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Sunday, Jul 06, 2008
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VILLAGE THEATRE: A national player in new musical theater development |
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| VILLAGE THEATRE: A national player in new musical theater development | ||
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by Miryam Gordon -
SGN A&E Writer Village Theatre in Issaquah has become a nationally-recognized development organization for the nurturing of new musicals for theater. The program, Village Originals, has developed over 60 new musicals to date, including Making Tracks and The Ark which opened recently off-Broadway. August 17-19 was the occasion of the Seventh Annual Festival of New Musicals. Six new musicals at various stages of developmental progress were presented to a select group of Village Originals members for enjoyment and comment. This is a special membership group, separate from their Mainstage memberships, which allows attendance at the annual festival and any developmental programs throughout the year. The musicals were presented with a fully professional cast of actors, singers and musicians, giving each musical its opportunity to shine in its best light. Audiences were then able to submit written comments and take part in panel discussions with the writers of the book, music and lyrics, and directors of the "sing through" presentation. This year's presentations were: Anna Karenina book and lyrics by Peter Kellogg music by Dan Levine Based in 1870s Russia, this is the often-filmed story of Anna and her struggle to decide between being the proper wife and mother or leaving respectability for the love of her life. Anna Karenina actually had a first production on Broadway in 1992. Kellogg and Levine have been revising it ever since. However, Kellogg and Levine received three Tony nominations for the book, music and lyrics. Iron Curtain book by Susan LiLallo music by Stephen Weiner lyrics by Peter Mills A comedy about musical theater writers who are kidnapped to Russia and forced to fix a terrible Russian musical, under the gun. DiLallo and Weiner were the writers of Once Upon a Time in New Jersey, last year's mainstage production at The Village. They have all won at least one Richard Rogers Award and Weiner's musical, The Hudsucker Proxy, is Broadway-bound. Sacagawea book and lyrics by Mary Bracken Phillips music by Craig Bohmler A sweeping saga of Lewis and Clark's journeys to map America and the young Shoshone woman who led them and kept them safe from Indian attack. Bracken Phillips was Tony-nominated for her lyrics for the Broadway musical, Metro. Bohmler has primarily composed for lyric theater and opera, including choral works. Two of his nine musicals have played off-Broadway. Piece music and lyrics by Scott Alan book by Tara Smith A woman returns home after her mother's death to reconcile the different pieces of her life, bringing resolution to heart-rending moments that have torn her apart. Alan wrote many of the musical numbers for Piece around 2003, so some of his numbers are already sung in variety presentations by singers, and beloved as new musical standards. Smith, most recently, produced the Broadway musical, Xanadu. 100 Years into the Heart book by Richard Vetere music by Jeffrey Lodin lyrics by William Squier Planning her marriage to Vincent in 1970s New York, Stephanie meets charming Sal and struggles with a decision that could hurt her loved ones and supporters. Vertere is a screenwriter and author, in addition to playwright, and turned his novel, The Third Miracle, into a screenplay starring Ed Harris and Anne Heche. Lodin and Squier have collaborated on three other musicals and they have written songs for television and film. Squier has had plays produced off and off-off Broadway. 100 Years has been optioned for off-Broadway and is in preproduction. Saint Heaven book by Martin Casella music and lyrics by Keith Gordon story by Steve Lyons A love story between a doctor, who returns to Saint Heaven, Kentucky upon his father's death, and a preacher he thinks has epilepsy, who speaks in tongues. Casella is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter with too many credits to list! Gordon has written many advertising jingles for national campaigns along with a musical version of the movie, How To Marry A Millionaire. Village Originals' has a process for bringing a new musical to mainstage-production readiness. It starts with this new musical festival, which is considered a "reading." Actors and singers are not memorized, there is a short rehearsal, no costumes or set and minimal musical accompaniment. A musical could then go on to a "workshop." This is a fully-staged, rehearsed production where actors are off-book and rehearsed for a couple of weeks, but still no costumes or sets. These productions help creators of the musical to see a show with movement around the stage to see how well the production tells the story. A musical could have a "developmental production." Terezin, the latest example of this sort of production, had a full rehearsal period, a small band or orchestra included and some production values of set, costume and lighting. These productions are very close to being considered "finished" and ready for mainstage production. This 2007 season, Village Theatre is presenting Million Dollar Quartet, a musical about an historic night where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis met and made music. Million Dollar was originally presented at last year's Sixth Annual festival. It opens September 19th. Earlier Festival of New Musicals productions have gone on to international productions. After The Fair, (developmental production in Spring, 1998, and mainstage production in March, 2001), received its London premiere at the King's Head Theatre in 2003. The Fabulist (2005 Festival of New Musicals) was chosen (along with 2003 Festival of New Musicals show Like You Like It) from over 300 submissions worldwide to be presented in the 2006 Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre. Next To Normal (presented in a 2002 reading as Feeling Electric) is on Second Stage Theatre's 2007-08 season, a major off-Broadway venue. |
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