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4th Wall Stage Company eyes returning to the stage

Richard Duckett

Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

It has been well over two years since the 4th Wall Stage Company took to the stage with a live, in-person production.

A lineup of shows for the first part of 2022 was going to change all that, but the dates have been changed as the geometric rise of the Omicron COVID-19 variant has rearranged plans.

However, Barbara Guertin, managing director of 4th Wall, is keeping the faith.

“I do believe in our uncertain times people need an escape,” she said. “People want to get out of their homes and see shows again.”

During a recent visit to New York City she went to the theaters, which “were packed,” she said. “There were so many standing ovations in the middle of shows it was so heartwarming.”

Returning to Worcester, she said, “No way we’re not going to do a show.”

In October 2019, 4th Wall had kicked off its eighth season with “Naughty Bits,” a bit of a romp in collaboration with Lowell’s Image Theater whose popular “Naughties” show is a collection of provocative, humorous and outrageous original skits and songs. Performed by members of both companies, “Naughty Bits” added “some extra Woosta spin” when it was staged at Fiddler’s Green as a fundraiser for 4th Wall. Comedian Cindy Gray was host. 4th Wall was going to get serious with its next scheduled show for 2019-20, playwright Anna Ziegler’s “Photograph 51,” which tells the story of Rosalind Franklin, the English chemist whose work led to the discovery of the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. The problem was that Franklin never received the credit she was due. The play was to have been presented by the 4th Wall Stage Company for eight performances beginning March 19, 2020, at the Worcester Historical Museum to celebrate Women’s History Month.

“We never did get that off the ground,” said Guertin, who would have directed “Photograph 51.”

The production was and remains a victim of COVID.

“We think we’re gonna have

Barbara Guertin, managing director of 4th Wall, is pictured in 2019 discussing a scene in “The Women who Mapped the Stars” during a dress rehearsal at the Worcester Historical Museum. STEVE LANAVA/T&G FILE PHOTO

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to postpone it again. That is the name of the game right now,” Guertin said.

A few weeks ago, 4th Wall had three productions lined up for the first part of 2022, as it seemed safe to return to the theater again assuming certain protocols were followed: h “If I Forget” by Steven Levenson, was to be staged at the Brickbox Theater at the Jean McDonough Arts Center, 20 Franklin St., opening Jan. 27 and running for 11 performances. h “Photograph 51” by Anna Ziegler, would finally be staged at the Worcester Historical Museum opening on March 17. h Chekov’s “The Cherry Orchard” was scheduled to open May 12, again at the Brickbox Theater.

The dates have subsequently all been changed, but the shows will still take place this year, Guertin said. She will be directing all three. 4th Wall’s 2022 will actually begin where its last show to be performed left off with “Naughty Bits.”

‘We have secured April 21-22 at the JMAC for a 4th Wall Cabaret Fundraiser,” Guertin said. “Everyone has been clamoring for a Part II, so we are in the process of curating ‘More Naughty Bits.’”

“If I Forget” will now be at the Brickbox May 12-22 (the original “Cherry Orchard” dates), and “Cherry Orchard has been rescheduled for the Brickbox to run Nov. 2-12.

Dates for “Photograph 51” are still to be determined as concerns about COVID persist. The Worcester Historical Museum’s theater is a small space.

Still, after rehearsing for two years, “it’s basically in the can,” Guertin said, half jokingly. “After two years, it’s fully rehearsed.” 4th Wall has been a great addition to the local theater scene since it staged its first production, Eugene O’Neill’s “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” in six performances over two weekends in October 2011, in what critics called “a stunning triumph of acting, directing and staging.”

The company was founded by Frank Bartucca, artistic director, and a veteran actor and director. Originally from New York City, Guertin has acted, directed and produced for film and the stage.

Productions such as “Photograph 51” will continue the 4th Wall tradition of presenting plays about women who have made contributions to the world. Examples of past plays include “The Women Who Mapped the Stars,” about five women astronomers, and “Golda’s Balcony,” about the life of Golda Meir. When possible these plays are performed during March, which is Women’s History Month.

In early January it had become obvious that the run for “If I Forget” starting Jan. 27 would have to be pushed back as COVID cases swelled.

The cast had been rehearsing by Zoom for a couple of weeks.

However, at a cast meeting the prevailing mood was “everyone wants to move forward,” Guertin said.

The play, a depiction of an American Jewish family at a crossroads, dealing with an aging parent and coming to grips with what their Jewish culture means to them, was described by the New York Times as “ … passionate and provoking … ‘If I Forget” speaks to the head and the heart.’”

“Steven Levenson wrote ‘Dear Evan Hansen.’ It is really well written. When you direct something as solid as this play, I definitely think Levenson is in the same category as Sam Shepard,” Guertin said.

Set at the turn of the 21st century, the play’s 85-year-old patriarch, World War II veteran Lou Fischer (played by Bartucca), has just lost his wife to cancer.

As the father becomes less able to care for himself, it becomes a classic case of his three adult and sometimes quarrelsome children struggling with how to care for their father, and “probably the bigger story is ‘where do we all go from here?’ The dialogue really hits home,” Guertin said.

Besides Bartucca, the cast includes Alice Springer, Beth Goldman, Michael Legge, Lorna Nogueria, Fred D’Angelo and Shane Parretti as Lou’s 15-yearold grandson.

“There are some very seasoned actors in this production. Shane jumped in both feet forward,” Guertin said.

“Levenson knows how to write dialogue for an 85-yearold as well as a 15-year-old … I call it a dramedy. It can be incredibly funny, shocking, moving, all at the same time.”

We’ll have to wait just a little bit longer to see it. 4th Wall “had a pretty rigorous schedule for the spring,” Guertin said.

Chekov’s “The Cherry Orchard” (translation by Tom Stoppard), now moved to November, is a follow-up to 4th Wall’s successful production of “Uncle Vanya.” “The Cherry Orchard” will feature a multiracial cast, Guertin said.

Over the course of the pandemic, members of 4th Wall would get together for weekly play readings via Zoom. “We read all kinds of plays. It was kind of a master class for acting,” Guertin said.

As for staging a production online, “We thought about it,” she said. “It was just too much uncertainty and we didn’t want to do a second-rate production.” She emphasized that she wasn’t saying other online productions have been second rate. The uncertainty includes the issue of rights for such shows, she said. 4th Wall had had its eye on the space at 20 Franklin St. from the time it was first suggested as a “black box theater” that various groups could use several years ago. When the JMAC and Brickbox Theater carefully opened as the pandemic had struck in 2020, Guertin was watching. Now 4th Wall has it booked for at least three events this year.

“For ten years I’ve been writing letters. We want to use this space,” Guertin said.

“We love doing shows at the Worcester Historical Museum, but clearly being on a bigger stage, especially a flexible one at the JMAC, definitely suits our needs. Most of the things we’ve done have been experimental. We have a history of using all kinds of spaces. Our priorities are more about the actors, but moving forward I would like to have the option so that we could have something that looks like ART (American Repertory Theater).”

For its shows at the Brickbox, 4thWall will use social distancing for seating, and people will have to bring proof of vaccination and wear masks, Guertin said.

“We want audiences not to feel there are any issues there. I do think audiences are clamoring to get back. I hope people will say it’s time to come out and make that journey to the JMAC and know that there’s a lot more theater coming.”

For more information, visit www.4thwallstagecompany.org. Also, www.jmacworcester.org.

Frank Bartucca founded 4th Wall Stage Company in 2011.

CHRISTINE PETERSON/T&G STAFF