Published in The WAVE, Aug. 4, 2017
www.rockawave.com
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Memo from the RTC: The Producers – Eat Your Heart Out If You
Missed It
By Norm Scott
Last week I raved about the six leading performances by
Jeremy Plyburn (Bialystock), Craig Evans (Bloom), John Panepinto (Franz
Liebkind), Brian Sadowski (Carmen Ghia), Erech Holder_Hetmeyer (Roger),
Catherine Leib (Ulla) of the Rockaway Theatre Company production of Mel Brooks’
The Producers.
But this just scratches the surface. I’ve lost count of the
number of cast members. The dressing room often looks like a subway car at rush
hour as people race in and out for their scenes, many costume changes, or stage
crew duties (everyone has to do some scenery moving in an elaborate schedule
set up by Jenna Tipaldo, our 20 year old stage manager supreme (who also does
the light cues in many performances). There are so many excellent performances
supplementing the Big 6, I would have to use the entire WAVE to mention every
performer.
I laugh at every joke and cheer at the end of every song and
dance even though I’ve seen umpteen times – most of it from the wings, peeking
between the curtains in the back of the theater or from the booth upstairs
because I have stagehand duties - moving
the French doors when we set up and take down the office, which happens about a
million times a show. So I end up running back and forth between office scenes
so I can see snatches of the show. (Of course I never get to see the one scene
I am in near the end, nor the scene before it since I am setting up to move my
prop.) I’m often joined by other performers in the back of the theater who
can’t stop laughing. And when we are backstage we are also laughing.
Before one show a theater goer asked me if Jodee Timpone was
in the show. “She sure is,” I said. “And you will see Jodee as you’ve never
seen her before. Jodee, playing the part
of Hold me-Touch, shows her heart/s is/are in the right place.
Producer Susan Jasper says in her program Notes, “If you have not seen or heard
anything to offend you by Intermission, you probably slept through Act 1.” Some
of the funniest, and possibly most offensive scenes relate to the LGBT
community. A large group from the local LGBTQ social group, Out Rockaway wearing their tee-shirts, attended
and I hear there was a lot of laughter coming from their quarter. No pickets -
yet. And few people - maybe one guy – walked out due to homophobia.
The audiences have been as responsive as any in the past,
some saying this is the best one ever.
I won’t get into some details of the play so those who come
the final weekend see the surprises for those who didn’t see the movie or the
play. I do want to mention a few behind the scenes people. I’ve talked about
the directorial leadership of John Gilleece who has managed the entire project
wonderfully. Audiences have been raving about the professional choreography by
Nicole DePierro-Nellen. Watch those tap dancers and the synchronicity of
complex dances. The opening sequence recalls Fiddler on the Roof. And the
chorines in the office scene doing that Rockettes matching kick-line and see
how many of them swap into old-lady land tip tapping their walkers. And that
solo dance by Ulla – ooh, la, la.
Music Director Rich Louis-Pierre is one of the RTC indispensables, not only
leading the band, but playing a small part in the play and doing the sound
design while working with the sound technicians Michael Caprio and the heroic
Daniel Fay. Danny is a local and a recent college grad who actually got a job
in the industry and gives up much valuable time to be at the shows when he can.
There’s the complex lighting by Andrew Woodridge, the RTC
lighting guru, who also makes the pigeons do their thing, which got an ovation
at last Sunday’s performance – watch Adolph salute. Andrew hasn’t developed the
technology – yet – of having them fly around the audience and crap on their
heads, but maybe one day.
Dan Guarino, president of the Rockaway Artists Alliance, who is not in the show
but volunteered to assist with the stage crew and is my partner in moving the
French doors without killing anyone, and has done yeoman service.
I’ll have more next week in my final piece on this show (after
which I will take a little RTC break). This Monday, I join master demolisher
Tony Homsey in taking down the set before working with his twin, Tony the
master builder, to put up the set for the upcoming Frank Caiati directed
Elephant Man.
When not destroying sets, Norm uses his pen as a sledgehammer
on the NYCDOE, UFT Leadership, the Democratic Party, and charter schools on his
blog at ednotesonline.com.
