Interview: MSMT in 2024: Raring to Go & Bursting at the Seams

“The world is coming back online, and people are getting back to who they were before the pandemic,” declares MSMT Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark. “Ticket sales are as close as they have come to pre-pandemic levels, and there is an extraordinary buzz surrounding the upcoming 2024 season.” 

On June 5, Maine State Music Theatre opens its twelve-week season featuring four blockbuster hits on the main stage, as well as three family shows, four concerts, and an array of free outreach events for the public. Clark eagerly anticipates the arrival of the large summer company, with the elite group of young professional performers, the MSMT Singers, among the first to begin rehearsals.   “I auditioned over 3000  to cast these eight young artists.  They are definitely among the most talented in the nation with skills beyond their years. They come from some of the best musical theatre programs in the country.  Here at MSMT they can start honing those skills to become the professionals they will be throughout their lives.”

To mark the 75th anniversary of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, SOUTH PACIFIC (June 5-22) opens the main stage season in the Pickard Theater on the campus of Bowdoin College. “The idea that SOUTH PACIFIC was written in 1949 boggles my mind.  I can’t imagine what it was like for an audience in 1949 to see that story unfold on stage because it tackled themes that weren’t talked about then. Rodgers and Hammerstein almost didn’t get the show produced because they insisted on keeping what were considered risky songs at the time.  They had the guts to say that being racist was deplorable. They consistently refused to cut songs like ‘You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught.’”

Co-directed by Marc Robin and Curt Dale Clark with choreography by Robin, the current revival is produced in partnership with the Fulton Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, an arrangement that Clark praises because “it allows us to offer a longer contract and thereby attract a higher talent pool. Our two leads are unbelievable talents, as are all the peripheral leads and the ensemble.  We have a fantastic cast, and the visual production is lush and beautiful.  The audience will be blown away, I think, by how easily the stage is transformed from plantation to beach to war room.” Summing up their artistic concept, Clark adds, “Our focus was to present SOUTH PACIFIC as it was intended to be presented, softening the edges a little for a modern audience.”

FUNNY GIRL (June 26-July 13) follows in the second main stage slot.  Produced only twice before at MSMT, its return to the Pickard is a real coup for the company. So, too, is the casting of Jenna Lea Rosen in the title role.  Rosen makes her debut as Fanny Brice, and Clark, who has been known over the years for discovering, showcasing, and nurturing impressive talent at MSMT, waxes eloquent about the choice: “She really is pretty special, and her audition was a complete surprise to all of us.”  Kenny Ingram, who delighted last year’s audiences with 9 To 5 THE MUSICAL, returns as director/choreographer, and according to Clark, “His vision is a slightly seedier and grittier version with the dance cemented in the feel of Harlem.”

Perhaps the summer title most keenly anticipated is WHITE CHRISTMAS (July 17- August 3), not only because the story is such a beloved cultural icon, but also because Clark has promised a fully immersive “Christmas in July” experience. “Our goal is to make everyone get the Christmas spirit the minute they step into the Pickard,” he explains. “We have never been able to produce a Christmas show because we only exist in the summer, but we finally decided to pitch the experience as ‘Celebrate the Christmas you weren’t able to celebrate last year, or celebrate the Christmas you already know you won’t be able to celebrate this December, or just have a second Christmas!’  People have gone crazy for the idea.  I know folks who are creating all kinds of family events around the production.  The entire Pickard will be transformed into a winter wonderland, and we will have a small Christmas market, as well as entertainment by Sophia Scott, at intermission in the downstairs lobby.”

Of the stage version, Clark says, “The musical is basically the movie on stage.  Marc Robin directs and choreographs, and the intent is to be true to the film and allow the audience to revel in the nostalgia and hear those amazing Irving Berlin tunes.”

The final main stage production is BEAUTIFUL, THE Carole King MUSICAL (August 7-24), directed by Parker Esse. Clark says he chose this show to close out the season because “it whips the audience into a frenzy with a barrage of Carole King, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil songs; it’s a nostalgic trip to a euphoric time, and the result is pandemonium.  People go crazy at the end.  It’s one of those rare shows where 60% of the audience comes back to see it again.”

In addition to the main stage productions which run Tuesdays through Sundays, MSMT fills the Monday slots with its Concert Series and Theatre for Young Audience Series. In recent years, the Concert Series, which features tributes to icons of popular music, has been a runaway hit, and this season all four concerts (tributes to Barbra Streisand/Celine Dion, Elton John, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Pink Floyd) are virtually sold out.

This year’s children’s series features a return of Robin & Clark’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, “a non-traditional version of the story that is one of the audience’s favorite shows,” as well as the junior version of the perennial classic WIZARD OF OZ.  Both of these are directed by Betsy Puelle and will employ puppetry, feature the MSMT Singers in the cast, and for WIZARD OF OZ offer a summer theatre intensive experience for youngsters 8-18.  The third title is new to MSMT: Robin and Clark’s THE STORY OF THE NUTCRACKER. This delightful retelling, which has played as an annual Christmas tradition in cities like Chicago, suddenly became an option as a tie-in with the “Christmas in July” theme. Clark describes it as “our [his and Marc Robin’s] twist on the familiar tale where the Mouse King is the star; he’s a wise-cracking character that the audience loves, and the whole show is hilarious.”

But while levity is part of the intent of the TYA Series, Clark also sees this program as a important priority with serious benefits. Commenting on the positive response the TYA Series has generated in the community and in foundation support, he says, “I am hoping this is because people realize that we have to continue to inspire our youth to set down their phones and come to live theatre. The art of making live theatre is also important from a diversity/equity/inclusion perspective.  We are trying to get young people of color and their families into the theatre and interested in participating in productions. And we hope, too, that we can build an equally diverse/equitable/inclusive audience that mirrors who is on stage.”

Indeed, serving and embracing a diverse public is a major theme of all of MSMT outreach projects, many free to the public.  This summer, many popular and impactful programs return, among them the PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN panel discussions, now in their 10th season; TEASER TUESDAYS Film Series, sensory-friendly children’s performances; MSMT Concert on the Mall on April 21, the community’s largest outdoor public event; the MSMT Kickoff on May 29; and the Gala on August 19.  Clark believes all these additional events help advance MSMT’s overall mission. “They cement our relationship with the public and broaden the real connection with people who are already connected with us.  Every time we have a chance to deepen that connection to the community, it is our job to do so.”

As Clark begins his second decade as MSMT Artistic Director, he has every reason to be pleased and proud of the strong bonds that have been forged between MSMT and Maine. With the devastation of the pandemic in the rear view mirror, MSMT looks forward to an exciting, dynamic 2024 season.  Clark is energized by the immediate prospects and raring to go.  But he is also cognizant of – and eager to undertake - new challenges that face the company.

“MSMT is bursting at the seams. We fill each and every day that we are in the Pickard Theater with some kind of offering for the public to partake of. Every inch of space that MSMT owns is currently being used to house our massive summer company, and in order for us to get bigger, we need to expand.”

 

Photos courtesy of MSMT

MSMT’s 2024 season runs from June 5-August 24 at the Pickard Theater on the campus of Bowdoin College, 1 Bath Rd., Brunswick, ME    www.msmt.org   207-725-8769

 

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