Sunday, July 14, 2013

Director's Note: Allegro

This weekend, I wrapped production on my most recent directorial endeavor (and my first with Short Tract Towne Theater), the little-known Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Allegro.  I plan to do a full debrief when I have more time, because it really was a unique experience.  For now I thought I'd post my director's note from the program:

                After the success of Oklahoma and Carousel, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II decided to branch out and try something completely different.  While their previous efforts had been straight-forward, traditional musicals, Allegro stood on it’s own as an experimental piece relying on deep characters and narration to tell their story.  The minimalist set and abstract approach to storytelling appealed to some, but was a too big of a leap to others.  Critics were split and ultimately the show closed after a little more than 300 performances.  Aside from a brief tour after the original Broadway run, Allegro was largely forgotten.  There was no run in London, no film version, and no Broadway revival.  By R&H standards this show was a failure, something that bothered Oscar Hammerstein.  He felt that audiences just weren’t prepared for the kind of show it was and even began work on a televised version that was scrapped upon his death.
                Allegro tells the tale of Joseph Taylor, Jr. as he makes his way through life, love and business.  Originally intended to be a birth-to-death tale, Hammerstein quickly realized that wouldn’t work time-wise and shortened it to be a birth-to-mid-life-crisis tale.  The show opens with Joe’s birth, though we don’t actually see him until he’s an adult.  Instead we see the reactions and impact his birth has on the small town he lives in.  His parents and grandma adore him, and there are great expectations of what he’ll become.  As Joe ages the format of the show grows with him.  While the first act covers 20+ years of Joe’s life, the second act picks up nearly 10 years later and follows a more traditional timeline.  We see Joe adapt to college life and adulthood, we see him fall in love, we see him grappling with his parents’ and wife’s expectations of him, we see him forge a career and make his way in the world.  As more and more people grow to rely on him, he begins to be pulled in different direction and loses sight of what he wants for himself. (A concept that is explored in the Allegro ballet.)
                I discovered Allegro completely on accident.  I bought a collection of six Rodgers & Hammerstein librettos so that I could read Carousel. When I finished that, I turned the page and there was Allegro.  I read the first few bits of dialogue and was instantly hooked.  As I began to research this little-known show I became more and more fascinated by it.  It’s a shame that this has never been revived.  I think it would be a huge hit today.  There are many theories as to why Allegro didn’t click with the audiences of 1947, but I think it all boils down to the simple fact that it was ahead of it’s time.  It’s abstract style and loose format were unheard of at the time and didn’t come in to common practice until decades later.  Some have criticized it for being a heavy handed morality tale against the wealthy, but I don’t think that’s right.  (In fact, one of the most devious characters is from Joe’s hometown.)  I see Allegro as the story of a man who is torn between loyalties to his roots and to his potential future, his parents and the girl he loves, his ambitions and the expectation of others.  Somewhere along the way he has to learn to set all of that aside and follow his own path in order to reach his full potential.   Only then will be able to find true happiness and benefit the lives of those around him.

Nic Gunning
Director
                              
 It is a law of our civilization that as soon as a man proves he can contribute to the well-being of the world, there be created an immediate conspiracy to destroy his usefulness, a conspiracy in which he is usually a willing collaborator. Sometimes he awakens to his danger and does something about it. That is the story of Allegro.
-Oscar Hammerstein II

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Gunning in the Park

            One of my favorite parts of teaching is being able to see your students progress throughout the semester.  I was very my proud of my acting class this year.  They did an excellent job performing our short play, The Trophy Case, at the Arts in Motion showcase this year.  They handled the transition from rehearsing in HMAC to using the giant stage at FCS without so much as hiccup.  This year we added a new venue to work in, the great outdoors.
            This summer we were invited to perform The Trophy Case in the Angelica town circle at their farmer’s market.  Performing outside bring a host of new challenges.  To prepare for this we had a special rehearsal a few weeks after the showcase.  To my pleasant surprise, the whole class remembered their lines, even though we hadn’t work together in over two weeks.  It was fun to have the gang together again and the students really seemed to enjoy the reunion.  We rehearsed once in HMAC then dragged our chairs out back and rehearsed a few times with the sounds of traffic, nature and everyday life.   It took a few tries to get it right with so many new distractions to compensate for, but they picked it up quickly.
            The next week we met up in Angelica to perform for the folks at the farmer’s market.  It was great to see to students working in this completely different environment.  They didn’t miss a beat.  The show went well, the audience seemed to enjoy it and the students were able to get the experience of playing to an outdoor crowd.  It was the perfect way to cap the semester and got everyone excited for what next year will bring.  Right away the acting students started inundating me with ideas for Plucky Pipsqueak III.  I guess I’d better start writing!
            Outside of HMAC, I had the opportunity to work with 3 of my former acting students in my production of Allegro with the ShortTract Town Theater.  All three are doing a great job and it has been really rewarding for me to be able to work with them on this level.  Allegro opens tonight and runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7pm in the Fillmore Central School auditorium.  Come see for yourself.