Signature Theater Celebrates Kander and Ebb: Eric Schaeffer

While Curtains and Chicago are still drawing crowds to Broadway, the Signature Theatre is drawing musical fans down to Arlington, Virginia, for the first retrospective and celebration of John Kander and the late Fred Ebb's forty-year career. From now until the end of June, 250 people will work together to present three fully staged musicals and numerous events that will honor the careers of two legends. At the helm of this immense endeavor is Signature's Artistic Director, Eric Schaeffer, who is overseeing the festival and directing Kiss of the Spider Woman, the first of the musicals to be presented.

The idea for the festival has been in development for years, Schaeffer says. After The Visit languished following its premiere in Chicago, he asked Ebb if the duo wanted to bring the musical to Signature. "He said, 'Oh, my God, we'd love to!,'" Schaeffer recalls. "And then from that we were talking about other shows." After encouragement from Ebb to produce Kiss of the Spider Woman, Schaeffer began thinking of a full celebration of the larger Kander and Ebb canon. "They have such an amazing array of shows that they've written," he says. "And knowing that we had two spaces, the fact that we could have people coming from out of town and seeing two Kander and Ebb musicals in one weekend was very, very appealing."

In all, three of the team's musicals will grace the two Signature stages during the celebration: Spider Woman, The Visit, and The Happy Time, a lesser-known piece that played 286 performances in 1968.  "It's great," Schaeffer says, "because it brings some of their lost musicals like The Happy Time to the forefront, and also Kiss of the Spider Woman, it brings it out so people can see it... It's been fifteen years since its Broadway debut, so it's kind of ripe for people to be introduced to it again. And then you have The Visit, which is a brand new musical that no one has really seen, so it's kind of great: we've got the old, one in the middle, and then a brand new one."

As well as displaying the growth of Kander and Ebb over their decades together, the three selections also demonstrate their diversity. "The tone of each show is so different," Schaeffer says. "The Visit is almost operatic in a way, and Spider Woman is very dark and big, and Happy Time is this quaint emotional postcard of a show. All the shows are all so different, but they all have an emotional weight to each one of them. It's been really fantastic discovering that, and seeing that their music and their lyrics move you emotionally to a place that I don't think they get the credit for. I don't think that people think of Kander and Ebb as emotional writers. I think they think of them more as 'showbiz' writers. And it's great, 'cause they do both."

"When you get to see these shows back to back," he continues, "you realize the breadth of their talent. And you realize, 'Yes, there's a "Kander and Ebb" to their work,' but each piece we're producing is so different. And the themes and subject matter they tackle is so different. It's really great to see how expansive their artistry is."

Beyond the three mainstage productions, movies, concerts and dances inspired by Kander and Ebb's work will also be presented, creating a multimedia experience for any fan. "When we started working on the rest of the festival, because Kander and Ebb have so much in all the different media, I thought it would be great to have a movie night," Schaeffer says, "so we're showing movies of Chicago and Cabaret, New York, New York and Funny Lady." Cabaret legend Karen Akers will present First You Dream: The Songs of Kander & Ebb, and the Bowen McCauley Dance Company will perform to Kander and Ebb standards. "People were really excited about the celebration and wanted to be part of it," Schaeffer says. "It was actually kinda great and easy to put together."

John Kander has been an active presence throughout the development of the celebration, helping to choose shows and offering words of wisdom to the artists. "I remember him saying to me, 'I feel like the Pope!'" Schaeffer laughs. "We picked the shows together, because I wanted to do The Visit and Kiss of the Spider Woman, and we both thought The Happy Time would be great to get revisited. And he's been very involved in the casting of the shows as well, he's been here at rehearsals for shows, he was here earlier this week to see Spider Woman in previews. So he's very much involved in the entire thing... It's great to have a legend of the Broadway stage be so supportive of what you're doing. It doesn't get much better than that."

Covering forty years of work in less than four months has been a challenge, but Eric Schaeffer is happy with the results of everyone's efforts. "I'm proud of the scope of the entire celebration," he says. "I feel like I can do something for them. They've done so much for everyone else working in the theatre, and it's kind of nice to be able to return the favor and say, 'Look, you guys are great, and this is why.' You can see it right here."

"I love the work of John and Fred," Schaeffer continues. "They're so talented, and the body of work that they've written is so fantastic. I'm just proud to be able to bring it to audiences here in Washington. And highlighting their career, because, God, you don't realize all the things they've done. And the fact that Johnny's still doing it is really great. That's what makes me proudest: the fact that people are really excited about it all."

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