Tag: Heritage Theatre Festival

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: Pride and Prejudice

Heritage Theatre Festival presents a new take on Pride and Prejudice through July 21. Image: Martyn Kyle

Game theater: In Kate Hamill’s reworking of the witty and romantic Pride and Prejudice, love is a game with rules and strategy, and played for high stakes. It’s still Lizzy and Darcy, Jane and Bingley, but this time the production includes modern song and dance, and some cynicism to boot. Each player is open about her wry calculations to keep her from destitution, and each knows a husband with land is the ultimate prize. Hamill combines classic romance with an eye for realism in a show that will keep you captivated through the final “Yes, a thousand times, yes!”

Through 7/21. $15-45, times vary. Heritage Theatre Festival, Culbreth Theatre, 109 Culbreth Rd., 924-8966.

Categories
Arts

Stars aligned: Heritage Theatre season opens with a legendary night in music history

Martyn Kyle

By Graham Schiltz

Ten days after their first meeting, the cast members of Million Dollar Quartet are attending their first start-to-finish rehearsal. It’s described to me as a “stumble through,” but, to an outsider, that doesn’t seem to give the people on stage enough credit. There’s a buzz of excitement as actors fill the room with a mixture of Southern accents and Sun Records hits, united by a looming deadline: opening night on June 27.

Heritage Theatre Festival, sponsored by the University of Virginia, has put on productions almost every summer since 1974. For 10 weeks, it brings together thespian professionals and amateurs, locals and out-of-towners, plus more than 100 crew members. But right now, only actors command the room’s attention.

Million Dollar Quartet chronicles a jam session among four of music’s biggest stars, whose careers were launched by Sun Records: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins. Their paths cross in the label’s studio in Memphis, Tennessee, and as the actors perform a mixture of original songs and covers, the individual stories of the legendary musicians unfold.

The narrator is Sun Records executive Sam Phillips, played by Adam Poole, a graduate theater student at UNC Chapel Hill. He’s the only cast member new to the production—the others have performed in the play before, some more than 100 times. Through extensive research, diligent rehearsal, and help from his co-stars, Poole says he’s settled quickly into the role, allowing more time to focus on perfecting the play.

“It allows us to get more specific, have more detail, and really tell the story with authenticity and care,” Poole says. ”Every day we dive a little bit deeper into these characters.”

Also in attendance is HTF’s ringleader. In 2017, after a 20-year journey, Jenny Wales became artistic director for Heritage Theatre Festival, the same place she received her first paid theater gig as a drama student at UVA. In between, she received an MFA from Alabama Shakespeare Festival, acted in New York City, and helped grow UNC-Chapel Hill’s PlayMakers Repertory Company in the same role she’s in now.

Wales is responsible for choosing the plays, casting, and working alongside directors. After a decade in theater, this is where she feels most comfortable. “It was kind of a leap. What I had known was performing,” Wales says. “Once I made that jump, for me it was like, ‘Oh, this is what I think I’m supposed to be doing.’”

Watching a production come together is a homecoming of sorts for Wales. “It’s kind of this beautiful, cyclical thing,” she says. “To have the opportunity to come back and give back to an organization and a community that had given me so much was singular.”

As the actors work through their parts, banter fills in for awkward pauses and mistakes—when Poole trips over a cord heading off stage, one of the cast members jokes, “Clean up your studio!” The actors giggle at each other, excited to see the script come together for the first time.

It’s only two weeks until the first performance. When asked if she ever has doubts that the production will come together, Wales grins.

“Sure, there are times when you think, ‘I don’t know how we’re gonna do it,’ but it’s also the thing that makes it the most thrilling,” she says. “We’re all here united for those 10 weeks, and we’re gonna make it happen.”

Million Dollar Quartet, opening on June 28, stars Peter Oyloe as Johnny Cash, Austin Hohnke as Carl Perkins, Jacob Barton as Elvis Presley, and Trevor Dorner as Jerry Lee Lewis.

Categories
Arts

Ascending dreamer: The Mountaintop at Heritage Theatre Festival is one for the heart

Enoch A. King plays Martin Luther King Jr., and Suzette Azariah Gunn is Camae in The Mountaintop at the Ruth Caplin Theatre through August 5.

Fifty years after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, and several days before the first anniversary of last summer’s white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, UVA’s Heritage Theatre Festival unveiled its production of The Mountaintop, a play that reimagines the final hours of King’s life and celebrates the humanity of its hero. Written by Katori Hall and debuted in 2009, the story is told anew by masterful director Kathryn Hunter-Williams and presented as a gift: medicine designed to rejuvenate hearts in a hurting community and divided country.

When the lights go down, James Brown is singing. When they go up, we hear rain. It’s April 3, 1968, and the red neon sign of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, glows like a boomerang. Inside Room 306, we see two twin beds, one made up neatly, the other a mess. Crumpled balls of paper dot the carpet; legal pads, pens, ashtrays and coffee pots litter the Art Deco furniture. This is a thinking man’s hotel room.

When King enters, you feel pressure swollen like the humid weight of the storm settle on your shoulders. The tension is high, fraught with dramatic irony, which might be why you laugh so hard when he takes off his shoes, wrinkles his nose and comments aloud about the smell.

Alone with his thoughts, frustrations and persistent cough, the condemned man sheds his pulpit uniform—black suit, brown tie, black shoes—with the resignation of a road warrior. This isn’t the first empty motel room he’s retired to after rekindling hope for a weary and worried audience, but it will be his last. Because the church he exited on this rainy night, the small crowd he complains of to the maid who brings him coffee, was the Mason Temple in Memphis. The speech to which he gave so much energy will come to be known as “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” a prophetic charge to his people to press on to the promised land, the mountaintop King saw in his dreams, even if he should not make it there with them. He would be shot and killed just 31 hours after delivering it.

So here we are in the motel, trapped between prophesy and martyrdom, listening to the leader of the American civil rights movement urinate (behind closed doors) while we wait for him to die. It’s a testament to the creativity of the playwright and the fine work of this production that nervous tension need only carry us so far. Soon enough the story morphs, unlocking deeper dimensions of attention, rousing us from trainwreck-stupors and absorbing our whole hearts.

Enoch A. King, who plays MLK, brings remarkable range and his own spin to the iconic character. Though his bearing, oratorical skills and mustache evoke an eerie likeness to King, he never attempts to carbon copy him. Instead, he makes him accessible, shifting from tenacity to flirtation to paranoia to bombast, sometimes on a dime. Most remarkable is the way he deepens as the show progresses. By the time he delivers his final speech, you would swear MLK himself was onstage.

Suzette Azariah Gunn’s Camae, a housekeeper tasked with attending to King during her first day on the job, is a seemingly inadvertent companion for his final night on earth. Gunn delivers a powerful performance, matching King’s fiery sermons with her own passionate arguments on changing the world. She, too, is larger than life somehow, speaking on behalf of society: sharing Black Panther beliefs, roasting King’s “bougie“ assumptions, referring to God as a “she” with steadfast conviction, and ultimately carrying a secret set to redeem us all.

Credit goes to Hunter-Williams, scenic designer Raul Abrego, lighting designer Latrice Lovett and sound designer Michael Rasbury for the show’s captivating portrayal of an ordinary world that teeters on the edge of something extraordinary. The whole experience is elevated (and ultimately transformed) by light shifts, clever sets and the explosions of thunder that set King shaking. When the show crescendos, thanks in large part to the crew, it leaves us light years from where we began.

I’m loathe to give away the play’s significant surprises but suffice to say, I cried for none of the expected reasons but because, at the same instant Katori’s plot shed its literal trappings, my mind and heart woke up.

This production is delivered in such a time and place and way that you leave the theater changed. It’s hard to know if you’ve traveled forward or backward in time or simply deeper into yourself, awake and aware and alive, like King himself, until the very end.

Reflecting on the personal costs and challenges of his work, lamenting the misunderstandings he perceives in his followers, King asks in a grief-soaked voice, “Why me?” When Camae rejoins “Why not you?” his answer is ready: “Because I’m just a man.”

The message is clear: No one who changes the world is born with the suprahuman ability to do so. To fight for equality, and keep on fighting, is a brave choice made by flawed humans, and no one is absolved from the responsibility of making that decision.

For evil, as Camae reminds us, is not a who but a what. And 50 years later, the world remains as beautiful and as ugly as King knew it to be. It would appear the mountaintop was never a destination nor permanent citadel but rather a possibility, available in every moment for those who choose to go there.

Categories
Arts

Jenny Wales ushers in a new era at Heritage Theatre Festival

UVA graduate and drama major Jenny Wales’ first production season as artistic director of the Heritage Theatre Festival includes A Chorus Line, Harvey and The Mountaintop. Photo by Martyn Kyle

By Dan Goff
arts@c-ville.com

It’s a Friday afternoon at Grit Coffee on Elliewood Avenue. Jenny Wales sits at an outdoor table, one of the few open seats. Finals are fast approaching and the shop is swarming with students. Wales doesn’t seem to mind, and, in fact, seems perfectly at ease—she’s home.

“This is my 20-year reunion,” she says. Wales isn’t just referring to the drama degree she received from the University of Virginia in 1998, but also to the reason she returned-—to become the new artistic director of the Heritage Theatre Festival.

Wales’ is the classic success story of a drama major. After graduating, she made a career as an actress in New York. This was followed by a stint in 2011 at Chapel Hill’s PlayMakers Repertory Company as associate producer and director of education and outreach, what Wales describes as her transition “from solo performer to artistic administration.”

“On Grounds, there’s so many opportunities to deepen what we’re doing,” Wales says. “I think Play Makers really set me up to move that forward.”

On cue

Jenny Wales high-steps into her role as HTF’s artistic director with A Chorus Line on June 21, and the process to cast the musical about auditioning to be in the cast of a musical had its own IRL dramatic moments.

“At Heritage Theatre Festival’s first NYC open call, we weren’t sure how many women would show up,” says Wales. “When we arrived at 9:25 to put down the sign-up sheet for the 10am dance call, there were already 205 signed up. All of a sudden the three hours to see the women didn’t seem like enough time. By the time we got to group seven, it truly felt like a chorus line!

“Julian Sanchez, who is playing Paul, went very method and turned his ankle during the dance audition in Charlottesville. He went to the doctor and got crutches and returned the next day to do the callback on crutches and still made us cry!”

Though it’s been two decades since she attended the university, Wales has a student-like energy and wants to apply it to her role as artistic director, and she’s already full of ideas. “What I’m really interested in is producing entertaining and engaging theater that’s also allowing us to question ourselves and who we are,” Wales says. “I think we’re in a moment to do that, and we should be doing that.”

A big aspect of her plans is increasing the “national presence of Heritage,” and bringing even more prestige to what is already one of Virginia’s most renowned theater groups, and Charlottesville’s only summer theater festival. This entails hosting auditions not just in Charlottesville, but also artistic hubs like Washington, D.C., and New York City. “We saw over 300 actors in one day,” Wales says, laughing a little at the memory.

This summer marks the Heritage Theatre Festival’s 44th season, featuring a blend of comedy and drama, contemporary and classic—the powerful combinations that have made the festival a success for so many years.

The process of selecting these plays was not an easy one, Wales stresses. “I read hundreds of plays, I’ve seen hundreds of plays,” she says. “We really selected and chose with intentionality, and I think each provides something different from the other.”

Though Wales is unable to choose a favorite production out of the 2018 lineup, she can’t hide her excitement about opening with A Chorus Line.

“From a purely personal standpoint, the opportunity to collaborate with Matt Steffens is pretty incredible for both of us,” says Wales. Steffens, the director of HTF’s A Chorus Line, is a fellow UVA grad and has also enjoyed considerable success in professional theater, with involvement in multiple Broadway productions.

“For us to create work together here at the university where we met, where we really challenged one another to define who we are as artists…that’s something that doesn’t happen every day,” Wales says. “It’s something that both of us are really grateful for.”

She defines the relationship between them as being “each other’s artistic touchstones,” and notes their “very difficult conversations.”

In Wales’ role within HTF, it’s a time of change, though she prefers the word shift over change, calling change a “tricky word.” What she hopes to shift, is something that keeps reappearing in the conversation—accessibility.

“What I’m really interested in is expanding the reach of the work that we do, and hopefully reviving a place for the expansion of our audience,” Wales says. She has some practical solutions in mind such as lowering the price of single tickets—but she acknowledges that “price isn’t the only barrier to entry.”

More than anything, Wales seeks inclusivity. “How can we program our work in a way that provides a space for everyone to come and take part in what we’re producing?” she asks.

It’s clear that Wales has countless ideas for improvement—along with a genuine passion for theater. “I think there’s a lot of change with the arts on Grounds,” Wales says. “You can sense the energy and focus on the arts in a really powerful way. And it’s humbling to be a part of that.”

 

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: Company

In Company, 35-year-old Robert examines his commitment to bachelorhood through mishaps with married couples and temporary girlfriends. Stephen Sondheim originally targeted his music and lyrics to a 1970s audience, but (with George Furth) gave the libretto an update in the ’90s to keep with changing cultural themes. The production marks the return of former Heritage Theatre Festival Artistic Director Bob Chapel, who is sure to explore all of the musical’s hilarious angles.

Through August 4. $15-35, times vary. Culbreth Theatre, 109 Culbreth Rd., 924-3376.

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: Chapatti

Heritage Theatre Festival’s production stars Richard Warner and Judith Reagan, who are married offstage, and bring authentic chemistry to the contemporary script. Photo by Michael Bailey

Two lonely elders bonding over their love of pets—Dan owns a dog and Betty has 19 cats—might seem like a bummer of a story at first glance, but in the hands of Irish playwright Christian O’Reilly, Chapatti unfolds as a powerfully sublime ode to human companionship. Heritage Theatre Festival’s production stars Richard Warner and Judith Reagan, who are married offstage, and bring authentic chemistry to the contemporary script.

Through July 15. $15-30, times vary. Helms Theatre, 109 Culbreth Rd. 924-3376.

Categories
Arts

The Caplins’ dramatic family legacy comes full circle

Souvenir:A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins Heritage Theatre Festival June 2016 This photograph is licensed to the Heritage Theatre Festival for its marketing and advertising purposes. Third party use without consent of the photographer is prohibited.

This month, the Heritage Theatre Festival presents a unique piece in a production notable for its director’s connection to the venue in which it’s performed. Award-winning director and choreographer Cate Caplin, who has worked with the likes of David Hyde Pierce on Broadway, has directed and choreographed six different seasons of the Heritage Theatre Festival, but Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins (not strictly a musical but described as a play with incidental music) is the first production she has directed in the theater named after her mother.

Caplin’s parents, Mortimer and Ruth, shared a love of the dramatic arts and donated the funds to construct the 300-seat Ruth Caplin Theatre, completed in 2013 and located within the University of Virginia’s arts grounds. Mortimer turns 100 this month and will attend his daughter’s production as part of his centennial birthday celebration. The production is dedicated to him and to the memory of Ruth (who passed away in 2014).   

“It will be an emotionally loaded night and I couldn’t be more delighted,” says Caplin.

Based on the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins, Souvenir chronicles the aspirations of an opera soprano whose indefatigable passion is coupled with an inability to sing on key (and her ignorance of this fact), as well as the friendship she develops with her accompanist, Cosmé McMoon.

The title is inspired by Jenkins’ desire to make a recording of her voice as a “lovely souvenir.” Her unlikely career led her all the way to Carnegie Hall, where her 1944 show quickly sold out and 2,000 people were turned away. (She passed away from a heart attack a month after she performed.) The play, which opened on Broadway in 2005 and has recently been adapted for a film starring Meryl Streep, has been on Caplin’s directorial wish list for years.

The star of the show was once described by a gossip columnist as one who “can sing anything but notes,” and one of the directorial challenges is to cultivate the humor inherent in the spectacle while taking care not to grate on the audience’s ears or dehumanize the protagonist. Caplin achieves this by focusing on Jenkins’ deeply felt passion for music.

“I am constantly talking to the actors about when the moments need to pop to the more extreme choices and when they need to pull back,” Caplin says. “The key is staying completely sincere and heartfelt at all times. Never to push or indicate or go for deliberate laughs.”

Based on the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins, Souvenir chronicles the aspirations of an opera soprano whose indefatigable passion is coupled with an inability to sing on key.

Debra Wagoner, an award-winning actress and vocalist based in Richmond, stars as Jenkins. Caplin describes her as “a highly accomplished singer and comedienne who brings her own very specific skill set to the project, to be able to sing off-key with the utmost sincerity (and without hurting her voice) and then being able to deliver a combination of high comedy and absolute heartfelt sincerity in all that she says and does.”

New York City-based actor Jonathan Spivey plays McMoon, whose character is charged with narrating the story of Jenkins’ career, as well as acting, singing and playing piano.

“It is extremely challenging to juggle all these talents at the same time while doing the play but he does so beautifully,” Caplin says.

Wagoner and Spivey played these two characters together at Virginia Repertory Theatre in 2009, though Caplin’s styling, interpretation, staging and choreography are entirely different.

“I thought their history with the piece would be helpful in this tight rehearsal period,” Caplin says. She considers their past experience a base coat on which to build. “I wanted them to discover new moments together in our current incarnation.”

What interests Caplin most—and drives this production—is the relationship between the two characters.

“[McMoon] worried about how others might judge and react to her odd sensibilities and he became almost protective of her. But after working with her for 12 years, he really started to prefer the way she sang,” says Caplin. “She was actively discouraged as a child but she valued music above all else. She says upfront, ‘The most important thing is the music you hear in your head, the impossible ideal, the beauty not quite within our grasp.’ Cosmé jokes at one point [that] he wonders if she was some sort of genius. He heard another renowned singer and said ‘Something was missing.’ It’s a joke in the context of the play, but I think there was a sense of real truth to what he was saying.”