BWW Interviews: MSMT Builds a Season with Heart

"All our stories this year will be about families or individuals who are broken, but they come back to make the best of it - to survive. That is our job as human beings, and if our shows can give somebody the strength and courage to do just that, then we in the theatre are doing our jobs."

Curt Dale Clark, Artistic Director of Maine State Music Theatre, is waxing eloquent about the company's plans for the 2015 summer season, the fifty-seventh for the company, and his second in the leadership position. Together with his partner, Managing Director, Stephanie Dupal, Clark outlines their plans for what they hope will be a worthy encore to last year's spectacularly successful season.

"Whereas last year was sort of like the little season that could," Clark smiles, referring to the fact that in 2014 despite not having any blockbuster titles on the boards, the company garnered critical accolades and huge box office success, " this year I think I can say that I see the entire season as an anchor. We were lucky to be able to secure a plethora of A-list shows; they are all monster productions - the smallest cast will be twenty-two- which, for us, is big, and they will be expensive in terms of sets, costumes, transportation, and housing."

Dupal opines that "We didn't plan our choices around a theme," but it just may have happened that way, as Clark explains:

"Each one of the shows is about a human journey, and each one is so uplifting. The Full Monty (which will open the season on June 3) is a blast, and I think it will be a kind of destination ticket. These steel workers who have lost their jobs have to find a way to support their families. That they become strippers is incidental to the impact of the entire show. So much is made of the spectacle, but it is really about the heart."

Dupal concurs, "It is really not about men being naked, but about their being good fathers and husbands and taking care of their families. Donna Drake will direct, "and as she did with last year's Buddy Holly, she is terrific at bringing out the emotion in her actors."

The second offering of the season, Sister Act (June 25 - July 11), was just announced this past week because of the particular licensing agreement MSMT was able to obtain. That meant that the company could not reveal the title back in August when it began selling its 2015 subscriptions. Asked if this element of "surprise" made any financial impact on sales, Dupal says they are pleased that their subscription sales are ahead of last year's, and that their public has seemed willing to take the leap of faith. "Sister Act will be a great summertime romp!"

Clark believes the public will find their patience justified. " The stage adaptation is fantastic; there are a couple songs that are not in the movie like "Sister Act" which is one of those universal numbers that people can relate to, each in a personal way. And Sister Act is such a great character; she is such a loving, vibrant person who finds herself in a situation in which she wouldn't normally be accepted, and she uses her circumstances to turn all of their lives on end and bring everyone something special they need."

The same strong central character bringing change to those around him figures in Meredith Wilson's The Music Man (July 15 - August 1), MSMT's third selection of the season. Dupal says it was time to bring this beloved classic back after fifteen years. Clark feels that in many ways both the show's plotline and its backstory exemplify the perseverance and inspiration he is hoping all this year's productions impart. He cites Meredith Wilson's 1959 book about his experiences in bringing the show to the stage: But He Doesn't Know the Territory, an account of the frustrating twelve years it took him to write and get his show finally produced in 1957 on Broadway, where it went on to win five Tonys, beating even West Side Story. "It's the quintessential American musical comedy," says Clark, who hopes, as does Dupal, that it will provide a family experience, so important to building new audiences.

The last show of the season will be Young Frankenstein (August 5 - 22), "which speaks to a crowd we don't often address," Clark states. "The last time we did this kind of comedy was with Spamalot seven years ago, so it is definitely overdue." According to Dupal, Marc Robin will direct, and MSMT is planning a lavish production.

In addition to these four main stage productions, the company will offer its usual component of special events, among them a concert staging of Fame (June 15), which Clark will direct and Raymond Marc Dumont will choreograph, a return of the popular Footlight Follies (August 10), and two children's theatre production, Curious George (August 10) (mounted by Theatre Works) and Shrek The Musical Jr. (August 17). Not only do these events allow for the participation of MSMT's interns, but also they permit the company to audition and hire local talent. "We have a great deal of excellent talent here in Maine from places like University of Southern Maine and other colleges, and this gives these actors the opportunity to work in a non-equity production and continue to grow as young artists," Dupal affirms.

Clark agrees, citing the amazing success of last year's Godspell - sold-out and a performance added - and the previous year's Hair. "Working with those kids last year reaffirmed for me how much I love that age group. They are eager, willing, able, and they quite simply knocked it out of the park."

With an impressive lineup of shows and a good part of the creative team in place, neither Dupal nor Clark hesitates to admit that "it will be an expensive season" and that they have demanding tasks ahead as administrators and stewards of MSMT. Not only must they produce an artistically and financially successful theatre season, but both leaders recognize the need to insure the future of the company. To that end, on January 113 at the company's Annual Meeting, Dupal and Clark announced the launching of a $2 million Capital Campaign. Dupal says the timing was right. "We have just negotiated another ten-year lease with Bowdoin for the Pickard Theatre, and part of the agreement was for us to replace the seats and carpet in the house. As we looked into those renovations, we realized that this would be the best time to upgrade the infrared hearing system, which should be placed under the new carpets. In addition, we need to pay for the renovations to the newly acquired (courtesy of a large anonymous gift) Clancy House, which provides much-needed housing for our artists, and this building (MSMT's year-round offices, rehearsal, and workshop space) need repairs to the heating and cooling systems and a number of important energy-efficient upgrades. And we need a new, more up-to-date box office software system. Basically, we have had to look ahead to our needs for the next five years and raise the money to do it now. Moreover, we have to grow our endowment. We have to be stewards of the financial health of this theatre, to reinvest in our resources, as well as making sure we have a cushion for a rainy day."

"The financial health of a theatre company determines its ranking among regional theatres. We want to be one of those companies that does Broadway shows, which just happen to take place in Brunswick, Maine," Clark asserts.

The good news is that before going public with the Capital Campaign announcement, the silent portion of the pledge drive has already yielded over $700,000, so the goal of raising the remainder in the next year does not seem impossibly daunting. "It's going to take an extra effort from everyone on the staff and the board to make this happen," Clark affirms, "but I think we are up to the task. We have to be!"

He pronounces the last remark with his signature winning smile and force of conviction that is all-persuasive. I ask if there isn't even a little bit of angst? After all, last season will be a hard act to follow. Clark confides, " I will admit, a little because last season we were climbing the ladder, so to speak, and we ended with a such a blockbuster success. This season, I feel, we are staring at the top of the ladder, so we have to make sure that the public climbs up there with us and that we remain there. But we'll do it. Our advertising revenue and sales are already ahead of last year." And, as Dupal points out, they have refocused one staff position to concentrate on outreach programs, group and corporate sales, and to find more ways to have an impact on the community outside of the summer season. To that end they will continue their Peek Behind the Curtain talk back series at the Curtis Memorial Library and seek other ways to communicate with and involve businesses and the Midcoast public.

Their enthusiasm, drive, and determination are contagious. It spills over to the other seven full time staff members, to the more than one hundred volunteers, and to the general public. "If you don't love this job," Dupal says, "we can't pay you enough to make it worth it. You have to know that you are giving to what you love. I grew up in this community and came to this theatre as a child, and I love to think that I am providing that opportunity to young people today."

Clark adds, "And not only to young people, which is very important, but to everyone. MSMT is the closest thing one can get to experiencing a Broadway show in this area. We give audiences the excitement and the entertainment they love."

"The arts are important to any community on so many levels," Dupal continues. "Not only to the emotional and cultural health, but also as an economic driver for the region. We give the community a heart."

"Heart." We have returned to the original theme. Clark sums it up as he looks ahead to the coming months: "Each of the four shows we have programmed has imperfect people who persevere and survive and find joy and happiness in their imperfection. We invite the public to share that experience, to come to the theatre, to immerse themselves in the stage situations and hopefully to leave having been inspired by what they have seen. The arts are incredibly important because they can give that uplift, and it is our mission to protect and nurture that gift."

Photo Courtesy of Maine State Music Theatre

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