BWW Interviews: Theatre Takes a Village

Maine State Music Theatre held it third panel discussion devoted to its production of Sister Act on July 1, 2015, at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick. Actors Kingsley Leggs and David Girolmo, stage manager Mark Johnson, music director Jason Wetzel, and MSMT Managing Director Stephanie Dupal spoke to Broadway World's moderator Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold and a full house of enthusiastic MSMT patrons about the challenges of putting on this large scale show that has proved to be another huge hit for the company.

Asked about the demands of presenting two enormous shows like Sister Act to be followed by Music Man in the middle of their summer season, Dupal admitted that the workload was significantly increased for the team. "Our staff works long hours, and we get help from wardrobe and stage ops when they are not running the current show. They put in twelve-fourteen hour days. Occasionally we hire a few extra carpenters and stitchers, but essentially it is all done by our small but dedicated crew. These are people who are willing to work those hours and put a great deal of love into what they do."

Dupal sets the tone for the conversation with its recurring theme of hard work, tight schedules, and camaraderie. Johnson describes his day as the lead production stage manager: "I usually get to the rehearsal room at 9:00 a.m. to get it ready for morning call; we rehearse a couple hours, and then if there is a matinee, I head over to the theatre. Often we have a production meeting between shows and then do the evening performance, followed by a photo call. So we are talking about 9:00-11:00 days. Tech is even more demanding. It moves so fast and you have to catch the crew up to where the performers are. It is a very steep learning curve, but fortunately they pick it up quickly. Some of the crew get only three hours of sleep during tech. We try to take good care of them, and they are very committed people. But this business is definitely not for the faint of heart!"

Johnson goes on to explain that this schedule often occasions glitches that have to be remedied. "You have to be ready to re-prioritize. For example, in Sister Act, there is a scene where the nuns and newscaster are supposed to be seen on a platform above the stage; they have fifteen seconds to climb the stairs and get into places, but we didn't feel it could happen safely in time for the first preview, so we rearranged things, teched it again, and by opening it was working safely in ten seconds." Dupal jumps in to add that safety is always a primary consideration and that previews are offered at a discounted price because what the audience sees then might not be the completed finished product.

"We feel as if we are in a perpetual state of catch-up, but we are fortunate to have so many people here who speak the short hand needed to get the job done," Johnson adds.

Girolmo credits a kind of "short hand" among the actors, crew, and creative team which helps get the job done efficiently. "Mark is very clear about what we all need to do all the time and our directors like Jason [Wetzel] and Donna [Drake] are super organized. They tell us we have fifteen minutes to learn something, and we do it. The fact that some of us have worked together before is very helpful."

Most of the panel members have known each other for a long time and have collaborated on many shows both in Maine and elsewhere. Leggs retells the story of how he came to fill in as Horse in The Full Monty on very short notice, thereby serendipitously bringing him to MSMT for that show and Sister Act, where he gets to work with old friends and colleagues from their Chicago days together, Girolmo and Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark. "It's nice to have a reunion," Leggs says.

Both Leggs and Girolmo are enjoying the characters they create in Sister Act. Leggs, who plays Deloris' gangster boyfriend, Curtis Jackson, says he enjoys playing "the bad guys because I think they can be interesting. I am searching for the humanity in these characters. The 'icky parts' play themselves, so it is up to us as actors to create people who are multi-layered."

Girolmo confirms that he is having a great deal of fun in the role of Monsignor O'Hara. The role has a personal connection to him in that his father-in-law is now a Roman Catholic priest with a parish in New Orleans. He finds the character's transformation compelling. "At first he doesn't pay much attention to the nuns. Mother Superior is a bit of a burr in his saddle. He is dour and business-like with her. Then he hears this music that he has never heard before, and he sees the nuns as women for the first time. It is a revelation to him, a connection to God, a kind of "come to Jesus" moment."

The power of Deloris' music to effect this dramatic change is the heart of Sister Act, and music director Wetzel feels Alan Menken and Glenn Slater have created a powerful score for the show. He talks about how composer, lyricist, and book writers Chris and Bill Steinkellner took the kernel of the Whoopi Goldberg movie version and developed it into a complex score. "It is a show in which each character has his own theme and song moment. For example, Mother Superior's songs are more orchestral in the classic Broadway idiom. You hear cello and bassoon, while Eddie's dream sequence is more R&B guitar - laid back, confident, funky, and then the Monsignor has his Barry White moment." But, Wetzel continues, "The choral writing is often the star of the show musically speaking. God bless my nuns! They have to sing so many huge production numbers with eight-part harmonies. There is all this breezy choral writing from Latin chorale to big, in-your-face Broadway pop-rock. And Trista [Dollison-Deloris] never leaves the stage. She is absolutely marvelous!" But as much as Trista's Deloris "drives the bus and sounds like a million bucks," the ultimate musical challenge may be what is required of the nuns. Wetzel says, "Ultimately, this is a show about a choir of nuns whose singing is very bad, and then they become amazing. You have to amazing!" he tells the ensemble.

And amazing they truly are! The nuns, the stars, the interns, the production crew and the creative teams - all bring together their talent, dedication, and vision to make a magical stage evening. Several members of the audience attest to the thrill of the performances. One lady comments that her late brother was a long-time dresser on Broadway and whenever he saw a production at MSMT he would comment with admiration 'you don't know what you have here!' Another audience member offers this tribute, "I have seen many Broadway plays in my lifetime, but I want you to know MSMT is always Broadway quality. It is always amazing here!"

But perhaps Kingsley Leggs best sums up the sentiments on both sides of the curtain when he remarks: "There is something about the intensity of the schedule here that brings out the best in everyone. It really reconnects you to the play. You realize that it really takes a village to create theatre." He is referring to the dedicated creative ensemble, of course, but then, addressing the audience, he adds, "You guys are a big part of that village. To be able to play for people who really enjoy and appreciate what we do makes all the difference in the world."

Sister Act runs until July 11, 2015 at the Pickard Theatre in Brunswick. www.msmt.org 207-725-8769

Photo courtesy of MSMT, Katie White, photographer

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