Boston Marriage Director on the Pre-Rehearsal Process

As a director, the pre-rehearsal process of working with the design team is always thrilling for me since I like to make things myself. Love to dream big, collaborate, finagle, manufacture, and find the perfect tool or solution for the job. And then, to go from an empty space onstage to a completely imagined world, location, room, well, that's essentially theatre. 

The place we're going to is Boston, shortly before WWI. It was called the Gilded Age in America, riffing on western Europe's Golden Age and following Le Belle Époque. It was a transitional time in the arts, politics, and equal rights. Think: Paris salons, Art Nouveau, the Titanic, Gibson girls on bikes, Irving Berlin, and Taft as president.


The designers and I agree that the two main characters in Mamet's play are trend setters, and as he says "women of fashion." We want to see and feel a sense of change in the era, and remember that these women are also wildly ahead of their time. At the very least, they are what some would call "free spirits." Janie, on scenery, and Rafael, on clothing, provided so many choices to start our process that we could have gone fully in several directions. We did however arrive at a look and feel of the time that is chic and modern, innovative and whimsical--all important elements for our comedy of manners. 

Whaddya think of these fabric choices for our newly decorated drawing room, which incidentally was the room for women? (Men apparently "parlayed" and smoked in the parlor.) We especially love the "girl fabric" for the hers and hers fainting sofas stage right!


-David Zoffoli

Boston Marriage: The Gilded Era

On Saturday July 17^th 2010 David Zoffoli wrote in an email to me “I'm directing a show at New Rep and hope you're interested and available to do it with me”. “Of course” I thought –David has been on my list of “must work with” directors and when I learned that the show was Boston Marriage –I had to make my schedule work. This is one of my favorite David Mamet’s plays!

Why is it one of my favorites? Before 1999, this Pulitzer winning playwright was identified as a “writer for men”, but with this play the myth was broken. It centers exclusively on women. It has witty dialogue, double entendres and period expressions that evoke the Victorian & Edwardian eras. Yet the play also has contemporary relevance in the way it explores the relationship of its protagonists. They experience the conflict, negotiation and reconciliation that could arise in any emotional and/or sexual association –especially when those involved want to hold onto a loved one.

Costume Sketch for Claire, Act I, Sc 1

To preview the costume designs go to the link below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37166747@N00/sets/72157624458112087/show/

[Note: click on the lower right side arrow square for full screen]

How does this apply to costumes? The action takes place at a time when America was experiencing the  "Gilded Age" and "the Rational Dress Society” movement offered women options for less restrictive apparel. The main characters, Claire and Anna are extremely sophisticated and their dialogue reflects this. The vernacular in some of the lines is poetic; Claire refers to Anna’s offerings as a “bonne bouche to console” [bouchée: a small pastry with a sweet or savory filling], Anna dismisses Claire by asking her to “take her conge”. [conge: an unceremonious dismissal of someone]. In consultation with David I decided to combine the nuances in the words and the period research into design metaphors, exploring contrasting colors, sensuous textures and highly stylized shapes. My ultimate design goal is to endow the costumes with meaning and suggestions that reflect who these women are. They are eccentric trendsetters; they are also resourceful, sexy, and sophisticated innovators. They won’t shy away from sexual role-playing due to social convention; they’ll take on the world with finesse, smarts and beauty!

Designer Rafael Jaen discusses costume options with actress Jennie Israel.
"Jaen says: I find it best to start the collaboration early on in the process, to establish rapport --way before the fittings."

Posted by Rafael Jaen

Making Trouble

Sophie Tucker, The Last of the Red Hot Mamas, was one of many Jewish women to make their mark on American humor. You can see more about the professional and personal lives of Jewish comediennes with the film Making Trouble: Three Generations of Funny Jewish Women, produced by the Jewish Women’s Archive.

To help celebrate New Rep’s show about Sophie Tucker, JWA offers you a special $5.00 discount off the price of the Making Trouble DVD. Just go to www.makingtrouble.com and use the coupon code NEWREP when you purchase a DVD for individual home use.

Sophie Tucker, Molly Picon, Fanny Brice, Gilda Radner, Joan Rivers, and Wendy Wasserstein star in this feature-length documentary that spans more than a century of theatre, film, and television history. Rare archival footage and in-depth interviews reveal the strong characters behind the laughter and applause.

You’ll get the added perspective of four of the most accomplished women in American comedy today – Judy Gold, Jessica Kirson, Jackie Hoffman, and Cory Kahaney gather at Katz’s Delicatessen to laugh about the gift and the burden of being Jewish, female, and funny.

Making Trouble brings to life the female comic legends that made us laugh, defied cultural expectations, and changed all the rules.

For more stories and photos of the life and times of Sophie Tucker and all the women of Making Trouble, visit the JWA website at www.jwa.org.

"Sophie Tucker" is a Summer Treat

By Jana Pollack, New Rep Reviewer

"Sophie Tucker: The Last of the Red Hot Mamas" is a warm, lovely evening of theater. It's a night spent with just Ms. Tucker and her pianist, and that's more than enough. From the moment she enters, Mary Callanan embodies Ms. Tucker wholeheartedly, and provides song after song in a strong, commanding voice. Quietly, from the piano, Todd Gordon provides excellent accompaniment as well as the occasional well-placed one-liner.

The show functions as a musical revue, but is peppered with bits and pieces of stories from Ms. Tucker's life. In the first act, this remains almost entirely comedic, and the jokes don't stray far from Ms. Tucker's love life, with a running gag about her boyfriend "Ernie" (we learn that she nicknames all of her boyfriends Ernie, so as not to accidentally call out the wrong name at an inopportune moment). In the second act, the mood shifts, and Ms. Tucker shares stories of her family and upbringing, singing the beautifully poignant "Follow Your Star Medley." During this number, the stage is nearly entirely dark, and Ms. Callanan's voice, enchantingly, shines alone.

As the show began, it wasn't immediately clear that Ms. Callanan was going to hold the stage with enough force, and I found myself slightly uneasy at the prospect of spending the evening alone with her. I was proven wrong, though, as soon as she left the stage and joined the audience, making jokes with various patrons. Immediately, it became clear that Ms. Callanan has great talent both as a singer and as a comic. This was further tested (and proven) in the second act, when she called upon two men from the audience to join her onstage. She handled the volunteer selection with ease and hilarity, and the resulting number was great fun to watch.

The show runs 90 minutes (with one intermission) and is very well-timed; any longer and it might start to drag, but as it's done, it feels like just the right amount of time spent with Ms. Tucker. The simple set appropriately allows Ms. Callanan to make use of the full stage, singing most numbers at center, but moving upstage for the quieter, more somber songs. The costumes, too, are appropriate: in the first act, Ms. Callanan is bright and booming in a red dress, and in the second, she emerges in a black gown, fitting with the theme of the act.

Simple yet powerful, and jam-packed with great songs, "Sophie Tucker: The Last of the Red Hot Mamas" is just the kind of entertainment one might seek on a summer night - funny and light, but backed by substantial talent and emotional depth. With this show, New Rep sails lightly out of its 2009-2010 season, sending us home humming.

"Sophie Tucker": One of These Dazed

by Jack Craib
New Rep Reviewer

Mark this reviewer down as one of those dazed, or better yet dazzled, audience members fortunate enough to have attended the party of the year. That would be New Rep’s final production of its current season, and Artistic Director Kate Warner‘s final directorial effort of her initial season, namely “Sophie Tucker: The Last of the Red Hot Mamas”. This work, described elsewhere as a musical revue, premiered at Sarasota’s Florida Studio Theater, developed by its Artistic Director Richard Hopkins and Jack Fournier, along with Kathy Halenda, who first created the title role. It has been given a full-throttled treatment in the person of its present titular star, Mary Callahan (and her Musical Director and accompanist, Todd C. Gordon). Many stars can belt; few can do so with such purity of voice and clarity of diction.
This two-act show resembles less a revue than it does a private gathering of the most intimate friends of this self-described forty-something queen of vaudeville and burlesque days. Her repertoire of songs, many of them having earned signature status, is interspersed with her naughty and bawdy punch lines and verbal sparring with Mr. Gordon as her foil. While many of the songs (and jokes, it must be noted) betray their vintage, Callanan’s delivery and timing consistently manage to hit the mark. If Ms. Tucker’s sexual innuendos and double entendres seem a bit tame by today’s more liberal standards, the narrative tying the numbers together not only provides historical perspective for her astounding success, but also reveals her pioneering stage persona to be still relevant today. Any number of past and current stand-up comediennes and female cabaret performers owe at least part of their success to the lady in question.
The party begins with several Tucker standards (the title song, then “A Good Man is Hard to Find”) which lead to others (“There’ll Be Some Changes Made”, “After You’ve Gone”) that frame her brief allusions to her three failed marriages. Her evolution (or more correctly, revolution) led to more powerful and poignant revelatory songs (“Life Begins at Forty”, “Living Alone and I Like It”). Perhaps the most revealing and moving turn is the beautifully-rendered “Yiddishe Momme” wherein the star shares her life-long need for her mother’s love and validation. It was her mother’s conviction that her daughter was strong enough, without demonstrative love, that paradoxically made her the powerhouse she became.
Attention must be paid to the incredibly supportive role of Mr. Gordon at the piano, including his verbal contributions and constant in-character presence; attention must be paid to such a man. Nor should the technical credits be overlooked: the simple scenic design (by Joseph O‘Dea), the lighting design (by John Malinowski) and costume design (for both performers, by Frances Nelson McSherry), all of which add up to a seamless recreation of this bygone era.
By the end of the evening, star and audience have become bosom buddies, so to speak; Ms. Tucker and Ms. Callanan take no prisoners. And that, of course, is precisely as it should be. What a fabulous way to cap the season!

A Red Hot 1st Rehearsal!

Sophie Tucker: The Last of the Red Hot Mama's first rehearsal was yesterday, and it was a great way to kick things off! There is a small gang working on the show and they're already having a lot of fun with the show. The Sophie team is working in the rehearsal hall this week, but they already have some great set pieces and props to work with. Here is a little peak into the Vaudeville world you will experience at the theatre:

Here is part of the team (Meghan Fisher, Stage Manager; Kate Warner, Director; Mary Callanan, Sophie Tucker) during the Sophie Tucker meet and greet:

Mary Callanan (Sophie Tucker) and Todd C. Gordon (Music Director) also did a sing through of the show. They already had us going with the jokes, music, and whole routine!

Sophie Tucker: The Last of the Red Hot Mamas starts performing next Thursday, June 24th and runs until Sunday, July 11th. Tickets are selling fast, so visit www.newrep.org/sophie_tucker.php to buy your tickets today, or call the Box Office at 617-923-8487.

We found a book about that RED HOT MAMA!

Todd C. Gordon, musical director for Sophie Tucker: The Last of the Red Hot Mamas, was browsing through a used bookstore the other day in an attempt to find Sophie Tucker’s out of print autobiography. What he ended up finding was a true gem! The 1945 copy he found of Some of These Days was signed by the one and only Sophie Tucker herself! From the front cover, you can tell it has clearly been flipped through: this spicy mama was definitely someone worth reading about! Director Kate Warner, Todd C. Gordon, and Mary Callanan (our Sophie Tucker) are currently switching off reading this book to find out the inner workings of the Mama from her own point of view.

Rehearsals for Sophie Tucker start on Tuesday, so check back for updates and design concepts for the show next week! In the meantime check out our interview with Mary Callanan and Sophie Tucker Production Notes.

Sophie Tucker: The Last of the Red Hot Mamas runs from June 24 - July 11, 2010. Tickets are on sale now online and at the Box Office - (617) 923-8487.