HOW TO SUCCEED

Last Thursday night, I wanted to explode. It was the final dress rehearsal for How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying at StageDoor Theatre in Conifer, and things were not going so well. The actors were forgetting their lines. The scene shifts were taking so long they felt like waiting in line at the DMV. The band was hitting a couple of clunkers. And the hardest working actor that night- a young man understudying the lead role of Finch who was set to perform opening night due to the tennis schedule of the other Finch- came down with some sort of virus and almost collapsed during "Brotherhood of Man", the big final number.  We had added twenty minutes to the show- not with new dialogue or bits of business. Just with delay. I really wanted to explode.

But things can, and do, get better.

The understudy Finch had to take the next night off. But the other Finch was available due to not going to State Finals- usually a sad thing but for the show, a godsend. Friday night, we opened. Things started to click. We erased the twenty minutes we had added to the show. The band played sublimely. The cast  got back into the groove of things. And the audience really liked it. By Saturday night, our Finch understudy was back in good health, relatively speaking, and wanted to go on. I looked him in the eye, and asked him is he felt ready. He said yes. It was up to me whether or not we let him perform. I decided to go with it, based on my gut. Something felt right. There was electricity in the air, or something like it. Some weird sort of energy was filling the theatre. I don't know why, but sometimes, in theatre, a strange magic happens. Maybe it happens everywhere, but being a theatre person, I have experienced this rare sorcery through the stage. For whatever reason- hard work, confidence, rehearsal, and/or a set of un-named theatre gods who smile down on us from time to time- there are certain performances and shows that go to this other place- a level of existence where everyone is psychically connected, where every member of the cast is fearless, inspired, and brilliant. Saturday night, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying became one of those shows. Every single member of that cast took exponential leaps in their performances. I don't remember at exactly what moment I realized that something special was happening, because I was too busy enjoying the show, laughing and clapping and shouting along with the rest of the very enthusiastic crowd. But every time another cast member went the extra mile, it would inspire one of their fellow actors to take an equally daring leap of faith in both themselves and the show.

So now, the show has become one for the ages, one of those productions I will speak of fondly, and tell legends about, and refer to when directing other productions.

As my wife always says, leap and the net shall appear.

NOISES OFF AND RUNNING

For the past few years, I have been going to see shows at the Fine Arts Center Theatre in Colorado Springs. I've seen dramas, comedies, musicals, even a one act that was stage in the museum section of the center- the excellent Lovers Leapt by Leslie Bramm directed by Artistic Director Scott Levy. And every show has been an outstanding piece of theatre. Noises Off, now playing at the FAC, is no exception. It's hilarious, fast paced, and makes you happy to be alive. This production also proves, yet again, that the most consistently excellent professional theatre in Colorado is at the Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs.

Noises Off is a farce written by super-genius Michael Frayn. It's about a traveling theatre company putting on a farce, and is done in three acts, and from two perspectives. Act one is the final technical rehearsal, and is seen from the point of view of someone sitting in the audience during rehearsal. Act two takes place during a performance of the play, and is seen from the perspective of backstage (complete with the set rotating 180 degrees. Act Three takes place during a particularly disastrous performance, and is again seen from the perspective of someone sitting in the audience. I'm not sure if the play is a lover letter or an indictment to the madness of putting on a show- but either way, it's a delight. To me, what makes this play so funny is how seriously the characters take themselves while they do the most ridiculous things. While the characters and plot may seem absurd to some, they are very, very familiar people and situations to anyone who has ever been in a play.


The show is directed at a break neck pace by Cory Moosman. Farce is considered the hardest form of theatre- but you wouldn't know it from this production. Every move, comic bit, and complicated piece of dialogue is made to seem effortless by the outstanding cast. They are all magnificent, so I will name them all here: Birgitta DePree (Dotty Otley), Sammie Joe Kinnett (Lloyd Dallas), Scott Bellot (Garry Lejeune), Shanna Brock (Brooke Ashton), Joye Cook-Levy (Poppy Norton-Taylor), Max Ferguson (Frederick Fellowes), Casiena Raether (Belinda Blair), Sammy Gleason (Tim Allgood), Michael Miller (Selsdon Mowbray). Equally brilliant and deserving of recognition is the design team. The sound, costumes, props, and in particular set are stunning. They too deserve kudos, and they are: Christopher L. Sheley (Scenic Design), Holly Anne Rawls (Lighting Designer), by Janson Fangio (Costume Designer), Kaetlyn Springer (Properties Designer).

I particularly enjoyed this show because tonight I am opening a production of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying at StageDoor theatre in Conifer- and many of the antics, frustrations, and joys brought to life in Noises Off have been, and continue to ring so true to me as I work with all these brilliant and insane young actors. 

I hope you all get a chance to see both Noises Off and How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. Until then, may the force be with you.