“Creative Cauldron is kind of like an everything bagel,” says Matt Conner. “There literally is something there for everybody — all ages, all incomes. They really, really have a great diverse program.”
A locally beloved, non-traditional theater specializing in musicals and cabarets with a strong educational outreach arm, Creative Cauldron has been a foundational perch for Conner for nearly 25 years. The Helen Hayes Award winner currently serves as associate artistic director and, in addition to writing seven musicals with his partner Stephen Gregory Smith for the company, has directed roughly 30 productions.
His latest foray is Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook, which weaves the music of iconic Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz into a new tapestry. This is no ordinary revue, however — the songs are stitched together with an original narrative by playwright David I. Stern.
“It is a revue,” says Conner, “but what’s shocking about it is the really detailed book that comes with it. We wanted to do something that highlighted Schwartz’s work because of the last two years of pink and green — Wicked — everywhere. But here you’re not just coming to hear Schwartz’s music, you’re seeing something fresh and new in this hybrid of a revue and a book musical.”
The story, explains Conner, “starts out with a woman reflecting on whether or not she should leave her husband. And then, in the attic, they find photographs of their life. It goes through graduation, it goes through having a child, it goes through sort of dating around with different people. It’s a reflection of one’s life that appeals, I think, to everybody.”
Schwartz has written several popular works, including the Broadway mega-hit Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell. Snapshots draws from each of those while dipping into lesser-known titles, including The Magic Show, The Baker’s Wife, and Children of Eden.
“I think he writes for an actor on stage to really sing about their journey,” Conner says of Schwartz’s songwriting skills. “It’s very personal. He writes for an actor to really express how they’re feeling. ‘Corner of the Sky’ [from Pippin] is a statement in Pippin’s life — the spark of creation is about what this person is going through. ‘With You’ [also from Pippin] is a beautiful love song. Even ‘Lion Tamer’ [from The Magic Show] is an introspective song about figuring out life. It’s almost like a soliloquy at times.”
Conner says “the audience should see themselves” in Snapshots, given the deeply personal nature of the material. The cast is led by Joshua Redford and Jennifer Redford, married in real life, and also features Sally Imbriano, Carl L. Williams, Gretchen Midgley Kaylor, and Ben Ribler as younger versions of the couple.
The director has never personally met Schwartz. “The closest I ever came was I had drinks with his son in Old Town one night after a MetroStage show,” he says. “But I am very, very honored that I got a chance to really work on this piece because I was in Pippin with my husband [Stephen] at the Shenandoah Conservatory back in the 1990s. And it’s nice to revisit that music. Snapshots is a great throwback for anybody who loves musical theater.”
Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook runs through March 8 at Creative Cauldron, 127 E. Broad St. in Falls Church, Va. Tickets are $40 and $50, with discounts for students and groups. Visit creativecauldron.org.
"Well, that was horny." So declared a knowledgeable patron to me following the amply entertaining opening night performance of Monumental Theatre's The Rocky Horror Show at Dance Place.
True, the cabaret-style production, staged by company co-artistic directors Jimmy Mavrikes and Michael Windsor, accentuates every lustful beat of Richard O'Brien's classic sci-fi horror musical. But the show boasts many other qualities in living up to the co-directors' stated aim for "something sexy, immersive, goofy, gay, and, above all, fun!"
The audience brings a lot of the fun to Rocky Horror, through call-outs and other means of participation, encouraged here by the bag of props at your seat and instructions on your program. Further tips from the show's ever-alert Usherette/Narrator (Cera Baker) also prove helpful for Rocky Horror virgins, such as myself.
A spy for the Nazis and for the Allies during World War II, Juan Pujol García had to have been a very special special agent. Though he was loyal to the Allied cause, his counterespionage exploits earned him honors from both sides. Decorated with an Iron Cross from Hitler, he was also dubbed a Member of the Order of the British Empire by the King.
As depicted in Gustavo Ott's engaging new play GARBO, at GALA Hispanic Theatre, Spanish-born Pujol (Kevin Jorges) is a theater artist desperate to put his talents to work fighting fascists. Once in service, the smooth-talker's skillful lies help save countless lives before he vanishes into postwar anonymity.
The trusty stewards of Stephen Sondheim at Signature Theatre roll into a new season, unpacking the maestro’s demanding but rewarding musical Merrily We Roll Along.
The show, with music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by his Company collaborator George Furth, tells a haunting showbiz tale in reverse chronological order, charting a best friendship from after it’s ended, back to where it began. Merrily often finds its characters making merry, but at its heart it’s a breakup story, tinged with regret, suited to Sondheim’s minor-key melodies.
The score is also full of bold, brassy flourishes, not unlike Signature’s new production, staged and choreographed by artistic director Matthew Gardiner. In tone, performance, and design, the production captures Merrily’s tension between glamour and heartache, success and regret.
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