Broadway Roots of CenterStage's 'Boys from Syracuse'

By: Dec. 04, 2006
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The Boys from Syracuse—Rodgers & Hart's musical of mistaken identity and raucous romance, with a book adapted from Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors by legendary showman George Abbott—gets a revival as the next offering in CENTERSTAGE's 44th Season.  Baltimore native David Schweizer returns to direct his fifth CENTERSTAGE production in six seasons. Heading the cast as the titular identical-twin-seeking master and servant are Manu Narayan(Bombay Dreams) and Michael Winther(Mamma Mia!); their brothers are played by Paolo Montalban(Pacific Overtures, ABC's Cinderella ) and Kevin R. Free (Taking a Chance on Love), while their befuddled love interests are Charlotte Cohn(La Bohème, CENTERSTAGE's The Murder of Isaac), Rona Figueroa(Les Misérables), Charlie Parker (Dreamgirls), and Blair Ross(42nd Street). The Boys from Syracuse sails into The Pearlstone Theater December 8th and runs through January 14th; Opening Night is Wednesday, December 13 th.  Go to www.centerstage.org or call 410.332.0033 for tickets and more information.
Lifted wholesale from Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, this rollicking musical farce dances into the back alleys and boudoirs of ancient Ephesus. There the braggart Antipholus and his hapless servant Dromio are thrown topsy-turvy when their long-lost identical twins sail into town and run afoul of perplexed wives, red-hot courtesans, and the law. Rodgers & Hart's delightful, jazz-inflected score includes the standards "This Can't Be Love," "Falling in Love with Love," and "Sing For Your Supper."

As composer Richard Rodgers noted in the New York Herald-Tribune upon the show's 1963 Broadway revival, "Revivals of musicals are usually a mixture of the well known and the long-forgotten. The well known, of course, applied to the songs. If a musical is considered worthy of a revival at all, you can be fairly certain that enough of its songs will be so popular that the show's overture will sound like a "sing-along" session…. Early in 1938, I suggested that we consider adapting a Shakespearean play into a musical….since no one had ever done it before we had a pretty unlimited field to choose from. We prudently turned to George Abbott; …the book that he came up with was exactly what we wanted—bright, fast moving, but, in its own wacky way, very much in the bawdy Shakespearean tradition." It's precisely this "bright, fast moving" yet "bawdy Shakespearean tradition" that so appeals to director Schweizer.   "I love the shameless showbiz aspect, the almost vaudevillian tomfoolery of the comic structure of this kind of show. It's derived from Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, but really derived from Borscht Belt shtick that is then filtered through the somewhat elegant construct of a musical entertainment from another era—in this case the '30s, when American elegance and quick-wittedness were at their height.  So to my mind, the attraction is the meeting of the stylishness of Deco with the fun of the Burlesque Hall - plus the fabulous music—very much of its time, but transcending to all time because it's just so melodic and infectious."   Schweizer returns to CENTERSTAGE, where his previous directing assignments include Crumbs from the Table of Joy,Permanent Collection, The Miser, and The Foundry Theatre's production of And God Created Great Whales. The latter he also directed Off Broadway, (winning an Obie Award) in London, and in appearances around the US. His other Off Broadway and New York work includes Los Big Names, Songs from an Unmade Bed, White Chocolate, Wintertime, and Troilus and Cressida—which marked his professional New York directing debut at Lincoln Center at age 22.

Leading the cast as the separated-by-shipwreck as well as identically named brothers Antipholus areManu Narayan and Paolo Montalban.  Narayan was the male lead inAndrew Lloyd Webber's Bombay Dreams on Broadway, and most recently appeared in the Off Broadway revival of Eric Bogosian's SubUrbia. He's also appeared on The Sopranos and Law & Order: SVU. Montalban starred in the recent acclaimed Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures, as well as The King and I. He's also recognizable from his turn as the Prince opposite Brandy and Whitney Houston in the ABC film of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella and as one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People (1998)". Appearing as the also separated-by-shipwreck identical twins who also happen to have the same name and who happen to be the faithful servants of the Antipholuses areMichael Winther and Kevin R. Free. Dromio of Syracuse is played by Winther, a veteran of the Broadway productions of Mamma Mia!, 1776, The Crucible, Artist Descending a Staircase,Permanent Collectionand Damn Yankees; the acclaimed world premiere of Songs from an Unmade Bed—directed by Schweizer; and the original production of the long-running Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding. Free, who plays Dromio of Ephesus, appeared Off Broadway in From My Hometown, Taking a Chance on Love, The Conjure Man Dies, and Barbara's Blue Kitchen. He's also a regular commentator on NPR's News & Notes with Ed Gordon. All four are making their CENTERSTAGE debuts. Frequent CENTERSTAGE actor John Ramsey ( The Voysey Inheritance, , and The Miser—the latter two directed by Schweizer) appears as the father of the two Antipholuses—Aegeon— as well as the Goldsmith. Ramsey's Broadway credits include Sly Fox, Find Your Way Home, The Red Devil Battery Sign, The House of Atreus, and the original Forty-Second Street.

Playing the four main romantic foils for the two sets of twins are Charlotte Cohn, Rona Figueroa, Charlie Parker, and Blair Ross. Cohn, who made her first CENTERSTAGE appearance in last season's American premiere of Motti Lerner's The Murder of Isaac and who recently reprised her role as part of The Public Theater's New Works Now! Festival, plays Adriana. Cohn most recently appeared as Hallelujah Lil in American Conservatory Theater's production of the Brecht/Weill musical, Happy End, and was seen on Broadway in Baz Luhrmann's staging of La Bohème. Wife to Antipholus of Ephesus, Adriana mistakenly locks her husband out in favor of his brother. Complications ensue, of course, when the "wrong husband"—Antipholus of Syracuse—falls for Adriana's sister, Luciana. Luciana is played by Broadway veteran Rona Figueroa(Nine, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Lennon). Figueroa has also appeared Off Broadway in Dogeaters, Turandot, and Caucasian Chalk Circle. Appearing as Luce, Dromio of Ephesus' wife and also servant to Antipholus and Adriana, is Charlie Parker. Parker's many regional credits include Thoroughly Modern Millie, Once on This Island, Man of La Mancha, Little Shop of Horrors, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Smokey Joe's Café, Dreamgirls, Hair, Batboy: The Musical, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, and Caroline, or Change. The mistress of Antipholus of Ephesus (aka Adriana's husband), the Madame Courtesan, is played by Ross. Ross appeared as Dorothy Brock in the final months of the recent Broadway revival of Forty-Second Street her other credits include Hysterical Blindness and Smoke on the Mountain Off Broadway.

The remainder of the cast—all in their CENTERSTAGE debuts—are Laura Lee Anderson, Rosa Curry, Kyle DesChamps, Terry Lavell, Christopher Sergeeff, Stephen Valahovic, Chris Wells, and Jessica Wu. Anderson, Curry, and Wu play assorted maids and courtesans in the employ of the rival women in Antipholus of Ephesus' life. Representing the authority in Syracuse are Valahovic as the Sergeant and Wells as both the Duke and the Sorcerer. DesChamps, Lavell, and Sergeeff round out the numerous characters, as merchants, soldiers, apprentices, and the seeress with a whopper of a secret.

Leading the collaboration with director Schweizer in their CENTERSTAGE debuts are Music Director/Orchestrator Wayne Barker and Choreographer Dan Knechtges. Barker has worked on the last three touring shows with Barry Humphries, including Dame EdnaBack with a Vengeance on Broadway. Knechtges has choreographed every production thus far of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, as well as Todd Solondz's film Palindromes. The design team for The Boys from Syracuse features many CENTERSTAGE veterans. Scenic Designer Allen Moyer, who is currently represented on Broadway with both Grey Gardens and The Little Dog Laughed , is back for the third time, following The Voysey Inheritance and An Ideal Husband. Costume Designer David Zinn is a frequent collaborator with Schweizer, including The Miser at CENTERSTAGE. Lighting Designer Christopher Akerlind returns for the first time since The Loman Family Picnic in 1993. He recently picked up back-to-back Tony nominations for The Light in the Piazza and Awake and Sing!, winning the award for the former. Sound Designer Ryan Rumery makes his CENTERSTAGE debut; his most recent credits include The Bluest Eye for DC's Theatre Alliance, Murderers at Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Frozen at The Studio Theatre. Returning supporting team members include Gavin Witt (Production Dramaturg), Janet Foster (Casting Director), Chris Hofer (Orchestra Contractor), and Debra Acquavella (Stage Manager).

The Boys from Syracuse runs from December 8 – January 14, Tues – Sat at 8PM, Sun   at 7:30PM, Sat – Sun at 2PM, with a special Weds matinee at 1PM on December 20th.  Tickets are $10-$65, with discounts available to students and senior citizens.   Go to www.centerstage.org or call 410.332-0033 for more information.  

A two part interview with the "Boys" themselves appears on BroadwayWorld.com as well.  Part I, posted 12/11/2006 with Paolo Montalban and Kevin R. Free.  Part II will post 12/18/2006 with Michael Winther and Manu Narayan. 



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