The Score Podcasts Will Share the Sounds of Workshop Concerts

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Karen Nowosad
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Photo shows the cast and band of ‘The Outlaws’ in concert which was presented at Le Poisson Rouge on Oct. 24, 2016. A recording of the performance will be available via podcast in 2017. Photo by K. Nowosad

Bringing a new musical to Broadway can be a long and expensive process. One of the steps in this process might be presenting a workshop or concert where the show is presented to a limited audience where actors have script in hand as they deliver the lines and songs. The limited audience usually is made up of invited people who might have some interest or stake in the show. At times, if the event has extra seats, they might offer a few to the public but the average person rarely has a chance to attend these events. There is a new group in town looking to share some of these workshops that take place. The group is called The Score or The Score Podcast.

Three people whose jobs are involved with the theater make up The Score team: Michael Kimmel, a theater writer, John DeLore, a recording artist, and Allison Bressi, a freelance producer. During a recent visit to one of the concerts put on by The Score, I had an opportunity to speak with Mr. Kimmel. He explained that The Score is looking to provide opportunities for people who are not able to attend the workshops for musical theater show hopefuls that are put on in New York City. They bring shows they are passionate about into a live concert format, record them during the concert, then develop them into podcasts. This will provide a chance to hear the actual concert of the presentation that takes place via podcast which will become available for download. The plan is to have podcasts, or episodes, available for download either late winter or spring 2017.  The Score plans on using some of the more traditional podcast download locations and plans are in the works to launch a Score website as well. Downloads will be free for listeners.

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‘Outlaws’ in concert with Constantine Maroulis (l) as Jesse James and Jeremy Morse (r) as Frank James. Photo by Karen Nowosad

So far, five musicals have been presented in concert and recorded at Le Poisson Rouge on Bleecker Street in New York City.  The one I attended was a show titled Outlaws. The show was billed as: “a hard-boiled, historical fiction featuring a robust Americana score. Frustrated with Washington and hard-up for cash, Jesse James and his brother Frank take matters into their own hands robbing banks, courting the press, and killing anyone who gets in their way. Outlaws is the story of a bitterly divided America and the demagogues who try to save it. ”  Outlaws has music and lyrics by Alexander Sage Oyen and book by James Presson.  The concert that evening was this new musical’s first full, public presentation in New York after past development at Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals, the ASCAP Workshop and the Dramatists Guild Fellowship.

The presentation of Outlaws was The Score’s largest undertaking so far.  It featured a chorus of 17 people and a 9 piece orchestra. Playing major roles were Broadway performers including Constantine Maroulis, Alison Fraser, Jeremy Morse, Michael McCorry Rose, Kacie Sheik, Eric William Morris, Andy Taylor, Will Carlyon, and Sean Patrick Monahan. The concert was produced by Jenna Grossano and featured musical direction by Luke McGinnis and was given two times that evening. One at 7:00 and the next at 9:30. Tickets were available for purchase to the public to attend while the taping was taking place. If the size of the crowd was any indication of the interest people have in hearing new musicals, then The Score is on the right track. Both performances were filled with enthusiastic audiences who were treated to a unique sound that included blue grass and rock given by outstanding performers and musicians.

Mr. Kimmel said that being in musical theater, one has to be creative. It is his hope that The Score is developing a new model that needs addressing. He also mentioned that the show performed that night was all done in a week’s time. As a viewer, I found it to be a very entertaining evening and I look forward to being able to listen to it again, when the podcast becomes available. Being able to bring concerts to a large number of people of new works is in itself good work. But it also will allow new artists an opportunity to be heard.

To learn more, visit www.facebook.com/thescorepodcast, or inquire at thescorepod@gmail.com.kj.

 

 

 

 

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‘Mama’s Boy’ Looks at Lee Harvey Oswald from His Mother’s Point of View

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Karen Nowosad
The cast of 'Mama's Boy' in a scene when Lee Harvey Oswald returns from Soviet Russia with his bride, Marina. Photo credit

The cast of ‘Mama’s Boy’ in a scene when Lee Harvey Oswald returns from Soviet Russia with his bride, Marina. Photo by T. Charles Erickson

It remains one of the mysteries of our time: Did Lee Harvey Oswald shoot President John Kennedy and if so, did he act alone? It is a topic of discussion, speculation, and documentaries. But how often does the discussion turn to the life this suspect led before the assassination? The play Mama’s Boy now playing at New Brunswick’s George Street Playhouse takes a look at this man from someone who knew him well: his mother, Marguerite Oswald. The drama that unfolds on stage gives an interesting picture of him but it still leaves questions unanswered about who Lee Harvey Oswald actually was in the whole scheme of events that took place both before the assassination and the actual terrible event.

Mama’s Boy was written by Rob Urbinati and the production is directed by George Street Playhouse Artistic Director David Saint. When writing Mama’s Boy, Mr. Urbinati drew on actual interviews and transcripts including the Warren Commission to produce his work. The play shows the Oswalds as a struggling American family and one where there are a lot of disjointed relationships particularly those which deal with the mother, Marguerite Oswald.

Betsy Aidem plays Marguerite Oswald. According to notes from Director David Saint, this play came to him from Ms. Aiden who plays Marguerite Oswald whom Saint describes as “a combination of Amanda from The Glass Menagerie and Medea.” Ms. Aidem presents Marguerite as a woman who has worked hard all her life but has very little to show for it. Having buried three husbands, she complains a lot about her constant lack of money, being fired from jobs, and the fact that her sons (Robert and Lee) do not include her at family holiday gatherings. Perhaps there was good reason not to include her as she is portrayed as being very dominant, bossy, and not fond of or accepting of ideas that are not hers. Ms. Aidem does a fine job of presenting her character with lots of faults exposed especially the character’s need to take over and be in control. She is loud and aggressive in her talk and actions. Her preference for her son Lee comes out as well and it hints at a near incestuous relationship with him.

The man in question, Lee Harvey Oswald, is played by Michael Goldsmith. He plays Oswald as a quiet and unhappy man which fits so much of what we actually know about him. His departure from being in the Marines to his defection to Soviet Russia and then his ability to come back into the United States are all mentioned in the play along with his interest in communism and socialism. At times he is an attentive son, husband, and father and other times he becomes a loner perhaps giving good reason for some to still wonder who he really was and what he was all about.

Laurel Casilio plays Marina Oswald, Lee’s wife from Soviet Russia.  She is impressive as a person who is happy to be in the United States and away from all the lack of material goods that came with the Soviet Union. She loves her husband but for for the most part, she cannot get through to him.  In a smaller but vital part is Miles G. Jackson who plays Lee’s brother Robert Oswald.  He plays the character as a man who is concerned about his brother and wife, Marina. He wants to keep the family together but not at the expense of their sanity and thus keeps Mom Oswald excluded from their gatherings and his life in general.

Betsy Aidem plays Marguerite Oswald, mother of Lee Harvey Oswald, in “Mama’s Boy” at George Street Playhouse, Oct. 18-Nov. 6, 2016. (Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Betsy Aidem plays Marguerite Oswald giving a speech about her son, Lee Harvey Oswald. Photo by T. Charles Erickson

The play shows the anger and jealousy Marguerite had towards Marina Oswald and even the widow of Police Officer J.D.Tippit when they received public sympathy and donations of money after their husbands’ deaths but she did not. Marguerite decided to embark on a campaign to show how her son was framed by going on a speaking tour. In a memorable scene form the play, she is at Town Hall in NYC giving a speech but that resentment comes in and ruins it all.

The suspense and the surprises in this play come from the roles the characters play in weaving a story that shows some reasons why Lee Harvey Oswald became so disillusioned with life. Was it enough to be a part of the Kennedy assassination? See the play and decide for yourself.

Those who are interested in the Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories or interested in the history of that time will surely want to see this play. It is a well-written, well-acted piece that theater goers will find interesting to see.

Run Time: 1 hour 39 minutes with a 15 minute intermission

Written by: Rob Urbinati

Directed by: David Saint

Production Team: Set Design: Michael Anaia, Costume Design: Michael McDonald, Lighting Design: Ken Billington, Projection Design: Michael Clark, Original Music/Sound Design: Scott Killian, Hair & Wig Design: Dave Bova and J. Jared Janas,Fight Direction: Rick Sordelet and Christian Kelly-Sordelet, Production Stage Manager: Thomas Clewell, Production Manager: Christopher Bailey, Dialect Coach: Deborah Hecht

Location:.George Street Playhouse is located at 9 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ

Performances: October 18 – November 6, 2016

Contact for Info and Tickets: The George Street Playhouse Box Office – 732-246-7717 or visit their website www.GSPonline.org for tickets and information

Additional Information: Audio Described Performance – November 3 and Open-Captioned Performance – November 5

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‘ELEEMOSYNARY’ A Journey Between Generations

Posted on October 26, 2016 by Karen Nowosad
Playing through Oct. 29, 2016 in New York City

Playing through Oct. 29, 2016 in New York City

The word eleemosynary is not one that usually pops up in every day conversation. Saying it is one thing, but being able to spell it is quite another.  Eleemosynary, is a favorite word of Echo, a young girl in the play of the same name which is currently running now through Oct. 29, 2016 at the John DeSotelle Studio NuBox Theater. Written by Lee Blessing, the play is an intense look at the relationships between three generations of women.  It features a well-developed storyline and superb acting. All of this allows the audience to experience the journey that the three women are on as well as speaking directly to the emotions we all carry with us from our own life experiences.

ELEEMOSYNARY was first performed in 1985 in Minneapolis. Since then it has been performed in a variety of locations and theaters including a stop at Manhattan Theater Club. This version is directed by Alexandra Scordato, and it features a trio of female actors who give themselves over completely to their characters.  The story is told through flashback scenes that intertwine with the actual time in which the play takes place.

Dorothea is a woman who had ideas about how she wanted to live her life that conflicted with the accepted norms for women of the time. After high school, she dreamed of going on to college. But she grew up in a time when women were supposed to marry as soon as possible and that is what awaits Dorothea. As a result, she feels lost until one day when she learns what the word “eccentric” means. She is so taken with that word that she adopts it to describe herself. And she does many things to live up to it including the way she raises her daughter, Artie. One very memorable scene shows Dorothea trying to get Artie to fly. Artie is wearing a set of wire and mesh wings and with her mother’s encouragement, is being told to go to a high ledge and jump off and fly. Mom tells her to believe she can fly and she will. The common sense that Artie has conflicts with her mother’s request and she wisely does not jump.

These types of conflicts occur throughout their lives resulting in communication breaking down. Always at the base is the expectation to be extraordinary particularly as articulated by Dorothea. Artie runs away to live her own life several different times. She graduates college, goes to graduate school, and eventually devotes her career to research which does impress mother Dorothea but that point is never really made clear to Artie until much later. She also marries and has a child who goes to live with her grandmother, Dorothea.

In many ways, the child, Echo, has some of the best characteristics of her mother and grandmother. She is very smart and she excels at spelling so much that she becomes a national champion. And yes the word “Eleemosynary” is key in the contest. However, even more important than her being smart, Echo understands both of the women in her life and she is able to communicate with them both. She becomes the bridge between Dorothea and Artie so that eventually, a form of forgiveness arrives to soothe some of the feelings of conflict.

The intensity of the journey to reach this bridging of the communication provides an audience with opportunities to see three women performing their roles in a manner that creates and shapes characters who are hard to forget. Marina Barry creates Dorothea in a high energy, enthusiastic format. Her Dorothea is lovely when she is with Echo and over the top in terms of having sense when dealing with Artie. She succeeds in creating the interfering mother who you cannot stand to be around. Zoe Van Tieghem plays Echo with a calm, self-assured manner needed to convince the audience that she can bridge the gap between her mother and grandmother. The character of Echo is strong and she has the determination and perseverance to make it happen. Playing what might be the most challenging role of the show is Shana Wiersum as Artie. She portrays Artie as a woman who does what she needs to do in order to stay calm and centered. Doing this is not easy for the character and it causes her to have to cut off contact with her mother and at one point Echo too. It’s hard to tell what Artie is thinking or feeling at times because Ms. Wiersum does a fine job in playing the character holding back emotion and not allowing things to come to her that will hurt her as she has been in the past.

For people who want to see a good drama about family conflicts, this is a good choice to go to see. Unless the run is extended, it will close this weekend, on Oct. 29.

Run Time: 95 minutes (approx)

Written by: Lee Blessing

Director: Alexandra Scordato

Location: John DeSotelle Studio, NuBox Theater, 300 W. 43rd Street, New York City

Performances: October 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29 at 7:30 p.m. and a 2:00 p.m. matinee on October 29

Contact for Info and Tickets: Wind River Productions

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