BWW Reviews: Backstage @ Center Stage 2013
By: Charles Shubow Oct. 03, 2013
I have been before to the wonderful "Backstage @ Center Stage and really enjoyed it. I wasn't planning to attend this 2013 version until I noticed there would be a question and answer session with the wonderful cast of the hit musical ANIMAL CRACKERS. And I was glad I did.
Appearing on the stage of the Pearlstone Theatre before a nice crowd (including many children) were Brad Aldous, Sean Blake, Erin Kommor, Sean Montgomery, Bruce Randolph Nelson, and Catherine Smitko.
The actors were asked if they ever get nervous before going on stage and almost all agreed they did. Smitko (who one theatregoer didn't recognize without her wig) added she feels safest being on a stage.
Aldous added sometimes he gets nervous at the start of a run but after a while one gets used to it.
Kommor, who pointed out her mother was in the audience just arriving from Louisville, KY added, "I get a nervous tinkling. Good butterflies."
Bruce added that he does in fact generally get nervous but added preparation was all important. Blake said it depends on the size of his role.
Nelson was also asked to distinguish portraying his Center Stage role as Edgar Allan Poe and Groucho Marx. He stated, "Marx is much more difficult because people remember Marx seeing him in films and on television. It means I have to be very careful to do it right. Poe??? Nobody is alive today when he was."
Two of the actors (Kommor and Smitko) were asked by a young patron to sing.
Aldous was asked if he already knew how to play the harp in his role as HARPO. He admitted he had to learn the instrument in two months.
When asked what projects the actors have next, Kommor stated she will be appearing in WHITE CHRISTMAS in Westchester, NY and Blake will be returning to his base in Chicago to appear with Second City. Nelson appears in the Everyman Theatre production of RED.
A highlight was attending a dress rehearsal of DANCE OF THE HOLY GHOSTS written by Marcus Gardley. I just happend to meet Gardley as he arrived by taxi from the airport on his was for the rehearsal. The personal playwright informed me that his play has been done at the Yale Repertory Theatre.
The fifteen lucky theater fans were escorted to the fifth floor rehearsal hall and entered in the middle of a rehearsal. It was fun to watch Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah direct the actors during a thirty minute session. It was obvious he was pleased to have the playwright sitting next to him becasue he was constantly asking him questions.
If you have never been to Backstage @ Center Stage I highly recommend it. There were sessions on face painting, a costume photo booth, scene shop demonstrations, props demonstrations, costume shop observations, demonstrations of light and sound, a stage make-up workshop, storytelling workshop. and a stage combat workshop.
There was even an appearance of the famous Irene Lewis gigantic blue bear (who appeared in numerous Lewis directed plays).
ANIMAL CRACKERS continues until October 13. It's so good I'm going back to see it again.
Photos by Charles Shubow
Top photo: The cast of ANIMAL CRACKERS
Bottom photo: Actress Erin Kommor and her mother Paula Kommor
How About a Play, a Pre-Show Meal, and a Discussion with the Actors
That's the program called "Kickin' It with the Rents!" at Center Stage. Parents and kids enjoy a family night to remember, including the musical ANIMAL CRACKERS, a pre-show meal, and a discussion with the actors before or after the show. The cost is only $10!!!. For further information, visit www.centerstage.org/Education/Kickinit. This occurs only once during the run of the play. The date for ANIMAL CRACKERS is Saturday matinee, October 5, 2013.
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