August 2007
February 2012
On Stage
Stage Talk by Carol Viescas
Menu of this month's listings, stories and columns
‘Lute’ — UTEP Dinner Theatre presents the World Premiere of the new version of musical comedy by Sir Tim Rice (formerly known as “Blondel”) Jan. 27-Feb. 12. The original version’s American Premiere was held at UTEP in 1984. Showtime is 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. A dinner matinee is 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29, and non-dinner matinee is 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12. Tickets $28-$40 dinner shows; $14-$24 non-dinner matinee. Information: 747-6060.
The story takes place in England in 1189 and features a magnificent and murky collection of medieval characters. The star is the minstrel Blondel, who plucks his lute all over Europe while on a desperate quest to locate England’s missing king, Richard The Lionheart. Also involved in the tale are Fiona, his long-suffering girlfriend, the evil Prince John, a confused Assassin, four be-bopping Monks and even, in a minor role, Robin Hood.
Rice wrote the original version with music by the late Stephen Olivier. Lute! also features music by Matthew Pritchard. Gregory Taylor directs, with musical direction by Patricia Ann Provencio and choreography by Lisa Lopez.
Rice is best known as co-creator of “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Evita” with Andrew Lloyd Webber. The three-time Tony Award winner came to El Paso in January to work with Taylor on the stage of the revised musical.
‘Night Must Fall’ — Lincoln County Community Theatre presents the 1930s British mystery/thriller at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27-28, at Mountain Annie’s, 2710 Sudderth, in Ruidoso, N.M. Tickets: $20. Information: (575) 257-7982.
Death Before Dessert — The murder mystery dinner group performs “Revenge in Rio” 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan 27, Feb. 24 and March 30, at Opus World Bistro (formerly Il Posto Italiano), 7130 N. Mesa, with a Brazilian dinner. The mystery is written and directed by Jan H. Wolfe. Characters in the mystery will serve dinner. Ages 10 and older welcome. Cost: $29 plus tax for dinner and show. Information: 585-2221.
‘Shadowlands’ — The Las Cruces Community Theatre presents the drama by William Nicholson Feb. 3-19. Directed by Patrick Payne. Performances are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $7-$10. Information: (575) 523-1200 or lcctnm.org.
The story follows noted author C.S. Lewis as he meets his American fan, Joy Gresham, whom he befriends and eventually marries. The story also deals with his struggle with personal pain and grief, particularly when Joy suffers from cancer.
‘The Sisters Rosensweig’ - No Strings Theatre Company presents the comedy by Wendy Wasserstein through Feb. 5 at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Downtown Mall, Las Cruces. Directed by Nikka Zimmer. Performances are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29 and Feb. 5, and 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2. Tickets: $7-$10. Information: (575) 523-1223 or no-strings.org.
The New York Times called this play “a captivating portrait of three disparate sisters reuniting after a lengthy separation and coming to terms with their differences, respect and love for one another. The laughter is all but continuous.”
‘Pachuco Zoot: A Tale of Identity’ - The UTEP Department of Theatre and Dance presents its spring dance performance Feb. 10-19 in the Fox Fine Arts Wise Family Theatre. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $12 ($10 UTEP faculty/staff, seniors, military, groups of 10 or more and non-UTEP students; $9 UTEP students and children age 4 to 12). Information: 747-5118 or theatredance.utep.edu.
The headliner piece for this year’s concert is a dance theatre work that traces the origination of the Pachuco culture from its origin in the El Paso/Juarez region to the creation of the highly theatrical Zoot Suit culture. To complement this piece, UTEP faculty and guest artists will present newly choreographed pieces highlighting various themes and dance forms.
‘The Perfect Crime’ — El Paso Playhouse, 2501 Montana, presents the Warren Manzi thriller Feb. 10-March 3 at El Paso Playhouse. Directed by Jan H. Wolfe. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $10 ($8 seniors, $7 military/students with ID). Information: 532-1317, elpasoplayhouse.com.
Has psychiatrist Margaret Thorne Brent committed “the perfect crime”? When her husband turns up dead, she gets caught in a game of cat of mouse with a deranged patient, and the inspector that is assigned to the case.
Sister Nancy Murray — Sister Nancy Murray, O.P., sister of actor/comedian Bill Murray, performs her one-woman play “Rooted In Love: The Life & Martyrdom of Sister Dorothy Stang” Feb. 12-13, as a fundraiser for Juarez’s Centro Santa Catalina.
Performances will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12, at the YISD administration building theater, 9600 Sims; and 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13, at St. Pius Church Community Parish Hall,1050 N. Clark. Tickets are $15, available through centrosantacatalina.org or by mail from Centro Santa Catalina, 1207 Alabama, El Paso, TX 79930. Information: 564-9003 or centrosantacatalina1@gmail.com.
Sister Dorothy was a member of the Ohio Province of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur when she left the United States to work with peasant farm families in northern Brazil. Her efforts to form base Christian communities, improve sustainable farming methods, defend basic human rights and work for social justice incurred opposition from ranchers and loggers. On Feb. 12, 2005, she was shot and killed by two gunmen.
Sister Nancy performed her show on St Catherine of Siena at the 2009 Centro Santa Catalina fundraiser. Centro Santa Catalina is a faith-based community in Juárez, founded in 1996 by Dominican Sisters for the spiritual, educational and economic empowerment of economically poor women and for the welfare of their families.
‘The Sorcerer’s Other Apprentice’- Kids-N-Co, 1301 Texas, present fanciful adventure through Feb. 12. Directed by Vanessa Keyser. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $7 ($5 students, children, seniors and military). Information: 351-1455 or kidsnco.org.
The story revolves around Chip, apprentice to the great wizard Merwyna the Magnificent, who, despite years of study, learned no magic. To stop his complaining, Merwyna sends him out on a quest to discover what magic really is.
‘Love Letters’ — El Paso Playhouse, 2501 Montana, presents its annual presentation of A.R. Gurney’s sentimental play at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, Directed by Christine Jakuta. Tickets: $7. Information: 532-1317 or elpasoplayhouse.com.
‘Love Letters’ — The 12th annual Valentine’s Day production is 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, at the Black Box Theatre at 430 N. Downtown Mall in Las Cruces. No Strings Theatre Co. continues its tradition of A.R. Gurney’s 1988 evocative, touching and frequently funny lifetime exchange of letters between Andrew Makepiece Ladd III and Melissa Gardner. Refreshments served after the show. Tickets: $10 ($9 students and seniors over 65). Reservations recommended. The production often sells out. Reservations/information: (575) 523-1223 or no-strings.org.
This year’s production stars Alan and Karen Caroe.
‘Hamlet’ — Eden Enterprises presents Shakespeare-on-the-Rocks winter off-season production of the Shakespeare tragedy Feb. 16-18, at Chamizal National Memorial, 800 S. San Marcial. Directed by Vanessa Keyser. Performances are 7 p.m. nightly, plus a 3 p.m. matinee Saturday. Pre-show talk 30 minutes prior to each performance. Admission: $10 ($8 full-times students with ID, seniors 65 and older, active-duty military; $6 groups of ten or more with advance reservations. Information: 502-3406 or shakespeareontherocks.com.
Group reservations: 474-4275.
‘El Pecado de Petra’ — “Vive Mexico” Theater Ensemble and El Paso Community College’s Senior Adult Program present the original bilingual comedy by Rubert Reyes at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24-26, at Chamizal National Memorial, 800 S. San Marcial. This hilarious comedy deals with the timeless themes of pain, love, anger, and the eternal struggle of good vs. evil. Admission: $7. Information: 772-3905, 329-7774, 831-7803 or vivamexicoelpaso.com.
‘The Vagina Monologues’ — UTEP’s annual production of the award-winning Eve Ensler play will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25, at Magoffin Auditorium. The production is part of V-Day at UTEP, hosted by Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance. The play explores women’s sexuality and experiences. Proceeds from the production benefit survivors of violence and relief efforts in Haiti and the local nonprofit, La Mujer Obrera that seeks to empower women. Tickets: $10 (Ticketmaster).
V-Day (V for Victory, Valentine and Vagina) is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. Information: vday.org.
Siglo de Oro Drama Festival — The 37th annual celebration of the Spanish language dramatic arts from Spain’s Golden Age runs March 7-11 at the Chamizal National Memorial Theatre, 800 S. San Marcial. Professional and collegiate theater groups come from Mexico, Spain and the United States perform works by Spanish master playwrights. Performances begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday. Early arrival encouraged, as seating is limited. Ticket information: 532-7273 or nps.gov/cham.
The Siglo de Oro Drama Festival is the only festival in the world completely dedicated to presenting works drawn from Spain’s Golden Age, generally considered as spanning the late 15th century to the late 17th century. Akin to Shakespearean England, the age was highlighted by the writing by great Spanish authors.
• Wednesday and Thursday, March 7-8 — “Antona Garcia” by Tirso de Molina. Presented by Grand Valley State University from Allendale, Michigan.
• Friday, March 9 — “Tiempo de Carnaval” a compilation of plays by Juan del Encina, Luis Quinones de Benavente, and Pedro Calderon de la Barca. Presented by Cambalache Teatro from Murcia, Spain.
• Saturday, March 10 — “Los Milagros del Desprecio” by Lope de Vega. Presented by Cambalache Teatro from Murcia, Spain.
• Sunday, March 11 — “Fuenteovejuna o Numancia” by Lope de Vega and Miguel Cervantes. Presented by Centro Universidad de Teatro from Coyoacan, Mexico.
STAGE TALK by Carol Viescas
World premiere at UTEP crafted by world-class creator SIr Tim Rice
Few El Pasoans can say they’ve been a part of a theater world premiere, but the cast of “Lute!” at UTEP Dinner Theater can say that. They can also say they got to work with one of the preeminent musical theater creators, Sir Tim Rice.
It all began back in 1977 when a young Greg Taylor wrote Rice a fan letter after hearing the original “Evita” album, and Rice wrote back. That began a long friendship and collaboration that continues with “Lute!” a rewriting of the musical “Blondel” that had its American premiere also at the dinner theater in 1985.
“When I was in England last year, Tim was telling me about projects he was working on then and in the future when he mentioned that he still wanted to re-write “Blondel” and put a push on it to get it into schools and amateur groups in UK and USA,” said Taylor, director of the dinner theater and this new production. “I told him that we had been waiting years to do the show again because he kept saying he was going to re-write, so I suggested to him that he actually do the re-write and that we would do a production so he could see how it plays. He agreed, and that is how we got to present the world premiere of “LUTE.”
Rice changed the name because many people, including himself, kept mispronouncing the original name.
“The lead character’s name, Blondel, should rhyme with ‘fondle,’ as in caress, and does not rhyme with ‘Shondell’ as in a member of Tommy James’ popular singing combo of the 1960s,” Rice explained in a letter he wrote to Taylor to help promote the new production.
Rice said he had long wanted to rewrite parts of the show he wasn’t satisfied with, but his workload (notably for Disney), then the death of the original music writer, Steven Oliver, in 1992, stymied his efforts until 2006, when he did some rewriting for a new professional production at the Pleasance Theatre, London. He still wasn’t satisfied – then Taylor made his offer.
“For this UTEP production, I have also enlisted the help of the composer and arranger Mathew Pritchard, who, for new scenes, has added a melody or two of his own to the mix, very much in the style of the late, great Stephen. Mathew worked on the 2006 version and achieved wonders with a very small musical line-up,” Rice said. “Here he has much more to play with and has been an enormous help to me in the latest restructuring of the piece.”
“Lute” takes place in 1189 England and features as its characters, King Richard the Lionheart (played by Troy Taylor), the evil Prince John (played once again by Greg Taylor), a confused Assassin (Jorge Ollivier), three be-bopping Monks (John Guevara, Taelon Stonechipher, Allen Thompson), the put-upon Fiona (Betsey Tinajero), and of course the minstrel Blondel (Ricardo Parra), who plucks his lute all over Europe searching for his king while trying to write the biggest hit song of the ’80s (the 1180s, that is). Oh, and there’s the backup group, the Blondettes: Tanisha Lewis, Sylvia Prieto and Davida Washer.
“The show features witty lyrics, beautiful music and an extremely funny story that had our audiences laughing the whole way through,” Taylor said. “If you attended our 25th anniversary concert (in 2008) you may remember the songs ‘Running Back for More,’ ‘The Monks Introduction’ and ‘No Rhyme for Richard.’
Both Rice and Pritchard have been to El Paso to see rehearsals and work with the actors.
“Tim was in … for a few days to see where we were and to see how the new stuff played on stage,” Taylor said. “He was pleased with most of it but rewrote several things while he was here including a whole new song in one day for the Duke character. Also, Mathew Pritchard (who is doing the new orchestrations and vocal arrangements as well as the music for the new songs) is here through opening, working on changes we need and working by phone and email with new changes Tim sends every day.”
Of course, any show presents challenges, but Taylor found out the biggest challenge was himself.
“I played Prince John in both of our original productions, so I am constantly singing old lyrics and saying old lines that no longer exist,” Taylor said. “The rest of the cast does not have this problem because it is all new to them.”
The cast, he said, has responded extremely well to all the new changes thrown at them.
“It really is just like working on a new show as we get rewrites and new songs and new music daily. This is something new for all of us. It has been a challenge but a whole lot of fun. The fact that we are working with a multi-Academy, Tony and Grammy award winning Knight of the Realm makes it that much more special,” Taylor said.
Carol Viescas is a veteran of
community theater and teaches
journalism at Bel Air High School.
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