Chance = Change

Last night, Peter and i went downtown to The Provincetown Playhouse to see another Steinhardt student production, this time of a new piece from NYU Grad Writing Program writers...it's called "29" (the quotation marks are mine, not the writers), and the cast consisted of a few Seniors and several 2nd year Grad students as well...all uniformly gifted , well-trained and, consequently, ready to show what they have to offer in this valuable showcase of a show. They should be proud, all of them, of how they do show!

John Simpkins, one of the busiest men in the Steinhardt School, once again directed both the students and show to best possible advantage, and again I was moved by what he is able to accomplish within what i know to be his time, budget, and talent pool constraints: John knows how to creatively, ingeniously (and with integrity) direct and produce shows that Steinhardt can be thoroughly proud of...Bill Wesbrooks does the same...and this is no small task. I would take anyone to anything produced by Steinahrdt School...and the more shows i see there, the more i know this to be true. Part of the reason for this is the amazingly good music staff the directors have to support them: James Cunningham among them!

Once again, as he did with Simpkins' URINETOWN company, James C. rocked the room! He is a disciplined man...I know this from the classes we teach together...and he will settle for no less than the best of what the student actors can give him, which I know can be hard on the actors sometimes, but oh so worth it! The good thing about James is that he plays so many voice lessons for the Schools best vocal teachers, that he knows how to get what he's listenig for, and often can speak the actor's language in getting it. The actors can understand him, from both the singing and the acting points of view because James has inculcated what he hears in all the rooms he assists in....this is an invaluable amalgam of practical knowledge.

"29" sounded great last night, both vocally and instrumentally. The show was, untypically, totally mic-ed and whoever ran the sound board knew what they were doing, for the most part...a couple of the mics were a bit feathey, perhaps placed on the actors' bodies in ways that rubbed against clothing too often, but these things were minor and corrected within the show...it mostly sounded exciting.

Which leads me to the students themselves: I learned so much from watching them, not the least of which was: give these classically trained students a chance to "rock out" and they do -wonderfully and truly . They served the show terrifically, and the writers may never get voices this good , this flexible and versatile, doing this material again: it was impressive.
Especially whent he voices came together to give the show its signature company sound...yummy. Again, bravo James. And John S. for understanding what a true grounding this became for the piece itself.

Dayna , Matt, Stephaine, Lauren, Kevin, Michael, Jared: congratulations! You did good! Really wonderfully good. The audience adored each and every one of you, and their response should have told you that by the end of the show! Enjoy! And keep learning!

The Provincetown was packed, and felt so warm and welcoming, not in small part due to those ingenious hanging lights, colorful and festive, that turned the place into a party from the moment the doors opened.. .... all in all,we were invited in. And felt good about accepting the invitation. Every time i walk into the Provincetown Playhouse, I am reminded of and feel part of the vast theatrical hustory of the place: Eugene O'Neill and the Provincetown Players, the entire Harold Clurman-Fervent Years- story of the place...whenever I teach a class there, I make my students become students of the history of the place itself to give them the respect and perspective such a place should teach: that they are an important part of theater history.

"29" became that, too, last night...I hope the writers appreciate that, because we in the audience certainly did, on the most basic of levels: young people passed something on to us, around the warm and glowing campfire of stories they ably told.

Labels: NYU/Steinhardt