Feature: 18TH ANNUAL WILL-A-THON, 'WILL'S PLAYHOUSE 90' at The Workshop Theater
A beloved tradition goes virtual to benefit The Food Bank of NYC
By: Caroline Sposto Apr. 24, 2021
Though the past twelve months have presented few silver linings, there are always some resourceful people who create them. One of those people is Charles E. Gerber, actor, director, and sought after acting instructor.
Instead of shutting down with the pandemic, Gerber moved his studio, Will's Playshop, online, giving actors a safe space to collaborate and grow throughout lockdown.
In the same generous spirit, its performances are being made available to a worldwide audience, on a "Pay What You Can" basis to benefit The Food Bank for New York City as well as The Workshop Theater.
Though the 18th annual Will-A-Thon "Will's Playhouse 90" was in its final hours of rehearsal, Gerber graciously welcomed me into his living room, via zoom, to talk about the show.
"The First Will-A-Thon was in 2004," Gerber recalls. He started it as a showcase for Will's Playshop, his ensemble of students, all professional New York actors, who felt intensive work with Shakespeare's text would help them take their craft to the next level.
That first program ran only one evening. It was so well received it gradually expanded into a six-night event, and became a tradition. The Will-A-Thon generally runs during the third week of April in honor of William Shakespeare's birthday.
"This material just never goes away," Gerber says. "Human nature, hasn't altered. It just manifests in different ways and is illuminated by language in many ways. Paying attention to the fact that someone was born 457 years ago this week is because he captured humanity in ways that are un-toppable."
In the course of his 50-year theatrical career, Gerber's considers The Will-A-Thon to be one of the best things he has ever done.
"By 2013, it had gotten to a calibre where it was "meet" -- as Shakespeare would say, fitting, to invite someone so esteemed as Richard Easton," Gerber says. "The miracle was that he returned again and again, year after year after year. As a professional compliment, nothing exceeds that."
Gerber says Easton, a Tony Award Winner, and Theater Hall of Fame inductee, was the best actor he has ever worked with. "He retired with my directing him in 2015, in a reading of King Lear. Easton gave us his Lear, and I never heard a better one, ever from anyone. . . . He was always in the moment and proceeding there, like a heartbeat." Gerber adds that he hopes to emulate that level of presence when he plays King Lear in this year's Will-A-Thon.
After a reflective moment, he continues. "I've always been quite fortunate of having the very talented progeny of very esteemed, if not historic, players such as Letty Ferrer the daughter of Jose Fererr and Uta Hagen. We had for two years in a row, the great Tandy Cronyn, the daughter of Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, a first rate player in her own right. I feel very lucky to have gotten their approbation."
Gerber equates his role in producing, directing and performing in the Will-A-Thon, to a pianist conductor playing a Mozart Concerto and conducting the orchestra. "This has been, I think, a similar process," he says.
He says choosing the scenes is a process of knowing each student, and discerning how they can best shine. "I think I have a flair for casting, and then there were questions to ask the players: 'Do you feel good about this? Do you accept the challenge?'"
"Likewise, I had to ask myself if I were up to the challenge of King Lear," Gerber says. "I have been at this almost 50 years professionally, and I'm capable of growing a beard, and it's white, and I directed one of the greatest actors in the past century in the role. I've seen all of the esteemed Lears, but I have my own."
This year's program will encompass comedy, tragedy and that portion in between, with various sonnets, scenes from Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, Macbeth, and King Lear. "It's a good show," Gerber says. "It will display the vast array of how Shakespeare put the mirror up to nature."
The title is based on its running time of 90 minutes, and is an homage to Playhouse 90, the legendary live theatre program that ran on CBS from 1956-1960. Gerber feels it's fitting because Zoom lends an intimacy to the performances that is very similar to working in extreme closeup on television.
When asked about the drawing of winking Shakespeare, Gerber explains that it was gifted to him and his wife by actor and artist Ron Crawford, a former member of Will's Playshop and the Will-A-Thon, adding that this show, like that drawing, is "a gift of love with the best skills can we muster."
As always, the cast is made up of skilled career actors, listed below in alphabetical order. Charles Casano will serve as sound technician.
Joseph Abrams-( portraying Snout, Bishop of Carlisle, and Edmund)
Arthur Aulisi-(portraying Theseus, Oberon, and Kent)
Ethan Cadoff-( portraying Nick Bottom, and Duke of Albany)
Dimitri Carter-( portraying Demetrius, and Duke of Burgundy)
Cherrye J. Davis-( portraying Hippolyta, Titania and Goneril)
Allison Dayne-( portraying Helena)
Courtney Fenwick-( portraying Lady Macbeth, and First Fairy)
Letty Ferrer-( portraying Petey Quince, and Juliet's Nurse)
Charles E. Gerber-( portraying Robin Starveling, Duke of York, and King Lear)
Maggie Horan-( portraying Francis Flute, Juliet, and Cordelia)
Erik Kochenberger-( portraying Lysander, Richard II, and King of France)
Diánna Martin-( portraying Puck)
Jeff Paul-( portraying Egeus, Northumberland, and Earl of Gloucester)
Sarah Spring-( portraying Hermia,Regan, and serving occasional Sonnets)
Jonny Weber-( portraying Macbeth, Duke of Lancaster, and Duke of Cornwall)
"Come, hear a play!"
The 18TH ANNUAL WILL-A-THON, 'WILL'S PLAYHOUSE 90' will be available live on Zoom at on Sunday, April 25th at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time and available on YouTube through Thursday, April 29th.
To see the show, click here, and make a "Pay What You Can" donation to the Food Bank for New York City.
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