Signature Theatre, under the artistic direction of Eric Schaeffer, yesterday completed the Kander & Ebb Celebration, a ground-breaking four-month festival devoted to the works of John Kander and Fred Ebb, the longest lasting song-writing partnership in the history of the American musical theater. The company offered 187 events ranging from main stage musicals The Visit, The Happy Time, and Kiss of the Spider Woman, to cabaret performances to free film showings. All performances took place in Signature's new complex in the intimacy of the 299-seat MAX and 110-seat ARK Theatres, and attracted 30,559 people from 37 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and six countries including South Africa, England, and Australia.
John Kander stated, "Working at Signature Theatre has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. It's meant so much to me to collaborate with the talented members of the Signature family for the past few months on the Kander & Ebb Celebration. Recreating three of the shows that Fred and I loved so dearly has been pure magic. Producing these shows in a theater that is a fraction of the size of a Broadway house makes the Signature experience unique. The commitment from
Eric Schaeffer and his team to produce new and overlooked works requires the most work, but reaps the greatest rewards."
"This celebration has been a highlight in our 18-year history," said
Eric Schaeffer. "The artists and audiences that gathered to salute John and Fred have been inspiring. It has been a major achievement for this community and theater."
The festival featured the East Coast premiere of The Visit staged with the creative talents of eight Tony Award® winners:
John Kander and the late
Fred Ebb, book writer
Terrence McNally, actors
Chita Rivera and
George Hearn, director
Frank Galati, choreographer
Ann Reinking, and costume designer
Susan Hilferty. The musical, also starring
Mark Jacoby, is based on the play of the same name by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, adapted by Maurice Valency. The first outing of The Visit since its premiere in 2001 at Chicago's Goodman Theater, the production ran May 13 through June 22 in Signature's MAX Theatre. Time magazine stated "The best musical of the year wasn't to be found at last week's Tony® awards. It is wrapping up a month-long run in the Washington, D.C. suburbs: a haunting musical adaptation of The Visit…" John Simon opined in Bloomberg.com, "If Broadway doesn't, regardless of cost, avail itself of this gem, it will shoot itself in the foot with an obtuseness deserving a shot in the head."
From April 1 to June 1 in The ARK Theatre, Signature presented a rare production of the 1968 musical The Happy Time, featuring
George Dvorsky,
David Margulies, and
Michael Minarik, and directed by Michael Unger. Paul Harris of Variety called the Signature production, "a fresh and earnest revival…with ultimate intimacy in Signature's tiny ARK Theatre," with Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press commenting that The Happy Time was "quite a departure stylistically from The Visit. Yet both shows demonstrate the remarkable musical-theatre acumen found in the words and music of
John Kander and
Fred Ebb." Michael Toscano of Theatremania.com weighed in, "Signature Theatre's illustrious Kander & Ebb Celebration might end up being most remembered for reviving The Happy Time – since 40 years after failing on Broadway, this rarely staged show (with a book by N. Richard Nash) may finally be able to claim its rightful place in the duo's rich legacy."
Signature's first main stage offering of the Celebration was the 1993 Tony Award®-winning Kiss of the Spider Woman, starring
Will Chase,
Natascia Diaz and
Hunter Foster. Directed by
Eric Schaeffer, the production ran from March 11 to April 20 in The MAX Theatre. Paul Harris of Variety called it "a most satisfying revival…. Propelled by shrewd performances, the production pays full respect to the tuner's dark theme and its easily overplayed fantasy moments....
Eric Schaeffer has found a winning formula in his sincere treatment of the material…." James Howard of BroadwayWorld.com stated, "One can't imagine a much better production of Kiss of the Spider Woman than this one. The production really shows that this is a timeless work, dated in no way and as fresh and important as when it debuted. I imagine Mr. Kander is thrilled and that the late Mr. Ebb is looking down on Signature Theatre and smiling proudly."
For the Kander & Ebb Celebration, Signature also offered two popular cabaret series. Tony®-nominated artist
Karen Akers brought her critically-acclaimed cabaret show First You Dream: The Songs of Kander & Ebb for eight performances from March 11 to 16. Signature also presented six performances of Kander & Ebb Overtures from June 4 to 7 featuring graduates from Signature's Overtures Musical Theater Institute in a special showcase of Kander and Ebb's most popular songs. Other events included the Bowen McCauley Dance company's world premiere of pieces set to Kander & Ebb (June 12 to 15), a free Kander & Ebb film series (March 31, April 14, June 2, and June 23), The Kander & Ebb Celebration Gala (May 17) and Colored Lights, a special exhibition of Kander & Ebb memorabilia (March 11 to June 23).
The Kander & Ebb Celebration was made possible by the HRH Foundation and Gil and Jaylee Mead. The Visit was supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Kiss of the Spider Woman was sponsored by The Bernard Family Foundation.
