find our cast and which Kern shows they have been in, and which is their favorite Kern Song.

	Rebecca Luker* (Special Guest Star) Rebecca is considered one of the great interpreters of Kern's music.  And no wonder: in her career she has performed in productions of Leave It to Jane, Music in the Air, Sunny, and of course her Tony-nominated role in the 1994 Broadway Revival of Show Boat, as well as on a number of Kern recordings(Jerome Kern Treasury, Jerome Kern in London and Hollywood, Broadway Showstoppers, and Early Kern). What's Rebecca's favorite Kern Song? Well, here's our version from the West Coast Premiere of Very Warm for May.
	Pierce Peter Brandt* (Performer) Though Pierce has worked on Broadway (Les Misérables and Martin Guerre), National Tours and right here at 42nd Street Moon (Fanny, Redhead, Kiss the Boys Goodbye), Once in a Million Moons represents Pierce's first "Kern Show". What's Pierce's favorite Kern song?  Hmm, find out below!
	Debbie de Coudreaux* (Performer) and Rebecca are old buddies, both having performed in the 1994 revival of Show Boat on Broadway.  Debbie also performed an evening of Kern with the East Bay Symphony last year. Irene Dunne sings Debbie's favorite Kern tune from the movie version of Roberta.
	Bill Fahrner* (Performer) is no stranger to Kern.  For Moon, Bill has performed in Sweet Adeline, The Cat & the Fiddle (twice), Roberta (twice), Very Warm for May (three times!), and the American Premiere concert version of Three Sisters.  Bill also appears on the 42nd Street Moon recording, The First Rose of Summer. Like Rebecca, Bill has a fondness for "All the Things You Are," in fact that's him singing with Sarah Kathleen Farrell, and the cast of Very Warm for May.
	Alexandra Kaprielian* (Performer) if you work for Moon for any length of time, you're going to be in a Kern show, it's just how it is.  Alexandra has appeared in the American Premiere of   The Cabaret Girl, as well as Very Warm for May, and with Rebecca Luker in 42nd Street Moon's Jerome Kern Gala.  She is also featured on our 42nd Street Moon recording of early Kern, The First Rose of Summer. "You Are Love" is all the rage with Alexandra. Listen to Bob Merrill sing his heart out.
	Greg MacKellan* (Host/Director) Greg has a fondness for Kern having produced, directed, and performed in a number of Jerome Kern’s works.   Kern’s daughter, Betty, advised him when he produced two Kern CDs: Early Kern and Jerome Kern in London in Hollywood.  His Kern directing credits include Sitting Pretty, The Cat & the Fiddle, and Roberta, and he’ll be restoring and directing Kern and Hammerstein’s Three Sisters for Moon next season. Greg has also been seen in Oh Lady, Lady! and Very Warm for May. Greg and Pierce share a common love for a Kern melody... care to guess which it is?
	Michael Scott Wells (Performer) is not only making his 42nd Street Moon debut with Once in a Million Moons, but his Kern debut as well! The men of this company really love "Some Girl on Your Mind," in addition to both Greg and Pierce, this is Michael's favorite Kern gem as well.

42nd Street Moon presents Once in a Million Moons: A Jerome Kern Salon. At the Alcazar Theatre, 650 Geary St (@ Levenworth). One night only, October 28, 2010.  For tickets call (415) 255-8207 or click here.

Three Sisters: A Restoration

I am thrilled to announce (and scoup all the news agencies!) that 42nd Street Moon, Artistic Director Greg MacKellan, and Musical Director Dave Dobrusky have received a 2010 NEA Grant for $25,000.

The grant is being awarded to restore the script and score of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's lost work Three Sisters. In 1995, Moon put together a concert reading of Three Sisters. Although it was minimally staged, and the script was a skeletal narrative of the show, Variety acknowledged the glory of Kern’s score, “But the prize here is Kern’s extant music. This material was ideal for his way with a wistful ballad, and several are gorgeous…” Of the script, Variety noted, “This drama-with-songs seems more in line with the fabled team’s earlier Show Boat than their more frivolous ‘30’s vehicles.”


Artistic Director Greg MacKellan intends to go back to the original source material and re-store and construct a working production script. The basis of our 1995 score consisted of several songs with published sheet music, some piano selections published in England, and some transcriptions from a cast recording. Musical Director Dave Dobrusky will finish the score restoration and create a new, readable piano-vocal score as well as new chamber orchestrations for piano, woodwinds, and strings to present the score.

From our original concert press release:

Not based on Chekhov's work, this Three Sisters follows three very different siblings through their romantic adventures during the first two decades of the century. The three girls hold different marital aspirations, with the eldest sister, a great galumphing girl named Tiny, in love with a sturdy constable; Dorrie, the middle child dreaming of marriage to a wealthy man; and the youngest, Mary, smitten by a young busker named Gypsy Hood. Marriages, mistaken identities and World War I ensue, with the girls' hapless photographer father trying to manage it all.


Premiering April 9, 1934 at the Drury Lane Theater in London, Three Sisters was mounted with the intention of bringing it to the states after a successful London run, but mixed reviews closed the show after two months -- at the time, the shortest run in the history of the Drury Lane Theater. Kern had worked previously in London with great success. Shows such as Cabaret Girl, Beauty Prize and Blue Eyes, written with British lyricists and book writers such as P.G. Wodehouse, had been very well received by London critics and audiences alike. "Three Sisters was Kern's first production in London that was written with another American, Oscar Hammerstein, who wrote the lyrics and book," says 42nd St. Moon producer Greg MacKellan. According to MacKellan, "New York critics who traveled to London to see the show adored it, but London critics were less enthusiastic -- perhaps offended that two Americans would dare to write a musical with British characters and a British story." While David Fairweather of the U.S. magazine Theatre World wrote, "It is difficult to account for the failure of Three Sisters, for it is a charming, original production with by far the best music of any light opera within recent history," British critic W.A. Darlington sniffed "the music...is pleasant and cleverly handled, but not original."

I know I speak for everyone here when I say Congratulations to Greg and Dave and how excited we are to see the American Premiere production of a Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein show!

Three Sisters will be part of Moon's 2011-2012 season. To subscribe for next season click here.

WILDCAT was nominated for 6 Bay Area Critics’ Circle Awards!

Congratulations!

Wildcat was nominated for 6 Bay Area Critics’ Circle Awards! 

Artistic Director, Greg MacKellan stated, “As always, we're happy to be honored with nominations from the Bay Area Critics' Circle.  Wildcat was a terrific show, and we're thrilled that the cast and director Kalon Thibodeaux and choreographer Tom Segal have been selected for this recognition.”

I asked those nominated for their reactions:

It's really wonderful to be nominated - particularly for such a challenging role. And I'm very thankful to everyone at 42nd Street Moon for entrusting me with it. I think I'm most excited for the Awards Ceremony - it's a great chance to see friends and meet many of the people whose work I've admired over the years.”

Rob Hatzenbeller (This is Rob’s second nomination, having previously won for supporting male in a musical for Wonderful Town): “

 Richard Pardini (This is Richard’s second nomination, first for best supporting actor. Richard was part of the 1994 winning production of Closer Than Ever): “The nomination is exciting and a total surprise.  I found out when a friend texted to congratulate me and I was like, ‘Huh??’" 

Maureen McVerry (This is Maureen’s tenth (or so) nomination, She has won 5 times previously, including a win for Moon’s production of Pardon My English): “… just being nominated is fun.  Really - this time I was nominated due to my co-stars - the hot Rob and the fantastic Richard - they made me look gooooooooood.”

Unfortunately Kalon Thibodeaux (nominated Best Director) and Tom Segal (nominated Best Choreographer) were not able to get back to me before the printing of this blog.

I’m so proud of everyone involved with Wildcat and can’t wait to find out who wins!  We’ll find out on May 3, 2010 when the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics’ Circle presents their 34^th Annual Awards Ceremony.

A New Dawn, a New Day, A New Moon - 42nd Street Moon's 2010-2011 Season

While the first of our spring 2010 shows, Lady, Be Good!, is already rehearsing at MoonSpace, the 2010-11 Moon season, “Lovers, Liars and Clowns!” is also officially “off and running.” The Early Bird subscription campaign for our eighteenth season has moved into high gear, and the press announcement has found its way into the San Francisco Chronicle and several New York theatre websites.

Interestingly, the plans Stephanie and I had for next season took several twists and turns before we arrived at A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Murder for Two, Babes in Arms, Strike Up the Band, and Silk Stockings.

Remember the ballot from last spring? Sure you do. Our intent was to include two of the top vote-getting shows in 2010 -11, Gigi and Forum, but alas, the rights to Gigi were unavailable (a major revival is in the works for the show). Gigi, then, gave way to Cole Porter’s Silk Stockings – probably my favorite “underrated” Cole Porter show, and one I’m so glad to have a chance to revisit.

Our complete reconstruction of the Kern-Hammerstein Three Sisters (which has absolutely nothing to do with Chekhov’s same-titled play!) is delayed till the fall of 2011, so Rodgers and Hart have moved into that slot although our Jerome Kern celebration continues with the Jerome Kern Salon in October.

Strike Up the Band was always targeted for Moon’s Ira Gershwin multi-year salute, but we moved it up to 2010-11 because George S. Kaufman’s deft anti-war satire seems particularly timely.

The first two shows of the season are perhaps the most unusual for Moon. Since we focus on “uncommon musicals,” we normally wouldn’t do a show as widely seen as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Forum, however, is consistently one of the most-requested shows from our audiences (you!), which won it a place on the ballot last season.

This is Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday year, so this is the year that Forum will land on the Moon!

Taking our cue from the 1996 revival, in which Whoopi Goldberg followed Nathan Lane in the role of Pseudolus, we decided we could give the show a fresh twist with Megan Cavanagh taking on the role. If you’ve seen Megan’s comic turns in Out of This World, High Spirits, or Jubilee, you know what a treat we’re all in for.

When we founded 42nd Street Moon in 1993, Stephanie and I did not necessarily see it as a home for new musicals. Our productions were strictly bare bones, script-in-hand concerts at the time. It seemed to us that new work deserved a shot at a full production before going the “concert route.”

Seventeen years later, the theatrical climate has evolved dramatically, as have our shows.

Murder for Two represents a first for 42nd Street Moon – a brand new musical which will be making its West Coast debut on the Eureka Stage, following a summer run in Glens Falls, New York. [Bonus points to anyone who can name the musical – which Moon has done! – that takes place in Glens Falls.]

Two dynamically talented young writers, Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, have written this spoof of the Agatha Christie murder mystery genre: a murder in an old house, a group of eccentric and enigmatic suspects, and a body count that keeps rising. The book is so funny and the score is so fresh – as if Jerry Herman and Cole Porter had given birth to a score midwifed by Stephen Sondheim – that we couldn’t resist giving our Moon audiences the chance to enjoy this before it gets snapped up for a major production.

Is it a dramatically different turn for us? Not really – it’s certainly an “uncommon” musical, just not a “vintage” musical. (It does share many qualities with the great old musicals of the Golden Age). Although we have focused heavily on 1920s through 1970s musicals, we’ve never had a strict “time frame.” Murder for Two is the precursor to a dazzling surprise we have in store for our 20th season in 2012-13 – but rest assured that Porter, Gershwin, Kern, Berlin, Rodgers, Hart, and Hammerstein will always be on the bill at 42nd Street Moon.

Thank You to Guest Blogger Artistic Director Greg MacKellan.


If you'd like to take advantage of the Early Bird Pricing for your subscription, click here.  Hurry, offer ends March 25, 2010.

Taking Our Best Shot by Guest Blogger Greg MacKellan

[ed. I want to thank guest blogger Artistic Director Greg MacKellan for this contribution. I’ll be back to blogging starting on Monday with a special series on Ira Gershwin.Look for a new blog every day next week leading up to our most fantastic Ira Gershwin Salon Evening.]

TAKING OUR BEST SHOT


Although rehearsals are still several weeks away, on January 8th, some of the performers from our spring shows got together at MoonSpace to shoot publicity photos.  This was the first time the actors from Lady, Be Good! and Very Warm for May got together as a group.

The weather outside was frightful, but in the studio it was definitely delightful. Photo shoots always have a bit of a “party” atmosphere as the actors take their places in front of the camera and start “trying on” the characters they will be playing weeks (or months) later. Enjoy this first peek at the shows that will have San Francisco humming Gershwin and Kern this spring! 


Costumer Louise Jarmilowicz, production manager Erin Maxwell, and of course photographer David Allen add to the mix of personalities hard at work quickly capturing a bit of the spirit of the shows in sessions that last about an hour for each show.

Lady, Be Good! was up first – a jazz-age show that originally starred Fred and Adele Astaire.  Our own Fred and Adele, Ian Simpson and Rena Wilson, danced their way through a couple of improvised routines, while Alexis Papedo, Andrew Boyer, Lisa Hensley, and Ben Knoll also made vivid appearances before David’s camera.

Then it was Very Warm for May – a “summer stock” themed show.   This shoot was a little crazy, because the show focuses on a rather eccentric director (played by Bill Fahrner) who casts his actors in rather avant garde roles – a tree, a musket, a babbling brook.  Sepideh Moafi, Luke Chapman, Megan Hopp, Zak Franczak, and Sarah Kathleen Farrell had a lot of fun making up crazy routines for Bill to “direct.”   (Anil Margsahayam – back with us for the first time since One Touch of Venus in 2007 – plays a New York director who comes in to give some Broadway sparkle to the show.)

-       Greg MacKellan

Destry Rides Again... and Again... and Again

 I found it very interesting in reading Artistic Director Greg MacKellan's program notes that Destry Rides Again is one of the most adapted western stories of our time!

The brain child of author Max Brand*, Destry was first adapted in 1932 by Universal and starred Tom Mix (this is when and how Harry Destry became "Tom" Destry - Tom Mix is pictured left).

While James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich get top honors for immortalizing the characters of Tom Destry and Frenchy in the 1939 version of Destry Rides Again, Audie Murphy and Thomas Mitchell would star in the 1954 remake entitled simply Destry (which would also star Mary Wickes!).

The most interesting remake however has to be the 1951 version entitled Frenchie starring Shelley Winters.

Greg discussed Frenchie during the "talk back" on Sunday, Nov. 1 , here's what he had to say:

The final screen version of the Destry story was a television series also entitled Destry, staring John Gavin (Right). However the character was not Harry or Tom, but Harrison Destry. Harrison, Tom Destry's son, was wrongfully imprisoned and, after he was released, sought justice from those who framed him. Just like his dad, he eschewed guns and violence whenever possible.

Destry didn't make it to the stage until David Merrick (in his debut on Broadway) brought him to the Great White Way in 1959 with the tremendous talent of Harold Rome and Leonard Gershe. The only other major production of the Musical was a London production in 1982 starring Alfred Molina.

Don't miss your chance to catch a truly rare musical, Destry Rides Again stars San Francisco's favorite chanteuse Connie Champagne, and runs until November 15 at the Eureka Theatre. For tickets click here or call (415) 255-8207.

*Max Brand was actually the acclaimed poet Fredrick Schiller Faust. He was one of the most prolific writers of all time having written nearly 30,000,000 words under 19 different pseudonyms. He is most famous for his characters Tom Destry and Dr. James Kildare.

The Show Must Go On

Wow!  What excitement last night.  There is nothing like live theatre, you never know when something is going to happen.

And something certainly did happen!

A truck jack-kniffed on the Bay Bridge and trapped three of our actors on the other side!

What to do?  What to do?

Do we cancel the show?  Has Moon ever cancelled a show before?

Of course not!  Sure we might have started a *wee* bit late.  But we did go on!

For a few minutes there, it looked like 42nd Street Moon Board President J. Patterson McBaine was going to fill in for one of the actors. He even got on stage, but just to assure all the lovely Moonies in attendance that the show would go on!

Sarah Kathleen Farrell (pictured left) stepped into the role of Sebastian Sebastian and we were short one part of our trio for the opening number, and some of the lines were going to be divied up amongst some of the other actors.

But our fearless company started the show to a very appreciative crowd; a crowd that included our guest host from I Feel a Song Coming On, Tony-winner Cady Huffman (pictured below right).

Luckily, two of the actors were able to make it about 10 min after curtain and slipped seamlessly back into their roles. And by the second act, our cast was once again complete.

I can't tell you how proud I am of this cast.  They had no intention of letting the audience go home empty handed, and the standing ovation at the end proved that the audience had a ride they won't soon forget!

Kudos to all the cast and crew last night, and to Director Dyan McBride and Artistic Director Greg MacKellan for their leadership;  they took the reins and directed us into a harried, but successful evening.

Showbiz, there's nothin' like it.

Six Reasons to See I FEEL A SONG COMING ON

So I have a few people here who would like to tell you why you should join us for our first salon, I Feel a Song Coming On.  Here they are... in their own words.

So there ya have it, do you have your tickets yet?  If not purchase them by clicking here.  Or call us at the Box Office at (415) 255 - 8207.  Any don't forget you can meet ALL these guys PLUS Tony Award-winner Cady Huffman by joining us for the "Sweet Treat" reception after the show.

Shoot the Moon

Ever wonder where all those amazing pictures from the brochures, postcards, and posters come from?

Well that would be resident Moon photographer David Allen.

David has been taking pictures since his days at Miramonte High School, in the East Bay. In fact, he started working as a photojournalist right out of High School.

Now he does mostly public relations photography for art groups. He has worked with EVERYONE—from Cal Shakes, to the now defunct American Musical Theatre of San Jose, and just about every art organization in between!

He’s been working with Moon for well over a decade, taking all of our publicity shots and most of our “action” shots (production shots and gala pictures).

He enjoys our new intimate productions. “It’s more theatrical. It makes it more visually appealing as well, and the players can move more freely. That makes for a better image.”

If you can imagine, he takes somewhere between 500 and 600 of those images, which then get whittled down to just a couple of dozen for our use.

Artistic Director Greg MacKellan is the one who helms all the photo shoots, figuring out the shots, and consulting with costumer Louise Jarmilowicz on the "look" each show will need for publicity purposes. Says MacKellan:

It's hard work - but fun work! - planning a photo shoot. It's a completely different animal from actually doing the show - in the case of the shoot, the number one priority is getting shots that will "sell" the show and also offer a bit of the flavor of what people will be seeing months later. We have to try to capture the spirit of the show in an hour or hour-and-a-half. In many cases, it's the first time the actors have actually gotten together as a group -- the first chance to see how the chemistry actually works. We were really lucky at the shoot for Jubilee and Destry, because there was an immediate working chemistry between actors in both.

For the actors, performing for a camera is also very different from stage performing. Sometimes we'll just set them up in a situation and ask them to improvise through it as David shoot continuously. That happens with a dance routine, too. Some of our best shots come out that way (as opposed to the "posed" shots, which are also effective).

(Dyan McBride, Andrew Willis-Woodard, and Alison Ewing in a candid moment,
one of the 500 pictures that won't make the cut onto a poster. Photo by David Allen)

So which shows has David enjoyed shooting the most?

”One Touch of Venus was a great show to shoot. Red, Hot and Blue was also nice, really animated and a lot of energy. Plus, Klea Blackhurst is a blast; I love working with her, lots of energy!”

But from a visually artistic stand point, it’s Coco that he fancied the most. He used low-key lighting, which is “visually more creative and dramatic. I prefer that, but it takes more time so it's a luxury. It reflects more of the mood and more of the dramatic, you're dealing with shadows and light.”

(Alison Ewing helping demonstrate 'low-key lighting. Photo by David Allen)

His last photo shot was for our upcoming production of Cole Porter's Jubilee. Megan Cavanagh, Dyan McBride, C. J. Blankenship and Peter Budinger took part in the shoot. According to Peter, the actors have a ball doing it; "It was quite funny, while they were taking pictures, [Dyan] was running around creating dialogue – in character. Her character in Jubilee name drops and talks quickly, so she was doing that while posing."

C. J. recalls the shoot with a laugh, "It was pretty funny we [C. J. and Peter] were supposed to be these athletic guys. So David says, 'You guys wanna do some push ups or something?' Our egos' slightly bruised, we did it anyway. And he started taking pushup shots."

(C. J. Blankenship, Megan Cavanagh, and Peter Budinger gettin' pumped.

Photo by David Allen.)

That dovetailed into a series of shots between C. J. and Peter that reminded Peter of the gym scene from the film version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. "We were staring at each other in these series of shots, on a lark, ignoring Megan completely."

(C. J. Blankenship, Megan Cavanagh, and Peter Budinger channeling Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Photo by David Allen.)

What of David’s work for Moon have you liked the best? Which posters or postcards still stick out in your mind? Tell us in our comments. Three of you that answer will be chosen for concession coupons and entered into our quarterly drawing.

_________________________________________

Last week’s trivia answer: The first recording of Leave It to Me was from a production in Stuttgart and was recorded in German.

As "Fate" Would Have It

Yes Moonies, that’s right. I’m sure I didn’t fool most of you with my coy deception as to the #1 pick on the Moon ballot in last week's blog.

Fate...? Destiny…? It must be Kismet.

And it is.

Being such a grand show, it got me thinking about large productions and our little theatre. Would we ever be able to do justice to Kismet at the Eureka?

I decided it was time to sit down with Artistic Director Greg MacKellan and have a little chat. We talked about Kismet, to be sure, but also about larger productions and 42ND Street Moon in general. Here’s a little bit of that conversation:

(42ND Street Moon's Artistic Director Greg MacKellan)

K. So Greg, the people have spoken, what are Moon's plans for Kismet?

G. Kismet is a show we have wanted to do at Moon for a long time—twice it has topped the ballot choices, and our audience members have let us know that they would like us to produce it. The score is stunning—“Stranger in Paradise," "And This is My Beloved," "Fate," "Not Since Nineveh," "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads," "Night of My Nights"—what an amazing collection of songs! I saw the movie again recently, and was reminded how funny the script is. It really is great, old-style Broadway at its best.

However, there is a certain lavishness that is integral to Kismet—both in the physical production and in the score—that we simply cannot provide at the Eureka Theatre on that small stage and with only a piano and a reed accompaniment.

For us to do Kismet, we need to return to the Alcazar Theatre. Our hope is that we will open the 2011-12 season with Kismet at the Alcazar, sometime around Sept-Oct 2011.

K. We have performed at Herbst in the past, will there be other shows mounted there in the upcoming season?

G. Well, no, not at the Herbst, but hopefully yes at the Alcazar. Kismet was designed to be our "big return" to the Alcazar, but in fact we may have something there as soon as the 2010-11 season.

K. Ah, a secret huh? No hints yet? Ok, I’m sure you’ll tell me first though so I can let all my Moon Blog friends know the lowdown! So potentially we have two larger shows coming up, why don't we do more of these large scale productions? Is it simply a cost issue? Or is there more?

G. Cost is the major issue. When we perform at the Alcazar (or the Herbst, as we did once with A Connecticut Yankee), we have larger casts, and we are on a larger [Actors'] Equity contract [the Professional Union of Actors and Stage Managers]. The theatre itself is more expensive, and has a union stagehand requirement that the Eureka does not have.

Add in the musicians, and rental of orchestrations, and it becomes a pricey venture. In the past, we have tried the "Encores" approach for the big shows—ten days of rehearsals and a week of performances. And financially, we simply can't make it work by running only a week.

K. Would a return to the more intimate staging allow 42ND Street Moon to produce more of these shows? Going back to the purely "concert" version of some show perhaps? Or even a studio readings?

G. Well, I think we're navigating that fairly well, so far. Girl Crazy, Ben Franklin in Paris, and Wildcat were all huge shows on Broadway (for that matter, so was High Spirits), and we've managed to do them justice, I think, in a smaller production.

This season, Call Me Madam, Destry [Rides Again], and especially Jubilee were done with huge casts and sets on Broadway, but I am fully confident that we will pull them off and the audience will feel like they've seen the full show. In fact, we did both Madam and Jubilee with less people back when we were doing the strict staged concerts at NCTC [New Conservatory Theatre Center – former home to 42ND Street Moon].

K. I for one hated John Doyle's Sweeney Todd (and sometimes I feel like I'm alone in this), mostly because I felt a central character—the score—was decimated. Whereas the musical treatment he did for Company was much more in keeping with the feel of the story. Are there shows that you'd like to see us do that are too large in a technical sense (either production or score) as opposed to simply a large cast?

G. I loved the Doyle Sweeney! But then I saw it in London in a small off-West End Theatre (before it transferred) and never saw the Broadway-ized version. It was tiny, and it was really scary—maybe the scariest Sweeney Todd I'd ever seen. It wasn't sung particularly well in London, only Sweeney and Toby really had the voices for it, but it was very well performed, and I felt like I was really hearing and responding to Sondheim's lyrics in a way I hadn't since I saw the original on tour with Angela Lansbury and George Hearn. I think that's why I didn't want to see it in the US version—didn't want to see what Broadway had done to it.

Besides Kismet, off the top of my head I know it would be almost impossible to pull off Robert & Elizabeth—for both cast size and nature of the score—in the Eureka. We did manage to make The Golden Apple happen, but that really pushed us to the limit. That was the one show we've done in the Eureka where I felt in retrospect it needed a bigger space and bigger cast.

Promises, Promises is a show we'd love to do, but we can't get the rights, and I believe it's because Bacharach does not want it done without a rhythm section -- piano only, or piano/reeds only won't fly for that one apparently. So we'd need to go to a larger space for that.

K. What are some other larger scale shows you'd like to do, and that are feasible?

G. Do you mean at the Alcazar? Or at the Eureka? We'd love to redo Paint Your Wagon and do it at the Alcazar this time. Same with I Married an Angel, although that's a very intimate show, but would love to hear it with an orchestra. I'd love to be able to do Kern's The Cat & The Fiddle again with the orchestration (which is small -- only 18 pieces, which was tiny by 1930s Broadway standards).

K. Will the larger shows necessitate bringing in a "name"? If so, who are some of the actors on your wishlist?

G. Well, yes, they do -- we simply can't fill a theatre the size of the Alcazar without some "name" power behind it. For Encores and Reprise (in LA) it's easy, because so many name musical theatre performers live in both places, but for us it means bringing someone in and housing them, so that's another expense. I would love to have Rebecca Luker come do something with us—She Loves Me, Pal Joey, or perhaps something else.

Gosh, who else? Emily Skinner, Victoria Clark, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, these are all people who would be wonderful in the kinds of shows we do. Andrea Marcovicci would love to come back and do Tovarich for us. I'd love to be able to get them for some of these shows. And, to dream really big for a moment, I would love to have Bernadette Peters work her magic on Rodgers & Hart or Porter


 So Moonies, what do you think? How do you feel about big shows getting intimate productions? And who is in your dream cast?

___________________________

Last week’s trivia answer:

P.D.Q Bach, aka, Peter Schickele is responsible for most of the score of Oh, Calcutta! A show I’ve been told we will not be doing at Moon anytime soon.

This week’s trivia question:

Who holds the distinction of being the only Nobel Prize winner to write a libretto for a Broadway musical, and what was the musical?