Adam Poalozza’s rendition of Dostoyevsky’s The Double is a frenetic production punctuated by technical bravura and charming original music. Despite its allegiance to the towering source material (much of the dialogue is quoted verbatim), the play is full of bravely self-conscious humour, and even acknowledges its own nervous reverence of Dostoyevsky himself. But like the novella that inspired it, the theatrical Double’s brilliance lies in its ability to juggle humour with an inescapable thematic undertow of paranoia and terror.
Spending two hours with Jim Brochu, I stepped into the life of legend actor Zero Mostel.
Jim Brochu as Mostel
In the show Zero Hour, Brochu plays Mostel, a Jewish actor who survived the McCarthy Era. Mostel, famously known for his role as Tevye in the original Broadway cast of Fiddler on the Roof was revealed in his telling of his experience with the rampant segregation and exclusion of the 1950’s. The experience was not uncommon: it was a dark time for many Jewish actors when “the blacklist” sent many to prison for their communist affiliations and jeopardized their careers. Political and personal, Brochu tells the story of fame through the lens of someone who has risen, fallen and risen again.
As I was walking towards the entrance of the Toronto Centre for the Arts last night, I began to feel the rush of excitement that I usually get when I’m about to see an anticipated show. As a music theatre graduate, I have religiously listened to the original Broadway cast recording of In the Heights. Hearing Lin Manuel-Miranda passionately spit out verse after verse of poetic rap and hip hop or listening to actresses like Mandy Gonzales and Karen Olivo belt their tits off made me itch to see the show on Broadway. So when I heard that the non-Equity tour of the show was making it’s way to T.O. I couldn’t contain myself.
In the Heights, a musical which won four Tony Awards, a Grammy and was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for best drama, follows the lives of the small community of the Washington Height’s Bodega over three days. The lead character Usnavi (played on opening night by understudy Jeffrey Nunez), struggles with his sense of home. Orphaned at a young age after his parents emigrated to New York from the Dominican Republic, Usnavi aches to travel back to his parent’s birthplace to experience the stories that were once shared with him.
This is always an exciting time for me. I’ve found that since Dancap Productions stepped into Toronto’s life 5 years ago, Mirvish has been working extra hard in order to bring the most anticipated shows to Toronto. And they have hit a home run once again, promising an extremely exciting line up of shows.
On Monday, Mirvish announced it’s 2012/2013 season at the Ed Mirvish Theatre (formerly known as the Canon), where a surprised audience greeted Tony Danza. The star of the famous sitcom Who’s the Boss? announced that he will be playing Tommy Korman in the world premiere of Honeymoon in Vegas.
The season is lead by Backbeat, a show that chronicles the birth of the Beatles, which is followed by La Cage aux Folles starring George Hamilton as the nightclub owner and Christopher Sieber as his partner.
I may be the most excited for their third show in line, Sister Act the musical. We all know the movie, and the musical is just as heart warming. Nominated for best musical last year, the show really impressed Broadway theatre-goers with not only an extremely talented cast, but by their original score. It’s so hard to find a musical these days, especially those based off movies, that have original music. So good on ya, sister.
Click below to see a performance of ‘Raise your Voice’ from Sister Act the Musical at the Tony Awards.
After that comes Danza’s shining production of Honeymoon in Vegas, proceeded by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most recent show The Wizard of Oz. Mirvish is also in the works with a Theatre 20 production, Bloodless, which will be Colm Wilkinson’s directorial debut. Flashdance, based after the 1983 hit will have it’s North American debut in Toronto and will feature songs such as What a Feeling and She’s a Maniac.
But the most anticipated show has to be The Book of Mormon. Written by South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the show took home nine Tony awards including best musical last June. Not to mention that the show has been completely sold out for months and months and has no sign of stopping. So get your tickets now and support Toronto’s theatres.
– Erin
Click below to watch Book of Mormon’s Andrew Rannels perform ‘I Believe’ at the Tony’s:
I’m sitting with Caleb McMullen and Gaby Grice, the producers of Patrick Marber’s Closer, with the undeniably delicious scent of pad thai and spring rolls wafting through the air. While chatting and scarfing down Thai food, I can’t help but notice how extremely exhausted the two look. They managed to squeeze in time for an interview in between shopping for costumes and putting together props for their upcoming show. Though the dark circles under their eyes may be larger than the average person’s, so are their grins. Discussing this project with them still gets them excited even after hours and hours of arduous rehearsals.
Why did you want to produce Closer?
G: Well to be honest, it was a play that I completely fell in love with. I read it in third year and I immediately knew that I wanted to put it on. It’s an easier show to produce with there being only four people in the cast. It doesn’t need an extravagant set, the characters are amazing and I could think of so many actors who would be great for the roles.
C: It actually took me a while to sign on to this project. I had just finished producing Wolfboy a few months before Gaby came to me with Closer and it just seemed like a daunting task. It took me around six months to say yes.
G: I don’t remember hounding you that much.
C: Oh you did. You would come to me every few months or so asking me if I wanted to do it. Finally you said that you were going to do it with or without me and that really lit a fire under my butt.
G: I’m so happy you did. I don’t think I could have done this without you.
Caleb, what is it like being a director and a producer?
C: It’s really difficult because I wear so many hats that I’m the only resource I have to get things done. I’ll be working on a variety of things throughout the day, then I’ll light up a cigarette, sit in my directors chair at rehearsal for 4 to 5 hours, and then go back to working on whatever needs to be done. I’ve lost around 15 pounds putting this show on.
G: I hate you.
C: I treat myself as an employee of Mnemonic Theatre Productions and my hours are from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. As my own boss, I set deadlines and parameters for myself. I have this list of things that need to be accomplished before the show goes up and every day I work a little bit on every one until they are 100% complete. My last bullet on my list is “produce and direct Closer.” And on February 4th, after the curtain falls, I get to check that off my list. And that’s my reward.
Your theatrical trailer for Closer looks awesome. How did you decide to create that?
C: We wanted to market the show in a new and interesting way. We also wanted it to be professionally done so I went to my friend Alex Josselyn, who is brilliant. It took us two days to film that.
G: And we’re talking 14 hour days.
C: Yes. But it was actually a really good time on set. Everyone was so cooperative and professional. And Alex let me come in while he was editing incase I wanted to put my two cents in. And I’m so happy with how it came out.
Watch the theatrical trailer below:
What advice do you have for people who want to produce their own work?
G: You really have to love what you’re doing. You have to be willing to sweat, bleed and cry for it. If you’re not going to love the show after a month or so in, you’re fucked.
C: You’re so fucked.
G: You also need to know what you’re good at and what you’re not. Know your limitations. I knew I needed someone to compliment me and Caleb is definitely good at the things I can’t do. I knew that I was willing to put my time, money and passion into this project but I knew I couldn’t do it alone. Know your scale. Know what you’re capable of but respect what’s not possible at the time.
What do you want people to take away from the show?
G: I really think people are going to relate to the show. Patrick Marber is a genius. It doesn’t matter what experiences you’ve had. There are really bold things said and done in this play, and I know people will walk away saying that they have at least thought about doing or saying those things before. It’s really interesting because all of the actors have completely different relationship statuses. There are actors who are single, in a relationship, gay, married but it doesn’t matter. We all feel connected to the thoughts and words of these characters because they are so true. And I want the audience to feel the same way, and I think they will.
C: I want audiences to recognize that independent theatre companies are capable of producing high quality theatre. I truly believe, and am willing to say, that Closer will be an incredible production. As a producer, I strive to make a theatrical experience that cost $25 a ticket feel like it should have cost $100 a ticket. That’s why it was important to us to make a really professional trailer as well. I want people to walk away from the show with a new expectation from small, independent theatre companies.
What have you learned from being a part of this show?
G: I’ve grown so much as an actor with this show. I’m so happy I did [Hart House’s] Lysistrata when I did, but I only grew so much because I had played roles like that before. This show really took me out of my comfort zone and I had to experience a lot of new things. I learned that I can be a dramatic character. I don’t want to pigeonhole myself and I don’t want other people to pigeonhole me either.
C: I’ve learned that I want to be an artistic directer. I really feel like I want to spend the rest of my life creating new projects.
Closer runs from February 1st – 4th at the Winchester Street Theatre. For tickets and more info visit www.mnemonictheatre.com/closer
Read another interview with and about Gaby in our Actor Profiles
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