Magnolia Blossoming

Well, here we are into our second week of rehearsals for Steel Magnolias. We’ve had some issues with the flu (Yay, Tamiflu), but we’re all better (knock on countertop) now and charging ahead. It’s been a real joy so far–this cast is so talented and deeply, deeply talented (and a tad disturbed but we’ll leave those stories for the post-run party after a drink or two). Have real-life mother/daughter Mary Jane Harvill and Marin Miller playing onstage mother daughter M’Lynn and Shelby really adds a whole new level of poignancy. And they’re both a hoot!

We had our LookIn on Tuesday the 22nd–that’s where the public is invited in to get a “look in” to our rehearsal process. The directors and designers discuss the play and they get to see a brief scene done in our rehearsal studio (complete with taped out floor plan!). We always have show-themed food (this time including a bleeding armadillo cake). It was a very fun night and everyone seemed to have a blast.

Tickets are selling like mad, so if you haven’t got yours yet get on the ball (or actually the phone). On opening night we’re down to single tickets and obstructed-view seats only. Once we’re open, I’ll be back to let you know how the performances are going!

Oh, and Martha Wilkinson is twittering in character as Truvy. Check it out here.

Tennessee Rep’s 25th Anniversary Season!

A little Sweeney blast

 

After a very exciting, challenging, and rewarding 2008-2009 season, TN Rep is gearing up for its 25th Anniversary Season with three awesome shows from its past and a Christmas special production that promises to be awe-inspiring (after all, I’m in it!). In order to celebrate the Rep’s rich history, Artistic Director Rene Copeland looked back through the Rep’s history to find some of the best, most enriching, and, yes, most popular productions to bring back. So we’ve got Steel Magnolias, Proof, and Big River–along with an exciting, very theatrical take on the holiday classic,  A Christmas Story. But we’re kicking the season off with Steel Magnolias, featuring some very familiar faces from TN Rep’s past. The cast includes Martha Wilkinson, Denice Hicks, Ruth Cordell, Brooke Bryant, and two actress who make this a very special happening indeed.

 

A very familiar face from TN Rep’s recent past is Marin Miller, who appeared in such shows as Oleanna, Speed the Plow, and The Underpants, just to name a few. Marin is the daughter of Mary Jane Harvill, an integral part of the Rep’s founding and early years. Mary Jane and Marin are appearing onstage together for the first time to play mother and daughter, M’Lynn and Shelby. I am honored to have been invited into the rehearsal hall with these amazing women (Rene, amazing in her own right, is directing). Rehearsals start on Monday, September 14th–I’ll be sure to keep you posted on all the fun!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Well, first off we had a great time with Moonlight & Magnolias. It was great getting to know Shane Bridges who worked with the Rep for the first time as the esteemed film producer, David O Selznick. And returning were Rep vets Evelyn Blythe, Pete Vann, and Eric Pasto-Crosby. It was a very fun farce with lots of falling down, slapping, flipping over couches, and debates about racial pride and discrimination. Next in our season….”Wait, a second!” you say? A farce that dares touch on serious issues?!? Yup. It turns out that Moonlight & Magnolias wanted to be more than just a door slamming farce (I mean, come on, only two doors in a farce!?). And actually, if people had anything negative to say about the production it was that some thought the script tried to delve into areas not usually seen in a farce. But audiences had a blast and we were quite proud of it.

And now, we’re off to….

 Yup, Matt Chiorini is back in The Santaland Diaries. We’re actually into our 2nd of 4 weeks. It’s been very, very fun. We had a short rehearsal process because Matt and David Alford (the director this time and three years ago when they did it before) were back. I, however, wasn’t here when they did it, so I had to get caught up as we went. We also worked with a new lighting designer for the Rep, Barry Steele, who was quite wonderful and added some lovely touches to this irreverent Christmas tale. Audience and critical responses have been extremely positive. The base material from David Sadaris is so well-crafted and funny, and when you add Matt’s sharp, well-honed improvisations (read: screwing with) with the audience, it makes for a very fun night. After this run, we break for the holidays and then back with a modern masterpiece, Glengarry Glen Ross. Until then…

Sweeney Runs!

Well, Sweeney Todd is entering its final week of performances and we’ve been completely sold out since midway through our first week of performances. It’s really been a pleasure to call each night–the cast and crew are doing wonderful work, and the audiences have been enthusiastic in their response. To see the critics take on our work check here and here and here.

Next up is the Gone with the Wind behind-the-scenes fun of Moonlight and Magnolias. As a special tie in, Sweeney’s own Mrs. Lovett, Martha Wilkinson, will be directing the madcapnessity! I’ll be back soon with another view of the fun!

Sweeney Todd: The Barber-Surgeon

And in our wonderful dramaturg’s final posting, Lauren guides us in an exploration of that odd combination (at least to our modern understanding), the barber-surgeon.

For centuries, surgery was a craft rather than a profession, and it was often practiced by barbers. In addition to grooming services, barber-surgeons regularly performed bloodletting, dental extractions, minor surgeries, and sometimes even amputations.

The association between barbers and surgeons goes back to the early Middle Ages when surgery and medicine were practices carried out by the clergy. This changed in 1215, when a papal decree ruled that priests could no longer participate in any shedding of blood. Barbers, accustomed to using a razor, were presumed to be skillful in carrying out any treatment that involved cutting the skin, and so the practice moved to them.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Black Plague wiped out a vast number of university-trained physicians, and barbers became increasingly relied upon. “Flying barbers” traveled from town to town, setting up tents to offer their services. In 1540, Henry VIII united the Company of the Barbers and the Fellowship of Surgeons with a royal decree and created the unified trade guild, the Company of Barber-Surgeons. Barbers and surgeons remained joined for over 200 years.

The practice of surgery was still in its primitive stage, but discoveries were often being made. Barbers and surgeons regularly performed anatomical dissections on corpses to further their knowledge and practice their craft. Though the guild ultimately divided, associating blood and dissection with the barber could have contributed to the lingering fear of barbers.

In many versions of the Sweeney Todd story, including Christopher Bond’s 1973 play, Sweeney Todd is explicitly identified as a barber-surgeon. In Bond’s version, when Sweeney returns to London, he stages a public competition against another tradesman to see which of them could perform not only the closest, quickest shave but also the most adept tooth-extraction.