Meet the Cast – Part 3.

The show has opened and is going into it’s second full week of performances! Make sure you get your tickets while they are still available… But in the meantime meet some more of our lovely and talented cast members.

Name: Jason Kappus

Hometown: Seattle, WA

Role: Ensemble/Dance Captain (u/s Rocco, Billy, Narrator)

Describe your character in 3 words: Smart guy.

First musical you ever saw: Music Man

Favorite Italian food: Chicken Fettucine Alfredo

Favorite song in the show: Sandwiches to Make

Favorite place in New Jersey: Carlo’s City Hall Bake Shop

Favorite rehearsal moment so far: Watching Briga do Someone That I Hate for the first time during our first run through.  She’s hilarious.

Name:  Denise DeMirjian

Hometown:  Los Angeles, CA

Role:  Millie

Describe your character in 3 words:  Sweet, Strong and somewhat Naive

First musical you ever saw: Peter Pan

Favorite Italian food: Pasta With Clams!  Actually anything

Favorite song in the show: Once Upon A Time in New Jersey (all versions)

Favorite place in New Jersey:  The Shore

Favorite rehearsal moment so far: Our ensemble Finale because it is touching and fun. Otherwise I have my work cut out for me!

Name: Briga Heelan

Hometown: Andover, MA

Role: Angie

Describe your character in 3 words: Passionate, innocent, and romantic. If there’s one word for being very bad at time management, she’d be that too.

First musical you ever saw: “Little Shop of Horrors” starring my mommy. I cried when the plant ate her.

Favorite Italian food: Canoli?

Favorite song in the show: The part of “Mrs. Lobianco” when they say “Anco, Anco, Anco” echo style… to be specific.

Favorite place in New Jersey: Upper Montclair where my Aunt, Uncle, and incredible cousins live!!

Favorite rehearsal moment so far: Anytime I find myself trapped inside a heart of garlic cloves with David is…magical.

Name:  Jeremy Cohen

Hometown:  Roslyn, NY

Role:  Rocco

Describe your character in 3 words:  The Love Machine

First musical you ever saw:  Phantom.  Or maybe 42nd Street.  Coulda been Starlight Express.  I don’t remember much from the 80′s.  It’s pretty much a blur of Mario Brothers, games at Shea and episodes of DuckTales.

Favorite Italian food:  Gnocchi Bolognese with plenty of parmesan, topped off with a full-bodied Italian red.

Favorite song in the show:  Quando Scungili.  Always had a soft spot for La Serenissima.

Favorite place in New Jersey:  Carlo’s Bake Shop, Hoboken.  CAKE BOSS Headquarters.  If Rocco needed a wedding cake, this is where he’d go.  If Rocco needed a wedding cake, that is.

Favorite rehearsal moment so far: Gliding down the Canal Grande, just south of the Rialto.  At least that’s where I pictured myself.  Someday I’ll go back with the Etta’s…

Sitz Probe!

What is Sitz Probe, you ask? It is the rehearsal where the actors and orchestra come together to focus on the music. This Saturday the cast had their first chance to work with the band. Everyone sounds great and we are one step closer to opening!

Here are some highlights:

Noah and John had a great time singing “Rocco”.

Remy, the musical director, is a wiz at the piano as he conducts the band.

Stephen Weiner, the composer, looks delighted as he listens to the successful rehearsal.

Meet the NJ Cast! Part 2

Name: Jason Collins

Hometown: Seattle, WA

Role: Narrator/Ed

Describe your character in 3 words: The Audience’s Guide

First musical you ever saw: How To Succeed In Business…

Favorite Italian food: Italian Sausage

Favorite song in the show: Quando Scungili

Favorite place in New Jersey: um… I’ve been to the Liberty Science Center… It’s pretty cool.

Favorite rehearsal moment so far: Obnoxious character laughing with Jonathan Gregg

Name: Samia Mounts

Hometown: Seoul, Korea

Role: Loretta

Describe your character in 3 words: Ummm…eager to please? (Put as much innuendo on that as you can, and you’ll have a good idea of the character.)

First musical you ever saw: Probably Annie, but the first Broadway musical I ever saw was Beauty & the Beast, and I STILL want to be Belle!

Favorite Italian food: Anything with prosciutto. Also lasagna. What’s not to love about lasagna?

Favorite song in the show: One of a Kind

Favorite place in New Jersey: Cape May!!!

Favorite rehearsal moment so far: When we figured out how Vinnie could drag three girls across the stage with one leg. It’s a highlight of the show.

Name: Alex Krasser

Hometown: Columbia, CT

Role: (Male) Ensemble 

Describe your character in 3 words: Uncool, but trying.

First musical you ever saw: That I actually remember seeing? Fiddler on the Roof, when I was seven. I remember it more vividly than most other things from when I was seven.

Favorite Italian food: I have to choose? Oofah. April-September: Caprese salad. October-March: Anything that weighs more than a pound and involves sausage, tomatoes, and at least three types of cheese.

Favorite song in the show: “Little Girl, Beware,” just for the womens’ desperate pleas to be abused and objectified (“Rocco, please destroy my will to live!”).

Favorite place in New Jersey: Hackensack. Never been there, but I love the name.

Favorite rehearsal moment so far: Every time David (Vinnie) precisely echoes Jeremy (Rocco)’s manly, sexy grunts.

Meet the NJ Cast!

With opening night less than two weeks away, the cast and crew are hard at work. This entry is the first in a “Meet the Cast” series that will introduce you to the fabulous actors of “Once Upon a Time in New Jersey”.

Name:  David Perlman

Hometown:  Closter, New Jersey!

Role:  Vinnie

Describe your character in 3 words:  honorable, insecure goofball

First musical you ever saw:  Guys and Dolls at my local high school; it changed the course of my life.

Favorite Italian food:  Gelato!

Favorite song in the show:  One of a Kind, definitely.  It is constantly in my head.

Favorite place in New Jersey:  My parents’ house.  I love going home for the holidays.

Favorite rehearsal moment so far:  Briga and I have a real affinity for a very clever food moment that Christine created in Quando Scungili.  We still can hardly get through the moment without laughing about it!  I don’t want to give it away, so you’ll have to come see it for yourself!

Name: Catherine LeFrere

Hometown: Manhattan

Role: Celeste

Describe your character in 3 words: Sexy, conspicuous, genuinely good (I know, that’s two words).

First musical you ever saw: State Fair?? Cats?? I was really young…

Favorite Italian food: Chianti

Favorite song in the show: “Quiet Little Dinner”

Favorite place in New Jersey: I haven’t been to enough of it for me to be able to answer this question. Whoops.

Favorite rehearsal moment so far: Blocking the bit between Billy and my character at the end of the show…I won’t give it away here, you’ll just have to come see the show to find out.

An interview with Ursula K. LeGuin about THE HIDDEN SKY

Prospect: When did you originally write the story “The Masters,” and was there a specific inspiration for the piece that you can share?

Ursula K. LeGuin: “The Masters” was written, and first appeared in Fantastic magazine, in 1963.  It was my first published science-fiction story (as distinguished from realism or fantasy).  1963 is a long, long time ago — I’m not sure what inspired it  except for one thing:  I was a Californian new to Oregon, who needed a while to get used to a climate that for about seven months of the year consists of rain.  The ever-cloudy skies of the story are the skies of Portland, with a little exaggeration.

P: One of the major changes from your original story to The Hidden Sky is that the genders of two central characters (Ganil and Lani) have been reversed, placing a woman at the heart of the musical.  What was your response to this choice?

UL: I was delighted by this change.  In 1963, science fiction was about men (with an occasional pretty lady to scream while being carried off in the alien’s tentacles), and it hadn’t occurred to me yet to ask why.  The gender reversal is a quiet feminist action that strengthens the story both morally and emotionally.

P: What do you feel the story has gained from being expanded into a two act musical?

UL: The physical presence of the actors, the power of stage, drama and MUSIC, powerful, beautiful music.  You can’t ask for much more than that!

P: Although the story takes place in an alternate, future universe, what do you think is the most relevant aspect of the tale for a modern audience?

UL: The themes of the story, the danger of intolerant fundamentalist belief of any sort, questions of how science and morality interact, are as urgently relevant to our situation now as they were five decades ago.  Perhaps even more so.  Alas.

P: In general, what sort of music do you listen to?  Are you a fan of musical theater and if so, do you have a favorite show?

UL: I listen to early and baroque music, Spanish guitar, Schubert, Berlioz, Glass, Springsteen.  I love opera, old or modern, especially if I can be there in the theater.  I saw Oklahoma and South Pacific etc.  when they first came out and loved them, but Broadway musicals haven’t done much for me for a long time. I saw Menotti’s The Medium and The Consul when they first came out too, and still love them.  I think of The Hidden Sky not as a musical but as an opera. Is that wrong? A kiss of death?  I hope not!

Pete Mills weighs in on Titular Musical Numbers and THE HIDDEN SKY

Today I was reading a movie review, and near the end Roger Ebert says he was taught that a story’s title ought never appear in the story itself — it breaks the spell. Then, not fifteen minutes later, on a Family Guy episode (yes, I was wasting a lot of time today…) there was a bit about Peter getting excited whenever they say a movie’s title somewhere in the movie… like “As Good As It Gets.” After those two back-to-back encounters with a very specific topic to which I’d never given any thought before, I started thinking about my own shows: most include the title somewhere in the show. Several of them even have a title number, “Evergreen” being the latest example. I can’t help thinking that maybe Ebert’s rule doesn’t apply as much to musicals.

All of this is my very long-winded way of getting to the topic of THE HIDDEN SKY — the show currently being mounted by Prospect Theater Company — and its title song, “The Hidden Sky.”

The show is about many things. When I first encountered it as a concert at Joe’s Pub, it seemed like a show about math. I was fascinated by the long sequence in which the heroine Ganil derives the Golden Mean from the Fibonacci numbers, and then uses the ratio to construct the spiral found everywhere in the natural world. Heady stuff, and not your typical fare for musical theater! In the hour-long concert format, this is what impressed itself upon me most strongly.

But now that I’ve seen the whole show, the math seems almost secondary to me. Math supplies the raw materials out of which the story is made, but it’s not what the story is about. I’ve heard the authors speak about the theme of science versus religion — which is certainly important. But still, for me that isn’t what it’s about. When I watched the show on opening night, I saw a story about an awakening. Ganil’s awakening is what we follow… the arc… the drama. The story shows how once the soul has been awakened to something new, it must forever be changed by it.

This is what I think the title song does such a beautiful job conveying. In a world where clouds cover the sky and the sun is rarely seen, Ganil and Mede trade stories about the first time they ever saw the hidden sky, and the feelings it aroused in them. For the revolutionary Mede, seeing the sun inspires a restless longing for something he can’t find in his hometown. For Ganil, seeing the stars inspires her scientific/mathematical soul to try to count them all. A break in the clouds is a potent metaphor for an awakening: once that hidden sky — something truer, something more real — has been glimpsed, the soul longs for it. Ganil longs for knowledge just as Mede longs for change. And their duet is the beginning of a relationship in which Mede leads her on to the deeper knowledge she seeks, all the while hoping that she will become an agent of the change he seeks.

In its particulars, this is a story about an intellectual awakening — the re-discovery of mathematical knowledge. But as I experienced it, Ganil’s journey could have just as easily been an emotional awakening — with Mede arriving on the scene like a new lover who jolts the heroine out of her complacency. At times, it felt like I was watching a latter-day Anna Karenina or Madame Bovary. The sense of taboo, temptation, and transgression was the same, as were the inevitably tragic consequences. And the long mathematical montage… now I saw it as a kind of deep and complete absorption very similar to falling in love. Something new has come into her world, and all of her spirit’s energy is focused on it.

Lani, the third character in this intellectual love triangle, is the husband-figure… the symbol of conventionality and conservatism. He is there to warn Ganil of the dangers that come with seeking answers beyond what society allows. But much to the show’s credit, Lani is not merely some two-dimensional villain trying to hold Ganil back. He’s allowed to argue his case just as passionately as Mede does, and we see that he loves Ganil and wants what’s best for her. The final scene between Lani and Ganil was one of those surpisingly emotional moments that snuck up on me and started me thinking, hey, maybe this is about something more than math.

-Reposted from Pete Mills’ personal blog: 
http://www.pcmills.com/

Some thoughts on THE HIDDEN SKY by composer/lyricist Peter Foley

In a March 2000 interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, THE HIDDEN SKY composer/lyricist gave some insight into his thoughts about the play and connecting the ideas of math and spirituality:

“[THE HIDDEN SKY] isn’t in any way a math lesson. One of first things we considered was ‘How can we talk about math in a theatrical language that isn’t going to get bogged down in the details?’ and I hope we have been successful at doing that.

The audience doesn’t have to understand every detail to understand what drives mathematicians and the elation the mathematician feels when everything comes into place.”

“In the most simple terms, we see [THE HIDDEN SKY] as a journey of spiritual awakening. Ganil is looking for her home, where she fits in and can truly grow. At first she feels it is in the society she was born into, then in the underground of scientists. Finally she realizes it’s not in either place, and that she must venture out on her own…  We were fascinated by the irony of using science and mathematics as vehicles to spirituality. In our world we think of them as being diametrically opposed.”

“In the world of abstract mathematics, utility doesn’t enter into the equation. It’s all about elegance, simplicity and beauty. When they describe a thing clearly, whittle it down to its essence, and have a logical proof, that’s considered a job well done. . . .  That drive unites all of us, where we want to discover things, we want to learn how stuff works, we want to find things that are beautiful, and that’s what the musical is about. Hopefully, everyone will understand from the way we tell the story that mathematics is just a metaphor.”

-Excerpted from Keating, Douglas. “MUSICAL NUMBERS.” The Philadelphia Inquirer 1 March 2000: D01. Print.

MEET THE CAST Part 4

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I trust you all had a wonderful New Years. Here’s wishing many great things for 2010! We only have three more performances of EVERGREEN left. Where does the time go. It seems like only yesterday we were all gathered together for the first time. It’s has been quite an adventure, now let us meet two more of our amazing youth ensemble members.

NAME: Isabel Brandi

AGE: 12

GRADE: 7th grade

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PERFORMING: “ Since I was 9 years old.”

WHAT OTHER SHOWS HAVE YOU DONE: “ I have been in a bunch in the past. Right now I am in a show that tours to schools once a month. I play the role of a goth girl!

WHAT DID YOU SING AT YOUR AUDITION: “I got the sun in the morning.”

FAVORITE PART OF EVERGREEN SO FAR: “The music! It’s soo beautiful.”

FAVORITE STAGE MUSICAL: “ The Little Mermaid, because the music and the back ground and props were amazing.”

FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: “Math, because my teacher makes it really interesting.”

FAVORITE HOBBY: “Other than singing, I love to cook.”

WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GET OLDER: “I would like to be an actress on broadway (but I wouldn’t turn down a movie role!)”

NAME: Francesca Chaney

AGE: 13

GRADE: 9th grade

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PERFORMING: “2 years”

WHAT DID YOU SING AT YOUR AUDITION: “I sang the prologue from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat .”

FAVORITE PART OF EVERGREEN SO FAR: “My favorite part is the beginning when Yama singsThere was a thing called snow.”

FAVORITE STAGE MUSICAL: “ My favorite stage musical is Bye Bye Birdie, because it’s funny and entertaining.”

FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: “English.”

FAVORITE HOBBY: “Cooking.”

WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GET OLDER: “I would like to be a Broadcast Journalist and have my own talk show.”

MEET THE CAST Part 3

I trust we are all having a good holiday season! EVERGREEN had a wonderful opening night filed with friends and family all sharing in the joy of a wonderful evening at the theater. The cast had a great few days off and are now back entertaining the crowds once again. The company is doing such a great job in fact, that we have added one more show to our run!

Let us now meet two of your youngest cast members. It’s true that good things come in small packages. These two girls are a great bundle of energy on stage!

NAME: Gabrielle -Marie Kaufman

AGE: 9

ENTER STAGE RIGHT: Gabrielle has been performing for three years. As you read on you will see what Steven Spielberg needs to do just one more Jurassic park film!

WHAT DID YOU SING AT YOUR AUDITION: “Part of your world and Before he cheats.”

FAVORITE PART OF EVERGREEN SO FAR: “May favorite part of the show is when we sing and dance to the song stories in the stars.”

FAVORITE STAGE MUSICAL: “ The Lion King s my favorite stage musical because I would like to play Nala some day.”

FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: “Art.”

FAVORITE HOBBY: “My favorite hobby is to sing.”

WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GET OLDER: “I would like to be a paleontologist, and a performing artist in theater and film. I like dinosaurs because they have cool names, like Acrocanthosaurs and carcharodontosaurus!”

NAME: Kayla Caban

AGE: 10

GRADE: 4th grade

ENTER STAGE RIGHT: Kayla has a number of performing credits to her name including  performing with the Yorkville theater and I theatrics.

WHAT DID YOU SING AT YOUR AUDITION: “Rainbow and Shy from Once upon a mattress.”

FAVORITE PART OF EVERGREEN SO FAR: “The Fire Ballet.”

FAVORITE STAGE MUSICAL: “ Wicked because it’c comical, yet touching, has great songs and great choreography.”

FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: “Science and Math.”

FAVORITE HOBBY: “Singing.”

WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GET OLDER: “A singer or a veterinarian.”

Curtain up!

THERE’S NOTHING THAT KEEPS IT’S YOUTH, AS FAR AS I KNOW, BUT A TREE AND TRUTH. -Oliver Wendell Holmes

Cara saw this quote on on a tea bag she received during tech yesterday and we all thought it summed up what we are working on.

Tech is going very well. Technical rehearsals are always hard. There is so much to do in such a short amount of time. We have an amazing creative and tech staff that are keeping things running smoothly. The last few days have been start and stop. Building lighting effects, adding more props, and adding costume elements as they are finished. Last night was our final dress rehearsal and things ran very smoothly. We have a small audience in attendance and enjoyed what they saw.This afternoon we will spend time cleaning and fine tuning the show in preparation for tonight first preview!

Today we meet two more amazing cast members. Ashley and Audrey Chu. Sibling talent at it’s best.

NAME: Audrey Chu

AGE: 10

GRADE: 5

ENTER STAGE RIGHT: Audrey has been performing for about three years however singing has been her passion for as long as she can remember.

HAVE YOU PERFORMED IN ANY OTHER SHOWS: “ I have performed in school talent shows and with choir, but this is my first professional show.”

FAVORITE PART OF EVERGREEN SO FAR: “All the scenes are filled with such amazing people and music.”

WHAT DID YOU SING AT YOUR AUDITION: “ I know now and White Christmas.”

FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: “ Math and music.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MUSICAL: “Beauty and the Beast because it showed me that everyone has a warm affectionate side.”

FAVORITE HOBBY: “Singing and spending time with my family.”

WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GET OLDER: “I would like to live every day to the fullest by doing what I love everyday. Singing and performing To express myself and sharing that joy with others.”

NAME: Ashley Chu

AGE: 12

GRADE: 7

ENTER STAGE RIGHT: EVERGREEN will mark Ashley’s stage debut. Even though her answers are short, she makes up for in talent and stage presents.

WHAT DID YOU SING AT YOUR AUDITION: “White Christmas and Papa, can you dance with me.”

FAVORITE PART OF EVERGREEN SO FAR: “Story in the stars.”

FAVORITE STAGE MUSICAL: “ Mamma Mia, wonderful music and lots of colors.”

FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: “None.”

FAVORITE HOBBY: “Reading.”

WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GET OLDER: “Famous Actress.”