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Wicked fun

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(Photo: Von Presley Studios)

 

Under the green makeup and flowing gown, the Wicked Witch of the West is — GASP — a man.

David Morton is stepping out of his comfort zone and into heels for the first time for Theatre Cedar Rapids’ third trek down the Yellow Brick Road. The journey starts Friday and continues through mid-May.

Even though he’ll be dressed as a woman, he’s more interested in the character than in specific gender identity. He’s taking a more androgynous approach to the witchy woman immortalized by actress Margaret Hamilton in the 1939 movie version of “The Wizard of Oz,” seared in our collective pop culture consciousness.

“I kinda want people to believe she’s a woman, but I want it to be organic. I don’t want it to be like a caricature, although it is Oz,” says Morton, 49, of Cedar Rapids. “It’s more the idea of a witch, whether she has a gender or not. Most people think of them as a woman.”

So he’s putting on the heels and clunking around his house, “freaking out” his pretty parrot and his three little dogs, too, as he develops his character.

“It’s pretty funny — and it’s also kind of scary,” he says. “There’s just this weird kind of feeling you have when you’re putting on women’s clothes and parading around. It’s something I hadn’t expected. You’ve got to really feel comfortable in that stuff, so that’s the challenge for me as an actor — to not be afraid of looking ugly or weird or whatever. That’s part of the fun of creating something like this — to let yourself play like a little kid.”

That’s not totally unfamiliar turf, since he used to play Oz with his sister in their backyard in San Diego. He was the Wicked Witch and she was Dorothy. It was his chance to be mean to her, he says with a slightly evil laugh.

“I’ve seen the movie a million, million, million times. It’s one of my favorite movies of all times,” he says. “I think the story is timeless. What I love the most about it is how even though there’s evil in the world, there’s still more positive — more love than there is evil. I just love that story.”

The movie made another lasting impression on him.

“Actually, it’s what inspired me to even be in theater or do acting, because I thought that Judy Garland was so convincing,” says Morton, who worked professionally in Los Angeles for 13 years, before moving to the Corridor and plying his art with various professional and community troupes.

“I just really believed her. … I didn’t think she was acting for one minute — she was really that little girl — and I still believe that when I watch her. She just had a talent. You never questioned whether these things were really happening to her. At least I didn’t, and I still don’t — my imagination just won’t allow it. That’s what inspired me.”

Stepping into the dual role of bicycle-riding, dog-napping Almira Gulch and the Wicked Witch of the West was a leap of faith not only for Morton, but for director Leslie Charipar, as well.

“When we started talking about auditions, I didn’t want to exclude anyone from auditioning,” says Charipar, 46, of Cedar Rapids. “Though Dorothy is traditionally Judy Garland, and there are traditional castings, I wanted everybody to feel like they could come down.”

They did just that: 201 kids tried out to be Munchkins and monkeys. A dozen were cast, ages 5 to 9, joining the principal characters and another 10 adult Ozians, adding up to about 30. That’s a big cast for a big-budget TCR show, Charipar says.

And Morton flew into Oz, ready to play ball.

“The witch is not a particularly feminine character,” Charipar says. “Well, David got it in his head that meant come down and audition for the witch. I gotta tell ya, honest to Pete, he earned it with his audition. It just didn’t matter that he was a man. He looked the part, he got the physicality of the role and just killed it in the audition — and we just couldn’t imagine anybody else in that role.”

Aside from the gender switch, Charipar is trying to keep the staging all fairly traditional, while still adding a few other twists to put TCR’s stamp on the tale.

“That’s absolutely important,” she says, when staging a show audiences know so well. “Making it our own is a lot about what can we actually do theatrically to meet the expectations of a movie audience. We really sat down and said, what are the images I would really want to see? I want to see the ruby slippers, the green witch, the witch melting. I grew up watching the movie. I’ve seen it 45 million times, and so I know it backwards and forwards.

“I knew what I wanted to hear and to see,” she says. “I want to see the Lion with a crown and the red cape and the scepter during ‘King of the Forest.’ So we just did a list of those images that we needed to have in there, and then anything else, we interpreted as we felt we could do it the best in telling the story.”

The same is true of the well-known songs, says musical director Janelle Lauer, 43, of Cedar Rapids. The familiar tunes are in there, she says.

“It’ll be all the songs everybody recognizes. It has some cinematic flair, so there’s a lot of underscore throughout the show. Music always tends to help the emotion along.”

She’ll be in the pit playing keyboards, alongside another keyboard player, percussion and a string quartet. Singer/songwriter Ben Schmidt of Iowa City will conduct the show.

Lauer likes the new touches in this version.

“You have to pay homage to the story and give the audience things they can anchor to, that are iconic. There’s some darkness to it that maybe wouldn’t have been there in the past two versions that TCR’s done. But if you give people something to anchor onto, then they’re more likely to go along with you for the ride for the rest of the show,” Lauer says.

Some change is inevitable when moving from screen to stage, Charipar says, like finding new ways to create a tornado.

“It’s one of those things we’re going to try to make simple and let the audiences’ imagination fill in the blanks. …

“When a theater tries to replicate a film, it’s gonna be a disaster,” Charipar says. “I think our audiences are savvy enough to know (they’re) not seeing a movie. I’m not disappointed, and it’s one of my favorite movies in the whole world.”

The details

  • “The Wizard of Oz“
  • Theatre Cedar Rapids, 102 Third St. SE
  • When: Friday (4/26) to May 19; 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday
  • Tickets: $20 to $30, TCR Box Office, (319) 366-8591 or Theatrecr.org
  • Extra: 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday (4/27), join the cast for a day of Oz fun at Ushers Ferry Historic Village, Cedar Rapids; $13 and $14 children, free for adults, register at (319) 286-5731 or crrec.org

Dorothy (Melissa Tormene of Cedar Rapids) gets a kiss from Toto (local canine Kramer). The two star in "The Wizard of Oz," onstage at Theatre Cedar Rapids from April 26 through May 19.

Theatre Cedar Rapids marks 80 years

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Theatre Cedar Rapids is looking to the past, with an eye toward the future with its 80th season.

Returning to the stage are “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Miracle on 34th Street” and the Neil Simon play, “Jake’s Women.” New titles include “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” “For Colored Girls …” and “God of Carnage.”

“We’re trying to keep a sense of history in the lineup,” says Leslie Charipar, the theater’s artistic director. “Eighty seasons is a long time, especially for a theater.”

Anchoring the celebration is one of the first community theater productions of “Les Miserables,” opening June 20, 2014. The theater’s staff has long dreamed the dream of staging that blockbuster musical and had a narrow window in which to do just that.

“The rights will go away in 2015 again,” Charipar says.

Music Theatre International, which holds the production rights, contacted the theater late last year about the availability of “Les Miz.” Charipar says putting it on the anniversary season was “a no-brainer.”

“It was a nice heads-up invitation and of course we said, ‘Um, yeah.’ We’ve been waiting 20 years to do this show,” Charipar says.

Even though Brucemore staged “Mockingbird” outdoors in 2009, that title was the top non-musical request when TCR asked volunteers and patrons what shows they’d like to see on the anniversary season.

“It’s a beautiful story, so we don’t have an issue with doing it again,” Charipar says. “It’ll be different and equally beautiful indoors. It’s just a lovely story and pretty relevant again.”

Charipar is looking forward to directing “a diversity of shows, from old favorites to new comedies,” spanning all age groups.

“If ever there was a season where there’s something for everyone, it’s this one coming up,” she says.

Current TCR members and subscribers can order season tickets now by mail or at the TCR Box Office, or online May 1. The public can order online beginning June 1. Eight-show packages range from $128 to $238.

 

2013-2014 Season

Mainstage musicals

  • “Jesus Christ Superstar,” Oct. 11 to Nov. 2
  • “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” Jan. 24 to Feb. 15
  • “Les Miserables,” June 20 to July 19, 2014

 

Mainstage plays

  • “Miracle on 34th Street,” Nov. 29 to Dec. 21
  • “To Kill a Mockingbird,” March 21 to April 12, 2014

 

Grandon Studio

  • Underground New Play Festival, Sept. 12 to 22
  • “Jake’s Women,” Nov. 1 to 23
  • “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf,” Feb. 21 to March 15
  • “God of Carnage,” April 25 to May 17, 2014

 

Special events: 2013/14 TCR Curtain Raiser, season preview, Sept. 6; Divapalooza: “Estrogen Force Field” concert, Sept. 13 and 14; “Music Man” concert with Orchestra Iowa at the Paramount Theatre, Sept. 26 to 29.

‘Legally Blonde’

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Ohmigosh! Like, the bubbliest musical EVER is coming to Theatre Cedar Rapids!

But don’t be fooled. Elle Woods is not just totally blonde, she’s legally blonde.

“It’s just silly. It’s one of those silly shows that tricks you. It fools you,” says director Casey Prince of Cedar Rapids. “It’s got a gigantic heart. It so cleverly allows you to just have fun, that I don’t think you quite realize how much you’re falling in love with some of these characters. When it reaches some of those penultimate moments, it really almost catches you off guard. There’s some lovely little love stories woven into it.”

The details

The 2007 Tony-nominated show springing from the 2001 hit movie plays Friday to March 23 on the TCR main stage. It tells the story of effervescent college senior Elle Woods (TCR newcomer Lauren Galliart) who refuses to watch her marriage plans fizzle when her boyfriend Warner (TCR veteran Tim Arnold) announces he needs to date someone “serious” as he heads from sunny California to Harvard Law School.

Nobody dumps Elle Woods. If she can dazzle her way through her sorority years, she can bling her way to Boston and land on her feet at the venerable Cambridge institution, too.

Harvard Law is harder than it looks for the fashion merchandising major, but she regains her sparkle pretty quickly and begins to outshine her stuffy ex.

“It’s really important to realize she isn’t just some dumb blonde who wants her boyfriend back,” says Galliart, 23, a Dubuque native who’s staying in Cedar Rapids through the summer. “She is very goal-oriented throughout the entire show. And while it may start with the boyfriend, when she realizes what she wants and what changes she wants to make just for herself, she pretty much accomplishes anything she sets her mind to, which is really great and something I definitely look up to and hope to apply more in my life.”

That’s just one of the ways art can inform life for Galliart, a 2012 graduate of the University of Northern Iowa. She has her sights set on staying in Cedar Rapids through the summer, then moving to New York to pursue an acting career. She’ll take a little bit of Elle Woods with her wherever she goes.

“I really like how kind and positive she is all the time,” Galliart says. “Now especially in life — just being out of college and not really knowing as an actor where I’m going — to just stay positive is the best way to keep yourself afloat. Surrounding yourself with as many people that just want to be there for you and want to help you is something that I think is very important — just realizing how to help each other and how much love you can give each other.”

She and Woods have their similarities — and their differences.

“I am a blonde,” Galliart says with a laugh, “and being very driven, especially once I realize a goal that I want. If I see something I want, I will not let it go until I can get it or find some other solution for it. So I think being very goal-driven and ambitious is something I have in common with her.”

On the flip side, “She is definitely a little bit higher maintenance than I am,” Galliart says. “Actually, doing this show has forced me to become more like that..”

Physical is the touchstone for a show where perky catapults to new heights.

“We’re really feeling it right now,” says director Prince, 35. “The way they translated that kind of vibe from film to stage is best described as ‘cardiovascularly.’ It really works the cast. It’s an incredibly physical show — just tons and tons of dancing and it’s really, really fast-paced … it never really stops moving.”

“I am getting such a workout singing and dancing at the same time,” Galliart says. “L.D. Kidd is our choreographer and he is a great hip-hop dancer, which is not my forte, but he really works with us and pushes us because he knows we can do it. When you nail a number, it is the best feeling in the world.”

She loves so many of the peppy tunes in this upbeat show that even features a marching band and cheerleaders. But she especially loves one that takes a more serious tone.

“I think my favorite song is ‘Legally Blonde,’“ she says. “It is such a gut-wrenching song about what it’s like when your dream dissolves in front of you, and how you have to go back to your previous life even though that’s not who you are anymore. It’s something I can definitely relate to.”

Prince rates the show at PG-13, for some innuendo, but says middle-schoolers and older students will find plenty of messages to enjoy and take to heart.

“Watching (Woods) on this journey of self-discovery is, one, really relatable,” Prince says. “and, two, what the movie does and what the musical does even better, is really embrace and have fun with stereotypes.

Lauren Galliart as Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde" (Von Presley Studios)

“Obviously, the one they have the most fun with is being blonde, to really prove the point it’s not what’s on the outside that full-on defines us, it’s what’s on the inside,” he says.

“The 21st century addition to that life lesson with ‘Legally Blonde’ is that it’s also OK to own what you are on the outside. In the case of having fun with her blonde-ness, and her sticking out like sore thumb at Harvard Law, and not making sense, and not fitting in the same way she did at UCLA, where she was president of her sorority, it provides her so many opportunities to prove people wrong,” he says.

“Everyone assumes she will walk in and fail. … She comes from money so she’s used to getting what she wants, only to find someone who’s willing to put in the work, is really smart, is more than she seems, is more than what meets the eye.

“That’s the fun trick of the show. It has all of this fun with stereotypes, only to sock you upside the head and say, ‘But that’s not who we all are.’ You can’t categorically tell someone what they should and shouldn’t be and what they can and can’t do,” he says. “So suddenly, the little girls in audience that aren’t blonde like Elle have someone they can totally relate to, because she just continues to do what people tell her she can’t do. That’s the heartbeat of the story … She’s beaten down pretty good but just keeps getting back up.”

REVIEW: Flawless ‘Summerland Project’ takes viewers into brave new world

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Christopher Cole (from left), Angela Billman and Marty Norton star in "The Summerland Project," on the Theatre Cedar Rapids mainstage through Feb. 2, 2013. (Von Presley Studios photo)

CEDAR RAPIDS — A lot was on the line at Theatre Cedar Rapids on Friday night. (1/11/13) A large crowd had turned out to see a new play by a local author. That weightiest of phrases, “world premiere,” was being bandied about. The show was TCR’s 400th production.

It was a significant moment.

And each and every person involved in “The Summerland Project” — writer Rob Merritt, director Leslie Charipar, a creative technical crew and an impassioned cast of seven — was ready for that moment. This was very nearly a flawless production of an impressive script.

Merritt’s play appears to draw from a variety of influences: the Pygmalion myth,  “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ” (source material for  “Blade Runner”),  “Frankenstein” and more. Nevertheless, “The Summerland Project” feels fresh and original. It posits a future in which the human brain can be uploaded into a synthetic body with its memories intact.

Would the resulting being be human? Even if it were, would it be moral to cheat death in this way? And what rights would be inalienable to these all but alien creations?

To pull off a high concept play like “The Summerland Project,” Merritt’s script must accomplish a lot: serve up the moral problems in a compelling way; deal with philosophical and scientific exposition in a manner that doesn’t slow the action down; subtly set up plot points that enable and drive the climactic scenes; provide the characters with complex, believable motivations and natural, flowing dialogue; and upset our expectations and problematize our biases.

“The Summerland Project” is successful in each and every one of these areas. Merritt’s program note points to the collaborative development of portions of the text over time, but it is clear that his guiding vision and skillful writing are at the heart of the play’s success. The script itself is a significant accomplishment.

The details

Derek Easton’s spare set, which is enhanced by two walls of video monitors, is perfect. The physical trappings of science fiction are kept to a minimum, which strenghtens the focus on the characters. The monitors could easily have become a distraction, but they are employed so deftly that they only serve to enhance the story, adding drama at key moments and elucidating the mind of the play’s central character.

But all of this — a sharp script, a striking set — would be for naught if the cast couldn’t deliver. Fortunately, with strong direction from Charipar and a clear commitment to the material, this cast was stellar. Each performer inhabited his or her role in such a way that we could see, hear and feel the struggles of the characters to bring huge dreams to fruition at any cost, to stand up for a moral code, to emerge victorious in the face of equally intractable opposition, to find love amid confusion and heartbreak. To a person, the cast — Christopher Cole, Jon Day, Scott Humeston, Matthew James, Marty Norton and Tierra Plowden — deserves kudos.

I’ve left one cast member out of that list because she has earned special commendation. Angela Billman is simply brilliant as Amelia Summerland. Billman’s portrayal of a new kind of person — a hybrid of artificial organism and uploaded personality — is thrilling. As her character relearned to be Amelia (and that formulation of what is happening is just one of a number of possible interpretations), she was by turns hilarious and heartbreaking. It’s a demanding role on which much depends, and Billman could not have been better.

“The Summerland Project” strongly engages both the heart and the mind. It reminded me of the classic science fiction tale which has appeared in many forms over the years, including as a stage play “Flowers for Algernon.” Like that seminal story, “The Summerland Project” is a devastatingly good piece of work.

I hope this is just the first of many stages from which Amelia Summerland will connect with and challenge audiences.

Related: Local playwright’s creation comes to life

Local playwright’s creation comes to life

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"The Summerland Project," opening Jan. 11 at Theatre Cedar Rapids. (VON PRESLEY STUDIOS)

We live, we die, the end.

But what if that wasn’t the end? What if we could live on?

We’re not talking organ donations or cloning. Both are realities borne of long-ago what-ifs.

What if the brain could live on, its waves coursing through a synthetic, robotic body designed to look like our dearly departed selves?

If we, in essence, could bring our loved ones back to life, would we? Should we?

It’s a question as old as “Frankenstein” in the 19th century, explored through “Pet Sematary” in the 20th century and “A.I.” in the 21st century.

And it’s at the heart of “The Summerland Project,” opening Jan. 11 at Theatre Cedar Rapids.

“It’s the story of a husband who is given the chance to possibly bring his dead wife back to life through a very revolutionary medical procedure,” says playwright Rob Merritt, 36, of Cedar Rapids. “But the question is, is it really her or is it simply a really good, fake copy of her?

“(From) that basic idea, it gets into all these questions about what makes us human. ‘The Summerland Project’ was driven by a question that I think everyone’s asked at some point,” he says. “When someone you love dies, you want them back. You would do anything to have them back.

“For a long time I wanted to write a play about that — about someone who wanted to talk to a loved one again, and then finally getting to. But I couldn’t figure out how to tell that story without going into some spiritual thing,” he says. “I couldn’t find a way to do it in the logical, realistic world without making the audience believe in same thing that I do.”

Science helped solve that dilemma.

“I’ve always been a big fan of technology and I’m fascinated by computers and by robotics, and a few years ago, I was reading about how every two years, computers essentially double in size and speed. It’s been that way since the ’60s,” Merritt says.

“It’s predicted that if computers keep advancing at the current rate, we will have a computer that’s big enough and fast enough to simulate every neuron in the human brain and run a fully functional human brain — that we will see this happen not only in our lifetimes, but possibly, in the next few decades.

“And if that’s true, and we succeed at doing that, then the question is, what would that mean? If you copied a brain that way, would it be human? If it can think and remember exactly like the original one did, then why wouldn’t it be alive? And if it isn’t, then what is it that makes us human? Our voices, our bodies, something spiritual?

“I felt like once I thought about that, not only did I have a way to tell my story — the one I wanted to tell for a long time — I knew that it was an opportunity to explore much bigger themes. And that’s where the play came from.”

The details

Writing is a natural vehicle for Merritt, a former Gazette Arts & Entertainment editor and former marketing director at Theatre Cedar Rapids. Ten years ago he penned a book on the Columbine school massacre and now makes his living as a freelance writer and editor.

Not surprising for a journalist, deadlines fueled the evolution “The Summerland Project,” named not only for the main characters, Carter and Amelia Summerland, but also for the realm where various faiths believe a soul goes between death and an afterlife, called “the summerland,” Merritt says.

He’d been kicking around the play’s central idea for some time, researching the science behind it during the winter and spring of 2011. When Theatre Cedar Rapids announced a June 30 deadline for its November 2011 Underground Theatre Festival, Merritt dived into his script. He developed an outline that April, wrote in May and June, then staged a reading with friends about a week before deadline — to give him “time” for tweaking his submission.

He says half the writing took place during rehearsals leading up to the November debut in the theater’s intimate Grandon Studio. Matthew James, the actor playing Carter Summerland, improvised a monologue at his wife’s bedside that was so striking Merritt wrote it into the script. (James is playing the robotics scientist this time around, and Christopher Cole is playing the husband.)

Everything about the 2011 bare-bones production was so striking that Theatre Cedar Rapids staff decided to place it on the mainstage this season and pump up the technical aspects with a multimedia treatment.

“It’s still a clean, simple, streamlined design, but what you’ll see this time is large screens that function as the walls of the lab, that then become projecting surfaces,” says TCR artistic director Leslie Charipar. “Those projections will function as the lab’s computer monitors, too, so whatever’s happening with Amelia (played by Angela Billman) or whatever biological reading the doctors are looking at will be projected up on the lab walls. …

“A lot of what happens in Amelia’s brain will manifest itself on those screens,” she says. “The idea behind the design, too, is to keep it visually simple.”

The sound design and live and taped shots will contribute to what Charipar calls “a bit of sensory overload … so that we’re sort of inundated with this technology.”

Merritt, who directed the show last year, has been involved every step of the rehearsal process this year, says Charipar, who is directing this outing.

“It’s a really cool experience for volunteers to go through, working on a new piece when the playwright’s sitting in the room,” she says. “It’s a whole different can of worms. We’re making changes on the fly, and they’re part of those changes and sometimes they’re the reason for those changes. It’s an exciting process that a lot of people don’t get to do.”

"The Summerland Project," features (from left) Christopher Cole as Carter Summerland, Angela Billman as the synthetic copy of his dead wife, Amerlia Summerland, and Marty Norton as Dr. Ellen Beckett.

Merritt describes the rehearsals as “very exciting and flattering.”

“The play is in such good hands with these incredible professional artists, that it allows me to focus on the script,” he says. “As a writer, it’s cool to see what happens to your material when completely different people get a hold of it and put their artistic spin on it.”

He hopes it continues evolving, with the ultimate goal of seeing it published and gaining new life on other stages.

But for now, he’s looking forward to its first steps at home, gauging audience reactions to his creation.

 

 

REVIEW: Have yourself a merry little Christmas at TCR’s ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’

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By Rob Cline/ Correspondent

CEDAR RAPIDS — Young Sophie Lindwall, a fourth grader making her performance debut, sets the tone for the Theatre Cedar Rapids production of “Meet Me in St. Louis.”

Her character, Tootie, opens the show — singing the title number and bantering with the mailman — and she is simply charming from her first moment. Under the direction of TCR Executive Director Casey Prince, the production, which opened Friday night (11/23/12) for a large audience, is infused with charm from top to bottom.

Based on the classic film of the same name, “Meet Me in St. Louis” is the story of the Smith family during the 10 months leading up to the 1904 World’s Fair. The three older children, Lon (Andy Lesieur), Rose (Rebecca Hauschild), and Esther (Amy Willett), have romances to sort out. The younger children, Agnes (Gracie Schulte) and Tootie (Lindwall), are mischief-makers of the first order.

The family’s life is upended when Mr. Smith (Greg Smith) announces that they are moving to New York. The story’s threads come together over what seems to be the family’s last Christmas in St. Louis.

By and large, the female members of the cast turn in stronger performances than their male counterparts. Hauschild and Willett both sing beautifully, and Willett shines on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” the show’s emotional centerpiece. Schulte and Lindwell steal every scene in which they appear — singing, dancing, and causing trouble with gusto.

Lisa Wipperling comes into her own as Mrs. Smith when she sings “You’ll Hear a Bell,” a song about falling in love. Tracie Hodina is delightful as Katie, the Smiths’ maid, and her witty performance of “A Touch of the Irish” is a winning start to the second act.

Among the men, Smith offers up the best all-around performance portraying the inflexible, baffled, well-meaning, misunderstood father. His rich singing voice is perfect for “A Day in New York,” in which he tries to convince his family to get behind the move, and the tender “Wasn’t It Fun,” which he sings with Wipperling.

Lesieur, together with the others portraying Smith children, is delightful during “Whenever I’m With You.” He also saves the second act ball scene, which drags just a bit, with a spirited performance of the novelty number “The Banjo,” supported by the energetic ensemble.

Derek Easton has designed an impressive and versatile set. It’s a smidgen cramped in spots, but in general, it serves the story well. To increase the playing space, the pit — home to a good band — is covered except for one section in the center through which conductor Alex Shields can guide the singers. The only downside of this strategy is that the hole adds a distracting whiff of danger to the proceedings. Will they “Skip to My Lou” right into the pit? Will the trolley derail in an unfortunate way?

The trolley itself is impressive and the cast whirls and twirls it to great effect during “The Trolley Song,” which Willett belts out to bring the first act to a rousing close.

The second act didn’t come to quite so strong a conclusion. A couple of technical glitches — one with the set and another with the audio — undermined the family’s arrival at the World’s Fair. But a strong reprise of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (complete with audience sing-along) and a final sendoff from Lindwall ensured that the audience left with a warm glow at evening’s end.

ARTS EXTRA

What: “Meet Me in St. Louis”

Where: Theatre Cedar Rapids, 102 Third St. SE

When: Through Dec. 15; 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays

Tickets: $20 to $30; several discounts and packages available; Theatre Cedar Rapids Box Office, (319) 366-8591 or Theatrecr.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson

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When Leslie Charipar and friends saw “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson” on Broadway in 2010, they loved it so much they went again the next day and took more of their group along for the ride.

“We’re all theater people and when you’re surprised by something, it’s kind of a little theater miracle,” she says. “This show surprised me from start to finish. I couldn’t predict what was gonna happen. I had no idea it was going to be so smart and so fresh and so brave. It was just really, really, really cool.”

Charipar’s not expecting everyone to have that same reaction when the new Tony-nominated musical hits the Theatre Cedar Rapids stage from Sept. 28 to Oct. 10, 2o12. She’s prepared for a love/hate relationship with this modern telling of one of the nation’s most volatile presidents, in office from 1829 to 1837.

“It’s a creative and loose telling of Andrew Jackson’s life and presidency,” says Charipar, 45, who is directing TCR’s mainstage production. “It’s strangely close to the truth, but it’s filtered through a contemporary viewpoint and sort of treats history in an irreverent way.”

She describes the show as “edgy, rock ‘n’ roll, hip, smart, brazen, ballsy, different and unique.”

“It’s sexy. The tagline on Broadway is: ‘History just got all sexypants,’ “she says with a laugh.

The details

“There’s no intermission, so you can’t escape,” she says. “I was really moved by the end of the piece when I saw it in New York, but as we work on it here, it’s even more moving, especially because it’s an election year and things are so crazy right now. We often don’t consider the candidates or the president as a human being, and ultimately, what we end the play with, is this is a guy who is confronted with decisions and he made those decisions whether you like ‘em or not.”

“He”s not a nice guy,” says Tim Arnold, 36, of Marion, who plays the title role. “He’s cocky, he’s obnoxious, he’s rude, he’s racist, he’s all these things that I don’t consider myself to be. It’s a lot of fun to explore something so different.”

When Jackson died on June 8, 1845, he was laid to rest next to his wife, Rachel. His tombstone simply reads, “General Andrew Jackson.”‘

The seventh president, whose face is emblazoned on the $20 bill, wrestled with big business and politicians in his time. He spoke with his gun and had a penchant for brawls. He was bloody, participating in 13 duels to defend his wife’s honor, as well as his own, living out his life with a bullet lodged in his chest. He owned slaves, fought American Indians, pushed them onto reservations and became a national hero when he defeated the British at New Orleans during the War of 1812.

His toughness garnered him the nickname “Old Hickory.”

“(The play) never quite makes a judgment on Andrew Jackson, although a very specific point of view is coming across,” Charipar says. “It’s a very adult show. I think the playwright was attempting to use the vernacular of now in the voice of someone who was in the 1800s. It has a lot of strong language, but a lot of conversation about what he did to the Indians, done in a ‘South Park’ way.

“You have to make it to the end of the show. It has a real irreverence and an absolute political incorrectness that can be construed as offensive,” she says. “It really asks the audience to participate and think. It isn’t just a ‘sit there and let it wash over you’ kind of deal.”

In the meantime, the play “November” — an irreverent look at modern politics — is being staged in the Grandon Studio on the theater’s lower level.

“Both deal with government and politics,” Charipar says. “One is set in the 1830s, the other in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I kinda love them because both are really irreverent, on the verge of satire, at a time when we’re so inundated with political stuff. It’s nice to just kind of laugh at it, especially in Iowa, which is inexplicably a swing state, so we’re getting pounded here.

“I kinda love that we have two shows on stage that are basically lampooning politics. We get to make fun of it for a little bit and get a little relief from the seriousness of what is going on in our lives right now.”

The simple frontier lawyer born in the Carolina backwoods in 1767 was a complex man until his death in 1845 at The Hermitage, his plantation near Nashville. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and was a Tennessee Supreme Court judge. At the urging of the people, he ran for president and was elected twice.

Bronze sculpture of Andrew Jackson unveiled in 1852 at the Andrew Jackson memorial in Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House.

“He was a land-grabber,” Charipar says. “He’s one of the reasons we have much of the land that we have now. And in so doing, he was primarily responsible for putting Native Americans on reservations and massacring tribes. He was a violent, fighting president who acquired a great deal of our land, mostly in the South.”

It all plays out to a rock beat that doesn’t move the plot along, but comments on the action, says musical director Janelle Lauer, 42, of Cedar Rapids.

“The music is very short and sweet,” she says. “It’s high energy, it’s funny, it’s irreverent. There’s one song toward the end of the show that’s so poignant, so beautiful and speaks to you and the environment and how when we as people want something, we just take it, without even thinking about what the repercussions are.”

But much of the rest of the music is infused with humor.

“If you listen to the words, it’s so funny, it’s so in your face,” Lauer says. “I love it — it’s great. Rarely have you had a show that’s so impassioned.”

New works, old favorites in TCR’s new season

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CEDAR RAPIDS — Two blockbusters hot off Broadway and an original script that played to sold-out crowds and standing ovations during the November 2011 Underground Festival will heat up Theatre Cedar Rapids’ 2012-13 season.

“Legally Blonde” and “Spring Awakening” anchor the season, announced in a news conference at the theater Tuesday evening, March 13, and will be joined by the main stage world premiere of “The Summerland Project,” by Rob Merritt of Cedar Rapids.

“As the author of ‘The Summerland Project,’ Theatre Cedar Rapids gave me a remarkable opportunity through the TCR Underground New Play Festival. So I’m thrilled to announce that the Festival will return for its second year next season, giving other playwrights the same opportunity that I had,” says Merritt, who has received critical success as a book author and also serves as the theater’s communications director. “Last year’s festival featured more than 50 different acting roles; 11 directing opportunities; and of course, the chance for playwrights to see their work come to life. Events like the Festival … show that TCR is making it a priority to support titles that are new, daring and provocative.”

For the holidays comes “Meet Me in St. Louis,” a family-friendly musical that gave Judy Garland another starring movie role and gave audiences such enduring melodies as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “The Trolley Song.”

Other familiar titles range from a readers theater production of “Our Town” to “The Wizard of Oz,” another musical once starring that Garland girl. Lesser-known works range from the sci-fi “R.U.R.” to a couple of edgy adult comedies set in political realms.

“In all, our 2012-13 Season features seven musicals, four plays and an entire Festival of new work … We’re featuring shows for families, and shows for a distinctly mature audience,” says Leslie Charipar, the theater’s artistic director. “We have intimate drama in the Grandon Studio and spectacular productions in our Auditorium. I hope we’ve hit a diversity of programming that is unique to community theater. We’re doing things that many community theaters wouldn’t dream of trying — and it’s possible for us because of our amazing talent pool; our sophisticated audiences; our dedicated supporters and donors; and our incredible volunteers on the stage and behind the scenes. We hope you’re as excited as we are.”

 

Disney’s Camp Rock

August 2012, pop/rock musical (family show)

This summer at camp was supposed to be all about the music and having the time of their lives. But the new, flashy Camp Star across the lake now threatens Camp Rock’s very existence. To keep the doors open, Mitchie steps up, rallies her fellow Camp Rockers, and gets them into top shape for the ultimate showdown! Based on a Disney Channel original movie.

 

November

September 2012, adult comedy

It’s November in a Presidential election year, and incumbent Charles Smith’s chances for re-election are looking grim. Although his staff has thrown in the towel and his wife has begun to prepare for her post-White House life, Chuck isn’t ready to give up just yet. Amid the biggest fight of his political career, the President has to find time to pardon a couple of turkeys — saving them from the slaughter before Thanksgiving — and this simple PR event inspires Smith to risk it all in attempt to win back public support. With Mamet’s characteristic no-holds-barred style, November is a scathingly hilarious take on the state of America today and the lengths to which people will go to win.

 

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

October 2012, pop/rock (for mature audiences, language)

An exhilarating and white-knuckled look at one of our nation’s founding rock stars, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson recreates and reinvents the life of “Old Hickory,” from his humble beginnings on the Tennessee frontier to his days as our seventh Commander-in-Chief. It also asks the question, is wanting to have a beer with someone reason enough to elect him? What if he’s really, really hot? The musical received a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical in 2011.

 

Underground Theatre Festival

November 2012, new play festival

This new play festival culminates in two weekends of staged readings and fully-staged productions of original works by playwrights from or residing in the state of Iowa.

 

 

Meet Me in St. Louis

December 2012, traditional musical (family holiday show)

Meet Me in St. Louis is a rare treasure in the musical theatre, and is based on the heartwarming movie. Join the Smith family at the 1904 World’s Fair, and see how their love and respect for each other is tempered with the genuine humor that can only be generated by such a special family. Memorable musical numbers include The Boy Next Door, A Raving Beauty, The Trolley Song, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Whenever I’m with You and A Day in New York.

 

The Summerland Project

January 2013, world premiere play, original script

When a woman named Amelia Summerland suffers an aneurysm that leaves her in a coma, her husband Carter desperately seeks a way to save her life. He is approached by Wesley Enterprises, which is offering a revolutionary new medical procedure that could place his wife’s mind in an artificial body. As the story plays out, the new Amelia gradually becomes more and more like her previous self, raising the question: Is she still human? Does she have rights, or is she the property of the company that built her? And will her husband ever be able to accept her?

 

[title of show]

February 2013, adult musical comedy

Two struggling writers hear about a new musical theatre festival. However, the deadline for submissions is a mere three weeks away. With nothing to lose, the pair decides to try to create something new with the help of their friends and a piano. With the cast in place, they begin a conversation about what to write about. Eventually, they write about what to write about. They make a pact to write up until the festival’s deadline and dream about the show changing their lives. In the span of 90 minutes they write and perform their show at the festival and learn lessons about themselves as people, friends and artists. The musical received a Tony Award® nomination for Best Book of a Musical in 2009.

 

Legally Blonde

March 2013, pop/contemporary musical

Sorority star Elle Woods doesn’t take “no” for an answer. So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone “serious,” Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style. Based on the 2001 movie starring Reese Witherspoon.

 

R.U.R.

April 2013, comedy

A 1920 science fiction play in the Czech language by Karel Čapek, R.U.R. stands for Rossum’s Universal Robots, an English phrase used as the subtitle in the Czech original. It introduced the word “robot” to the English language. The play begins in a factory that makes artificial people called “robots.” These creatures are closer to the modern idea of androids or even clones, as they can be mistaken for humans and can think for themselves. They seem happy to work for humans, although that changes and a hostile robot rebellion leads to the extinction of the human race.

 

The Wizard of Oz

May 2013, traditional musical (family show)

Little Dorothy Gale of Kansas, like so many girls her age, dreams of what lies over the rainbow. One day a twister hits her farm and carries her over the rainbow to another world. Come join Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, the Cowardly Lion and Toto as they travel the universe of Dorothy’s imagination. Include the songs Over the Rainbow, If I Only Had A Brain, We’re Off To See The Wizard, and If I Were King Of The Forest.

 

Our Town

June 2013, reader’s theatre (classic)

Described by Edward Albee as “ … the greatest American play ever written,” the story follows the small town of Grover’s Corners through three acts: Daily Life, Love and Marriage, and Death and Eternity. Narrated by a stage manager and performed with minimal props and sets, audiences follow the Webb and Gibbs families as their children fall in love, marry, and eventually — in one of the most famous scenes in American theatre — die. Our Town won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1938.

 

Spring Awakening 

 July 2013, pop/rock (for mature audiences, adult situations, language)

Winner of 8 TONY Awards, including Best Musical, Spring Awakening celebrates the unforgettable journey from youth to adulthood with a power, poignancy, and passion that you will never forget. Adapted from Frank Wedekind’s 1891 expressionist play about the trials, tears, and exhilaration of the teen years, it has been hailed as the “Best Musical of the Year” by the New York Times, New York Post, Star Ledger, Journal News, New York Observer and USA Today.

 

Christmas past

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The setting is Victorian England, but the tale is timeless.

That’s the beauty of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” revisiting Theatre Cedar Rapids from Nov. 25 to Dec. 17. City Circle is staging the classic in Coralville from Dec. 9 to 18 and the Old Creamery in Amana will be conjuring up some laughs with a Dickens twist Nov. 17 to Dec. 18 in “A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol.”

Alisabeth photos

The ghosts of the past seem to be haunting the present.

TCR Artistic Director Leslie Charipar, 44, of Cedar Rapids, says it’s important to make those connections for the 21 children in her cast, which also includes 16 adults.

“That’s one of the things we talked about early in the process,” she says, “trying to explain in part to the kids what it was like to be poor in Victorian London. Every time I’d try to come up with an example, it was not unlike the economic tension right now that makes all of this pretty relevant.

 

“Just when you dismiss a moment and call it history, it comes back again,” she says. “You’d think we would learn.”

Theatre Cedar Rapids has presented “A Christmas Carol” in several incarnations. This new version, by John Mortimer, was staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1994.

“It’s a very classic adaptation,” Charipar says.

Mortimer retains Dickens’ narrative by using the Greek chorus concept, where everyone except the actor playing Scrooge moves in and out of various characters and scenes, adding dialogue and commentary. Music and dance weave in and out of the action, as well.

It’s a play she’s long wanted to direct. “I love the story,” she says. “I love the idea that Scrooge is the worst guy on the planet and he can change. That’s what Christmas is for.”

She found what she was looking for in Mike Dulaney, 67, of Cedar Rapids.

“He’s kind of a slight, gray-haired, absolutely Scrooge-looking guy. He looks and acts precisely how you imagine Scrooge to look and act. He’s lovely in this role and so patient.”

He’s also thrilled to tackle the iconic role. “Scrooge is remembered always as the grouchy old guy,” he says. “And, really, if you watch the show, Scrooge is happy and he is very effervescent through most of the show actually, and particularly the end, because he’s come to realize the whole gift of Christmas is what the show is all about.”

It’s the biggest part he’s had, although he did play a lead role in his very first show, “Marriage-Go-Round,” after the lead actor got sick.

“I started right off with a baptismal by fire and had to learn lines pretty quickly. It was easier when you were 25 years old than when you’re 65 years old,” Dulaney says, adding that he uses a solitary process to memorize his lines.

“I live out by the Sac and Fox Trail,” he says. “I get some lines down, I take a walk on the trail and I’m just repeating the lines, just repeat, repeat, repeat. Then when somebody walks by, you get a strange look.”

The other iconic role is held by Elijah Ervin, 7, of Robins, as Tiny Tim. “He’s cheerful and very respected,” says Elijah, who gets to use an English accent, which he says isn’t hard. Like about half of cast members, this is his first time in a Theatre Cedar Rapids play, but it’s his third time on stage.

A feeling of family permeates the show, partly because so many cast members are family.

“The entire Akers family, two sisters, a mother/daughter, father/stepson and my two nephews are in the show,” Charipar says. “We have all these family connections — all kinds of them working together. It’s a warm, squishy feeling with all those families in there,” she says.

Heather Akers, 36, of Cedar Rapids, loves sharing the stage with her husband, Richie, and their kids Harrison, 9, and Zoey, 7.

“We were a little nervous about the whole undertaking, just concerned about making sure that everybody knew what they were doing, but we’re having a great time,” says Akers, who got her start at the theater in third grade and like her husband, has had many featured roles. “It’s a great way to spend the holidays together.”

— Diana Nollen

 

GET OUT

  • What: “A Christmas Carol”
  • Where: Theatre Cedar Rapids, 102 Third St. SE
  • When: Nov. 25 to Dec. 17; 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday
  • Tickets: $20 and $25 adults, $15 youths and students, Theatre Cedar Rapids Box Office, (319) 366-8591, www.theatrecr.org

REVIEW: ‘Damn Yankees’ hits homerun

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CEDAR RAPIDS — “Damn Yankees” is damn great. In fact, it was damn near perfect in more than one at-bat Friday night at Theatre Cedar Rapids.

The Devil-meets-baseball musical opened to cheers and a standing ovation from a gala crowd. Many sported baseball caps and shirts for a big-ticket party complete with a group of OPN architects leading “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the top of Act II, thanks to a winning bid in preshow auction action.

The mid-’50s show opens with a group of June Cleaver wives lamenting the loss of their Al Bundy husbands for the six months the men are glued to the tube cheering their favorite teams while bemoaning those damn New York Yankees who always win the pennant.

Then one night, Old Joe Boyd mumbles that he’d sell his soul to have his beloved bottomed-out Washington Senators finish on top. The Devil was listening, a deal is struck and Joe strikes out on a new journey in a new body. The catch? He has to abandon his life and wife.

It’s not hard to imagine how this all plays out, but the journey is magical, from the smallest moments of brilliance from the supporting cast to the damn fine comedy, kicks and poignancy from the major players.

If you know Greg Smith, you won’t recognize him as Old Joe until he opens his mouth and that glorious tenor voice comes rolling out. He’s perfectly matched in tone with Janelle Steichen as his sweet wife. It’s hard to imagine why he’d leave her behind, which provides he show’s inner turmoil. Both are marvelous singers who own their every moment in the spotlight.

The wonderfully amazing thing is the way Old Joe seamlessly melts into Young Joe, played with just the right mix of bewilderment and youthful vigor by Casey Prince, the theater’s executive director. Also a marvelous singer and actor, it’s a pleasure to see him step from behind the scenes to hit one over the fence.

The colorful Mr. Applegate (Mike Wilhelm of Cedar Rapids) has plenty of tricks up his sleeve to bedevil the cast and audiences of “Damn Yankees” at Theatre Cedar Rapids. (Trevor Debth Photography)

Mike Wilhelm is sneaky, sleazy, stylish and devious as the Devil, disguised as Applegate, Young Joe’s manager. His costumes are terrific — black with just enough touches of red to always let the audience know who he really is, without adding horns. His actions add those just fine.

All of the costumes by Joni Sackett and the clever, versatile scenery by Scott Olinger transport the action back to the ’50s in the most nostalgic ways.

A special cheer goes out to Jordan Hougham, a major-league talent as seductress Lola, sent by Applegate to make Young Joe forget the love that keeps tugging him back to his old life.

Hougham perfectly executes the sexy, difficult-beyond-belief choreography that conjures up memories of Bob Fosse, Broadway’s most stylish innovator. Hougham slips into accents and out of her clothes with ease, with her every show-stopping move. She’s New York talent on the Cedar Rapids stage. She also provides many, many laugh-out-loud moments as she rounds the bases.

The beauty of this show is the depth of the talent onstage, behind the scenes and in Damon Cole’s dream team orchestra, featuring such home-run hitters as Orchestra Iowa Concertmaster Takuya Horiuchi, Andrew Stern, Joanne Chadima, Terri Hodge, Peter Hart and Rod Pierson.

Special nods go to triple-threat actors Susan Scharnau as eager reporter Gloria and Zach Parker in the dugout. Along with Mike Cervantes as the baseball manager and Stephanie Shaffer Martinez and Tracie Hodina as the hilarious Miller Sisters, they load the bases with laughs and class befitting such a winning show from first-time director Trevor Debth.

It all adds up to a cracker-jack production.

– DIANA NOLLEN

GET OUT

  • What: “Damn Yankees”
  • When: Through Oct. 29, 2011; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday
  • Where: Theatre Cedar Rapids, 102 Third St. SE
  • Tickets: $30 and $25 adults; $20 youths and students; at www.theatrecr.org or (319) 366-8591