More of this, Please: Growing our talented theatre community with timely, diverse, opportunities for all
My personal highlights from the theatre arts in 2017, and what this Grand Rapids theatre professional is excited to see more of in our city.
Editor’s note: This is part of a series of articles from local arts professionals and arts lovers, as they share reflections on recent arts experiences and what they want more of in the new year. Follow along throughout January to see what those in the middle of our local arts community have to say about it. For our third story, we visit the talented local theatre community through the eyes of Noddea Skidmore. See all the “More of this, Please” articles here.
There’s the kind of art that gives you the warm fuzzies. And then there’s art that makes you feel uncomfortable. Here in Grand Rapids, that goes beyond our experiences in art museums and venturing from venue to venue during ArtPrize. We’re lucky enough to choose from top quality theatre that fills both of those categories. And in 2017? I saw a lot of it. As the Director of Creative and Audience Development at Circle Theatre, theatre is both my work and play. Here are some of the moments and experiences that most stood out over the past year of theatre in our city, and what I think will deliver in 2018.
Theatre That’s Timely
The two most common things I heard about Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s production of “Ragtime” and Circle Theatre’s production of “To Kill A Mockingbird” was, sadly, “This could be taking place today.” 2017 was a politically-charged year where racism and racial inequality felt like it was at an all-time high in my nearly 40 years of being an American. Progress and change didn’t feel like common themes of art or everyday life.
Without a doubt, art heals us, helps us explore our feelings, and ignites conversations with our neighbors. These two productions fared well with box office success in the community, and also served as reminders of where we’ve been… and how much further we have to go.
Looking ahead:
“All the Way” at Civic Theatre runs through January 28. A part of the 2014 TONY Award-winner for Best Play explores the relationship between President Johnson and Martin Luther King, Jr. in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement in a divided America. Civic Theatre is the first community theatre in the nation to produce the play by Robert Schenkkan. Look for one of my favorite GR performers, Eddie Stephens, Jr., as MLK.
Here’s a video preview about the production:
Outstanding [Little] Leading Ladies
Two of the knock-out theatre performances in 2017 were by school-aged kiddos. Fifteen-year-old homeschool student Ashley Isenhoff took home the Grand Award for Lead Actress in a Play for her performance as Scout Finch in Circle Theatre’s production of “To Kill A Mockingbird.” During a press and media event that I attended, Isenhoff, the eldest of seven siblings, shared that much of her inspiration for her character came from watching her younger brothers and sisters. I found her performance to be full of wonder and curiosity. The overwhelming feeling that came over me as an audience member while witnessing the scene where young Scout confronts a mob of men outside the county jail wasn’t because of the intimidation of an angry group of white men… it was her delivery of the words on the dimly lit stage, invoking the darkness of night, “Mr. Cunningham, that you? … Don’t you remember me? I’m Scout… You brought us a big bag of turnip greens, remember? I go to school with your boy, Walter. Well, he’s your boy, ain’t he?” From curiosity, to worry, to a struggle for recognition from a neighborhood farmer, to relief… I felt it all along with her.
It’s rare to come across this meaty of a role for a young actor. It’s even more a treat to see it so effortlessly interpreted the way it was by Ashley Isenhoff. I’ve been waiting for this kind of dynamite up-and-coming young lady… I can’t wait to see what she does next.
The second “Wow, she’s how old?” performance of the 2017 calendar year was that of 10-year-old Ellie Brower, who carried the title role in Civic Theatre’s holiday production of “Annie.” Seen by nearly 20,000 people over the course of five weeks, Brower maintained her 5th grade school schedule (in a Mandarin Chinese immersion program, mind you) while performing in six shows each week over the course of five days. What a treat it was for me, a fellow cast member, to watch her performance from the wings — to never see her falter or miss a beat and to deliver again and again. Fellow culturedGR contributor Gordon Bolar shared “Simply put, one gets the feeling that there’s a real little girl with real values, feelings, and experiences behind all of those red curls.” Remember Ellie Brower’s name. You’ll be seeing it for a long time.
Looking ahead:
Don’t miss “Fun Home” at Circle Theatre, on stage July 12–28. In this one-act musical that captured hearts with its LGBTQ themes, going on to win the 2015 TONY Award for Best Musical, lesbian graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires.
A unique and moving aspect of the production is that Alison is portrayed by three different actresses at three different points in her life: Alison at 43, Alison as a Freshman in college, and Alison at age 8. This character is the first of its kind — never before has there been a lesbian protagonist in a mainstream Broadway musical.
Circle Theatre is the first community or professional theatre in the state of Michigan to be granted the rights to produce this groundbreaking work. Look for powerhouse performances from each of the cast members of this production, but without a doubt, it’s “Small Alison” that gets the best song in the show, “Ring of Keys.” This anthem of self discovery reveals a moment of emotional and sexual identification. Auditions for the production take place the first weekend of March. Season Flex Passes are on sale now at circletheatre.org.
Theatre For All
It’s important — for a wide variety of reasons — that theatre (and all arts for that matter) remain accessible to a broad audience. The much anticipated, nearly-sold-out before it opened, three-week sit down of the national tour of “Wicked” was brought to us by Broadway Grand Rapids. It did not disappoint — but the ticket prices gave some members of the community a little sticker shock. However, come late fall, around the same time that Glinda’s bubble descended upon Grand Rapids, so did the news of the “Wicked Lottery.” The concept was simple: show up two and a half hours prior to each performance and ask to have your name placed in a lottery drum. Two hours before the show, names would be drawn. If you win, up to two tickets can be purchased at $25 each, cash only.
I, along with my Circle Theatre Student Assistant Dara, showed up ready to win the first week of the show. As more and more people arrived, it was fun to be in a sea of excited and delighted faces that were all entertained by Broadway Grand Rapids leader Mike Lloyd, who was no doubt putting in a lot of extra hours with the “Wicked” contract. (Seriously, when “Wicked” was in town, it felt like we had a prime celebrity visitor here in Grand Rapids.) My name was the second to last name to be drawn — so win, we did! A handful of friends were selected that night, too. And for less than I’ve paid to see any professional show in New York City or on a tour stop anywhere in Michigan, I got to see “Wicked” from a prime seat just a few rows from the front of the stage — which was without a doubt the hottest ticket in Grand Rapids this year.
Looking ahead:
There are no “lottery shows” coming to Broadway GR in 2018 (a decision made by each tour, not the good people of Broadway Grand Rapids), but that’s not the only way to catch a show for a great price and to save a few dollars. In addition to “rush” tickets at Circle Theatre on the night of a show ($12 — more than 50% off of regular ticket prices), Actors’ Theatre offers the “Actors’ Access Pass” — a special pass you can purchase for $20 if you’re between the ages of 21–35. It gives you cool discounts ($15 tickets) to all performances through the end of May, saving you up to $45 for the season if you go solo, or up to $100 if you buy a “Me and a Friend” pass for $30. Up next at Actors’ is musical If/Then, opening February 1. The Broadway cast was led by none other than the original green witch of Wicked, national favorite Idina Menzel. Look for local favorite Molly Jones Horton to take on the role here in Grand Rapids alongside a talented cast featuring many familiar faces and favorites of culturedGR.
Theatre With Diverse Casting
I’ll admit that as a new theatre professional a few years ago, I thought that “blind casting” was “diverse casting.” I think a part of me thought “YES! Cast people of all races and genders and orientations and ages and we’ll have diversity!” It’s one of the things I loved about Circle Theatre’s 2016 production of “Cats” — nearly 30% of cast members identifying as people of color, with more than 45 years ranging between the youngest and oldest performers on stage… it was a beautiful celebration of diversity. That, however, was blind casting — where the race or ethnicity of the actors were not dependent upon the characters they portrayed.
This past year, though, while blind casting of a wide variety is still happening in our theatre community (cheers to Heritage Theatre for their gender-bent production of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead”), braver and bolder choices regarding the work that’s produced on stage were made. Civic Theatre’s beautiful production of “Ragtime” (Grand Award winner for Best Production of a Musical), the wonderfully unique “Passing Strange” at Actors’ Theatre, and Ebony Road Players’ exciting site-specific staging of “Detroit ’67” all showed us that there is a wide array of actors of color in our community who are beyond worthy of shining moments in the spotlight. Many made their stage debuts this past season, including the award-winning pair from “Ragtime,” Michael Stewart and Marissa Barnes. While some of these shows might not guarantee box-office success with new titles to many of the theatre-going public, they’re making an impact upon those who end up in the audience.
While most of my friends are still gushing on social media about the power of Oprah’s speech during this months Golden Globes, it was Sterling K. Brown, who plays Randall Pearson on NBC’s “This Is Us,” whose words stuck with me.
“Throughout the majority of my career, I have benefited from colorblind casting, which means… hey, let’s throw a brother in this role. …It’s always really cool,” he said. “But Dan Fogelman, you wrote a role for a black man that could only be played by a black man. What I appreciate so much about this is that I’m being seen for who I am and being appreciated for who I am. And it makes it that much more difficult to dismiss me or dismiss anybody who looks like me.” This sort of statement has me crossing my fingers that we’ll soon see future community productions like the return of “The Wiz,” and a regional premiere of “The Color Purple.” The latter is yet-to-be-released for local theatres to produce, but I’m waiting patiently for the powers that control Theatrical Rights to say “Go!”
Looking ahead:
You’ll see much more blind casting this year, than casts with many or all people of color. (Look for a Latina Eliza Doolittle — a role originated by Julie Andrews — in next month’s “My Fair Lady” at Civic Theatre, played by the delightful Alyssa Garcia Bauer.) It’s unlikely that the gorgeous display of diversity on stage in 2017 in Grand Rapids will be topped in 2018. Then again, on January 27, Actors’ Theatre (known for producing new, exciting, diverse, and thought-provoking work) will announce their 37th season during their “Backstage Brunch” event… come thru, Actors’! The event is open to the public — and tickets are on sale now.
Theatre That Leaves You Thinking
I haven’t shied away from sharing that my favorite play on the Grand Rapids stage in 2017 was the Actors’ Theatre production of “Disgraced.” The winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the play is centered around sociopolitical themes like Islamophobia and the self-identity of Muslim-American citizens. Though its themes are heavy, it became this bright-happy-musical-lover’s most beloved theatre experience of the year. (I KNOW, I can’t believe it either!) “Disgraced” featured a powerhouse cast of some of my favorite actors in Grand Rapids portraying characters that they were born to play, and a few brand new faces that I was seeing for the first time, directed by Actors’ Theatre founder Fred Sebulske. Infidelity, faith, art, class, career, justice, and race all play a part in this incredible story that still has me thinking, and reeling over the fact that it didn’t get more recognition within the 2017 season (I’m lookin’ at you, Grand Awards committee).
This show was the kind of theatrical experience where I was impacted on so many levels that I can hardly single out one or two primary parts of the production or script that creeps into my mind several months later. “Disgraced” is my theatrical reminder of the year that it’s not all black and white, that we can revisit what’s right and what’s wrong, and that empathy in today’s social and political culture is needed now more than ever. Without a doubt, when I talk about the best theatre in Grand Rapids several years from now, I’ll bring up “Disgraced.”
Looking ahead:
Do yourself a favor and see beyond the “You can’t handle the truth” famed — and all too often, mocked — line of dialogue in Circle Theatre’s upcoming production of “A Few Good Men,” on stage May 31 — June 16. The Aaron Sorkin play (that inspired the blockbuster film) explores the trial of two Marines for complicity in the death of a fellow Marine at Guantanamo Bay.
The themes of leadership, code, and honor are more relevant than ever when placed in our current political climate. This production, directed by a young, smart, and clever Mike Hull, will be one that will be on people’s mind for a long time to come. Book your tickets for the June 15 performance and stay after for a talkback about the themes within the show featuring a panel of community members. Season Flex Passes are on sale now at circletheatre.org, and auditions for the production take place in March.
It’s time to get to the theatre, Grand Rapids. There’s so much waiting for you!
