Ted's Take
SPRINGING INTO ACTION
By Ted Pappas 
Today is the first day of May -- a rainy morning in which I arrived very early to the office. Rehearsals begin in a few days for The Public's new production of THE ODD COUPLE, and there is so much activity in the building right now, so many projects and deadlines, that I wanted to carve out a little private time to write this "blog" entry for anyone who is kind enough to read it.
The past few weeks have been very exciting and hectic ones for me and the team at The Public. We closed AMADEUS in a blaze of glory, and then had another phenomenal experience producing and performing Caryl Churchill's magnificent two-hander, A NUMBER. How about that set? Hundreds upon hundreds of boxes piled on top of each other, floor to ceiling, like a series of skyscrapers. At the annual Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force benefit performance of A NUMBER, I joked that somewhere in all those containers I had hidden the winning Power Ball ticket. Big laugh from the crowd, but I'm still surprised that they didn't storm the stage looking for it! Who can resist so many unopened boxes? By the way, the scenic designer's name is Beowulf Boritt (no kidding). Watch for it in programs, because he is one of the hottest young designers in America, and everyone in New York and around the country is clamoring to work with him.
As soon as A NUMBER opened, we began rehearsals for RABBIT HOLE, directed by my good friend, the incredibly gifted Rob Ruggiero. What a fabulous cast, and what a wonderful, moving, and very surprising play! David Lindsay-Abaire, the playwright, has managed to get the audience to laugh and cry in equal doses, all the while creating a very real world, with real people and dialogue, and very real issues. The play is a triumph. No wonder it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama last year.
I have taken three trips to New York City on company business since February: casting and designing shows, negotiating contracts for future productions, meeting with directors and other artists, attending union meetings, etc. I am also a Tony Awards voter this year, so I took in lots and lots of shows during those days and nights in Manhattan, including Mark Twain's IS HE DEAD? (cleverly staged by Michael Blakemore), Pinter's THE HOMECOMING (still a revolutionary play), Mel Brooks' YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (star-studded), William Inge's COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA (with a terrific set design by James Noone, who designed many sets for The Public, including THE COMEDY OF ERRORS and AMADEUS), AUGUST; OSAGE COUNTY (which is going to walk away with all of the awards), THE LITTLE MERMAID (take the kids), THE 39 STEPS (for Hitchcock fans), THE SEAFARER (which our own City Theatre is producing next season), GYPSY (featuring Pittsburgh's divine Lenora Nemetz), MACBETH (starring Patrick Stewart - three hours and I loved it), and my very favorite show of all, IN THE HEIGHTS (a new musical, with fabulous dancing and a very sexy and talented cast), and more.
Pittsburgh friends often ask me where to get a bite to eat while visiting the Big Apple, and I usually give the same suggestions, over and over. I am, alas, a creature of habit. But, if you are taking a trip to New York City in the future, may I suggest a few places for lunch, or dinner, or a drink? First, my absolute favorite spot is JOE ALLEN restaurant at 326 West 46th Street. It's a real show-biz hangout with a versatile menu and the best banana cream pie in the city. It's also three minutes from any show you are attending. Their phone number is 212-581-6464. Also, on that same block is the insanely over-decorated FIREBIRD, which specializes in Russian cuisine. Fun, and different. Address: 365 West 46th Street. Phone: 212-586-0244. For really good Greek food go to MOLYVOS at 871 Seventh Avenue, near Carnegie Hall. Phone: 212-582-7500. Another wonderful theater restaurant is ANGUS McINDOE at 258 West 44th Street. Phone: 212-221-9222. There are plenty more in New York's theater district, but these I can guarantee.
While in the district, stop by Saint Malachy's Church at 239 West 49th Street. It is a Catholic Church, also called The Actors' Chapel, for obvious reasons. It's a very special Broadway landmark---still a beautiful functioning church, but with a dazzling theatrical history. I'm not a Catholic, but I often go inside and light a candle (particularly before a play of ours goes into rehearsal). If you find yourself a bit farther uptown in Manhattan, try BARNEY GREENGRASS for lunch. It's located on Amsterdam Avenue, between 86th and 87th Streets. It's an old-style deli (and I mean old-style). Peeling wallpaper, but great sandwiches, and a New York tradition since the Great Depression. It's been featured in SEX IN THE CITY, so don't take my word for it, take Sarah Jessica Parker's!
In mid-March I was in Washington, DC, touting the importance of arts education to our Senators. While in the capital, I had the pleasure of attending a staged reading of August Wilson's FENCES, as part of the Kennedy Center's celebration of this great man's work. I ran into my good friend, Marcy Metelsky, there. She never misses a big theatrical event, whether in NYC, DC, or opening nights at The Public.
Back in Pittsburgh, the hard work continues. The company had six full days of Strategic Planning meetings. What?? You thought working in the theater was all Opening Nights and glittering performances? These meetings were intended to create a solid five-year plan for the company, to keep it producing work at a high level, bring in new audiences, expand our education offerings, create new works, and keep us debt-free, as we always have been and continue to be. They were good, productive meetings, and exhausting mentally and physically, but a solid plan is in the works to keep The Public front and center as Pittsburgh's flagship producing theater company.
Some big news: We were delighted to learn this week that THE GLORIOUS ONES, which premiered at The Public last season, was nominated for five Drama Desk Awards in New York, including Outstanding Musical. My thanks to everyone who gave us extra financial support to make that show a reality. You gave this company a big boost, and helped produce a hit musical at the same time!!
Edward Albee and Ted PappasI had some interesting days away from my desk and the rehearsal hall recently, when I gave a series of lectures to various groups around our region, including the Ladies' Philoptohos Society fundraiser in Canonsburg, Longwood at Oakmont, and at the Arts Education Collaborative at Soldiers & Sailors, where I introduced playwright Edward Albee as the keynote speaker. I love giving these speeches and meeting new people, and I hope these talks help spread the word that the arts in Pittsburgh are ESSENTIAL, not a luxury. The arts define and shape us as a civilized society. Just as importantly, art fills our lives with delight, something that is in woefully short supply in modern life. And speaking of delight, as I mentioned, in a few days I begin rehearsals for Neil Simon's amazing comedy, THE ODD COUPLE, with a superb cast, and a marvelous team of designers.
I'm going to say goodbye, for now. I have a fundraising meeting in 20 minutes, and then a production meeting for the Neil Simon play. And then I have to proof-read the brochure for next year's roster of plays. It's going to be an amazing season, our best ever, and I hope to see each and every one of you at The O'Reilly soon and often.
Yours,
HERE WE GO AGAIN...
By Ted Pappas
Our production of AMADEUS has entered its fifth and final week of performances, but I think this will be a show that many of us will remember fondly and with pride for many years to come. My thanks to all of you who sent me letters and e-mails recounting how the show moved you, how beautiful it looked, and how splendid the cast was. It had the same effect on me, and all of us here at The Public.
Next up is another stunner, A NUMBER, a work by one of the greatest playwrights in the world, Caryl Churchill. She is a writer of tremendous range, who never ceases to amaze and thrill. For those of us excited by the myriad possibilities of the theater and the many forms which storytelling takes, this will be a one-of-a-kind dramatic experience - a play which lasts a little over an hour, yet has the impact of a punch to the solar plexus. It is harrowing, sometimes funny, always thought-provoking, and an event which no true lover of the theater should miss. It actually scared me while I was reading it. After the performance, I guarantee that you will discuss this play with your friends and family for a long, long time.
It has been, I think, an exemplary and varied season thus far - THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, THIS WONDERFUL LIFE, AMADEUS, and now A NUMBER. The only thing that excites me more than the current roster is the line-up for next year, Season 34.
As you have probably already heard, we will open the new season with August Wilson's final play, RADIO GOLF, which is set Pittsburgh in the mid 1990s. We started producing August's plays in 1989, beginning with FENCES, followed by JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE, MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM, TWO TRAINS RUNNING, and the world premiere of his definitive version of JITNEY in 1996. We then produced SEVEN GUITARS, a new production of FENCES, followed by the world premiere of KING HEDLEY II which unveiled our current home, The O'Reilly Theater. Since I arrived on the scene as artistic director, the company has produced THE PIANO LESSON and GEM OF THE OCEAN. RADIO GOLF will mark our 10th Wilson play, making us one of only three companies in the world to have produced all the pieces of the 10-play cycle. It is an indescribable honor to have had such a lengthy and intimate relationship with one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century. It is a bond which has helped establish The Public as one of America's leading theater companies.
While RADIO GOLF is onstage, I will go into rehearsal with a true Pittsburgh treasure, my friend Helena Ruoti. Helena has a long, illustrious history with The Public. Like many great actresses, she constantly surprises her audiences and her colleagues with her humor, humanity, and an infallible instinct for truth. I have had the pleasure of directing her in two masterpieces. The first was the Sophoclean tragedy OEDIPUS THE KING, in which she took our breath away as the queen/mother/wife, Jocasta. She next ventured into Shakespeare's madcap universe as Adriana, the unhinged bride of one -or more -Antipholus twins in THE COMEDY OF ERRORS. As I watched her bring the house down every night in a comic performance of epic proportions, I thought: "I want to work with her again, and soon. And the audience adores her. I've got to find her a new show, something completely unexpected". I first considered a musical, and then it hit me--- a one-woman play, the ultimate test of theatrical virtuosity! And so, my friends, Ms. Ruoti will transform herself into the cultural icon and advice guru Ann Landers, in THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS, by David Rambo. David is a terrific playwright who also writes for such television programs as CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION. We first met when he came to The Public to participate in our Public Exposure play reading series with his new work, THE ICE-BREAKER. He wanted The Public to stage his Ann Landers play and I was looking for a new project with which to challenge and spotlight Helena. It was kismet.
We have scheduled the third production of our subscription series with additional time before rehearsals and performances begin in order to open up the stage floor of our theater and install a pool. Not a pool in which to do laps, but a pool in which to do a play, complete with water and a pump, filtering, heating and drainage systems, auditorium dehumidifiers, offstage hot boxes to keep the actors warm between scenes, decking surrounding the pool, and all sorts of extras that one does not normally associate with putting on a play. I have to believe that it will be worth the extra research, effort and expense, because there is no more appropriate and evocative space in which to create a new production of METAMORPHOSES than our very own O'Reilly Theater. Mary Zimmerman's play is like a series of beautiful dreams. It is based on the mythological tales of the Greeks and Romans as written by that master storyteller, Ovid. But it all feels and sounds surprisingly modern. Great myths are eternal, after all. This is a huge project for The Public, and a daunting one for any theater company. But it will be an undertaking which will expand our expertise in technical areas, and as a visual and aural experience, it will be a new and unique experience for our audience. I am nervous about it, the way I was about AMADEUS, but immeasurably curious. By the way, in the New York production the front row audience members were each given a towel, just in case. Some of you will be sitting closer than they were.
The Public has a stupendous track record of producing musicals. Our production of BY JEEVES went directly from our stage to Broadway, and was filmed for television and DVD. Last season's world premiere of THE GLORIOUS ONES made a bee-line to Lincoln Center this past fall and garnered excellent reviews. In between those two productions we've had a wide assortment of musical offerings, including THE MIKADO, MAN OF LA MANCHA and last season's CABARET, which broke box office records. While researching and preparing CABARET, I drenched myself in the music and lyrics of John Kander & Fred Ebb, the songwriting team responsible for that show, as well as CHICAGO, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, and the film NEW YORK, NEW YORK. There is a brilliant musical revue celebrating their prodigious accomplishments called THE WORLD GOES ‘ROUND. I consider it one of the most fabulous revues ever devised, loaded with showstoppers and touching moments, lots of dance numbers and star turns. Happily, we will produce a new production of this musical show, staged by the highly regarded director and choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge, who helmed The Public's version of AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'. Hold on to your hats!
We are hoping in upcoming seasons to produce some of America's monumental masterpieces, and by that I mean the best plays of Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and writers of that caliber and pedigree. We will begin this journey with my favorite play of O'Neill's, A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN. I have seen it performed many times, by different actors and companies, and it invariably moves me. As a young man, I had the privilege of knowing the incomparable actress Colleen Dewhurst. When she was appearing in this play on Broadway, opposite Jason Robards, I could sometimes be found in the wings, soaking it all in. Even then, from the vantage point of a backstage voyeur, I realized what a significant work of art I was witnessing. Also, this was the last project produced here by one of my predecessors at The Public, Bill Gardner, before his untimely death. That was 18 years ago. It's time to see this play again.
And now the grand finale: a brand-new play by Pittsburgh's own Rob Zellers. Rob is the co-author of THE CHIEF, the biggest box-office success in the Public Theater's history, and a truly special night of theater. His new play is called HARRY'S FRIENDLY SERVICE, and it's a winner. Full of heart, twists and turns, surprise entrances, tears, jokes, marvelous dialogue, and charismatic, expansive characters. The script was developed through our Public Exposure play reading series, something I am especially gratified by. The only thing which matters as much as developing the audience of the future is giving birth to the plays of tomorrow. As The Public's Director of Education, no one has done more than Rob to make sure that the young people and the students of our region are exposed to the very finest experiences in the theater -from actual productions, talkbacks, classes, and our one-of-a-kind Shakespeare Monologue & Scene Contest. During his 20 years with The Public he has helped create a new and appreciative audience for the theater, and, in fact, for all the arts. During those years, Rob observed veteran as well as fledgling playwrights hone their skills on our stage. Then he started writing himself. First quietly, secretly. Stories, and then plays. Pittsburgh Public Theater will produce the world premiere of Rob's latest work at the close of the 2008-09 season. I am honored that Rob has asked me to direct.
It feels a little odd talking about next year while still in the midst of the passion and planning of the current season. A NUMBER is in rehearsals. The final set plans for RABBIT HOLE are in our scene shop. And next week we hold auditions for THE ODD COUPLE.
I'm the luckiest guy in the world.
FULL SPEED AHEAD!
By Ted Pappas
Well, the season is off to a grand start. First came the revival of The Chief, then our production of The Comedy of Errors which seemed to hit the mark, then a reading of Rob Zellers' new play Harry's Friendly Service, and now a terrific performance by Mark Setlock in This Wonderful Life. You'd think that all of us at The Public could finally catch our breath. But with the holidays upon us, the new Second City show, Three Rivers Runs Through It, about to be unveiled, and next year's season to plan and announce, these days there's no such thing as "down time at the O'Reilly". It's just as well. No one likes to stop a fast-moving train!
In the past month alone I've taken three weekend trips to New York City on company business. Most of my time there was spent in auditions for our upcoming production of Amadeus. The show has 19 actors in it, and it has taken me almost a year to get everything just right. This includes understudies for all the major roles. While in Manhattan, I met often with James Noone, the brilliant scenic designer, to make concrete decisions about the set for Amadeus, and then I flew back and shared the information with our costume designer Susan Tsu, and the rest of The Public's production team. I returned to New York for the opening night of The Glorious Ones at 
The Drama Book ShopLincoln Center, with a major stop at the Drama Book Shop to peruse new scripts and research books. If you are ever looking for play scripts and musical librettos, a call or a trip to the Drama Book Shop is essential. They have everything, and if for some reason they don't, they can tell you where to find it. FYI, the shop is located at 250 West 40th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues. Their phone number is (212) 944-0595 or (800) 322-0595 toll free, and they are open 7 days a week.
Every trip I take to Manhattan includes a visit to the Drama Book Shop and a journey to the playhouses, because the search for new plays, fresh translations, and ideas for the next season never, ever stops. Programming and planning what appears on the stage is the central responsibility of every artistic director. It's what makes us toss and turn in our sleep. If you stop by the O'Reilly late at night after a performance and the lights are still on, I'm probably in my office reading a script, counting the characters and scene changes, comparing editions and translations, cross-referencing what's been produced over the past few seasons locally, and trying to figure out which artist might be attracted to which project. At the same time I am studying the published manuscripts of veteran writers, I am reading rough drafts and treatments, unfinished scripts, and third and fourth tries at getting it right by lesser- known playwrights. And, of course, Sophocles, Shakespeare and Schiller, and fellows like that---the canon of great works that are always a part of The Public's offerings.
I never travel without a briefcase full of scripts. The airport lounges are my reading rooms, and I do some of best work 20,000 feet in the air. I have planned many productions while en route to Greece to visit my family. You can stage a lot of scenes during a 10- hour flight. Even a relatively brief excursion from Pittsburgh to Manhattan affords me the uninterrupted luxury of total focus on a play. That moment when the flight attendant says, "Turn off your cell phones" is music to my ears. It's me, the play, my red pen, and away we go!
Harris Doran
Returning to Pittsburgh after finding a brilliant Salieri to star in Amadeus (Tony Abatemarco), opposite an equally brilliant Mozart (Harris Doran), I plunged headlong into technical rehearsals for This Wonderful Life. The director, Martha Banta, had everything under control, but no producer worth his/her salt absents themselves from the grind of tech rehearsals without getting the reputation of being a snob or a slug. I like to think of myself as trouper and a problem solver, plus I'm a control freak, so there I sat for 14 hours a day watching someone else direct a show (and rather beautifully I am happy to report). On breaks, I would go into my office and work out some traffic issues with all the furniture shifts and quick costume changes for Amadeus, and then join the team for more This Wonderful Life in the theater.
Whenever I am not in rehearsals, auditions, or studying a script, I am involved---and quite deeply---in fundraising, marketing, and teaming up with my colleagues in the Cultural District to come up with new and exciting ways to keep Downtown Pittsburgh shiny and magnetic. I attend performances and galas at other venues and for other companies. I talk to the press, in glowing terms, about the future of the art form and the future of The Public, and usually mean it. I meet with our politicians, our educators, and our social leaders and endlessly bang the drum about the value of our cultural resources for the enrichment of our community and our lives. Sometimes they see me coming and look for the nearest exit. Who can blame them? Fanatics aren't fun. But they know I'm sincere and The Public's track record for success is a great calling card, so eventually I am able to get a meeting and put the message across. I am really touched by the support I have found in this community from individuals, foundations, corporations, the press, and the political sector.
That's my whole life, why I exist: to put on plays. It's too late for me to analyze and wonder if this is a suitable profession. It's an addiction---no, that sounds harsh, unpleasant. It's oxygen. It's water. It's food. Can't live without it and, frankly, wouldn't want to.
While I've got your attention, if you haven't seen Mark Setlock performing in This Wonderful Life, may I suggest that you and your family book tickets? He's an amazing actor and completely charming, offstage and on. And audiences (critics included!) love the show.
That's all for now. Rehearsals begin in a few weeks for Amadeus. See you soon at the theater.
Happy Holidays.
THE BEAT GOES ON
By Ted Pappas
In a matter of days, 16 wonderful actors, two terrific stage managers and I will be locked together in a rehearsal hall, analyzing, memorizing, and staging a play. I've been at this since I was 16 years old, so, at this point, the routine of starting a new show is in my DNA, even though the nerves and anticipation connected to a first rehearsal always feel brand-new. This season, our 33rd, will be my 8th year as artistic director. But I actually started working at The Public during the company's 19th season. That means I've been part of this wonderful family for 14 years. As is my habit, as I am about to leap forward into the future, I'm taking a moment to glance back.
Eddie Gilbert, my predecessor, was kind enough to invite me to debut here during his first season as artistic director. The show was an unusual and beautiful chamber musical called Wings, with book and lyrics by Arthur Perlman and music by Jeffrey Lunden, based on the play by Arthur Kopit. I can still remember Leila Martin's haunting performance in the lead role of a former aviatrix who suffers a devastating stroke. Ironically, one night, an actor had an actual stroke onstage. An understudy gallantly completed the show's run, and the stricken actor, I am happy to report, has had a complete recovery.
In season 20, I directed and choreographed Cole Porter's 1929 musical, Fifty Million Frenchmen. The cast was splendid and the costumes were fabulous. It was practically a fashion show set to music. The production was very well-received, and, at one point, we were supposed to transfer the show to Broadway's Helen Hayes Theatre. But two of the backers, a married couple, filed for divorce and the funding fell through. Couldn't they have waited until after the opening night?
Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd came next, with titanic performances from Steve Barton as Sweeney and Brooks Almy (yes, the same actress who appeared in our Cabaret) as Mrs. Lovett. We were still at the old Hazlett Theater, and no one blinked when we hammered a bunch of spikes directly into the walls, or painted over the entire auditorium in order to set a gloomy mood. There weren't enough dressing rooms for the large cast and the musicians, and I recall Steve using a "private" broom closet to dress and make up for the performance. One of the other actors hung a star on his door, partly out of respect and partly because it was hilarious.
In season 22, Eddie asked me to direct A Little Night Music, but the project proved too expensive and was shelved. I suggested that, instead, we do the musical Falsettos by my brilliant friend, William Finn. The set featured 48 doors, floor to ceiling. While being crafted in the scene shop, a cold snap hit Pittsburgh and the heat went out in the shop over the weekend. So most of the doors warped the minute they were loaded into the warm theater. We spent most of tech week "ironing" them out. But oh, that lovely cast and those exciting voices.
Still wanting to do another Sondheim show, we next set our sights on A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Like The Comedy of Errors, Forum is based on the comedies of Plautus, the Roman playwright. But it's sheer vaudeville and an absolute cuckoo clock of a musical. Eddie Gilbert was out of the country during the rehearsal period and returned during previews, when the show was playing to full houses and delighted audiences. As he watched the performance, his wide grin told me everything I needed to know. How relieved and proud I felt.
The following season my assignment was a complete about-face. The Public had scheduled Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and I was asked to direct. One problem: Albee withheld the rights, which he often does when he is contemplating a revival of his own. I called Mr. Albee and he graciously agreed to see me in his phenomenal art-laden loft in New York. He grilled me on the details of my theoretical production - from casting, to music and lighting. After 40 minutes he granted us the rights. He also grabbed my copy of the play, cut four lines, and wished me luck.
The Public was about to move into a new theater Downtown and Eddie announced his departure in a year. That meant season 25 would be his last, and I was determined to give him something unique as a send-off. But what? He suggested something by Gilbert & Sullivan. I balked, concerned by the size and musical requirements of those works. But Eddie was adamant, and, in the end, I figured out a way to stage a "classic" The Pirates of Penzance on a thrust stage with a chamber orchestra. Myrna Paris was superb as Ruth, and Catrina Lennon brought the house down with her entrance aria "Poor Wandering One." Thanks Eddie, you were right!
By season 26, I was the new artistic director of the company, mentored by Eddie and all the other wonderful directors I had worked with over the years at various theaters around the country. And, most importantly, my very dear friend, Stephen Klein, was still the managing director. He held my hand and guided me as I learned the ropes. What good friends Eddie and Stephen were and are to me, and what a powerful legacy they and their predecessors have left for us at The Public.
The past seven years have been my responsibility, both as a director and as a producer. There have been some extraordinary highlights and some really special nights of theater when all the stars were aligned and the actors and audiences inspired each other. Everyone has a different "take" on that, I'm sure. As a director, I've had the opportunity to stage some of my favorite classical plays and to expand my vocabulary as an artist. As a producer, I've had the privilege of hosting some of the nation's most extraordinary talents. Together, you the audience, and I, and all the gifted and dedicated people who work at The Public, and indeed, at all of Pittsburgh's theaters, are protecting and nurturing something very, very precious: an art form as old as recorded time and as new as tomorrow's headlines. The theater is a living record of our past and a map to our future. It's our aspirations, our obsessions, our hopes and delights, made concrete through ideas, language, movement and design - through emotions unleashed and that indescribable connection between the storyteller and the listener. It's civilization AND revolution. It's poetry AND prose. It's art AND entertainment.
It's flawed, yet critic-proof. It's always threatening to evaporate and die away, but it never will. It's all an illusion, but boy oh boy, what truths it holds. It's mysterious. It's comforting. It's inconvenient. It's necessary.
In a few days, the O'Reilly will be chock-full of actors having costume fittings, running lines, practicing pratfalls, timing entrances, breaking props, driving their director batty, and causing a gorgeous ruckus. Several weeks later, the auditorium will welcome audiences eager for a new adventure and the magical thrill of a live performance. That's the theater. That's what it is, and what it always was. Since Euripides. Since Plautus. Since Shakespeare. Since Shaw.
So, here's to a new year of theater and the dream of many more. I can hardly wait!
The Comedy of Errors begins previews on October 4. See you soon.
GREETINGS FROM THE AEGEAN
By Ted Pappas
Dear Friends,
I am writing to you from my family's home in Greece, where I am seated at my sister's computer, musing on a theatrical season that is winding down, and another which is "revving" up. The temperature here is a little over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with a slight breeze coming in off of the Saronic Gulf. 
Lucy the lab. Our many and various pets are littered throughout the gardens, each vying for the coolest and shadiest spot. This summer, the gardens boast artichokes, lemons, pomegranates, lavender, aloe, olives (of course), almonds (later), and cactus fruit. Very exotic and fragrant. My sister is hard at work on her art projects and preparing for a crafts fair (a smaller version of our own Three Rivers Arts Festival), while my mother's focus has been on handing down some of the family recipes, and methods of food preparation, to yours truly. Please understand, I am not a chef, and barely a cook, but hopefully by vacation's end, I will be able to cobble together one or two of Mom's specialties.
I arrived in Greece with a suitcase loaded with goodies for the family: Mom wanted bite-sized Mounds bars, lined rubber gloves for household chores, and Advil; Sister wanted some special paint brushes, colorful sheets for the beds, and murder mysteries-all things that are difficult to find on the island. Mission accomplished. I also carted over a veritable smorgasbord of summer reading for myself, which I began devouring before the plane even departed from Newark airport.
En route to Athens, I read a wonderful book of stories by Truman Capote - which included Breakfast at Tiffany's and A Christmas Memory - surely among the most flawless and moving 20 pages of storytelling I have ever experienced. If you've never read it, and if you have 30 quiet minutes for yourself, may I recommend A Christmas Memory? I then launched into The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, a funny and touching book about an autistic British teenager on a quest to solve the murder of a neighborhood dog. Utterly original and captivating. I also enjoyed Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham (currently my favorite writer), who authored The Hours. Specimen Days is incredibly ambitious and exciting. It begins in 19th-century New York, moves to the present day, and then hurtles into the future, after a devastating nuclear accident has changed the entire landscape of America. Woven throughout are the words of Walt Whitman, who even makes a brief appearance. Characters appear and re-appear, almost reincarnated, in all three sections. What a writer!! Next up I read, in one sitting, Ian McEwan's new book, On Chesil Beach, about an inexperienced newlywed couple on their wedding night. Sounds like a saucy British farce, but instead, it was a book brimming with compassion. How is it possible that all of these writers are such amazing mind-readers and heart-readers? How do they understand the human condition so clearly and without prejudice - and how are they able to convey so much detail, so much truth, so much life, and make us feel so deeply, with mere words on a page? I find it all simply miraculous. Next Up: Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence (I'm tired of pretending that I've read it!) and The Kite Runner, set in Afghanistan, by Khaled Hosseini.
Almond tree in bloom,
Greece.While in New York, before my trip overseas, I held auditions for the Public's first show of next season, The Comedy of Errors. Nothing is more important than casting a production precisely and correctly. It's often said that 90% of a director's job is hiring the proper actors. A lot of directors bristle at this theory, since it seems to imply that all we have to do is get the right people in the right roles and our job is virtually done. But the truth is, if your casting is off balance, all the big ideas in the world, all the terrific costumes and grand sets, all the splendid music and lighting effects won't save the show. Every production lives or dies in the casting. Now, imagine casting The Comedy of Errors, which boasts not one, but two sets of twins! Not twin actors, certainly, but actors with enough physical similarities to keep the plot spinning, the rest of the cast credibly confused, and the audience on the edge of their seats. Well, I'm pleased to report that the "twins" have been found, the show is almost completely cast (there are 16 actors, by the way), and the production begins rehearsals in early September. Right now, I am in the midst of comparing various editions of the play, including the First Folio edition. It is a really wonderful comedy - brisk and crystal-clear. We're setting the production in modern-day Manhattan, but all the words are William Shakespeare's. I think (hope!) he would approve.
While in New York, I took in a couple of Broadway productions and an art show. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is currently displaying the gorgeous couture designs of the visionary and, in his time, revolutionary French clothing-designer, Paul Poiret. It's an exhibit highly recommended, not just for those of us who love fashion, but also for anyone interested in the history and social mores of the early 20th century. I also saw the recent Tony-winning musical Spring Awakening - which was exciting, if for no other reason than there were so many young people in the audience! It is beautifully lit, dynamically staged, and choreographed with imagination. To be honest, it is not a show for everyone, and though the writers are to be applauded for the sheer theatrics of the event, and the director and the design team have done a terrific job, it is not as significant a work as Rent, to which, undoubtedly, it will always be compared.
I also saw Radio Golf by our dear friend August Wilson. The play was a heartrending combination of "unfinished work" and the culmination of a grand journey. Surely, no other American playwright has ever attempted anything as tremendous as Wilson's ten-play cycle, and if there are any lapses in the writing of the final play, all is to be forgiven because this great artist has literally "brought it home." I am hopeful that The Public will produce this wonderful play in the fall of '08 - the season after next. For those of us fortunate enough to have experienced the nine previous Wilson works produced by the Public Theater, Radio Golf will be the crowning conclusion to one of the most exhilarating sagas in American drama. I'll keep you posted.
View from the terrace,
Greece.As I write this letter, we are concluding the run of The Gin Game, which has proven to be a very popular production with all audiences, especially our subscribers. I'm thrilled, because it's a play I dearly love, one that I've always wanted to direct, and a fitting finale to what has been a rather remarkable season of play-making. It is almost inconceivable to me that Oedipus the King was performed on our stage a mere nine months ago. And Cabaret. And The Glorious Ones (which, as you probably know by now, goes into previews at Lincoln Center Theater on October 11 of this year, and opens officially on November 5).
A theatrical season of grandeur is made up of many microscopic elements, and the choice of programming is both liberating and fraught with second-guessing. I am proud to say that no one has ever accused me of being a snob, a quality I loathe in the arts. I have always been of the opinion that the Public Theater should fling open its doors, and make extraordinary theater available to absolutely everyone - the seasoned theater maven and the novice theater-goer, the senior citizen and the middle school student, the devotee of musicals and the aficionado of classical drama, the Broadway groupie and the adventurer on the prowl for something brand new. What matters is the shared audience experience, the consistency and quality and professionalism of our offerings, the beauty of the work, the diversity and range of the shows presented, the risks, the delight, and the belief that the live theater experience is a cause for celebration. This has been a bountiful season for all of us who love great plays, thrilling language, music, entertainment, variety, wonderful actors, and extraordinary design.
Thanks for being such a loyal and exciting audience for which to create. The actors and directors love playing for you. They adore our city and our beautiful theater building. They look forward to many, many more productions at Pittsburgh Public Theater. And so do I.
Have a wonderful summer.
A GLORIOUS JOURNEY
By Ted Pappas
Photo: Duane Rieder. I'm asked frequently to recount Pittsburgh Public Theater's role in creating the world premiere of The Glorious Ones. But here's the hitch. When you're working on a new musical, you never look back—only forward. Fortunately, I keep a diary. Yes, like a mad scientist on the brink of an earth-altering invention, I keep a record of big ideas, scripts read, performances attended, business negotiations, box-office trends, audience feedback, crises and celebrations, and all major events which involve our efforts at The Public. Eventually, I imagine, it will morph into a memoir and then all of my friends will drop me because of some indiscreet observations I happened to jot down. Nonetheless, here are a few journal notations involving The Public's latest venture:
December 10, 2005: Attended Nadine Bognar's birthday bash at the Duquesne Club. Brian Stokes Mitchell entertained, with brief concert. He sang a terrific song called "I Was Here" from a new musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.
December 11, 2005: E-mailed Steve Flaherty. Need to know about their new show.
December 15, 2005: Steve F. phoned. Show is called The Glorious Ones. Only a few numbers are written and some scenes. Still sketchy. Based on Francine Prose's novel of same name. Lynn is writing book/lyrics. Steve, music of course. Graci [Graciela Daniele] is their choice of director. Wow.
December 23, 2005: Spoke with Graci. They'll need a three week rehearsal period in New York, full cast, full contracts and then four months off to keep working on the script/score and then back into rehearsal in Pittsburgh for the world premiere. Yikes. Sounds expensive.
December 27, 2005: Steve F. visited PPT to tour the facility.
January 2, 2006: Conference call with Lynn, Steve and Graci. Agreed to move ahead with the project. Set November 2006 dates for rehearsals in NYC and late March 2007 for first rehearsal in PGH. Script and score unfinished, but I'm proceeding on instinct and tremendous admiration for all involved. Fingers crossed.
January 29, 2006: Show announced on Playbill On-line. Everyone's calling to congratulate.
March 10, 2006: Applied for NEA grant to help fund the project (*The Public did receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for The Glorious Ones)
March 28, 2006: Called Lincoln Center to try to get free rehearsal space for workshop.
March 31, 2006: Flurry of e-mails from Steve. The team has met and given me their first choices for designers and musical director. Now, all I have to do is hire them (ha!). These are all A-list artists, probably already booked, or impossible to get. I'm counting on the show being the magnet that pulls them in. (*Four months later, after complicated negotiations and schedule adjustments, every single first-choice artist said yes.)
April 25, 2006: Heard back from Lincoln Center. No space for workshop. All available rooms are being used for Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia. Put "hold" on biggest rehearsal hall at Chelsea Studios, 30' X 50'. Mirrors and piano. Paying extra for exclusive use, so no other show has it at night.
May 18, 2006: Graci does not use e-mail. FedExed her plans of theater, with all dimensions noted. Included photos of past Public productions so that she could visualize the space in use.
July 19, 2006: Hired Stanczyk/Cherpakov [NYC casting directors] to cast the show. They have great taste and exciting ideas. Need to coordinate everyone's insane schedules to set up the all-important auditions.
July 24, 2006: Received most up-to-date script. Substantial leap forward, but still a work-in-progress. Submitted script to Actors' Equity, per union rules, for them to make determination about contracts/compensation.
August 8, 2006: Sent personal letters to local arts "angels," asking for special gifts to pay for NYC workshop of show. (*The response was quick and positive.)
August 21, 2006: Great news for the project. Michael Starobin has signed on to create the orchestrations. Brilliant fellow. Old friend.
September 18, 2006: Long process of auditions begins in NYC, for all roles. Agents already beginning to inquire about "right of first refusal" in the event production moves to Broadway. Cart before the horse, indeed!
October 24, 2006: All offers have been accepted by the actors and their agents, and THE SHOW IS CAST! Splendid actors, one and all. A thrill to know that Paul Schoeffler will be playing Flaminio.
November 13, 2006: Rehearsals begin for first leg of journey, three weeks in NYC. Full company, production assistants, commedia specialist, musical director, authors, Graci and her wonderful assistant Maddie. I'm in Pittsburgh hovering over the premiere of Jackie and Marilyn. Plus, we've started building the sets to Cabaret. A lot going on. So far, so good. Sent e-mail to Lynn and Steve: "Thanks for trusting us with your new show".
November 20, 2006: Lost an actor. Personal reasons. Quick replacement needed.
November 22, 2006: New actor joins company. Fast learner, thank goodness.
December 1, 2006: Blizzard delays designers from arriving in NYC from Chicago. I'm already in town, watching rehearsals and being bowled-over by the excitement and professionalism of the whole enterprise. Lynn and Steve feverishly writing new material which Graci inventively stages on the spot, while all the actors are learning new lyrics, new scenes and new dances every hour on the hour. The room feels like a giant laboratory of art. Never been happier.
December 3, 2006: First (and only) run-through of a new musical called The Glorious Ones. Even though the show is funny, I start crying during opening number. I've been holding it in for a year.
January 4, 2007: Lost one of the actors and the stage manager to other projects. Fortunately, most of the company remains intact. Auditions begin anew.
January 30, 2007: Finalized orchestral needs for show and hired musicians.
February 2, 2007: Authors' agreement completed. (*It's not rare for contract negotiations with authors to take up to a year to complete, because of multiple authors, underlying rights, etc.)
February 5, 2007: Set designs begin arriving. Exciting use of space. Nice surprises, too.
February 12, 2007: Set build begins.
February 16, 2007: Lynn e-mailed us latest version of script. Smart adjustments. Sleeker finale. Very good. We begin to re-design the poster/logo to reflect changes in the show. More joyous. More exuberant.
March 23, 2007: Full company, first rehearsal at the O'Reilly. On April 19 we begin previews, and on the 27th The Glorious Ones officially opens.