An
interview with the writers of The Trouble with Doug, Daniel Maté and Will Aronson, about the developments on their 2010 Festival show
as it prepares for a production at NAMT member theatre Arts Garage down in
Florida this spring.
A contemporary re-imagining of Kafka’s
"Metamorphosis," The Trouble With Doug is
a hilarious and moving new musical about a healthy young man who transforms
inexplicably into a giant talking slug. Thrust together awkwardly under the
same roof, Doug, his family, and his fiancée all struggle to understand and
respond to this strangest of crises.
Last time we checked in
with you, Doug was heading to Palo Alto, CA for TheatreWorks'
festival. How was that process for you and the show?
We had a great time in Palo
Alto. TheatreWorks provides a unique workshopping opportunity – a chance to
perform the show in front of an audience, rewrite, re-tech, perform again,
and then repeat that process three times. You can really take the show into the
laboratory and experiment. (There’s really no better way to see what works and
what doesn't than to watch the show in front of actual people a
few times!)
What changes did you make
to the show while in California?
After watching the show, we felt that our titular character was under-developed
— so we added several new musical moments for Doug throughout the first act to
clarify his arc and round him out a bit more. We also tried out a number of new
scenes for Doug’s family, and also ended up with a slightly gentler ending.
You are currently rewriting
the show for a production down at Arts Garage in Florida. What are your
goals with this rewrite?
An interview with the writers of Fest 2011 show Lizzie (formerly known as Lizzie Borden), Steven Cheslik-deMeyer (SCD), Alan Stevens Hewitt (ASH) and Tim Maner (TM) about the upcoming concert, three productions around the world and a studio cast album!
In 1892 on a
sweltering August day in a small New England town, “somebody” brutally murdered
a well-to-do elderly man and his second wife with an axe. Lizzie Borden, their
youngest daughter, was the primary suspect, arrested and tried. Without any
witnesses to the hideous crime, she was acquitted, and the murders remain
unsolved to this day. Though Lizzie was ultimately declared innocent according
to the law, her infamy lives on.
Lizzie has had quite a bit of
development since it left the Festival. Other than the new name, what has
changed with the show since it was at the Festival?
ASH: If
you think of the show as a gatefold vinyl double album (a la Tommy, or Jesus Christ Superstar),
pretty much the entire Side 1 has been rewritten, with the addition of two
solos for Lizzie and one for Alice to allow the audience to understand
where they are starting from and to get onboard with them. Also, one of the
central musical/lyrical themes (which is reprised, transformed, at the end) is
now introduced in a completely different way from how it had been
previously. Whereas it had been an internal dialogue for Alice, it is
now a lullabye ("Maybe Someday") sung by Alice to
Lizzie. It brings the harrowing "Side 1" to a gentle close.
SCD: We
wanted to strengthen the introduction of Lizzie's friend Alice who becomes so
pivotal in the story, so we wrote a solo for her early in the first act. We
also rewrote Lizzie's song “Gotta Get Out Of Here” to be more explicit and
hard-hitting. Those are the big changes, but we also made lots of little tweaks
here and there.
You had
the opportunity to have the show developed at Baldwin Wallace University and at
the Village Theatre. What did you learn about the show as it changed
theatres, actresses and regions?
SCD: The
BWU production was the first time the show was produced where we weren't
closely involved. It was great to find out that we really can hand it to a
group of talented folks and feel confident that our idea of what the show is
remains intact. It helps that the BW students directed by Vicky Bussert are
phenomenally talented! We made discoveries about the first act and the Alice
character that led to the changes mentioned above. Village gave us the
opportunity for a trial run of lots of new elements: Alice's new song and the
new orchestrations, a more rock and roll-style set and lighting. The folks at
Village gave us great support in the process.
TM: We've learned
new things every time, from new design teams, from different levels of
production, from the unique variations all of the amazing women who have taken
on the roles have shown us. We've gotten to really look at the show
from different perspectives that have strengthened it at every turn.
What has
surprised you about people’s response to the show outside of New York City?
ASH: I
don't know if there have really been any "surprises" for me about how
Lizzie has been
received. It certainly has been thrilling though, and immensely gratifying to
experience it connecting so strongly with people.
The show
played last month at TUTS in Houston, having a concert version in Philly
this fall with 11th Hour Theatre Co. and then jumping over to Denmark for a
production in the spring. What is it like to have your show spreading
around the country?
SCD:
It's tremendous! This show has been cooking for a long, long time. It's always
felt really special to us, like it had the potential to connect with a wide
audience. Now that that is starting to happen, it's incredibly gratifying. As
an artist that's what you always hope will happen.
ASH:
Around the country AND THE WORLD! (Cue demonic laughter....) Are you
kidding? It's AMAZING. I'm particularly interested to see how this subject
from classic American mythology goes down with folks who have a different
cultural perspective.
TM: It’s
kinda unreal, but amazing. All those years ago when Lizzie began it was really pure fantasy to
think anything like this could happen, and now it’s happening. It’s a rare
thing in life to actually have a fantasy come true, and I’m very thankful.
A studio
cast album is being released this fall. Tell us a bit about recording the
album and working with that cast.
SCD: The
conceit of Lizzie
has always been that it is a rock concept album come to life on the stage,
despite the fact that until now the album only existed in our minds. Now it's
real. It's great to have this thing that we can hand people and say, "This
is the show. Everything you need to know about Lizzie is here on this record." And the
guys who play on it and the women who sing it blow me away every time I listen.
ASH: Well,
we were very fortunate that we were able to get all the planets to
align. Much credit to our producer Brisa Trinchero for green-lighting it
and actually making it happen and to Broadway Records for their commitment to
the project. I don't even know where to start talking about the album cast...
Carrie Manolakos, Storm Large, Carrie Cimma, Ryah Nixon. Incredible,
one-of-a-kind talents, all. Really, so privileged to have been able to
work with them, and they each turned in phenomenal performances that reward
repeated listens. I am very proud of what we accomplished. I can't wait for
people to hear it. And hear these women.
TM: The
women are just amazing. Incredible singers/performers, and great people to work
with. Same for the band/musicians. It was an incredible team effort from
artists, to producers, to graphic designer, to our amazing engineer and more.
What are
your hopes for the Borden sisters in the next few years?
TM: I
hope the House Of Borden continues to expand to include more theaters, more
audiences and more amazing artists through new productions, concerts and the
release of the album. I want to attend many more opening nights.
ASH: I
would love as many people as possible to have the opportunity to connect with Lizzie. I love the
idea that, with the record available online, a kid in Japan, or Alaska, or
Brazil, or Iceland, or Lithuania, could potentially find his or her way into
the piece. And I would love to see people continue to come together in
dark rooms all over the world and experience great artists bringing it to life
right in front of their eyes and ears.
SCD:
More productions! We're at the end of the option period with the producers
we've been working with the last couple years, so we're giving a lot of thought
to next steps. We would all love a big New York production, since New York is
home, but that's the tough nut to crack. Everything is kind of in flux right
now. Stay tuned!
For more information on Lizzie,
please visit www.lizziethemusical.com
