SIGNATURE OPENS ITS DOORS ONCE AGAIN -

HIGH NOTES OF THE DAY

By Joel Markowitz

Talent was oozing from the walls of Signature yesterday, August 4^th, as subscribers, curious Shirlington neighbors and musical theatre lovers (like me) flocked into The ARK and MAX theatres to watch and to listen to the area’s and some of The Big White Way’s most talented singers. Here 10 of my favorite moments.

(1) Will Gartshore’s duet of “Not A Day Goes By” from Merrily We Roll Along, (where he will star as the very unlikable Franklin Sheppard when the show opens the new Signature season next month), and ”I Don’t Remember You,” a Kander and Ebb classic from The Happy Time, which will be part of the Kander and Ebb Festival next Spring. Want to know why Will has won two consecutive Helen Hayes Awards for Best Actor in a resident musical? When I was listening to his gorgeous voice singing these two songs – I was in musical heaven. I could see a third consecutive win next year for what should be an incredible performance this fall in Merrily.

(2) James Gardiner and Erin Driscoll singing “Something,” a sweet duet from The Witches of Eastwick, my friend Steven McKnight, who was sitting next to me, said after these two young and talented singers concluded their beautiful harmonies, “Every time I listen to this song, it gets better and better.” It’s my favorite song in the show and no one has ever delivered it quite like James and Erin.

(3) Gorgeous, gorgeous harmonies on “Dear One”, a scintillating quartet from The Kiss of the Spider Woman, another Kander and Ebb production that will grace the Signature stage in the spring. I wish you were all there to hear Will Gartshore, Eleasha Gamble, Erin Driscoll and Nick Blaemire sing my favorite song from Spider Woman. It was sheer bliss!

(4) Composer/lyricist Nick Blaemire touching “Me and The Open Road” (I apologize if I got the title wrong), a song from Glory Days, (which will have it’s inaugural full production at Signature) a portrait of four high school buddies who reunite a year after graduation and find they’ve drifted apart, where he tells the story of meeting he met a boy “He kissed me in the car under the sky.” and then  having book writer James Gardiner join Nick on “We Can’t Be Boys Anymore.”

It’s so rare to find a composer and lyricist who can actually sing beautifully, and Nick and James can (we heard James’ beautiful voice in Witches this year as Michael Spofford. I believe that these two are going places and Glory Days should be the launching pad for what I hope will be a long and successful career in the theatre. And what a pleasure it was talking to Nick and James after the show. Best of luck guys!  

(5) The powerhouse Eleasha Gamble rocking the roof with the theme song of The Kiss of the Spider Woman. Look out Chita Rivera! When Eleasha threw up her arms to end the song, she enveloped the entire appreciative audience in her web! 

(6) Jessica Grove (pronounced Grovay) from a cabaret with Nevermore’s Edgar Allan Poe and Into The Woods’ Baker – Daniel Cooney – singing “Take Me To The World” from Evening Primrose, a TV special written by Stephen Sondheim about a girl who is stuck in a department store when the doors are closed at night, and her strange encounter with a young man played eerily by Anthony Perkins. Jessica proved that you could sing a song powerfully without turning the decibel level up. I saw Jessica many times in Thoroughly Modern Millie in NYC. She is a real trouper and boy can she sing!

(7) Jessica’s Dad – Billy Grove – surprise singing of “O Sole Mia.” We found out quickly where Jessica got her singing pipes, as her Dad gracefully hit all the high notes with this famous Neapolitan classic. He told me after that show that he’s been singing forever. I don’t know what’s in the water in Columbus, Ohio where the Groves reside, but they need to bottle it. Bella Billy!

(8) And now to my favorite cabaret of the day – the hysterically funny, personable, multi-talented Jackie Piro, making the crowd laugh with great songs and stories about her Broadway and On The Road career. Jackie is a storyteller and each song becomes an event. Her diction is perfection and listening to her singing “Words, Words, Words,”

Sookie’s big number from The Witches of Eastwick, was like hearing the song for the first time. And her stories, “I was the star of the show, Marc Kudisch (Darrel van Horne – the Devil) just didn’t know it, And, “This is the part of the song where I straddled Marc.And Eric Schaeffer yelled, “That is a bad idea,” left the crowd roaring!

Jackie’s rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” (she played Cosette and Fantine in Les Miz) was heartbreaking, while her “Vanilla Ice Cream”, a song made famous by a legend – Barbara Cook in She Loves Me showed off her operatic upper range and, again, her talent to sell a song. And when she sang “He can’t Filler Up,” a naughty song about a man who just can’t please her –

“He can monkey around

‘Til his wrench is sore.

But he won’t filler up anymore,”

The audience was howling.

After the show, Jackie and I had a sort of reunion (see photo). When I podcasted the three witches last month, she was the life of the interview. Her unique laugh filled the podcast with so much joy, and having her throw her arms around me and I around  her, was the highlight of my day! Love ya Jackie!!

(9)  Stephen Gregory Smith singing the powerful “Paper Soldier” from One Red Flower in his cabaret You Gotta Use What You Got. Here, Stephen showed us again that he can deliver a song with immense emotion. It was, for me, the highlight not only of the show, but of his many performances at Signature. And watching the real, funny, sarcastic  slasher movie loving Stephen (I love the movie BUG too) getting the audience to sing and sway along to “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” reminded me of his playful side, one I see when I check his personal website often.

Stephen sang “Giants In The Sky” from Into The Woods, where he played the adorable Jack, temporary keeper of the beans in Signature’s production which inaugurated the new complex. Watching and listening to Stephen sing those tongue twisting lyrics reminded me of his fantastic adorable performance as the kid who just “didn’t get it.” Special kudos to Jenny Cartney who not only accompanied Stephen on the piano, but also lent her wonderful voice to many of the songs in the show, and then ran over to accompany George Dvorsky  in his cabaret. You are something else, Jenny Cartney! 

(10) I saw George Dvorsky when he took over for Doug Sills when Mr. Sills suddenly disappeared to London after The Scarlet Pimpernel opened to scathing reviews. Talking about that experience where he was called in to take over the lead in the show, offered the audience a look into the life of a real Broadway trouper. With his gorgeous voice that can soar up and down the scales, the ability, like Jackie Piro, to sell a song, and vocal ability to sing a gorgeous falsetto, George Dvorsky showed his audience what a talented singer could do with songs by Jerome Kern, Cole Porter and Kander and Ebb. 

His funny rendition of “Where is the Life That Late I Led?” and his ability to pronounce all those difficult lyrics, made me hope that I could one day see him in shows like Man of La Mancha. His sultry take on “There But for You  Go I” from Brigadoon  - his favorite show that he has performed many times ––sent chills up and down my spine, and what he did with Kander and Ebb’s “Sarah Lee”, well, it was delicious! What a pleasure to watch and listen to a pro! 

So there’s the list of highlights from the House of Signature, where great music and talent lives. Thanks to all the Signature staff who made this possible! Good luck with your 2007-2008 season as we Merrily Roll Along to see what musical pleasures await us.        

 

 

       

GANYMEDE ARTS IS TAKING FLIGHT-

An Interview with Artistic Director Jeffrey Johnson

By Joel Markowitz

Ganymede Arts is up and ready to take flight. What will their 2007-2008 season offer local theatergoers? And what’s different since they’ve changes their name from Actors’ Theatre of Washington? Artistic Director Jeffrey Johnson fills us in.

Joel: Why has ATW (Actors’ Theatre of Washington) changed its name to Ganymede Arts?

Jeffrey: It came about in a couple of steps. As you know our staff and Board, for the most part, are all new this past season with a major overhaul happening this past January. Shortly after that, I sat down with the Board and explained what my vision has been for the company. From the get go I saw ATW being more than a theatre company. I have always seen it as an arts company with a strong base in theatre and performance arts. Upon hearing this the board decided that since it was a new beginning that we go with that vision and make the changes necessary to facilitate it. They all felt it was time for it. Around the same time the discussion of the name Actors’ Theatre of Washington and its relevance to our mission and its clarity in explaining it came to the table. It was felt that we should look to something more GLBT related, something that had to do with the mission we follow. If you remember, the name Actors’ Theatre of Washington was made up in 1992 when the company was on a totally different path. Since the path has changed, then so should the name. The two ideas began to meld together and thus it was deiced to make the name change along with the announcement of the expanded mission.

Joel: Why choose the name “Ganymede Arts?”

Jeffrey: I started looking up names and words that came up in reference to GLBT issues. Almost immediately I hit Ganymede. I knew the story but not the complete history of the name. In researching this name I found that not only was the myth of Ganymede one of the first in recorded history to show same-sex love, but from there it has inspired and influenced many major events throughout history up to this very day. The myth has had a life of it’s own in politics, art, religion, science, literature, and pop-culture. Due to the fact that the myth has influenced crucial movements in history, is a back bone to GLBT history, and has had a life of its own in almost every aspect of culture made it the perfect choice to me. It seemed to almost parallel what we wanted to do with the company and suddenly made all the ideas I had floating around in my head have a home and a place (ideas that I couldn’t justify finding a life for under the ATW name).

Joel: Your website states that you are dedicated to the “GLBT experience.” Can you explain what that means to our readers?

Jeffrey: It means a few things. First off (and arguably most importantly) it is telling a story (whether in visual or performance arts) with a GLBT twist on the interpretation. It does not mean that it is exclusive. If anything, to me, it is exactly the opposite. It is showing the similarities that we ALL have at our core. So you might see a play that normally is done with men and women and see it told from a single gender view point…making the issues of the play more human. More universal. It could also mean a hot, sexy drag show! Or plays by GLBT artists. Or artwork done by a GLBT artists…

It reflects a community.

Joel: Do you feel you have received enough support from the GLBT community in the past, and how do you get those in the community that have not supported you in the past, to come forward and support Ganymede Arts now?

Jeffrey: I feel that our support has constantly been growing over that last four seasons and I feel that we are at the point where we can feel confident in our support by the GLBT community. We were voted “Best Theatre Company” by the readers of the Washington Blade. That says something about community support. It’s something that we do not take for granted though. It requires work, loyalty and a very large amount of dedication that we are happy to give. I believe with Ganymede Arts we will now be able to support the community in many untapped ways. To my knowledge, there isn’t another GLBT company in town that produces and supports all art forms. And since we are going down that road I believe we will make many more friends along the way.

Joel: Why should the non-GBLT community support Ganymede Arts?

Jeffrey: Because with the stories we all tell through theatre, through dance, through music or written word or visual art or comedy…there is something universal about them. It’s honesty and emotion that people relate to. When we produce something, whether the piece already has a GLBT slant inherently to it or we creatively find a way to give it that slant without destroying the initial intent of message, the message itself usually is genderless. The message is usually about love, heartbreak, lust, sympathy or understanding. Something everyone can experience, relate to and identify with.

Joel: By catering to the GBLT community, do you risk alienating the non-GBLT theatre-going community?

Jeffrey: I don’t think so. So far we have had a very good mix in attendance. With the feed back that we get it seems people come to see our shows because of the quality of the production.

Joel: What kind of arts events will you be having this year?

Jeffrey: We will start off the season with a 10 day GLBT Arts Festival at Church Street Theatre, which lies at the heart of the GLBT district. The festival will feature theatre readings, dance, performance art, comedy, written word, vocal and instrumental music all encased within a theatre that has been transformed into an art gallery. After our festival, our art shows will occur on the off-nights of our theatrical productions. These art nights will offer a varied schedule of events in all forms of the arts.

Joel: How many theatrical productions will you be producing and what will they be?

Jeffrey: We will do two theatrical productions in addition to the festival and other offerings. The first will be The Lion in Winter in the late winter/early spring of 2008. Then in August 2008 we will mount our third musical…Sweeney Todd.

Joel: Why did you select these productions?

Jeffrey: They continue to help us define who we are. The shows themselves are on two different ends of the spectrum. The Lion In Winter is a classic play that almost everyone is familiar with. Its writing is pretty damn smart; the characters are historical and epic in nature. The other, Sweeney Todd, just begs for new interpretations and approaches. It’s time for that. So Sweeney Todd will allow us to really show our artistic side – taking the audience someplace they never been with the piece. And hopefully it will be like seeing it for the first time – again!

Joel: Will you be starring in any of the productions?

Jeffrey: That has not been decided at this time.

Joel: Will you appear this year in pants?

Jeffrey: Does it matter…?

Joel: Where will you be performing these events? Will Source Theatre be your home again?

Jeffrey: We have applied to CuDC for our considerations for residency at the Source Theatre when it reopens. The fate of Ganymede Arts having a home at Source rests in CuDC’s hands.

Joel: How can our readers find out more information about Ganymede Arts?

Jeffrey: The best way at this time, since we are in “off-season,’ is to visit our website. If they have more questions our phone number and emails are listed. There are also clips from all of our past productions on the website, so looking at them might give you and idea of the range of productions we have done in the past. Also doing a search of past reviews – Boston Marriage or Les Liaisons Dangereuses for example….Potomac Stages has a great archive of all our reviews…

An interview with actor Luke Smith

By Joel Markowitz

I have to agree with Broadway World critic Charles Shubow, when he wrote in his July 20^th review about Olney Theatre Center’s production of Godspell, “Luke Smith (Jesus) is worth the price of admission.  As soon as the show began, I was thrilled and honored to watch him perform.”

From the first moment he appeared in his black and white suit and soft-shoed and raised cane on the stage, you could see that this biblically named young hoofer and singer was ready to perform divinely for us.

I had seen Luke in the ensemble (he was the 3^rd Cockney and a male swing) of Signature’s production of My Fair Lady” and I also knew that he was a male swing in Saving Aimee. But here in Godspell, it was so nice seeing this young actor in the lead role, watching him wow the cheering young audience with his heavenly voice and fancy footwork.

I asked Luke to talk about the Olney production and the journey he has taken as young actor trying to make a living performing on the stage.

_________________________________________________

Joel: Can you tell us about yourself and your theatre training and experience?

Luke: My interest in theater didn’t start until I attended a Performing Arts camp sometime during my early teens. Before then, I had always considered myself a musician, to some extent. I went to the camp to join a Rock band and be cool. Duh. As it turns out, everyone in this camp was really into singing and music theater, and so I figured I’d have my crack at it. Since then, I started performing relentlessly in High School. I took voice lessons all throughout High School, and joined a theater group called “the Young Columbians” under the direction of Toby Orenstein.  I graduated in 2004, and decided to pursue a B.M. in voice at New York University with a focus on Music theater. After two years at NYU, however, I discovered a larger passion for acting, despite the amount of music theory and voice technique drilled into my head. So I took this past year off, and will be attending North Carolina School of the Arts to earn a B.F.A. in acting.

Joel: Have you worked at any local theatres besides Olney Theater Center?

Luke: All this past year, I have been working at theaters around the area to some degree, including Signature theater, Toby’s Dinner theater, and Imagination Stage.  In some cases, these experiences have proven to be equal to, if not more educational than what I learned at school. For example, I was given the opportunity to swing for two shows at Signature Theater, MY FAIR LADY and SAVING AIMEE, starring Sally Murphy and Carolee Carmello, respectively. I cannot tell you how much I learned just by watching these extraordinarily talented women. From their unbelievable confidence and dedication to their craft, to simply watching how they carried themselves as professionals, there was so much to soak in. I learned more from watching those two than any other experience I have had in the theater.

Joel: How did you get the role of Jesus in this production of Godspell?

Luke: I auditioned. I saw an ad in the paper for a non-Equity production, and I thought, “Why not?” I was not at all expecting to get cast, let alone get cast as Jesus.

Joel: How does it feel playing a divine being?

Luke: I have been asked this a number of times during our run, and the answer I have tried to give, more or less, is this: I don’t know.  I didn’t really approach the character of Jesus as a divine being, firstly because I think it would be really hard to play, but mainly because I find it to be a more interesting story if the play is about Jesus, the man. It’s more accessible that way, and there is less pressure on me to be perfect. While I don’t mean to offend anyone’s beliefs, I don’t think Jesus is perfect. He gets angry like anyone else, and he has his own insecurities like everyone else. But what sets him apart is his absolute refusal to undermine his thoughts on how we should treat one another, that we are all in one the same, and everyone deserves as much love and respect as anyone else. I think that is a brilliantly simple notion that is consistently overlooked.

Joel: How much of your own personality do you bring to your performance?

Luke: A good amount. I’m pretty silly, most of the time, so I kind of took that and ran with it. The difference is that Jesus has an intention for all of his silly antics, whereas I’m just silly for the sake of being silly. For me, a lot of the character is inspired by Tom Hulce’s portrayal of Mozart in Amadeus. I like that character so much for his silliness, because it is radically contradicted by his extraordinary understanding of music. For Jesus, the contradiction is his understanding of people and societies.

Joel: Have you ever been in a production of Godspell, and how is this production different?

Luke: I have actually, and I was Jesus that time, too. I was a junior in High School, and I think I felt a lot of pressure to play a holy and perfect Jesus. Half the time I didn’t know what I was talking about, while the other I was afraid of making a mistake. This time I look forward to making mistakes, because it gives me something to play with.

Joel: Tell us about The Olney Theatre Institute

Luke: The Olney Theater Institute is brand new to the Olney Theater Center, whose mission, as I understand it, is to spread theater and the arts specifically to the youth of the area. Our production is an extension of that

Joel: What’s it like working with director Eve Munson, who is the director of the Olney Theatre Institute?

Luke: Eve is lovely. Throughout the rehearsal process, Eve was interested in what we had to say about this or that. She was very much a team player, and more than willing to let us figure something out without her help if it was necessary. At the same time, she seemed to always have an idea on something that helped us see things from a different angle. I really enjoyed working with her.

Joel: What song and scene in the show is your favorite, and which song and scene is the most difficult scene for you to play?

Luke: I think “Alas for You” falls into both of those categories. It’s hard because there are so many words that are pretty important for the audience to hear, and because of the amount of energy I need to stay focused on my objective, which on certain matinee performances requires me to dig deep. It’s fun, though, because it’s the first time the audience really sees Jesus get angry. I tend to explore within that song and the previous scene more than any other moment.

Joel: What’s next for you?

Luke: School is next. Hopefully with at least two weeks of doing nothing before hand…

Joel: Bless you!

Luke: No. Let ME bless you!

Joel: Oy!

Godspell closes Sunday, August 5^th with two performances: at 1:30 pm and 6:30 pm. For tickets, call the box office:  301.924.3400