Cedar Rapids - Theatre Cedar Rapids has settled back into its downtown home and is ready to go with its 77th season. We will see a broad spectrum of different works, including the return of TCR Underground.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee kicks it off. This quirky musical by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin won the Tony for Best Book in 2005 (opens September 10).
Next is a version of Pirandello's Six Character in Search of an Author, adapted by Jason Alberty. A company is preparing to rehearse a play when it is interrupted by six characters who have stepped off the page and insist on telling their tragic and unusual story (opens October 15).
Just in time for the holidays is White Christmas, an adaptation of the 1954 film with songs by Irving Berlin and book by David Ives and Paul Blake (opens November 26).
Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart won the Pulitzer in 1981 and the Tony for Best Play in 1982. It tells the story of three sisters who must deal with the consequences when the youngest shoots her abusive husband (opens November 26).
Sweeney Todd is a musical by Stephen Sondheim about the "Demon Barber of Fleet Street." Sweeney Todd returns to London, vowing revenge on the corrupt judge who framed him. Before he finds him, however, he encounters the crafty Mrs. Lovett, who has a room to rent and an idea for a recipe for meat pies... (opens March 4).
Eurydice is a retelling of the Greek myth by Sarah Ruhl. Ruhl's version is poetic yet whimsical, focusing heavily on the father/daughter relationship (opens April 8).
The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe is an adaptation of the C.S. Lewis book of the same name. Young Lucy opens a mysterious wardrobe in an old house to find the land of Narnia inside, beginning a magical journey for herself and her siblings. Adapted by Joseph Robinette (opens May 13).
Guys & Dolls won the Tony for Best Musical in 1951. Based on stories by Damon Runyan, it's a tale of high-stakes gambling and rocky romance. Several famous Frank Loesser numbers come from this show, including "Luck Be a Lady" and "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" (opens July 8).
We asked artistic director Leslie Charipar to tell us more about the upcoming season.
Q: How do you go about selecting your shows?
A: TCR has a bit of a formula for putting together our 8-show season: the first show is usually a smaller musical, there are always two smaller, edgier actor-driven, story-driven pieces that comprise the Linge Series (which is funded by the Linge Foundation and allows us to do a couple of “riskier” shows without worrying about box office ramifications), there’s a big fat holiday show, there’s a larger non-musical on the season, there’s an early spring musical, a family show, and a giant summer musical.
So with that formula in mind, I read a bunch of scripts (I’m usually reading scripts year-round), and stay up to date on what is available and what is new and hip and interesting and hasn’t been done recently or ever at TCR, and I put together what I believe to be a plausible season. Then I present that season proposal to the Programming Committee. They read those scripts, ask me a lot of questions, bring up concerns that we discuss as a committee, and if there are any changes to be made, I make some adjustments and re-present a revised proposal to that Committee. Once they have signed off on the season proposal, we take it to the Board of Directors for final approval.
Q: Is there a unifying theme/concept for this year's season?
A: There really isn’t a theme for this season. Frankly, we’ve done that in the past, and I find it a little constricting when making good show selections. I’d rather choose shows because we’re interested in doing them than because they fit a theme.
Q: Which productions do you feel are breaking new ground? Which do you feel will be crowd favorites?
A: We’re not necessarily breaking ground with Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice or Six Characters, but I feel like they’re both pretty ambitious productions for a community theatre. They require really talented, smart actors, and they require a really smart and open-minded audience. I think Sweeney Todd is a bit of risk, too. Janelle and I are planning to do a little deconstructing of the piece and will be whittling it down to its essence so that the voices and the story are the primary focus. But I’m also going to explore the notion of grotesque slathered all over the deconstruction. So even though Sweeney Todd has been around for a while, it might be a bit of a ground-breaker, as it will be a slightly new take.
Spelling Bee is a riot, and though not as many people know the show, I think once the word gets out about how fun it is, people will want to see it. White Christmas will be a huge show for us. It’s got all the things people want at the holidays – nostalgia, heart, laughter, joy. It’s a charming script that I think will be a favorite for multiple generations. And I think that Guys and Dolls will be a crowd favorite too. The old chestnuts are always fun to do and audiences love them.
Q: At Ovations, Casey Prince talked about getting away from the distractions and back to making art now that rebuilding the theatre has been accomplished. Is there a sense of a weight being lifted and a renewed focus as work begins on this new season?
A: There’s a huge sense of relief as we start this full season back downtown. Our focus has been so splintered these last couple of years, keeping one eye on getting the building fixed and another one on continuing to do theatre wherever we could, that it just feels good to be settled in one place. None of us were experts on flood recovery (though some of us probably are now), so being able to focus on what we’re supposed to be doing and what we know we’re good at is really awesome!
Q: Talk a bit about TCR Underground. What role do you think the production of original work plays in the artistic community at large?
A: Just so you know, TCR Underground isn’t entirely original work. Having said that, I’m really, really excited about TCR Underground. It’s a really cool way to get more people involved in theatre or to offer diverse opportunities to people who have been wanting to try something new. Like an actor might want to give directing a try, or technical whiz might want to give acting a shot. Plus, it gives audiences a chance to see interesting theatre that might be too edgy or too small for our mainstage. And ultimately, it helps TCR accomplish its mission by offering more theatre and more volunteer opportunities.
First up this season is the Underground Festival in November which will get us back into the Iowa Community Theatre Association festival this winter and will feature several original plays written by local playwrights (some of whom have appeared on the TCR stage). I’m so excited for this Festival and especially that we’ve got original pieces in there. I’m not sure that this city knows that it has some really good writers here, and I think Cedar Rapids is an awesome place to write. Great quality of life, affordable living, and several resources to workshop plays with some of the best talent around.
One of the reasons I love the idea of original plays is that I feel like we’re losing some of our best playwrights to television. If we can cultivate good playwrights here, we’d be on the cutting edge of contemporary theatre and doing our part to support playwrights. New plays are a financial risk, and in this economy theatre’s aren’t willing to take financial risks. In an area like the Corridor, we could foster a safe and relatively risk-free environment for both the playwright and the theatre. And because we’re theatre-savvy here, and there is an abundance of talented actors in the area, we can offer workshopping opportunities that other, larger markets aren’t able to offer. It’s a win-win, in my opinion.
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