The world premiere of
'Coming to America' is Feb. 9 at Kalliope Stage in Cleveland
Heights. The cast features (clockwise from top left)
Jason Winfield, Beth Kirkpatrick, Jaron Vesely, Kimberly
Koljat and Christopher Sena. |
Like an expectant parent,
Paul Gurgol has great aspirations for the world premiere of
the musical Coming to America.
He has been fine-tuning his
baby -- giving it a little extra TLC here and a loving tweak
there -- nonstop since November as his five-member cast prepares
to unveil the show Feb. 9 at Kalliope Stage in Cleveland Heights.
``I have labor pains right now
-- I'm pregnant with all this stuff,'' Gurgol said.
This passionate director works
through total absorption: ``When I'm working on a piece, everything
in my life... has to be about that piece.''
Gurgol formed a relationship
with Coming to America's creator, James Hindman, after producing
another of his shows, the Off-Broadway hit Pete 'N' Keely,
in Kalliope's inaugural 2004 season. The critical response
was so good for that show that Hindman brought it up when he
ran into Gurgol in New York.
``These reviews are phenomenal,
and I just want to thank you for doing such good work with
my show,'' Hindman said.
Later, Hindman called Gurgol
at Kalliope and said: ``I really think you should look at some
of my other work.''
Hindman and his partner, Ray
Roderick, run Miracle or 2 Productions, a New York production
company dedicated to creating and developing new American musicals.
The fit was perfect, because
an important part of Kalliope Stage's mission is to produce
world premiere musicals. Coming to America is its first.
Melting-pot
tale
The ``poperetta'' tells the
true stories of five unknown immigrants at Ellis Island --
American heroes who changed the face of this country. The musical
features 61 songs by landmark composers from 1890 to 1927,
including Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George M. Cohan, Victor
Herbert and George Gershwin.
Gurgol was attracted not only
to the music, but also to the humor and history in this melting-pot
tale.
``By now, I know my audience
somewhat,'' said the director, who's presenting his third Kalliope
season. ``I'm a huge, huge history buff about Ellis Island
and the early 20th century.''
The artistic director said the
five-member cast and grand-piano accompaniment are also
right up Kalliope's alley. The house has a postage stamp-sized
stage and seats a maximum of 99, much like an Off-Broadway
house.
``They (Hindman and Roderick)
are trying desperately to write musicals for regional theaters
like us so it doesn't take a full orchestra and 30 people''
to cast the show, he said.
New
vaudeville
Coming to America, which features
a ragtime beat, is a cross between an old book musical and
a musical revue. The show runs through March 12, with performances
Wednesdays through Sundays. Call 216-321-0870 or see www.KalliopeStage.com
for ticket information.
Through the development process,
Gurgol found the thread that holds the immigrant characters
together: ``It's a new American vaudeville,'' he said. ``It's
got everything from vaudeville history.''
The director decided to have
his cast play vaudeville actors who assume the characters of
each of the five immigrants, plus many secondary characters.
The music links the individual stories, which are told as comedic
sketches.
``It is steeped in a lot of
history, but it's set up like a Saturday Night Live skit,''
Gurgol said.
Vaudeville was a symbol of cultural
diversity, featuring a fusion of ethnic performers onstage
as well as a middle-class, diverse audience.
For Coming to America, Broadway
arranger Phil Reno has arranged standards such as Play a Simple
Melody and Alexander's Ragtime Band with ragtime or jazz barbershop
beats.
``For our audience, I'm hoping
that the experience they have is like going to a vaudeville
show 100 years ago,'' Gurgol said.
The ethnic groups represented
are Irish, Jewish, Italian, Greek and Swedish. The story opens
in what Gurgol calls a ``sparkling moment,'' when the characters
arrive by ship at Ellis Island and catch a first glimpse of
the Statue of Liberty.
These five immigrants come to
the United States clinging to the American dream, and end up
exceeding their expectations. Success stories range from the
tale of the first female business owner in New York to the
fellow who discovered Chef Boyardee.
The cast features Kimberly Koljat
of Northeast Ohio and New York actors Christopher Sena, Beth
Kirkpatrick, Jaron Vesely and Jason Winfield. Gurgol described
them all as triple threats who can ``sing like birds'' and
are strong actors and comedians.
Onward,
upward
When it comes to readying Coming
to America for its stage debut, creator Hindman has put all
the tweaking in Gurgol's hands. Daily changes include adding
or cutting musical interludes, plus refining the script.
``Jim (Hindman) has given me
carte blanche. This is the first time I'm really working on
something with the writer,'' Gurgol said.
Kalliope's goal in presenting
the world premiere has an even greater scope. ``If we get to
the point where it's a success here, there are other theaters
(across the country) that are interested,'' said Gurgol, who
could take his cast on the road.
Kalliope Stage, which has previously
staged four Northeast Ohio premieres, is becoming known for
presenting new musicals. Gurgol said he receives many new,
unsolicited scripts in the mail.
``The way to make Kalliope a
success is to constantly have things that are bigger than what
we do just at Kalliope,'' he said.
``I don't want to be just a
Cleveland theater. I want to be a major regional theater in
this country.''
Theater writer Kerry Clawson
may be reached at 330-996-3527 or by e-mail at kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com. |
