The Mystery of George Spelvin

I received a call from a longtime patron of ours the other day, a representative of George Spelvin. She wanted to renew his subscription for the upcoming 2011-12 season.

Now, this probably doesn’t seem odd, but I was in the middle of reading a scene, from Strike Up the Band, between George Spelvin and Horace J. Fletcher.

“What an odd coincidence,” I thought.

George Spelvin

Do you know who George Spelvin is? He is a man of particular mystery in the Kaufman script. And here he has a representative calling on his behalf, somewhat mysterious in and of itself.

I began to do a little digging (not hard with Google and Wikipedia) and discovered what many of you may already know, but just in case you don’t….

George Spelvin is 125 years old. He has been in more plays than any other actor in history. Most importantly… he doesn’t exist.

It is a pseudonym used in the theatre (mostly American) for a number of reasons, but generally always to stand in for the name of an actor.

Spelvin has stood in for actors playing dual roles; union actors wishing to remain anonymous when performing in non-union theaters; and often when there is literally no actor at all. For instance, when the director doesn’t want the audience to know a character will not actually appear on stage, such as in a mystery or melodrama. I’m sure there has been a production or two of Harvey, where Harvey is played by George Spelvin.

He has also appeared as the name of a character in Strike Up the Band, Christopher Durang’s The Actor’s Nightmare, in an episode of Fibber McGee and Molly, and the I Love Lucy episode, “Don Juan is Shelved.”

Benjamin Knoll

Spelvin comes from an illustrious family that also includes, Alan Smithee (cousin according to the IMDB), and his English relatives Walter Plinge and David Agnew. Can you tell me who these gentlemen are?

Do you have any favorite pseudonyms? Do you have a pseudonym that you have ever used?

Oh, and to find out why our George Spelvin, played by the devilishly charming Benjamin Knoll, is so mysterious, come to the Eureka Theatre April 6-24 for George & Ira Gershwin and George S. Kaufman’s Strike Up the Band. For tickets click here or call (415) 255 -8207.

And the Award Goes to: 42nd Street Moon Receives 20 nominations!

In January, The San Francisco Bay Times released its "The Top 10 of 2010" list of Theatrical performances. 42nd Street Moon is on the list - twice!  Then in just the past few weeks Moon has been nominated for 9 BroadwayWorld.com awards and 11 Bay Area Theater Critic Circle (BATCC) Awards.  

While the BATCC Awards are chosen by a closed ballot, the BroadwayWorld.com Awards are chosen through public voting.  Please visit the voting site by clicking here, and help 42nd Street Moon take home the following awards (all for Murder for Two):

Scott Weinstein

Joe Kinosian

Adam Overett

Best Musical: Murder for Two

Best Special Theatre Event: Murder for Two

Best Director of a Musical: Scott Weinstein

Best Featured Actor of a Musical (Local): Adam Overett

Best Lead Actor of a Musical (Local): Joe Kinosian

Best Lighting Design: Cathie Anderson

Best Sound Design: Carole Davis

Our BATCC nominations include:

Klea Blackhurst

Both our casts for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Lady, Be Good! were nominated for Best Ensemble Cast.

Klea Blackhurst picked up a nomination for Best Solo Performance for Everything the Traffic Will Allow.  

Our resident maestro Dave Dobrusky picked up TWO nominations for Best Musical Director for Very Warm for May and Lady, Be Good!

Speaking of directors, Chris Smith was nominated for Best Director for Lady, Be Good!

Our fine Moonie actors picked up three nominations: Maureen McVerry (Very Warm for May) and Rena Wilson (Lady, Be Good!) for Best Supporting Performance - Female, and Anil Margsahayam (Very Warm for May) for Best Principal Performance - Male.

Rena Wilson

Maureen McVerry

Anil Margsahayam

Finally, Lady, Be Good! and Very Warm for May were nominated for Best Production.

We are certainly proud of each of these nominations.  42nd Street Moon strives with each new show to increase our production values and from the positive patron comments we often receive and these nominations, it's a pretty good indication that we are headed in the right direction! 

Again, please help us sweep the BroadwayWorld.com Awards by voting here. Voting ends March 31, 2011.

Thank you all for your support. We look forward to seeing your response to our upcoming 2011-2012 season!

And tell us what do you think?  Did the nominating Boards get it right?  Were there other Moonies that got slighted?  Leave a comment!

Klea Blackhurst : Secrets of Successful Singing Revealed! A review of MoonSchool’s first Master Class.

Klea Blackhurst (right) with
U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg Ann Wagner

On February 5th, New York’s powerhouse singer, Klea Blackhurst, swooped into MoonSchool and taught an amazing Master Class in singing and song interpretation.  Ms. Blackhurst was the perfect choice to launch the Master Class series at 42nd Street Moon.  Klea is an experienced performer of both theatre and cabaret.  Her singing style is athletic, confident, forceful, grounded and joyous [see video below!].  Throughout the three-hour session, Klea let her skills shine without ever eclipsing the performers or forgetting that she was, indeed, there to teach.  The class was accompanied by Mr. Barry Lloyd, an accomplished musician and performer.  Klea and Barry blended beautifully as teachers and mentors.

from top left clockwise: Eliza Leoni, Julia Baron, Klea Blackhurst
Chelsea Nenni, Barry Lloyd, Jonathan Shue, Buzz Halsing,
Moon Education Director Dyan McBride, and Chloe Condon

The format was fairly simple.  Seven Bay Area performers and MoonSchool students-Seth Michael Anderson, Julia Baron, Chloe Condon, Buzz Halsing, Eliza Leoni, Chelsea Nenni and Jonathan Shue were asked to prepare a musical theatre song.  After singing, they would work with Klea on whatever she deemed important.  The audience was made up of friends, singers, teachers and those interested in learning about the process of singing.

Barry fixing rhythms and arrangements!

Each singer had approximately 15 to 20 minutes with Klea and Barry.  The technique that seemed to get the most play during the class was exploring a physicality in singing that had force and confidence.  If a singer thought they were singing with full emotion or breath, Klea helped them see that there was much more power within themselves.   Singers learned that breath is not just a casual act.  It IS singing. In Klea’s words, “Breath is the umbrella and everything else is underneath.”  Barry fixed rhythms and discussed better/different arrangements or markings in the music.

Chelsea and Klea connecting!

Other techniques that were explored were “ping” singing (forward sound), articulation of consonants for energy, using one’s gestures to help sing with confidence and Klea’s theory of mind, body and spirit as the core of singing.  Her basic philosophy being any “problem” which occurs in singing is a result of an issue in either the mind (artistry, thought, objectives/tactics, lyrics), the body (physicalization, acoustics, what you can and can’t accomplish when singing a certain song) and spirit (performance magic, being in “the zone”).  

Chelea Before working with Klea and during!

Each singer had moments of brilliance.  They were all open and playful.  Klea and Barry both remarked that they were grateful to have singers who were willing to try anything they were given.  All singers were prepared, off-book and knew what they wanted to work on.  Some wanted to connect with their body, while others wanted to re-charge a piece they’d sung for a long time.  Whatever the need, Klea and Barry worked on it and then some.  How wonderful it was to have singers and teachers that reveled in the beauty and fun of music.  Our first Master Class was a success all the way around!

Klea with Buzz

MoonSchool’s next Master Class features the return of Darren Criss. The handsome and talented star of Fox TV's hit show, Glee began his career with 42nd Street Moon!

Stay tuned for all the exciting details!

Our past two blogs have discussed the two guest stars of tonight’s salon tribute to the legendary composer John Kander. Karen Ziemba and Noah Racey comprise two of the seven performers you’ll see at the Alcazar, and they both originated roles in John Kander shows.

Rob Hatzenbeller

Karen originated roles in four Kander shows, including Curtains which Noah also originated a role in. However, they aren’t the only cast members to have been in a world premiere Kander show. Rob Hatzenbeller had the wonderful fortune to be cast in the world premiere of Kander and Ebb’s The Visit.

Tell me about your character, Lenny, in The Visit?

Rob: Chita Rivera played Claire Zachanasian, the wealthiest woman in the world. [ed. Her job? The world’s oldest profession!] Lenny was part of her entourage, one of her bodyguards. He was a gum-chewing, tough-guy type, a real brute.

Chita Rivera and her "entourage"n from the Visit

Were you living in Chicago at the time? Or did they cast from elsewhere?

Rob: The Goodman [Theatre] cast from NYC and Chicago. They were anticipating a Broadway transfer. I happened to be living in Chicago at the time. It was a lengthy audition / callback process, but thankfully, I got it.

Did you get to work much with Kander & Ebb personally?

Rob: I did. Since it was a world premiere, we had an extended rehearsal period. Both John and Fred were there a good part of the time. John would sometimes play for rehearsals. It was amazing seeing them make changes - adding things, moving things.

What does it feel like to have been in the world premiere of a new Kander/Ebb musical?

Rob: It's very surreal. I have always been a huge Kander and Ebb fan. Having the opportunity to meet and work with them was a true honor and something I'll never forget.

What was your favorite moment of the show?

Rob: There were many, but Chita singing "Love and Love Alone" was stunning. The cast would watch from backstage every night.

Any fun horror stories you want to share?

Rob: Unfortunately, our big 'horror' story - really was a horror story. We'd only been in rehearsal for a week when 9/11 happened. Our stage manager called each of us Tuesday morning to tell us not to come in. We had just had two days off and a number of the New York cast members had flown back to NYC.

No one could reach them.

It was such a frightening time. It was very hard to move forward particularly with a show with such dark subject matter. However, our terrific director, Frank Galati, reminded us of the value of theatre and of our work... and that people were going to need to be entertained. So, we banded together and continued doing what we do.

Kerry Butler and David Bertka in the Opposite of Sex

On top of being a reunion with the work of Kander, this is also a reunion for you and Karen, what is it like working with her?

Rob: Karen is lovely. I was brought in to understudy The Opposite of Sex at the Magic a few years ago. I ultimately went on, playing Karen's love interest. As you can imagine stepping into a show is pretty daunting, but she was so warm and generous, she made it easy. And talk about a powerhouse performer! Moon audiences are in for a treat.

Anything you’d like to add?

Rob: I'm so glad that Moon is celebrating the work of John Kander. Thursday's audience is going to hear some amazing music!

For tickets to And All That Jazz, click here or call (415) 255-8207

Noah Racey, A Contemporary Song and Dance Man

Today's guest Blogger is Joe Mader.  Joe has written on theater and film for a variety of publications, including Salon.com, the San Francisco Weekly, the San Francisco Examiner, and the Hollywood Reporter. He served as managing director and producer for a Worcester, Massachusetts theater company for two years.  For 42nd Street Moon, he previously stage managed Peddling Rainbows, Girl Crazy, and Very Warm For May, the company's last three annual fundraising galas, and our first entries in Moon’s Salon Series:  Nice Work If You Can Get It: An Ira Gershwin Salon and I Feel a Song Coming On: A Dorothy Fields Salon.

Noah Racey as Charley Wykeham

I first saw Noah Racey perform in 2004 when he played the title role in the Goodspeed Opera House’s production of the terrific musical farce (with songs by Frank Loesser) Where’s Charley?


The astonishing thing about Racey was that, as the plot and the show got crazier and crazier, as Charley had to slip in out of that damn dress with increasing haste, as the lies being upheld became more and more preposterous and hilarious, Racey’s Charley became more and more delighted with it all.

And the truly great thing was that Racey did too.

Racey is a consummate performer who delights in giving an audience pleasure. He is also one of the best dancers on Broadway.

In Curtains, opposite his And All That Jazz co-star, Karen Ziemba, Racey was the third or fourth lead, but when he danced, you couldn’t take your eyes off him.

He moves with an unbelievable ease and fluidity. Like having just seen a Gene Kelly movie (yes, I said it), you can’t help but try out a few steps in the foyer or the sidewalk or the parking lot after seeing Racey perform. (That’s when, of course, you realize just how much hard work goes into that seeming ease.)

Check out some of Noah's moves with the New York Tap Ensemble (of which he is the Founding Artistic Director)

I am crushed to have missed both him and Ziemba in Never Gonna Dance, which by most accounts was two hours or so of bliss, and I was unable to get to New York to see him in the recent off-Broadway production of Earnest in Love, also reported to be incredibly charming.

Noah and Karen Ziemba in Never Gonna Dance

I did see him steal the show in the latest incarnation of the Broadway by the Year franchise that played at Broadway by the Bay. The joy and skill he brings to performing is infectious. An increasing number of people are learning that Noah Racey is reason enough to see a show, any show.

Karen and Noah in rehearsal for On Broadway!

Once again paired with Ziemba -- also one of the best dancers on Broadway -- performing the songs of Kander for this 42nd Street Moon show, I am thrilled to be working with them as stage manager. Moon audiences are in for a treat.

And All That Jazz: A John Kander Salon
Starring Karen Ziemba and Noah Racey

At the Alcazar Theatre, 650 Geary Street
One Night Only!
January 27th, 7 PM

More information, click here.

For tickets call (415) 255-8207, or click here.