Written by Artistic Director Chris Alleman
Well, not only the producers have left but so has Kevin Carson our Production/Company Manager. He left on Saturday morning to get back to snowy Summit County for the arrival of the cast and crew of The Cake (by Bekah Brunstetter), our first show of the 2019 Theatre Season. So, it was just Josh and I in the room.
We woke up to a little bit of snow – nothing like what Summit County received but…….snow in NYC is different. Wet and slushy.
Today was solely dedicated to callbacks for Tiny Beautiful Things – which will be our final show of the 2019 season. It was a busy morning but we saw some really touching and hilarious auditions. The cast needs to be a diverse representation of the world around us….it was great to see such variety in performances and people. We should have a great group to choose from.
The rest of the weekend was dedicated to seeing more theatre – most Off Broadway. This was a chance to really see where the pulse of theatre is in NYC. We started with The Roundabout Theatre and Fiasco Theatre’s revival of the Stephen Sondheim classic flop – Merrily We Roll Along. The show was cut and reduced to a cast of 6 performers. (The original cast had 26 performers). I thought the show worked with 6 – it certainly makes the show more producible……
That evening we saw Be More Chill at the Lyceum Theatre. This off-Broadway smash hit with a huge internet cult following is still in previews. The audience was made up of both young and old. The young enjoyed it more, I would say, and certainly appeals to a niche audience.
The next day we walked a couple of blocks to 2nd Stage Theatre to see the world premiere of Superhero the new musical by John Logan (Red) and Tom Kitt (Next To Normal). I enjoyed this touching tale of a single mother and son as they maneuver through life without their husband/father. I also love the superheroes genre- so it was up my alley.
Our final show of the week was the new musical Alice By Heart at MCC Theatre in there new space in midtown. The complex is nice (although the lobby is a bit awkward and cramped) with three performance spaces. Alice By Heart is a retelling of Alice in Wonderland tale…..this time told “from memory” by a character named Alice during what appeared to be WWII. The music by Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and book by Steven Sater and Jessie Nelson. It was beautifully staged with the ensemble of 12 portraying a myriad of characters and objects. The music was very Duncan Sheik.
And that was the end of that……flew back the next morning and now are ready to start putting the summer casting and crew together and try to put on the best summer productions we can……
…..see you at the theatre.
Chris