Dispatches from the Musical

The orchestra unsurprisingly has emerged satisfactory, bolstered by a helpful guest contribution from Dr. Shapiro, as well as surprise contributions from Calder Burke and Tristan Bouyer, who have shown up to rehearsal and been turned into a duck by a wayward hex, respectively. Other standout performers include Tino Karakousis, who has tolerated being yelled at by the Leading Performer every rehearsal for two straight weeks, and the trumpet section, who are probably tired of playing fanfares by now. I, on the other hand, am faring rather poorly. Tasked with playing six instruments, I invariably have knocked all of them over during pivotal scenes and consistently lost track of my cut sheet while trying to lift the forty-pound off-key accordion (or as I like to call it, my petulant Italian stepchild) and not get a hernia. There is one song with one bar of banjo in the middle that has earned my deepest loathing as well as several amusing page turns that were clearly not thought through. The cast is doing a phenomenal job as well. Lauren Ciardullo as the Leading Player is sustaining impossible notes and making me happy I am not Tino Karakousis during the finale. Berthe, Pippin’s uncomfortably vigorous grandmother, being played by a real New Yorker kidnapped from the streets of Brooklyn (or Gwen?) is channeling Liza Minelli and appropriately chastising the empty auditorium for not singing along to her song about false teeth and degenerative disease. In the event anyone was wondering, the line in Berthe’s suggestive torch song is “cataracts and catarrh”. Catarrh is “excessive discharge or buildup of mucus in the nose or throat”, which, according to Google, is unsurprisingly a COVID symptom. Other highlights from the last rehearsal include an accordion jam session, a missing drummer, and of course, microphone issues. Microphone feedback as always played the role of a shrieking fifth grader that is compulsorily ignored and harried backstage hot-mic conversations contributed to the unique ambiance of school. My only complaints with the cast are that there are far more middle schoolers in the chorus than are in the actual middle school and that the inclusion of an out-of-school cast member (the dog) is against our union contract and if this keeps up, there will be a picket line next rehearsal.

The Presidents’ Day was without incident and the middle schoolers did not riot as was expected. As a result, they were compensated with sugar so that they would riot on their own time. Special thanks to Ms. Neu for supplying plastic bags of sugar to the orchestra and to the costume designers, who took the time to spray-paint matching face masks to the costumes. Stage Crew is still working on the medieval-themed set; an overheard command called for “a stained glass window” while several Stage Crew members appeared to be attacking each other with white paint. (need they be reminded, spirit week begins April 1st, so they are a bit premature). Drills constantly pierce the doldrums of the basement-dweller and the increased activity more and more so resembles that of a hive, with Mr. Gilken the queen bee running off in search of girl scout cookies and the ever-mysterious ayohi. Sound Crew, on the other hand, is doing whatever it is that Sound Crew does (something that involves the back piano in the auditorium) and eating pizza. The amount of constant effort put into the show is threatening to destabilize the school’s already unstable foundation, and in the end, it is all too likely that Pippin will bring the house down.

Two interviews with Director, Allie Beik:

Have you ever done a high school production or a musical before? What were your memories?

Yes absolutely! I'm a Masterman alum, and I did all of the musicals when I was in 8th-12th grade at Masterman (Music Man, Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast, Fiddler on the Roof, Anything Goes).

I loved being in the musicals here, it was the highlight of my school year. I made my best friends in choir and the show, and I'm still close with those friends today. I know how much time and effort goes into the show by everyone (actors, stage crew, orchestra, costume designers, lighting, I'm sure I'm forgetting people), but there truly is something magical when it all comes together and you have this huge team working as one to put on an amazing production.

I've kept up my musical career since then - I continued doing shows at NYU and then did community theater while I lived in Brooklyn, as well as with the Narberth Community Theater here in Philly.

What is your biography/background as a director?

I have directed choirs (a cappella and other types of choirs) since I was 16 years old. I directed the award winning a cappella group Echo A Cappella in NYC, and choreographed/directed our shows for the International Championship of A Cappella Open (it's like the ICCAs but for old people like me). In my normal life, I'm also a wedding planner, so I have years of experience creating designs/visions, organizing schedules, and directing people. This will be my musical theater directorial debut!

What is your approach/vision to producing this show?

This is a great question - Pippin is an awesome show with really catchy music, incredibly funny characters, and a surprisingly dark undertone. The original Broadway production in the 70s was very meta, and I want to modernize it and pay homage while making it easy to follow for a large audience. The 2013 revival did a great job of this, leaning into a circus theme and acrobatics, but I didn't think that was right to replicate either with our space and actors. Instead, I'm taking a more literal interpretation of the beginning of the show. It opens with a cast of 'players' who are going to put on the show for the audience, so we'll open with our high schoolers as they are today - bored with quarantining, tired of social distancing, and ready to put on a show and feel like things are back to 'normal' just for a few hours. Bringing Pippin into today's world will really help audiences feel both the excitement of a musical and the dark moments and ideas that can come out of extreme boredom and isolation.

What has it been like to work with the music directors and the cast?

Everyone has been incredible! The music directors have been so on top of everything - Mrs. Neu is outstanding at communicating with the kids, parents, and everyone involved in the show, and Dr. Shapiro has vocally gone through almost all of the numbers already with the high schoolers to get them practicing and familiar with songs before we block them on stage. Our cast is so talented and have done such a good job interpreting the script and making it even funnier than it is, they make me laugh out loud every rehearsal and I can't wait to see how it continues to develop from here.

How has COVID and the Masterman space impacted the show's progress and your decision-making?

As in real life, COVID affects everything - barring any miracles between now and March, everyone will have to be wearing masks throughout the show (we're already discussing matching them to costumes!). We have had to prepare for virtual rehearsals just in case there are closures due to COVID, and I'm sure we will continue prepping for those just in case over the next few weeks, as well as students being out of school because of quarantines. Everyone has to be really flexible with rehearsal schedules because we just don't know when certain people will be here, and things can change very rapidly. So far though, we're still on track with all of the rehearsals we've planned, even with a virtual rehearsal last Friday, I'm happy to say!

I love working with what a space has to offer both with my job and with musicals - for Masterman, that means using the doors throughout the auditorium for entrances/exits rather than just the stage, involving the orchestra in certain moments in scenes, and using the platform that stage crew has created the past few years for shows so we have different levels on the stage for the actors.

How have the main actors adapted to their roles in the past month?

Everyone has been finding their motivations as characters as we go through, which is not always easy from the script (it can be very vague). They have been working on physicality as their characters - finding movements that are personal to each character, as well as the 'why' in every scene. Every scene gets richer every time we run it!

How has the music impacted your directing?

Every song has a very different vibe which calls for specific blocking/choreography. We've worked hard to enhance the song with our blocking, whether it's slow, powerful movements like in Morning Glow, or a kickline in No Time At All. We've also added in more actors/dancers to a lot of the numbers than is usually done in this show to get the meaning across with the movement, not just with the singing.

What are you looking forward to in Act II?

We have a really fun farming scene where the high school farmers will get to dance with tools (shovels, rakes, etc). So I'm definitely looking forward to that.

But I'm also looking forward to digging into the meaning of Act II - it's very different than Act I, it gets really dark. So I'm looking forward to seeing the actors lean into the dark sides of their characters and find meaning in that.

Are there any possible problems that might crop up in Act II and if so, how will the show change?

Our biggest challenge is finding the 'why' in the ending and making that obvious to our audience without changing the script/songs. But we talked about that when we started the show and have had it in the back of our minds since then, so I think it'll work out well!

What was it like singing the role of Fadrasta (Pippin’s step-mother)?

Fun and scary! I haven't sung on a Masterman stage since 2009 :)

How has show practice impacted your schedule and out-of-show life?

I've just revamped my schedule for work - I'm a part-owner of my company so I can work from home and move my schedule around as necessary for practice, blocking…

It's been really fun to talk about in my out-of-show life. My whole family and all of my old Masterman friends are really excited to hear how it's going and everyone loves that I've come back to do this.