StageView Issue 2 2017

JANUARY - MARCH 2017 SYRACUSE STAGE: [1] DISGRACED [5] AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA: [14] THE KING'S STAG [16] MAJOR BARBARA

G S I S I D GRACED D R G S S I D ACED: DI R G S I D A CONVERSATION WITH MAY ADRALES Interviewed by Joseph Whelan Director May Adrales recalls seeing the New York production of Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced and leaving the theatre angry and shaking and thinking: “what a great theatrical event.”

Akhtar’s play won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013 and earned a Tony nomination for Best Play in 2015. It is a very timely and explosive play whose main character, Amir Kapoor, is a PakistaniAmerican lawyer enjoying a promising career and prosperous life in New York. The year is 2011, ten years after 9/11. As the play develops, a series of events unfolds to completely undermine Kapoor’s success. His American Dream turned nightmare.

Kapoor’s struggle proves fertile ground for Akhtar to examine Muslim identity in post 9/11 America.

His approach is brutally and refreshingly honest.

His dialogue has induced audible gasps from the audience. In the tradition of the great playwrights like George Bernard Shaw and Eugene O’Neill, he asks questions that need to be asked and he does not offer easy answers. His are precisely the kind of plays that appeal to Adrales, who is familiar to Syracuse Stage audiences as the director of Chinglish (2014) and In the Next Room, or the vibrator play (2015).

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JW: What makes Disgraced a great theatrical event?

MA: I enjoy theatre that challenges me and challenges me to think in a different way. I also admire writing that can house so many points of view in opposition to each other and not be too particularly biased about how those ideas are presented, and that it is really about the discussion afterwards that completes the theatre event. I’ve always been drawn to that kind of work. It enlivens you as a person sitting in the room. Disgraced is a citizen’s piece. It makes you want to do or say something to express your point of view. I think we need more of that kind of theatre.

JW: It certainly has the capacity to generate strong reactions from the audience.

MA: It harkens to the political moment we’re in right now.

Disgraced takes place in 2011, which would make it the 10th anniversary of September 11. That I think was the most public shift in our relations with the Muslim community. In 2016, those problems and divides have gotten worse. Doing Disgraced now, part of the urgency of it is that we have to be able to talk about it. We have to be able to reach across the aisle and reach across the table and talk to people who have opposing views, and the play crystallizes how difficult that is.

JW: I wonder if there is anything in the play that you’re apprehensive about? It is very explosive and characters say the kinds of things people might be thinking but don’t actually say.

MA: I'm not apprehensive about bringing up controversy in the play. I welcome it. I think the explosive statements made in the play are precisely what we as citizens should be grappling with. There are controversial things said about 9/11, Al Qaeda, and the events leading up to it. Amir and Abe bring up a marginalized point of view about 9/11; their observations are considered quite incendiary and unAmerican. But those controversial views exist and if we are to live in a globalized world, then we have to try to consider these points of view and work to understand the other side.

JW: There is a possibility that given the intensity of the situation and Amir’s responses that the show, and specifically Amir, could be misinterpreted. Does that concern you?

MA: I think it is important to understand that it is an American play. I have some concerns because this is a community that is not often represented and a religion that is not often represented in the Western theatre. It’s not wholly about Islam. Amir is complex and does some questionable things, but he is not a symbol for all of Islam.

It really is about how this upper middle class to upper class– I mean they are the creme de la creme of New York society, they’re in the highest of law firms, Isaac is a curator at the Whitney, these are the tastemakers in the financial sector of New York City. So this is really about how as Americans we have difficulty in having a deep argument and interrogation about identity and race. I think that is what the play really crystalizes.

JW: Yes, as you’ve noted before, these are five intelligent people and they have such trouble discussing these issues. I wonder how did that impact your casting decisions and how you work with the cast?

MA: For this particular piece I spent a lot of time in the audition room, not just to see what each of them could bring in terms of the acting choices, but how are they going to be in the rehearsal room? Are they going to be able to contribute to the conversation? I needed people who weren’t going to be afraid to talk about race, be afraid to talk about bias and prejudice, and be afraid to talk about politics. There are two fiscally conservative Republicans and two Democrats among the characters. The two couples are crossing party lines. And that really feels where America is at war with itself. So I needed people who could see past the differences with the characters they were playing and be able to create an ensemble, because the play needs a strong ensemble. Part of the audition was the vetting of that, and that was really successful because we have this great cast that not only enjoys playing with each other on stage but enjoys each other’s company off.

MAY HAS RECENTLY DIRECTED VIETGONE AT MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB AND LUCE AT LCT3 IN NEW YORK CITY. SYRACUSE STAGE | 2

JAMES LUDWIG, VICTORIA MACK, ANDREW RAMCHARAN GUILARTE, AND GILLIAN GLASCO IN DISGRACED. PHOTO: MICHAEL DAVIS

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JW: Has anything changed for you since your first encounter with the play?

JW: The Broadway production had a very realistic set. You’ve described this design as much more of psychological space.

MA: My understanding of a kind of injustice has sharpened and I hope to bring that out in this production. One of the things I picked up on in the dinner scene, was the first mention of the pork tenderloin. Now as a Muslim, you’re not supposed to have it. But you’re not supposed to have it as Jew, either. And the character of Isaac, who is, I guess a secular Jew, is eating pork tenderloin. Now it’s referenced that at one point he may have had a kosher diet. But what’s been going over in my mind is that it is OK for Isaac to disengage from his religion as he chooses, or to actually use his religion when it’s convenient for his argument. But he doesn’t have to abide by his religion. And he is not judged for that. And there is no point in the play when anyone judges Isaac for doing that.

It is very common in our culture. We understand the term secular Jew: culturally Jewish but not religiously Jewish. But it is not the same for Amir and you wonder why. Why can’t Amir, who basically wants the same thing, separate himself from his religion, and not necessarily abide by rules he doesn’t believe in, and not be judged? And no one seems to understand that. And it is related to the color of his skin and a kind of ignorance about the religion.

MA: It is really about my experience of having seen the play before. I get too comfortable seeing a realistic kitchen and living room and dining room. I wanted to explode that feeling of accountability for an audience member watching, and to lift it to a level of theatricality that would make the audience entranced by the ideas, to see it in a slightly disengaged way.

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JW: One element of the scenic design is a 20’ high rendition of Diego Valezquez’s portrait “Juan de Pareja”.

MA: That’s the central image of the play for me. There are so many cultural layers as to how the viewers are looking at the painting and how the subject of the painting is looking at the viewer. I think Amir goes through a myriad of identity questions and identity shifts. I think when he is staring very intently at that painting, he’s confronting that image and those issues relating to his own identity. So let’s be bold and see what happens when it’s the audience’s central image.

DISGRACED WAS THE MOST PRODUCED PLAY IN THE U.S. FOR THE 2015-16 SEASON.

STAGE/DRAMA CONNECTION: DISGRACED AND MAJOR BARBARA

DISGRACED JAN 25 - FEB 12 wed. JAN 25 7:30 pm p thur. JAN 26 7:30 pm p fri. JAN 27 8 pm op

Like Ayad Akhtar, the great George Bernard Shaw often tackled headon the controversies of his day. In Mrs. Warren’s Profession, he confronts the morality and legality of prostitution. In The Doctor’s Dilemma, he challenges the business and ethics of the medical profession, and in Major Barbara, opening April 1 in the Department of Drama (see p. 15), he demands we consider how best to eradicate poverty.

To get his sometimes eye-opening, sometimes infuriating, points across, Shaw often sets up specific characters to represent particular points of view. This stylistic technique now is known as the Shavian dialectic.

Character A espouses this idea or belief; character B, the opposite.

It’s not always quite that simple, but the dialectic in some form usually underpins Shaw’s structure. To help the poor: “Save their souls first” says Salvation Army officer Major Barbara; “Give them jobs and a decent life,” retorts her father, Andrew Undershaft (aka The Prince of Darkness), wealthy arms merchant who sells his destructive wares without discrimination to anyone who can

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pay. The structure can be simple, Shaw’s arguments not so much.

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Shaw wrote comedies; Akhtar's play is a tense drama. Still, Akhtar employs a similar dialectical structure in Disgraced. At the center of the dialectic are perceptions of Islam with specific discussion of interpretations of the Quran. Each of the five characters espouses a different point of view. The conflict ignites.

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More than a century after its 1905 premiere in London, Major Barbara and the issues explored within remain sadly relevant, as do the issues Shaw confronted in many of his other plays. We know Disgraced is relevant today, but dare we ask if Akhtar’s play might remain relevant through the end of the century. In 1779, a German playwright named Gotthold Ephriam Lessing wrote a play called Nathan the Wise. The premise? There are three great religions–Islam, Judaism, and Christianity–and they are more alike than different. Universal love is the only fruitful doctrine.

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AIN'T THE JOINT The music conjures images of late night rent parties in Harlem and impromptu “cutting” competitions featuring the finest Jazz pianists of the day: the great James P. Johnson, the incomparable Willie “The Lion” Smith, and the teenage prodigy Thomas Wright Waller, better known as Fats. It was the early days of Jazz when “stride” was the piano style du jour: a skilled practitioner could turn 88 keys into a one-man band, and two hands could be mistaken for “two guys playing piano”.

Such is the energy, the joy, and flat-out fun captured in the 1978 Tony Awardwinning musical revue Ain’t Misbehavin’.

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Variously described as bouncy, raucous, sometimes naughty, frequently funny, and a roof-raising celebration of life, Ain’t Misbehavin’ is more specifically a vivacious celebration of the music composed by or associated with the prodigiously talented Waller.

As an artist, Waller was a triple threat: gifted composer, brilliant musician, and comedian extraordinaire. “He was the greatest jazz pianist who ever tried to make people laugh, and the greatest comedian who ever played Jazz,” wrote Murray Horwitz, who along with Richard Maltby, Jr. initially conceived the idea for Ain’t Misbehavin’. So funny was Waller, Horwitz believes, that he belongs in the company of the greats from the

THOMAS WRIGHT WALLER, BETTER KNOWN AS FATS.

IS JUMPIN' Golden Age of Comedy: W.C. Fields, The Marx Brothers, and Jack Benny.

Early in his career, Waller honed his performance skills at rent parties and nightclubs, where comic banter and satiric commentary were very much a part of the show. He carried this same sense of fun to his concert performances and even enlivened recording sessions with satiric barbs, improvised lyrics, and singular musical flourishes to dress up material he sometimes considered substandard. Through voluminous recordings and cross-country and European tours he “brought happiness to thousands during the mid-Depression and early World War II years,” as the musician and Jazz historian Michael Lipskin noted.

“I have written songs with many writers, but I have never found one to equal Fats Waller as an all-around composer of all types of music. Music seemed to flow from his fingertips like water from a fountain.”

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PATDRO HARRIS. PHOTO: KUFUNYA KAIL.

“It is my contention, and always has been, that the thing that makes a tune click is the melody, and give the public four bars of that to dig their teeth into, and you have a killer-diller...It’s melody that gives variety to the ear.”

Many of the songs that delighted that generation remain familiar today. Waller’s best compositions have earned permanent places in the American songbook, and many of those can be found in Ain’t Misbahavin’.

Included among the shows 29 songs are “’T Ain’t Nobody’s Biz-ness If I Do”, “Honeysuckle Rose”, “The Joint is Jumpin’”, and “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love”.

For all of his sassy stage presence, Waller spoke very little about his creative output.

In one oft cited quote, he notes: “It is my contention, and always has been, that the thing that makes a tune click is the melody, and give the public four bars of that to dig their teeth into, and you have a killer-diller...

It’s melody that gives variety to the ear.”

Famed lyricist Andy Razaf, who collaborated with Waller on many of his most famous songs, once said: “I have written songs with many writers, but I have never found one to equal Fats Waller as an all-around composer of all types of music. Music seemed to flow from his fingertips like water from a fountain.” ­—Joseph Whelan 7 |

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WHAT IS STRIDE PIANO? Fats Waller earned the title the “King of the Stride Piano”, a style of Jazz playing introduced by James P. Johnson that was popular in the 1930s and ‘40s. But what is “stride”?

DIRECTOR PATDRO HARRIS ON FATS WALLER “Joy is something you want to share. You can’t keep joy to yourself. His music is like that.

It is music for participating.”

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For Ain’t Misbehavin’ director and choreographer Patdro Harris, the music of Fats Waller is like a good friend. “His music is the reason we go out on Saturday night. There’s something for everyone. When we listen to his music, we make connections with each other,” he says. “It’s like we can be friends.”

Harris believes Waller’s music speaks to universal needs and experience. “We all need love. We find love. We lose love,” he says.

Through the combination of music and comedy, Waller is able to touch people in personal ways.

“He’s like a comedian who can say the hard things and make us laugh about them. The comedy is like a direct line to your heart, and once you’re open to him, he

can drop in something sad or serious like ‘Why Am I so Black and Blue’. It’s like my grandfather used to say, ‘When you open up the door, you better be ready for the breeze.’”

Mostly, though, Harris finds Waller’s music to be an expression of joy.

“Joy is something you want to share. You can’t keep joy to yourself. His music is like that. It is music for participating.”

Ain’t Misbeavin’ captures Waller’s spirit and exuberance well, Harris believes. The arc of the journey and the storytelling emerge through the songs and the humor.

“It captures him beautifully. It delivers his music the way I think he would want it delivered.”

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Paul Machlin, the Arnold Bernhard professor of Music at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, explains: Stride is descended from ragtime, but incorporates a much more elaborate and decorative approach to the music, and is considerably more demanding to play in terms of technique. Its core is found in a standard left hand pattern, the beat-by-beat alternation between the interval of a tenth struck deep

in the bass register of the keyboard and a complex, three- or four-pitch chord struck in the tenor or alto range (the center of the keyboard).

Simultaneously, the right hand plays a highly embellished and syncopated version of the melody, often so completely altered as to be lost amidst the complex cascade of notes.

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FATS WALLER, 1938.

PHOTO: ALAN FISHER.

SYRACUSE STAGE

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Syracuse’s Phoebe’s Restaurant opened its doors.

Located across the street from Syracuse Stage, Phoebe’s boasts a menu that changes seasonally, but certain dishes – such as the French onion gratinee, deep-dish quiche , soup, and crème brûlée – remain daily staples. Angie Knox, the restaurant’s general manager, said the customers are steady, too.

“We have a consistent lunch and dinner crowd due to those in the neighborhood and people who want to eat here before and after the shows at Syracuse Stage,” she said.

The symbiosis with Syracuse Stage, which is a mere four years older than Phoebe’s, is clear. Framed photos from recent performances line one of the restaurant’s rooms, and the two organizations enjoy mutual benefits, explains Phoebe’s head server Morgan Campbell.

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BILL EBERHARDT. COURTESY OF PHOEBE'S.

IT HAS BEEN 40 YEARS SINCE

“I think the positive way the Syracuse community reacts to us is a lot to do with our relationship with Syracuse Stage, to be honest,” she said. “We have definitely been known as ‘the place to go before the show,’ so when people buy their Syracuse Stage tickets, they know to come here.”

“I THINK THE POSITIVE WAY THE SYRACUSE COMMUNITY REACTS TO US IS A LOT TO DO WITH OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH SYRACUSE STAGE, TO BE HONEST. WE HAVE DEFINITELY BEEN KNOWN AS ‘THE PLACE TO GO BEFORE THE SHOW.’” Beyond Syracuse Stage, Phoebe’s has connections with several other establishments in the area. Inspired by Phoebe’s founder William Eberhardt, many restaurants sprouted up, such as Riley’s and Pastabilities, which have been open more than 30 years.

Having existed since the ‘70s is not grounds for stagnancy, though. The restaurant’s Coffee Lounge opened in 2004 and has been a huge draw for Syracuse University Drama students and local hospital workers. This addition, Knox said, helped open Phoebe’s up to a “different crowd of people for a different reason” and gave the traditional garden café an edge.

The restaurant has also undergone modernizations in its architecture and design as well as a menu update, Campbell said. These changes make Phoebe’s an option to not only those who are looking for a fancier dinner.

“I think we’re becoming more of a neighborhood kind of spot,” she said. “You can come in and get your filet, your nice scallops, but you can also come in and get a beer and a burger.

We’re targeting all kinds of people now, and I think that’s why we’re doing so well.”

Another thing that sets Phoebe’s apart is the longevity of its staff. Knox has been there since 1998 and Campbell since 2013.

“In this industry, it’s hard to keep staff,” Knox said. “Usually it’s a turnover type of position – a stepping-stone in life for a lot of people. But I have staff members that have

ATRIUM. COURTESY OF PHOEBE'S.

worked here for as few as three years all the way up to 18 years. That’s unusual for this business. That’s something I’m proud of.”

Campbell echoed her statements, adding that the staff is more like a community than individuals who happen to work together.

“We all really like our job, and that helps,” she said. “I think when you walk in here, you can tell that it’s a nice environment and people like being here, and that shows in the staff.”

With 40th anniversary specials lasting

through January, Phoebe’s is sharing its birthday celebrations with the community.

Knox – having worked at the restaurant for almost half of its life and exactly half of hers – said that although this is a special occasion, Phoebe’s is a joy to work at year-round.

When asked if she had any specific fond memories of working at Phoebe’s or dealing with customers, she simply smiled and said, “No specifics, it just happens all day long.” ­

—Beth Lindly

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“A dream come true! TJ enjoyed the show. So nice to see him smile and be engaged. We will go every time there is a sensory friendly production!”

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“The most amazing experience we have had as an entire family unit given my son’s challenges. Thank you so much!”

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“First time in my son’s life I was able to take him to a musical. He loved it and we were both comfortable in the audience. He is 19 and nonverbal with severe autism.”

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FIRST SENSORY FRIENDLY PERFORMANCE BRINGS A NEW AUDIENCE TO SYRACUSE STAGE ENSEMBLE IN THE SYRACUSE STAGE / DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA PRODUCTION OF MARY POPPINS. PHOTO: BRENNA MERRITT

On January 8, more than 400 people, many of them first-time theatregoers, enjoyed a very special matinee performance of Mary Poppins. It was the first sensory friendly performance at Syracuse Stage, and the first in Central New York.

Welcoming to individuals with sensory, social, and learning disabilities and their families, the performance had accommodations that created a more relaxed theatre experience without losing the magic of a live perfor-

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“This was tremendous.

The fidget toys, the lighting and even cutting out a scary scene was wonderful not only for my son but for so many of our special needs friends in the audience. So very happy with the whole event!!”

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“Friendly, helpful, nonjudgmental faces mean everything for parents who are navigating the world of special needs. Thank you!!”

mance. And, as a “shush-free” performance, parents didn’t have to worry about their child fidgeting, having to take a break when it wasn’t intermission, or making noises.

We received many heartfelt thanks from the families that attended.

The education department, who spearheaded this initiative, plans to hold sensory friendly performances for future family-friendly shows.

SPECIAL THANKS TO THEATRE DEVELOPMENT FUND’S AUTISM THEATRE INITIATIVE FOR SERVING AS AN ADVISOR, WWW.TDF.ORG/AUTISM.

THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH The greatest chart-topping hits from Johnny Cash are here to bring an evening of live performance and fun to Syracuse Stage in the form of a musical adaptation, Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash. Individuals of all ages will want to sing along to classic Cash tunes like “I Walk the Line” and “Folsom Prison Blues.” The lyrics speak to everyone from all backgrounds and Cash's music transcends genres. Instrumental jam sessions–including instruments such as harmonicas, fiddles, mandolin’s, drums, and guitars are played by the ten cast mem-

bers. Each performer is skilled in playing more than one instrument and brings an energy on stage that’s infectious.

This musical adaptation is truly an homage to an American icon. Done entirely through Cash’s catalog of songs, the true arch of who Cash was as an artist is captured through his music. Stage projections will bring insight into Cash’s life, but the main focus will be on the live performance.

JUNE 7- JUNE 25. TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW. WWW.SYRACUSESTAGE.ORG.

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT REVIVES BACKSTORY! This spring the Syracuse Stage education department revives the popular in-school program Backstory! Last offered in spring of 2013, Backstory! combines theatre and history by presenting brief onecharacter plays based on the lives of historical figures.

Each short play is written and created specifically for the program. Previous offerings included plays about Anne Frank, George Washington Carver, and Nikola Tesla, as well as Harriet Tubman, and turn of the 20th century child garment worker Rosalie Randazzo, which are the offerings revived this spring.

FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING SYRACUSE STAGE'S EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, PLEASE VISIT: SYRACUSESTAGE.ORG/EDUCATION

The decision to revive the

plays about Harriet Tubman and Rosalie Randazzo was influenced by geographical proximity and recent events.

“We chose Harriet Tubman to relaunch the program because her portrait will soon be featured on the redesigned $20 bill. In addition, her house in Auburn was recently declared a national park,” said Kate Laissle, assistant director of education. “Most of the real-life children who provide the source material for the character Rosalie Randazzo were recent immigrants to the United States. As Syracuse has become a hub for refugee resettlement, we felt this was very timely and appropriate.”

SYRACUSE STAGE & SYRACUSE STAGE EDUCATION

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A FAIRY TALE OF LAUGHS AND LOVE

BY THE 1760's, when Italian playwright

Carlo Gozzi wrote his most famous plays, the theatrical form commedia dell’ arte was more than two centuries old and had exerted substantial influence throughout Europe, especially in France where the plays of Moliere delighted the Court of Versailles.

In native Italy, however, the mid-1700s found commedia dell’ arte in decline. The great companies had largely disappeared due to a lack of sufficiently skilled performers, and song and music increasingly dominated theatrical performances. Two writers emerged whose mission it became to revive the great comedic form: one by way of reform, the other by championing “the four masks of the old improvised comedy”.

Carlo Goldoni was the reformer.

He advocated abandoning the familiar traditions of commedia dell’ arte, such as the use of masks and improvised dialogue. Instead, he proposed and delivered fully scripted comedies acted without masks, which he believed would allow for more nuanced and natural performances.

Gozzi took the opposite position.

He preferred improvisation and praised the versatility of those truly skilled commedia dell’ arte performers and what they achieved using masks: “for example, it is possible for the capable Tartaglia, Agostino Fiorello, to replace with ease the most excellent Doctor, Roderigo Lombardi; for both are of an equal naturalness in their acting and both are able to renew each subject merely by the diversity of their talents.”

For Gozzi, preserving the traditions of commedia dell’ arte was a matter

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of national pride: “such is the system of our improvised comedy, to which only our nation can lay claim.”

Still Gozzi recognized that the Italian theatre had become moribund. It needed new energy and his solution was to infuse the genre with new and exciting scenarios, the brief situational descriptions that served as the outline for the performers’ improvisations. He drew on fairy tales and fables, or “children’s stories” as he called them, to create fiabe, a new type of play that mixed fantasy and foolery.

The King Stag, next up at the Department of Drama, is a prime example of Gozzi’s magical storytelling. It concerns the quest of King Deramo to find a true love to serve with him as Queen. Deramo’s search incites intrigue in the court as the evil Tartaglia schemes to have his daughter chosen by the King.

The ensuing struggle involves magic spells, mistaken identity, and the intervention of a great magician.

As with traditional commedia dell’ arte, The King Stag is filled with humor, much of it of the slapstick, physical variety, similar, for instance, to The Three Stooges. But Department of Drama faculty member and The King Stag co-director Felix Ivanov believes the production must aspire to much more.

“This is a fairy tale for adults, not for kids. It must be serious and truthful,” he explains. “If the characters don’t really love each other, if the danger and tragedy are not real, there is no story.” In this way, The King Stag has much in common with any number of contemporary fantasy books, films, and TV series. What would the Harry Potter series be without the threat posed by Voldemort?

The challenge for Ivanov then is to create a world in which fantastical events can credibly occur, where fantasy and reality co-exist, and that place is the theatre itself.

CARLO GOZZI

“ If the characters don’t really

love each other, if the danger and tragedy are not real, there is no story.”

“Always, we will have this awareness that we are in a theatre and not some made-up place somewhere in China,” he says.

Therefore, the scenic design will be simple, employing only what is absolutely necessary.

Following commedia dell’ arte tradition, the actors will use masks, which allow for some of the extreme character transformations called for in the text.

The theatre is a place of magic, and in this case, the magic is contained within the performance style.

While Goldoni’s The Servant of Two Masters may be the most famous play written in mid-18th century Italy, Gozzi certainly won the day at home.

Goldoni’s plays never quite caught on in Italy and he eventually moved to France where he met with greater, if not overwhelming success. As one commentator noted, Goldoni, who wrote more than 150 plays, has been both over- and underrated.

Gozzi’s success in Italy was linked to his affiliation with the company of the great actor Sacchi. A love triangle involving the playwright, the actor, and the company’s leading lady Teodora Ricci eventually led to the troupe’s dissolution. By that time Gozzi’s work, too, had begun to decline. Two of his best known works, The Love of Three Oranges and Turnadot, have formed the basis for the librettos of operas of the same names by Sergei Prokofiev and Giacomo Puccini.

Presented by Syracuse University’s Department of Drama in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. The King Stag by Carlo Gozzi English version by Albert Bermel | Directed by Felix Ivanov. Performed in the Storch Theatre at 820 East Genesee Street February 17 – 26 Tickets are $16-$18, available at 315-443-3275 or by visiting syracusestage.org/su-drama.php DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA |

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THE GOSPEL OF ST. ANDREW UNDERSHAFT

o his critics he was a dramatic realist. To Bertolt Brecht, he was a terrorist (as in a deeply subversive influence). And to Christopher Newton*, he was a surrealist. Himself, he described this way (at least once): “I am, and always have been, and shall now always be, a revolutionary writer, because our laws make law impossible; our liberties destroy freedom; our property is organized robbery; our morality is an impudent hypocrisy; our wisdom is administered by inexperienced or malexperienced dupes, our power wielded by cowards and weaklings, and our honor false in all its points.

I am an enemy of the existing order for good reason.”

Heartbreak House, he lay the blame for the catastrophe of World War I squarely at the idle feet of the indolent, indifferent, self-absorbed wealthy. “You see things; and you say ‘why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘why not?’” says the serpent to Eve in Shaw’s Back to Methuselah.

Shaw did both, excellently.

With George Bernard Shaw, any resemblance to persons dead, living, or living someday was, is, and shall always be, intentional.

Written in 1906, the preface for Major Barbara exceeds 40 pages, a mere half of the 80 plus page preface he wrote for The Doctor’s Dilemma (Shaw despised the medical profession). One section of the Major Barbara preface he called “The Gospel of St. Andrew Undershaft”, named after the leading character whose life as a wealthy arms merchant distresses his daughter Barbara, the “Major” of the title who has devoted her life to saving souls with The Salvation Army. Below are excerpts from that portion of the preface, quoted

T

Shaw was an unsparing social critic. He observed the plentitude of England’s societal dysfunction and malfeasance and skewered those responsible in linguistically rich comedies. No topic was taboo, no class untouchable. In Mrs. Warren’s Profession he attacked the hypocrisy of the laws against prostitution. In

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DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA

But lest the eccentric characters and witty dialogue distract from the underlying commentary of his comedies, Shaw provided lengthy and detailed prefaces for most of his works. At times bombastic, always didactic, and frequently joyously sarcastic, the prefaces are also illuminating, provocative, and truth be told, sometimes downright looney. As one commentator has noted: Shaw had a lot of ideas, not all of them good. However, many of his observations are worth considering still.

at some length. Shaw wrote in those ancient, pre-soundbyte days when the attention span for political and social discourse exceeded the nanosecond needed to swipe right or left. “ . . . the greatest of evils and the worst crime is poverty, and that our first duty—a duty to which every other consideration should be sacrificed—is not to be poor. ‘Poor but honest,’ ‘the respectable poor,’ and such phrases are as intolerable and as immoral as ‘drunken but amiable,’ ‘fraudulent but a good after-dinner speaker,’ ‘splendidly criminal,’ or the like. Security, the chief pretence of civilization, cannot exist where the worst of dangers, the danger of poverty, hangs over everyone’s head, and where the alleged protection of our persons from violence is only the accidental result of the existence of a police force whose real business is to force the poor man to see his children starve whilst idle people overfeed pet dogs with the money that might feed and clothe them.”

money on reasonable terms; and this demand is not complied with by giving four men three shillings each for ten or twelve hours’ drudgery and one man a thousand pounds for nothing. The crying need of the nation is not for better morals, cheaper bread, temperance, liberty, culture, redemption of fallen sisters and erring brothers, nor the grace, love and fellowship of the Trinity, but simply for enough money. And the evil to be attacked is not sin, suffering, greed, priestcraft, kingcraft, demagogy, monopoly, ignorance, drink, war, pestilence, nor any of the other scapegoats which reformers sacrifice, but simply poverty.” *Christopher Newton was the artistic director of the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, 1980 – 2002.

“ . . . there are two measures just sprouting in the political soil, which may grow to something valuable. One is the institution of a Legal Minimum Wage. The other, Old Age Pensions.

But there is a better plan than either of these . . . Why not Universal Pensions for Life? . . . At present, we say callously to each citizen: “If you want money, earn it,’ as if his having or not having it were a matter that concerned himself alone.

We do not even secure for him the opportunity of earning it: on the contrary, we allow our industry to be organized in open dependence on the maintenance of a ‘reserve army of unemployed’ for the sake of ‘elasticity.’ The sensible course would be to give every man enough to live well on, so as to guarantee the community against the possibility of a case of the malignant disease of poverty, and then (necessarily) to see that he earned it.”

“The universal regard for money is the one hopeful fact in our civilization, the one sound spot in our social conscience.

Money is the most important thing in the world. It represents health, strength, honor, generosity and beauty as conspicuously and undeniably as the want of it represents illness, weakness, disgrace, meanness and ugliness. Not the least of its virtues is that it destroys base people and dignifies noble people. It is only when it is cheapened to worthlessness for some, and made impossibly dear to others, that it becomes a curse.”

IMAGES OPPOSITE PAGE: PLAYWRIGHT GEORGE BERNARD SHAW ABOVE: MAKING GUNS: THE RADIAL CRANE, 1917 BY SIR GEORGE CLAUSEN (TATE IMAGES)

“ . . . money is the counter that enables life to be distributed socially: it is life as truly as sovereigns and bank notes are money. The first duty of every citizen is to insist on having

Presented by Syracuse University’s Department of Drama in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Major Barbara

by George Bernard Shaw. Directed by Gerardine Clark. March 31 - April 9, opening night April 1

DEPARTMENT OF OF DRAMA DRAMA | | 16 16 DEPARTMENT

Save the date!

SYRACUSE STAGE

Gala

HONORING FORMER ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ROBERT MOSS FEATURING THE LIVELY MUSIC OF LOS LOBOS FRIDAY JUNE

16, 2017

YOUR CONTRIBUTION MATTERS FOR THEATRE THAT MATTERS

PLEASE TO THE ANGEL APPEAL: syracusestage.org/donatenow.php | SYRACUSEGIVE STAGE DEVELOPMENT

17

EVENTS JANUARY - MARCH 2017 SYRACUSE STAGE Disgraced

By Ayad Ahktar Directed by May Adrales January 25 - Februray 12

Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show

Based on the Idea by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby, Jr. | Orchestrations and Arrangements by Luther Henderson | Vocal and Musical Concepts by Jeffrey Gutcheon | Vocal Arrangements by Jeffrey Gutcheon and William Elliott | Conceived and Originally Directed by Richard Maltby, Jr. Originally Produced by The Manhattan Theatre Club | Originally Produced on Broadway by Emanuel Azenberg, Dasha Epstein, The Shubert Organization, Jane Gaynor and Ron Dante Directed and Choreographed by Patdro Harris March 1 - 26 PROLOGUE

During the run of each show, join us for free, intimate, pre-show talks led by a member of the cast. One hour prior to curtain, three times during the run of each show.

Disgraced

Sunday, January 29 at 1 p.m.

Saturday, February 4 at 2 p.m.

Thursday, February 9 at 6:00 p.m.

Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show

Sunday, March 5 at 1 p.m.

Saturday, March 11 at 2 p.m.

Thursday, March 23 at 6:00 p.m.

OPENING NIGHT PARTY

Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show Wednesday, March 15 Speaker: James Gordon Williams, assistant professor, African American Studies, Syracuse University. *Speakers and topics subject to change

Disgraced Saturday, February 11 at 3 p.m.

Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show Saturday, March 18 at 3 p.m.

ACTOR TALKBACK SERIES

A lively discussion with the actors following the 7 p.m. Sunday night performance.

NEW IN 16/17

Disgraced Sunday, February 5

Enjoy a buffet dinner with fellow theatre lovers in the Sutton Pavilion. Seasonal fare prepared by Phoebe’s Restaurant followed by great theatre.

Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show Sunday, March 12 HAPPY HOUR SERIES

Warm up before the show with half-priced drinks, signature cocktails, and complimentary appetizers from fine local restaurants. Located in the Sutton Pavilion at Syracuse Stage, Happy Hours start at 6 p.m. with performances at 7:30 p.m.

Disgraced Thursday, February 2: International Happy Hour Join us for delicious food from the innovative new restaurant bringing world flavors to Central New York, With Love, Pakistan. Music provided by Hot 107.9 DJ Kobe Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show Thursday, March 9: TBA

DINNER & SHOW

Disgraced Wednesday, February 8 at 6 p.m.

Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show Wednesday, March 22 at 6 p.m.

CRAFT BEER TASTING

Selection of tasty local brews then music and/or mystery.

Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show Friday, March 17 at 8 p.m.

DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA

The King Stag

By Carlo Gozzi | English version by Albert Bermel Directed by Felix Ivanov and Nicholas Kowerko February 17 – 26 | Opening Night: February 18

OPEN CAPTIONING

Join us for a post-show party with live music and complimentary food following each opening night performance. Performances at 8 p.m.

Disgraced Wednesday, February 8 at 2 p.m.

Sunday, February 12 at 2 p.m.

Disgraced January 27: Ronnie Leigh

Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show Wednesday, March 15 at 2 p.m.

Sunday, March 19 at 2 p.m.

Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show March 3: Bill Horrace Band

AUDIO DESCRIPTION

Major Barbara

By George Bernard Shaw Directed by Gerardine Clark March 31 – April 9 | Opening Night: April 1

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETED WEDNESDAY@1 LECTURES

Pre-show lecture at 1 p.m. in the Sutton Pavilion before the 2 p.m. matinee performance.

Disgraced Wednesday, February 8 Speaker: Khuram Hussain, Ph. D., associate professor of Education at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, will engage patrons in a discussion on race relations in America.

Disgraced Saturday, February 4 at 3 p.m.

Ain't Misbehavin' The Fats Waller Musical Show Saturday, March 11 at 3 p.m.

is published by Syracuse Stage and Department of Drama throughout the season for their subscribers and alumni. Editor: Joseph Whelan (jmwhelan@syr.edu). Designer: Brenna Merritt.

Robert M. Hupp, artistic director; Jill A. Anderson, managing director; Syracuse Stage.

Ralph Zito, chair of the Department of Drama.

SYRACUSE STAGE/ DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA

|

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Syracuse Stage: HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE | APR 5 - 23 DEATHTRAP | MAY 10 - 28 RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH | JUNE 7 - 25 The Department of Drama: BERLIN TO BROADWAY WITH KURT WEILL: A MUSICAL VOYAGE | MAY 5 - 13

820 East Genesee Street

Syracuse, NY 13210-1508 www.SyracuseStage.org

Join us for:

THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH JUNE 7 - 25