PRODUCTION NOTES: A Conversation With Nick Manos, President of Atlanta's Theater of the Stars About Their Latest Production, 42nd Street

I had the pleasure of speaking with Nick Manos, President of Atlanta's Theater of the Stars about their upcoming production of 42^nd Street which opens at the Fabulous Fox Theatre on Tuesday, July 28^th and runs through Sunday, August 2^nd and stars Loretta Swit. Mr. Manos shared with us a little about the production itself and what it takes to produce a show like this from the ground up. 

BWWATL: Tell us a little bit about the production of 42^nd Street

Nick Manos: Generally speaking when you do revivals of classic shows you have a choice of whether to recreate the original choreography and staging or do a new take on it. Historically we have done faithful recreations of the original choreography, when we do Oklahoma we do the Agnes DeMille choreography and when we do A Chorus Line we do the Michael Bennett choreography. So we decided we were going to do 42^nd Street with the original Gower Champion choreography, and it is probably the first time many people have seen the show with that original choreography. It's a show we love to do because there really aren't a lot of tap dance shows out there anymore that are mainstream shows and it's the right kind of show for this time with what the country's going through. It is a show of hope and a classic. If you come with a frown on your face and you don't leave with a smile, something's wrong. And one of the positive benefits of these difficult times is the downturn has caused a lot of actors who usually would not be available to be available, so we have a stellar cast that normally would not be available for a 2 to 3 week engagement. We are thrilled to have Loretta Swit in the lead and Steve Blanchard, plus many other great actors and actresses. Loretta Swit has been in a lot of shows for Theater of the Stars in the past, but primarily in plays and she does a great job with her role singing some very beautiful songs.

BWWATL: Why do you think 42^nd street is one of those shows that remains popular and becomes one of those shows that people think of whenever they think of a Broadway musical?

NM: It's got an all time classic story with songs that people know. I don't think people go in thinking they know the score, but they come in and say, "We're in the Money" oh, that's from this! or "Lullaby of Broadway", I didn't know that was from this show! So that's a part of the process.  Second, I think truthfully, any time you have a show that has big dance numbers and big production numbers, people look forward to going to those kinds of shows, more so than some of the smaller chamber-style, movement oriented shows coming out recently where the choreography is more staging. Third, I think there is no substitute for seeing 24 handsome and beautiful young singers and dancers performing on stage all out for two hours. Fourth, the story is one of those stories about hope, about you are never stuck where you start but where you finish. It's a story of a small town girl from Allentown who dreams of being a star and through hard work and through luck and through grit becomes a star.

BWWATL: Do you find that because this is a show about performers, sometimes the characters seem more animated and display an emotional quality that is not necessarily present in other roles that are purely character roles as opposed to someone who is playing an actor or actress themselves?

NM: Absolutely, I think that the roles in the show, even the principal roles, are played broadly because it is that kind of show. It is from the 30s and you see 25-30 people on stage and all that goes with that and that is the only way to play those roles. I don't think you could play them as a movie character, with subtle facial hints as to what their emotion might be.  All the girls are smiling, all the guys are smiling, it is a big smile musical!

BWWATL: You mentioned this is a show about hope and being a show about a performance being mounted during the depression. Do you see that there are similarities between the challenges we are facing today and what is going on up on the stage?

NM: Absolutely, I think that anybody who has any concern about the future of their job or the jobs of their neighbors, friends, or children or whoever, there is a little unease and it is nice to see a story about people who have been through that and take joy in simple things. One of the highlights of the show is when the show is a hit, the excitement is not so much that the shows a hit, therefore it is an artistic success, it is a hit so therefore we have jobs. At core the audience can relate to that feeling of relief that these characters can pay the bills one more day.

BWWATL: Tell me a little bit about, the difference between when you are producing a show like 42^nd Street from scratch and a traditional touring show.

NM: We do two things at Theater of the Stars, we either produce shows or we promote shows that are already produced by someone else and are touring through the country. In a normal world we try to balance those to about half of one and half of the other. Sometimes there aren't enough high quality shows that are touring that fit our schedule and our needs and sometimes it's the exact opposite, there are a lot or too many touring shows so we produce fewer ourselves. From our perspective, what we love to do is produce shows, that's what we cut our teeth on.  But it is expensive to produce shows, and it is riskier because you not only have a risk on the revenue side but also the expense side. When you are presenting shows you know what they cost going in so it is a fixed cost, so your risk is only on the revenue side. We still try very hard to produce large scale musicals that fit the needs of our audience and we pledge to continue to do that, but there is a distinct difference. One, you are literally deciding where are you going to get sets, are you going to build sets, are you going to rent or build costumes, where are you going to get the commercials, who is going to direct, who is going to choreograph, every little aspect, like building a house. On the other hand, when you promote a show it is also exciting to do that because you end up having access to shows that you would never be able to produce at the same scale or level. Many of our audience members have come to love touring shows that are big hits from Broadway.

BWWATL: A lot of people think all the shows from TOTS are tours. Is it important for people to realize that they may be seeing a great production rooted in local hard work as opposed to just booking a show?

NM: The two things that most people don't know about Theater of the Stars is one, that were are a local not-for-profit organization and the second is that about half of the shows they see on the stage are shows that have been produced from scratch. And hopefully for us there is not a significant difference in quality between the tours and those that we produce and I think that means that people don't automatically understand the differences.

BWWATL: What goes into casting a show like 42^nd Street?

NM: Generally speaking we have a group of maybe a dozen or so directors and choreographers that we have worked with extensively over the years and you add some new to that and some fall off, but generally speaking you have a pool of people who you know well and as we select the one best suited to that show. Then we basically hold auditions in New York and follow up auditions in Atlanta and try to get a nice blend of people who have done the show before as well as people who are new to the show. New people give energy to the show that is hard to replace and the experienced people give the style and precision that is hard to replicate.

BWWATL: This production had a pretty quick timeline from casting to rehearsal to production. Is that normal for your shows?

NM: It would shock people most of the time how fast it is. That is a testament to the talent of the people we hire. In total we normally have about 10 days in rehearsal including tech. In a normal situation, you would have the cast learn the first act in 3 days, the second act in 3 days, followed by run throughs and tech. 42^nd Street has about nine production numbers so you are learning a lot of stuff in a short period of time. 

BWWATL: This production you opened at the Miller Outdoor Theatre in Houston and then played Wolf Trap. How was the audience reception?

NM: At the Miller Outdoor Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, our sister organization in Houston, sponsors a free production every summer with the help of local foundations, so as you can imagine, especially this year as people are looking for low cost options for entertainment, 42^nd Street was very well received. Then we moved to Wolf Trap and we had a real strong crowd there, then we took a week off for rest and we are coming home to Atlanta.

BWWATL: Is there anything else about this production or about Theater Of The Stars that would be interesting for our readers?

NM: Just that we have been around for 57 years and we look forward to being around for another 57. And these are tough times for us and everybody else, but we are proud to be able to present and produce shows that are able to touch people in these tough times. Historically, in difficult times, people have turned to the theatre for comfort and we hope that continues not just for us but for all of the great theatre in the Atlanta area.

Thanks so much to Mr. Manos for taking the time to talk to us. Keep a lookout later this week for my interview with the star of this production of 42^nd Street, Loretta Swit! Until then, Ciao!

42^nd STREET will play the Fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta from July 28 through August 2, 2009.  Performances are Tuesday-Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2 pm and 8 pm and Sunday at 1:30 pm and 7 pm. Tickets are on sale NOW at all Ticketmaster outlets, at 800-982-2787 and online at www.ticketmaster.com  Ticket prices range from $20-$67.50.  Special group rates are available through the Fox Group Sales Dept. at 404-881-2000.

NICHOLAS F. MANOS
President, Theater of the Stars
BIO

Mr. Manos is a graduate of Westminster School in Atlanta, and the University of North Carolina where he was a Morehead Scholar.  He coordinated entertainment programming for the Student Union and produced and cast several shows.  He has performed in A View From A Bridge, South Pacific, and Oklahoma! 

His business career spans two decades in sales management with a multi-national employee benefits company, where he built successful sales operations, coordinated marketing strategy, managed top sales offices, co-developed the company's signature product, as well as designed and implemented data management systems. 

Nick joined Theater of the Stars in September 2000 as Managing Director. In 2008 he assumed the role of President.  Since 2000, he has been heavily involved with the touring aspect of the company and has been the driving force behind many of the artistic productions of Theater of the Stars including Disney's High School Musical and the co-productions of Deaf West's Big River, The King and I starring Sandy Duncan and Bombay Dreams.

Nick is the founder of the Junior Theatre Festival, a weekend intensive that takes place every January in Atlanta in connection with MTI, and brings drama students from all over the country together to perform, learn and celebrate theater.

He has served on the Boards of Houston Grand Opera and Theater Under the Stars in Houston.  He and his wife Laura have three wonderful children: Andy, Kate and Sam.

 

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