An
interview with The University of Miami's Henry Fonte about their upcoming
developmental production (see listing on right) of Slaughterhouse-Five, with music by Jed Feuer and book and lyrics by
Adele Ahroneim, based on the Kurt Vonnegut novel.
How did Slaughterhouse-Five find
its way to the University of Miami?
Larry Wilker, the former producer at the Arsht Center here in Miami, an old
friend, handed it to me and said, “I like this show and I like the people who
wrote it. I can’t produce it. Take a look.” I almost fell over when I saw the
title. One of my favorite books! But how the hell do you turn it into a
musical? And then I read it and listened; and, by George! Jed and Adele really
did it! And they kept the essence of the ordinal Vonnegut! I was floored.
Why is this show
a great fit for your students and audience?
Since the show is all about being “unstuck in time,” some characters appear at
different stages in their life, and since the play is so presentational and so
Brechtian in a way, the ages of the actors are irrelevant. This allows us to
use a young cast beautifully, without anyone having to play old. And since we
are doing this in our Studio Theatre, the audience is young and hip and expects
to see new and even avant-garde work. So it is a perfect fit for us all the way
around.
How does the
process of this show fit in to the University's mission for training young
artists?
An interview with Henry Fonte, Chair of
the University of Miami's Department of Theatre Arts, about their upcoming
production of Girls vs Boys, written by Nathan Allen, Chris Mathews, Jake Minton &
Kevin O'Donnell, this
November 1-11.
Girls vs Boys explores the complicated lives of
modern high schoolers as they manage their way through the funny, violent and emotionally
turbulent period of adolescence. The story focuses on Casey, a young man who
distances himself from not only his fellow classmates but also his sister, Sam,
a freshman at his high school. Casey and Sam share a dark past that pulls them
together while still keeping them at arm's length.
How did you find the
show?
This season we decided to look for a new contemporary musical that could be
developed by the University and The Adrienne Arsht Center. We were on our way
to producing something else when the negotiations collapsed. Scott Shiller, our
co-producer at The Arsht, who already had a very strong relationship with The
House Theatre of Chicago, had seen the original workshop of Girls vs Boys by our good
friends at Northwestern University’s American Musical Theatre Project, and
suggested we pursue it. Girls
vs Boys made sense on many creative levels and also has the
potential to attract young, diverse, multi-cultural ticket buyers.
What drew you to the show
and how does it fit with the goals of your program?
Girls vs Boys
focuses an unblinking eye on the pent up rage, sexuality, fear and humor that
all young people experience. Its themes are universal and, still today, swept
under the carpet as we adults try to fight these feelings through medicating
kids into NOT feeling, or at least not displaying or “acting out” on those
feelings. The most obvious fit is the fact that the cast is exclusively young.
There are no adult characters. It also fits with our mission, which in part is
to develop new, edgy and exciting work for the American Theatre. This creative
collaboration with one of the premier performing arts centers in the southern
United States, which also happens to be in our own backyard, offers students a
paid, real-world working experience on a world-class stage and ensures that
they will have a competitive edge upon graduation.
How will the show be
developed while at U of Miami?
We will first do a two-week workshop with the full cast, our creative
team and the writing team from The House Theatre. This workshop will concern
itself with the story, and how the story is presently served by the book, songs
and the current structure. Nothing will be off the table. After that, we will
begin a four-week rehearsal towards the production. The show will be
co-produced by us and The Arsht, where it will play, in its beautiful,
state-of-the-art Carnival Studio Theater.
In addition to featuring students-as-professionals on stage, the production
also provides students majoring in technical theatre and design to work
side-by-side with the Arsht Center’s production team–helping to create
professional sets, costumes and lighting design; assisting stage managers and
other key production positions.
What is the thing you are
most excited to see when the show gets in front of an audience?
Like all great art, Girls vs
Boys has the potential to be highly polarizing. The subscription
audiences at both The Arsht and UM’s Ring Theatre, plus our students and the
single ticket buyers will form a wildly diverse audience demographic. We look
forward to seeing how different age groups react and empathize with the action
unfolding before them. While we hope to please as many of these constituencies
as possible, we also hope the show will retain some of its raw energy, force and
the dangerous electric current that runs through the material. Also, the rock
score is pretty exciting.
Why should
your fellow members swing by Miami to catch the show?
If we
do our job, Girls vs Boys
will become, or be on its way to becoming, a very hot and exciting new
property. We can’t have too many of those. It's new theatre. It's our job as
theatre artists to support and encourage these new voices in as many stages of
development as possible. And it’s Miami in November...What’s not to like?
For more
information about Girls vs Boys, please click here.
