|
|
That Darn Blog !?*@#!
 Solo shows are everywhere these days, maybe you’ve noticed. There are festivals, workshops, how-to books, gurus, all for helping actors and singers and dancers and writers and storytellers keep their careers (and spirits) aloft by going solo.
Apparently, solo shows are cheaper to produce than big productions. Easier to manage. Thing is, “solo” shows aren’t solo. Mark Nutter, my above-and-beyond-husband who writes music and plays piano, is onstage with me almost the whole time. Lucky me! I’ve been bugging people who knew Elsa to share memories and point me in the right direction for YEARS now. I’m being sound-designed by wildly over-qualified dear friend/techies, and am forever grateful to the incredibly generous person who holds the rights to Elsa’s music. I’ve found someone lovely to help me memorize lines; have hired a fabulous vocal coach; am beyond grateful to all the writing groups and teachers who’ve helped hone what I want to say; and am blessed to personally know a mega-talented transcriber of music. I just met a genius costumer yesterday, who is gonna make me look better than I have in ages. I’ve trawled libraries for research, friends for support, and the internet for folks as in love with Elsa as I am. (They’re out there.) I’ve corresponded with Elsa’s literary agent, had breakfast with her editor, and spent a delightful day in London with an Elsa expert, MJ Simpson, who showed me places she’d lived and worked. Mr. Simpson’s in-depth book about our mutual obsession, BRIDE OF THE HUNCHBACK, will be released in the spring. And briefly, let me sing the praises of Ron Lasko and Chip Duckett of SpinCycleNYC. I worked with these wonderful fellas a million years ago, and am delighted and so thankful for their support, good humor, experience, and PR chops. So “Solo” ain’t solo. Everything takes a village, somehow. Most one-person shows are based on the writer/performer’s personal experience of tragedy or coming of age or discovery or survival. I, too, wrote and performed one like that, ages ago, about the amazing women in my family--and decided it just wasn’t for me. I do admire people who can create something beautiful and moving and universal out of their own lives, but truth be told, I was embarrassed to re-enact important events of my own life and to present people I love as characters. Anyway, as Fellini noted, “All art is autobiographical”. So—there will be enough of me in the Elsa piece. MORE than enough, in fact. My absolute favorite solo shows have been more like Hal Holbrook’s MARK TWAIN TONIGHT. Solid impressions of extraordinary human beings, in-depth explorations of fascinating lives and creative minds. There are so few actors as Zen as Holbrook, though, right? Judith Ivey’s Ann Landers in THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS was truly memorable. That script holds up on its own, too. And, to me, the solo piece about Capote, TRU, was glorious when I saw it on Broadway. Robert Morse, always a favorite, was impeccable, indelible, as Capote. But when I read it on the page? Not so much. Funny how that works. Mary Louise Wilson’s take on Diana Vreeland, FULL GALLOP, is a “solo” show I wish I’d seen (though she added a sort of walk-on maid, to avoid the “solo” stigma). I so admire her as an actor, and as a writer. Everyone I know who saw her Diana Vreeland can still quote from her script! Ms. Wilson also wrote a terrific book about the experience of creating her solo piece, noting all the setbacks and triumphs that led up to the career turning point of FULL GALLOP. Her book is called MY FIRST HUNDRED YEARS IN SHOW BUSINESS, and is well worth a read. If you’re thinking of writing a solo show—read her book first. My “solo” effort, ELSA LANCHESTER: SHE’S ALIVE, will be considered cabaret by some, a play by others. Too much talking for cabaret, too much music for a solo play. It’ll keep changing, I’m sure. It’s a form that can handle change. Elsa, of course, had her own solo show called ELSA LANCHESTER HERSELF, same title as her autobiography. She and her husband, Charles Laughton, worked on it together, he as director—though it was advertised as “Censored by Charles Laughton”, not "directed". Laughton himself enjoyed performing solo for years, touring all over the States, reading and telling stories. When he was too ill to perform, Elsa filled in for him with her very different brand of solo—decades before the solo show craze. If you’ve read this far, thank you! Come see my show, will you? I’ll only LOOK alone onstage. And I might even try to get the folks in the audience to join in and make it a bit less “solo”—why not? ELSA LANCHESTER: SHE’S ALIVE! *Chicago September 15, 2023, 7:30 PM Venus Cabaret Tickets: www.mercurytheaterchicago.com *Rochester September 20, 2023, 7:30 PM Theatre at Innovation Square Tickets: https://rochesterfringe.com/tickets-and-shows/elsa-lanchester-shes-alive *NYC October 6-November 3, 2023 The Laurie Beechman Tickets: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/1173177
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |