Broadway Art Goes Digital: The Drowsy Chaperone & More...

BroadwayWorld.com is proud to introduce its newest site feature...Broadway Art by Norn Cutson!  Celebrated graphic artist Norn Cutson will be providing BroadwayWorld.com and the theatre community with new artwork celebrating the latest and greatest shows as they hit the Great White Way. First up - The Drowsy Chaperone!

The Drowsy Chaperone is the winner of five 2006  Tony Awards, including Best Book of a Musical (for Bob Martin and Don McKellar), Best Original Score (by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Beth Leavel), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (David Gallo), and Best Costume Design of a Musical (Gregg Barnes).  "To chase his blues away, a modern day musical theatre addict known simply as 'Man in Chair' drops the needle on his favorite LP – the 1928 musical comedy The Drowsy Chaperone. From the crackle of his hi-fi, the uproariously funny musical magically bursts to life on stage. Man in Chair's infectious love of The Drowsy Chaperone speaks to anyone who has ever been transported by the theater," according to press notes on the show, which also stars Sutton Foster, Martin, Danny Burstein, Georgia Engel, Edward Hibbert, Troy Britton Johnson, Eddie Korbich, Garth Kravits, Jason Kravits, Kecia Lewis-Evans, Jennifer Smith and Lenny Wolpe.

How better to welcome Norn to the site then by getting the full scoop on him and his many talents!

Click here to enlarge

BWW: Where did you grow up?

Norn: I was born in St. Petersburg, FL, but our family moved to the hillbilly hills of Balsam, NC when I was very young.  We lived out in the woods with no TV, but LOTS of cast albums, so listening to, acting out, and imagining the visuals for many shows was a big part of my childhood!

BWW: When did you first begin to draw?

Literally from babyhood!  My mother and her father are both artists.  As a baby, my mom would hold my hand and guide me and the pencil to make shapes...then after shapes came animals...and its all built on from there.  As frustrated as I get with my mom, I would be nowhere creatively without her.

BWW: How do you make these digital pictures?

N: I make pencil sketches on paper, then scan the sketches and redraw them in Adobe Illustrator.  Then I bring them into Photoshop to color, apply patterns, add effects, etc.

BWW: What was the first show that you ever saw?

N: The first musical I've seen in NYC was Grey Gardens...I'd avoided shows until then because of the prohibitive ticket prices!  It wasn't until there was a show that I HAD to see (I'm very emotionally tied to The Edies!!!) that I took the plunge...and now I can't get enough!  Now I understand that as expensive as live theater is, it is worth it!!

When I was a kid, I saw regional tour productions of Fiddler on the Roof, H.M.S. Pinafore and Hello, Dolly!...they all left their mark on me.

BWW: Favorite show?

N: Even though I've never seen it, Funny Girl set the direction for my whole life.  I don't feel like I've seen enough shows to make an educated choice of "favorite," but Funny Girl runs through my veins...the whole concept of "funny" being more more important than "pretty" is very dear to me...plus the whole "sad" side of "funny."  When our mom would get depressed, my sister and I would sing and act out Funny Girl for her to get her back on her feet....and the more we hammed it up, the better!

Grey Gardens

BWW: What inspired you to attempt to capture what's on the stage?

I've always drawn illustrations of all the concerts I go to, drawing all kinds of different performers.  I never take photos of the important events in life--I would rather remember the occasion by making art.  When I drew my illustration based on Grey Gardens, it opened up a whole new avenue of thought.  Now, instead of just drawing musicians and their instruments, I could draw sets! And costumes! And actors...IN CHARACTER!

In a way, its easier, because with musicians, you have to search for the moment of drama that will express their personality (and what you want to communicate in the art), but in theatre, its already called out for you--through lighting, costumes, staging and script.

Also, its a way to "give back" to the performers, to thank them and let them know that they've made an impression!

BWW: How have performers who have seen your drawings of them reacted to your work?

N: Brian Charles Rooney was a sweeheart and gave the whole cast prints of my Threepenny Opera illustrations.  Jim Dale hung them up in his dressing room (you can see 'em over his shoulder in his BroadwayWorld.TV interview!).  I showed the Drowsy Chaperone cast theirs while still in progress, and they were so kind and enthusiastic!

I'm sad that I didn't get a chance to give the Grey Gardens cast prints of their illustration...because, really, my illustration is a way of saying "thank you, thank you for being an artist"....I feel that it's important to express gratitude for inspiration.

BWW: Tell us about your day job now...

My dayjob is designing infant and toddler clothing for the Disney label. My favorite part of the job is designing prints for fabric...I go into a Zen-like state scattering flowers around, making sure the colors, balance and shapes are distributed evenly. Call me a sap, but I also love working with Ariel and Snow White!

Previously, I was an illustrator for Paper Magazine for 6 years.  I've done all kinds of other illustrating and designing, too...I designed the poster and ads for Ann Magnuson's Rave Mom show, designed T-shirts and stickers for Cibbo Matto's world tour, and illustrated the book "Miss Maki Nomiya A-Z," a book of fashion by Maki Nomiya of the band Pizzicato Five--I also worked with her designing a set of dolls for the toy company Bandai.  And I did illustrations for the Gentle People's album "Simply Faboo"--I'm working on the cover of their new CD as we speak!

BWW: How did you find BroadwayWorld.com?

I've been part of the Grey Gardens Yahoo! group for many years, & followed the whole development of the Grey Gardens musical from the time it was a just a "what if...?". I would read the messageboards on BWW and report to the list what people were saying about the show.
When I shared my Grey Gardens illustration with the email list, they urged me to post it to BWW, so I took the plunge and got a fantastic reception! Then I posted my Threepenny Opera illustrations and suddenly I became very popular!

BWW: Is there anything else that you'd like to add for our readers?

N: I am so happy to be part of the BWW community, I learn so much every day...& LAUGH!  Especially the "Hilarious Comments Overheard" thread, that thread is the gift that keeps on giving!  

I love learning about the history of the theatre and I wish so much that I could go back in time to draw moments like Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly!, the original cast of Dreamgirls, Streisand in Funny Girl, Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, Bea Arthur...

We only get so much time in life to create as much art as possible, so I try to use my time wisely by documenting as many beautiful moments as I can...and I sure hope i get a chance to sketch Carol Channing before it's too late!

Visit www.nornsisland.com to see more of Norn's art.