New Year, New Show!

UP NEXT:
James Beaman plays King Frederick in the new musical Frog Kiss, having its first full production at Virginia Stage Company January 15 through February 3!



Well, show business may be a precarious life, but it is rarely dull!  Just before Christmas, I received an offer to join the cast of the new musical Frog Kiss.  I had auditioned for the production back in October during rehearsals for Guys and Dolls and for whatever reason, the actor they had cast as King Frederick in this hip, irreverent new take on the Princess and the Frog tale had to withdraw.  My offer came literally the night before rehearsals began!  No time to think about it-- so I jumped in.  Frog Kiss has been in development for several years, garnering rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as well as the New York Musical Theatre Festival.  The Virginia Stage production will be its first fully mounted production and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

The piece, by Charles Leipart and Eric Schorr, is a saucy take on a classic story, with a score that ranges from traditional musical theatre styles, to jazz, to hip hop.  The creative team, led by director Kenneth Roberson (Avenue Q), is made up of incredibly talented Broadway artists, and the design team is first rate.  I am playing the Princess' father, King Frederick, a befuddled but sweet hearted Dad who seeks the help of Taoist Masters to bring order and balance to his troubled kingdom.  It's a treat of a part and a delicious show, and there are few things more exciting than being part of the development of a new and promising piece.  We fly to Norfolk, VA to Virginia Stage Company on New Year's Day.  It's a wonderful thing to start the new year with a gig!  For more information on Frog Kiss, visit the show's website here.  Happy New Year all!

My Holiday Letter

As 2012 hastens to its close, it's time for my annual holiday post, reviewing the events of the year and looking ahead toward the new year to come.

This was a year of changes, reevaluations and the beginning of wonderful new experiences in my life.  2012 started with an intense period of auditions, mainly for the summer season; these resulted in an offer for my third production on the mainstage at Goodspeed Musicals: the role of M. Lindsay Woolsey in MAME.  Mid-March I headed out to East Haddam, CT to begin rehearsals and spent most of the spring and summer enjoying the upbeat energy of this Jerry Herman classic, which was led by the remarkable Louise Pitre as Auntie Mame, and Judy Blazer as Vera Charles.  Judy and I became fast friends during the run of the show and that was just one of the blessings of MAME.  While I was in Connecticut, I also had the opportunity to coach some talented young actors, teach Pilates to the cast of the show, and complete the first draft of my feature length screenplay.

Once the show had closed, it was time for a period of rest, reflection and reconnection with family and friends.  I spent a week in Massachusetts at home with my Mom and family, catching up with my brother and his brood who were making their annual pilgrimage 'back east'.   I was delighted to learn that my niece Isobel has caught the acting bug and is the star of her high school!  After the family vacation I enjoyed a week on Fire Island, soaking up sun and sea and meditating on the various paths I want to pursue as an artist: performing, directing, teaching, producing and writing.

In early August, I went down to Washington, D.C. to perform in my fourth Bootleg Shakespeare production with Taffety Punk Theatre Company at the Folger Theatre.  This year we did the so-called 'bad quarto' of HAMLET, and I had the pleasure of playing the Ghost and the First Player.  Bootleg is always a jolt of energy and a renewal of the creative spirit and the performance was rapturously received.  I love the DC theatre scene and collaborating with my gifted friends there.

I was very excited to find a new community for classical theatre right here in New York, The Shakespeare Forum.  Started by Tyler Moss and his talented wife, Sybille Bruun, this amazing company offers classes and productions of Shakespeare as well as the invigorating and always uplifting weekly Forum, where artists from all backgrounds come together to explore the plays and ideas of Shakespeare.  I love being a part of this community and look forward to working with them more.

The fall brought me back to the musical theatre with GUYS AND DOLLS at North Shore Music Theatre, in my hometown of Beverly, MA.  I had long wanted to perform in this theatre-in-the-round, where I often went as a kid on school field trips to see theatre.  Our production of this Frank Loesser classic was an unqualified hit, garnering rave reviews, and I was tickled to be featured in the local media as the hometown son who made good!  I was spared being in New York for Superstorm Sandy, but all of us who had come up from the city to do the show watched with white knuckles as our beloved city was assaulted by this natural disaster.  Click here for one of the pieces on me, this one in the Boston Globe.

My creative work continued to expand this fall, with my return to the cabaret scene as director of an act for the talented Lianne Marie Dobbs, an extraordinary singer and music theatre actress making her cabaret debut.  The show, "Everything Old Is New Again," debuted at the Metropolitan Room to a sold out and rapturous audience, and Lianne and I plan to bring the act back soon.  Click here for video of Lianne in action!  In early December I returned to Goodspeed to teach, for the third year in a row, the Musical Theatre Audition Intensive.  30 talented high school students joined us for a jam-packed weekend where we introduced them to the process of preparing and executing their auditions for college theatre programs.  This marathon workshop has yielded amazing results, helping our participants to gain entrance to some of the finest training programs in the country, and has received a 100% approval rating from the students and their parents.  I am honored to be a part of its creation and development, and feel very proud of my work as a theatre educator--work that I hope to do more of in the new year.

As of now, my last project of 2012 will be a staged reading of George Bernard Shaw's SAINT JOAN, presented by Project Shaw.  I am thrilled to be a part of this evening, which will be graced by an incredible cast, including Fritz Weaver, Simon Jones, Tony Sheldon and Tony winner Nikki M. James in the title role.  I will be playing Brother Martin Ladvenu, a sensitive and beautiful role.  For more information and tickets, visit Project Shaw.

2013 is a blank canvas as of this writing.  I don't as yet have any acting jobs lined up, and the directorial, teaching and writing projects I am developing have yet to bear fruit.  But I keep pressing onward!  I am slowly executing the rewrites on my screenplay, trying to initiate a revival of an obscure but completely delightful musical comedy, educating myself on how to expand my opportunities as a teacher and coach, and recommitting to my first love of classical theatre.  My new love, Robert, has been dealing with some health challenges; and when someone you cherish is facing such things it has a way of putting things in perspective... the career angst, the financial woes and the personal problems seem to become much lighter when someone you care about is in a health crisis.  Fortunately, Robert is doing better and we are just taking one day at a time and taking nothing for granted.

My wish for all is that we remember how fleeting life is, how fragile it all is, and that we take the time this holiday season to reflect on our many blessings with the same energy we put into setting our new year resolutions.  I encourage you to celebrate the good things in your life, to give yourself credit for your accomplishments; to hold your loved ones close to you and express your love to them; and to give a little back to those affected by disaster and misfortune this year.  Here's to a beautiful 2013, full of great adventures, love and fulfillment.

Recent and Upcoming!!

It has been a couple months since I updated you on my creative doings so I thought I would catch you up!  Here's what has been going on since I closed "Mame" at Goodspeed Opera House, and what is on the horizon:

I performed the role of The Ghost/Lead Player in "HAMLET: The Bad-ass Quarto" with Taffety Punk Theatre Company at the Folger Theatre, Washington, DC on August 4.  This was the annual Bootleg Shakespeare production and it was rapturously received by the SRO audience at the Folger.

Stunning vocalist Lianne Marie Dobbs has asked me to direct her first solo cabaret act here in New York, entitled "Everything Old Is New Again," premiering October 22 at the Metropolitan Room.  This is an evening of re-imagined standards from the Great American Songbook and I am delighted to return to my cabaret roots to help launch the nightclub career of this fine singer.

On October 4, I had the pleasure of performing a reading of the new musical "Merman's Apprentice."  Written by Stephen Cole, the author and lyricist of "The Road To Qatar!", the piece I starred in last season Off Broadway, this is a valentine to the Broadway musical and a tribute to his friend Ethel Merman, played wonderfully in the reading by Klea Blackhurst.  I read the role of Marvin, David Merrick's harried assistant, and I was so excited by the way this charming piece was received.  Click the title above for the show's Facebook page and 'like' it for future updates on the progress of the project.

On October 16, I begin rehearsals for "Guys and Dolls" for North Shore Music Theatre, in my hometown of Beverly, MA.  This will be at long last my debut at this theatre, where I went as a child on school field trips!  I am thrilled to be coming home and performing where my family and childhood friends can see my work.  I will be playing Rusty Charlie, and understudying the roles of Benny Southstreet and Nathan Detroit.  "Guys and Dolls" runs October 31 through November 11.


I will return to Goodspeed Musicals the weekend of November 30-December 2 to teach the Musical Theatre Audition Intensive for my third year at this prestigious theatre.  The weekend workshop, which I helped create, prepares high school aged students for their upcoming college theatre program auditions.  The Intensive has had spectacular results, helping our talented young artists gain admission to some of the country's finest theatre programs, and has a 100% approval rating from participants and their parents.  If you know a talented young actor who would benefit from the workshop, click here for more information on the Intensive, on the Goodspeed website.

In other news, I am into rewrites on my first full length screenplay, "The Girl In the Green Dress," and am excited about the progress I am making.  This is a period piece set in early 19th century New York, a dark tale of desire and murder based on true events.  In addition to this creative project, I am working on readings of two other pieces which I hope to have a hand in producing, and am developing a concept for a production of a Jacobean tragedy that I want to direct and act in.  Details to come...!

Wishing you a spectacular fall!  Tune in for more updates on my creative journey to come.

Open a New Window

FINAL WEEK OF "MAME" AT GOODSPEED MUSICALS!
NEXT UP:  "HAMLET: THE BAD QUARTO" AT FOLGER THEATRE AUGUST 6!

And so, we head into our final performances of "Mame."  What a trip it has been!  I want to express my gratitude to Goodspeed for bringing me back into the fold for my third production here in as many seasons. What an honor!  "Mame" has been a jazzy, glittering, hilarious romp and I have great admiration for all my fellow actors and the many hardworking people who make things tick here at this jewel of a theatre.  I have made a few new incredible friends and have had the pleasure of watching our leading lady, Louise Pitre, live out a dream in playing Auntie Mame.  Her discipline and drive have been a marvel, never missing a performance and performing this marathon role, complete with 17 costume changes, all of them quick, with enthusiasm and energy.  Brava!


A post-mortem on this production is premature, but I thought I might reflect a little on what I have learned about this classic show by doing it, and offer some acerbic commentary, just for fun.  After all, it's my blog!

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT "MAME:"

• Lindsay Woolsey is in the show in order that he might AGE.  The play spans nearly two decades and Patrick goes from being a 10 year old to being a father himself.  No female star 'of a certain age' in their right mind will "age up" in a glamorous musical... so Lindsay has the honor of-- according to the stage directions-- "greying nicely."
   He is present when the news of the great stock market crash comes, but Vera brings that news and Lindsay only underscores it by confirming it.  
  He comes up with the idea of Mame writing her memoirs and convinces her to do it, but this serves only one purpose in the musical: to give Agnes Gooch a reason for being there in Act Two.  Since the original play's characters of Nora Muldoon, Patrick's nanny, and Gooch, Mame's secretary, are conflated in the musical, once Patrick is in college Gooch has to transition from nanny to secretary.  The memoirs are the way to do that, and since Lindsay is a publisher it is assigned to him to give Mame the idea.  But it's a red herring.  Once Gooch comes back pregnant, the entire plot line of the memoirs is dropped; in the original play, Lindsay brings the galleys of Mame's book to the final party with the Upsons and it is remembering all the stories of their times together that finally turns Patrick away from the Upsons and back to Mame.  In the musical this doesn't happen.
  This is not to completely denigrate the importance of the character since he does perform a couple functions, but on the whole, Lindsay is sort of the kind of small principal role that an old fashioned musical with an enormous cast could afford to have around back in 1966, on a Broadway principal contract.  To any producers out there who might be considering a Broadway revival of the show: I am available, greying hair and all, to return to the role at your convenience!
• I would be remiss if I did not goof on one of the oddest things about my job in this show.  In my second scene, Mame and I come in to Beekman Place laughing, having enjoyed a full day of shopping in Manhattan together. In rehearsal, I was given a single box to carry in, wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine.  I figured, well, this is a place marker-- a prop to use for rehearsal purposes until we get the real packages that would look like a shopping spree in New York (maybe bags from Bendel's or Bergdorf's).  When we got to the theatre, there was that brown box tied with twine.  One can't quite imagine what's in that box but nevertheless, my job at the start of that scene is to stand center stage for about 4 minutes holding that box, while Mame and Babcock argue over Patrick's schooling.  It is one of the oddest things I have ever done on stage.  And that's saying a lot!!
• It will never be revealed what the 'M' stands for at the front of M. Lindsay Woolsey's name.  After asking many their opinion of what it might be, Judy Blazer won hands down for best answer.  She thinks Lindsay is really a nice Jewish boy and his first name is "Moishe."
• I always wondered why the scores of Jerry Herman shows are set so incredibly high in the voices of the ensemble.  In a Herman show, baritones sing tenor notes, tenors sing alto, altos sing soprano.  When legendary music director/conductor Donald Pippin gave a talk recently at Goodspeed he told us that in his singing choruses for the shows he worked on with Herman, he had a mezzo who could sing incredibly high notes and he always incorporated these into his arrangements.  Thus the final note of the "Mame" number in the soprano part (magnificently nailed by MJ McConnell in our production) is a C sharp.
• While the score of "Mame" is chock full of wonderful songs, it's not my favorite Herman score.  Nor is "La Cage," even though I have done the show three times and have a deep affection for it.  I feel "Hello, Dolly!" is Herman's best-- most stylistically cohesive, most expressive of, and true to, the source material the show came from,  and full of variety. Of course this is like comparing one priceless, many faceted diamond to another.
• There is one glaring anachronism in the script.  It's 1929 and Mame's lost her money in the Crash.  She meets Beau and refers to him as reminding her of Rhett Butler in "Gone With the Wind."  That book wasn't written until 1936.
• If you do a kickline, even if the kicks are not even waist high, the audience will applaud.  The Rockettes are working far too hard in my opinion.
• Agnes Gooch is the long lost cousin of those two nameless gangsters in "Kiss Me, Kate."  They all come in in Act Two and completely steal the show with one musical number, after the leads have been working their tushies off the whole evening. Even Mame's 11th hour torch song, "If He Walked Into My Life," cannot extinguish the impact of "Gooch's Song."
• As for that famous torch song, I have decided that, as beautiful a song as it is, "If He Walked Into My Life" is rather uncomfortably wedged into the show.  It's a fact that Herman wrote MAME with Judy Garland in mind-- and if you listen to the score you can hear how perfectly tailored it is to Judy's special gifts.  One of her gifts was singing heart rending ballads and of course there has to be one at the eleventh hour spot in the show.  But the character of Auntie Mame, in the original book and in the play, is not a torch singer.  She takes disappointments in stride, she doesn't dwell on them, she makes lemonade.  Her conflict with Patrick in Act Two of the musical is rather uncomfortably skewed to set up the singing of this blood and guts song of regret and self doubt.  But it's not in keeping with the character as we have come to know her.  It also doesn't really set up what Mame does next--which is to sabotage Patrick's engagement.  If she were that terrified of losing him, she'd suck it up and let him marry Gloria.  I feel somewhat the same about Albin's big anthem, "I Am What I Am" in LA CAGE AUX FOLLES.  Having played the role, it is a big challenge to go from the vainglorious camp queen Albin is to the defiant, political creature who stands up for his individuality at the end of Act One.  But it can be done.  It's just tricky.
• While it is undisputed that Rosalind Russell will forever be identified with the role of Mame, she is not the only one from the 1958 film whose impact will forever be felt on any version of the Auntie Mame story.  Joanna Barnes, who brilliantly played the stiff jawed Gloria Upson, has left an indelible imprint on the character which audience members, especially of a certain age, can never forget.  During performances of "Mame," when Patrick first announces her name, the audience is already buzzing in anticipation of seeing Gloria and hearing that first drawled "I can't TELL you how pleased I am to make your acquaintance!".
• And finally, and this is something I have always known about the Auntie Mame story: as nutty as it is, as full of mischief and outrageous antics, the story is about love and about family.  It's a story of people making the absolute best out of life by loving each other.  This is why it will continue to be done and enjoyed by audiences for decades to come.

A Sable Silver'd

"MAME" CLOSES ON JULY 8 AFTER A STELLAR RUN AT GOODSPEED!

NEXT UP:  JAMES BEAMAN PLAYS THE GHOST AND THE LEAD PLAYER IN "HAMLET, THE BAD QUARTO" WITH TAFFETY PUNK THEATRE COMPANY AT THE FOLGER THEATRE, AUGUST 6 IN DC!

Those of you who know my work know that my first and most enduring love is the classical theatre and acting Shakespeare.  I had the honor and privilege of training in classical acting at The Shakespeare Theatre Company Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University, and since then I have had the chance to do some exciting roles and powerful Shakespeare productions. 

I am especially proud of my work with Taffety Punk Theatre Company, an exciting cutting edge theatre in Washington, DC, founded by fellow ACA alumnus Marcus Kyd and his multi-talented partner, Lise Bruneau.  For several years now, one of the most popular of their projects has been the Bootleg Shakespeare series, in which members of the Taffety Punk company and guest actors from around the country arrive at the Folger Theatre on the morning of the single performance of a Shakespeare play, having memorized their lines.  The day is spent doing rudimentary staging, fight choreography and dances, and at show time, with the actors never having run through any of the play, a  an audience packs the house, free of charge, and the actors catapult themselves into a breathtaking, impromptu performance.  I have had the pleasure of performing Posthumus in Cymbeline, Hubert in King John, Theseus in The Two Noble Kinsmen and this year I will perform the roles of the Ghost of Hamlet's Father and the Lead Player in Hamlet: The Bad Quarto.

The Bad Quarto, as it is termed by scholars, is the first published version of Hamlet which appeared in 1603.  Since the First Folio of 1623 is considered the authoritative text for the canon of Shakespeare's plays, and the Bad Quarto of Hamlet differs significantly from the Folio text (character names are different, there are significant differences in the text etc.), it is thought to be a possibly pirated version of the play, taken down haphazardly by someone during live performances, or possibly drawn from early actor 'sides' from a beginning stage of the play's development.  At any rate, it's a fascinating and sometimes bizarre look at the most famous play in the English language.  Taffety Punk, drawing its inspiration from a devotion to classic texts combined with a punk rock sensibility, is the perfect company to present this odd and interesting artifact, and the Bootleg Shakespeare project will give it even more vital life and energy.

I am looking forward to enjoying the interesting task of being both the Ghost of Hamlet's Father and the Lead Player who represents the murdered Hamlet Senior in the play-within-the-play.  I think the dual role might be very interesting and effective for the audience.

As of now, this one night only event is the only project on the docket for me beyond MAME at Goodspeed.  Ah, the uncertainty of the actor's life!  Check this blog for updates and announcements of the next creative adventure.  Meantime, for more information on the amazing work of Taffety Punk and details on Hamlet, visit their website here.

Let's Start at the Very Beginning...

"MAME"  CONTINUES ITS RUN AT GOODSPEED WITH AN EXTENSION WEEK!  NOW THROUGH JULY 7!


An exciting thing happened this week:  I got to meet one of my idols.  Goodspeed Musicals has commissioned a musical adaptation of a charming children's book by Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, "The Great American Mousical."  The new show is slated to have its first production at the Norma Terris Theatre in Chester this fall.  It is a valentine to Broadway and a wondrous tale about a company of mice putting on a show in a crumbling old theatre that is about to be demolished.

This week, a group of us actors from the "Mame" cast were asked to do a first reading of the script (written by Hunter Bell), which is still very much in development, along with the composer and lyricist, Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler, who performed the still unfinished (and marvelous) score.

The kicker was that the reading would be done for a small group of Goodspeed artistic staff, the show's musical director, the casting director, and YES!-- the director of the show, Julie Andrews herself.  I don't think I need emphasize how incredible it was to meet Julie Andrews, nor to gush about the influence she has had on my life and my love of theatre and film.  She is --and this expression is used far too often-- a living legend.  And she is everything one would expect-- gracious, eloquent, a lovely lady.  I managed to shake hands with her and her very kind daughter and co-author, Emma, and beg a photo with them. What a moment!!

As for "The Great American Mousical,"  I have no doubt that it will be a magical show.  The material, in these very early days, is already beguiling, clever and full of heart.  And Goodspeed is decidedly excited about this, as this is the first musical they have ever commissioned to be created from the ground up here.  It has enormous promise and I was delighted to be a part of the reading and to get a first glimpse of it.  Look for it this fall at the Norma Terris Theatre in Chester.

As for me, nothing has yet materialized as a next project beyond "Mame" but I am looking forward to having some summer vacation following our run here-- a nice break to enjoy family, sun, sand and relaxation before charging 'once more unto the breach' in this mad business of show.

"MAME" EXTENDED AT GOODSPEED!

Louise Pitre as Mame with the company in "It's Today!"  Photo: Diane Sobolewski

"Mame" can't be all flash or caustic wit, nor can it be overly sentimental. A successful needs a director who almost instinctively knows how to balance each of these components as well as a leading lady who is capable of suggesting the seriousness at the heart of her character's "live life to the fullest" message. Luckily, this Goodspeed production has both.

~ Andrew Beck, Hartford Arts Examiner

"Mame" is about the central philosophy of the title character: "Life is a banquet and most poor sons-of-bitches are starving to death." And there's plenty of life to be had at Goodspeed for audiences to sample or gorge on as they see fit.

~Christopher Caggiano, Theatermania

We opened our show to the press on May 9, and so far, as you can see, the response has been positive.  We are all very excited too about the audience reception for the show which has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic.  So much so, that word of mouth alone has boosted box office, and we are now extended to July 7.  All of us are looking forward to enjoying the next nine weeks of our run.

Lots of photos, teaser videos, and more are available for viewing at the Goodspeed website.  Additionally, you can enjoy a radio interview I gave this week about "Mame" along with our Vera Charles, the stellar Judy Blazer, by clicking the link here.  

Spring has been a mixed bag of weather out here in the Connecticut River Valley, but all the rain has brought a riot of blossoms, color and greenery.  Always a treat to watch the seasons change in this beautiful part of Connecticut.  I am making my plans for the summer, visits with family, a beach getaway, my annual trip to DC to do Bootleg Shakespeare with Taffety Punk Theatre Company at the Folger, and continuing the search for the next great acting opportunity.  Wishing you a glorious Spring and a sensational summer to come.