Death of a Salesman Comes to Life at KMP

On By Kristin BayerIn TheaterLeave a comment

As the fifth production in Kettle Moraine Playhouse’s 2019-20 season is being readied for a nine-show run March 27-April 5, KMP asked director Paul Steinbach, founder of Seventh Row Center theater company, about his motivation to stage Arthur Miller’s signature work, Death of a Salesman.

Paul Steinbach, director of Death of a Salesman at Kettle Moraine Playhouse

Q. Why this title?
A. After we wrapped Of Mice and Men, people asked what was next. I didn’t really have anything on my front burner, but a title that has always intrigued me in terms of how seldom it is staged, at least at this level, is Death of a Salesman. It’s widely regarded as one of the greatest — if not the greatest — dramas in American theater history. I wasn’t as close to the material as I was to Of Mice and Men, but it doesn’t take long to get close to literature this good.

Q. What about the literature appeals to you?
A. A couple of things. First, the way Arthur Miller structures the narrative in an almost seamless fluidity between reality, flashback and delusion is remarkable. Second, these distinct storytelling mechanisms allow for the creation of very complex characters and situations within a main timeline that spans all of about 24 hours or so, plus an epilogue. It’s intense.

Q. Does that make staging the show a challenge?
A. No question. The intimate nature of the Kettle Moraine Playhouse requires us to stage the show in a way that is not common or even suggested by the author. But that intimacy also plays in our favor. It will be an experience for audience members and actors alike.

Q. How did you select the cast that will bring this story to life?
A. I see a lot of local theater, and performers and performances will naturally stand out. You can begin to picture certain individuals in certain roles based on what you’re watching live at that moment. I didn’t want to even begin to attempt to stage Death of a Salesman until I was confident I had the actors who could pull it off. It takes an extraordinary commitment to take on these roles and do them justice, but cast chemistry is so important, too. Many of these cast members have appeared on stage with me and each other over the years, and a couple are actors I’ve wanted to work with for some time. It takes a comfort level and a spirit of collaboration to make it all work. We’ve assembled a terrific group in that sense.

Q. Can you give audiences an idea of what to expect?
A. If we’re doing our jobs right, they can expect to be immersed in a live theater experience that remains completely relatable, even seven decades after Miller won a Pulitzer Prize for Death of a Salesman. It’s a timeless story about success and failure, loyalty and betrayal, and the awkward, even damaging ways we as human beings sometimes communicate love — and the lengths to which we might go to show it.

Death of a Salesman is showing at Kettle Moraine Playhouse
204 Kettle Moraine Drive South in Slinger
March 27-29 and April 2-5
Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30pm
Saturday matinees at 3:00pm
Sunday matinees at 2:00pm

Tickets are available at www.kmplayhouse.com.

Of Mice and Men, Back and Better than Ever

On By Kristin BayerIn Theater2 Comments

Of Mice and Men - 2018 production at UW-Washington CountyOf Mice and Men, the award-winning play by John Steinbeck, is coming to the West Bend stage. Again.

It was first produced at UW-Washington County last year for a very short run, as part of the Fine Arts Series. The production received several award nominations and one win, and audiences loved it. So this year, it’s being brought back for a longer run, in partnership with Musical Masquers.

Director Paul Steinbach plays the part of George, and he relishes the chance to revisit the role. “This is the third time I’ve reprised a part, and I told the cast not to think of the process as boring. It’s actually liberating,” he says. “Characterization improves organically, and the storytelling can only get better the more familiar the actors are with the story.”

Of Mice and Men - 2018 Production at UW-Washington County

At the end of last year’s two-show run, Steinbach and the cast realized they weren’t done with the show. And neither was the community. “The reaction to last year’s show was incredibly positive,” Steinbach says. One person posted on Facebook the next day, “I’m a better person for having seen this.”

Knowing how committed the actors were to their roles, Steinbach had to determine what their schedules would allow in terms of the revival’s longer run. To his surprise delight, nearly the whole cast was able to be part of this year’s production.

Of Mice and Men - 2018 Production at UW-Washington CountyThe one new face is actress Susan Martin, who plays Curley’s wife. Although she’s new to the show, she’s not new to the West Bend theater scene. Audiences have seen her in the Musical Masquers’ productions Chicago and Oklahoma!, and In the Time of Old Age at the new Kettle Moraine Playhouse.

Although she might have been worried about fitting into an established cast, she didn’t need to be. At the first read-through in May, the other cast members were blown away by her reading. “Susan brings an emotional element to the role, which is not an easy one to play,” Steinbach said. “The character comes across as a flirt or a vamp, but in fact, she’s a tragic victim. She’s made one bad mistake in her life, marrying a man she didn’t love, and the consequences are devastating.”

Martin is thrilled to be part of the show. “The first reading was so beautiful and powerful that it actually brought me to tears. The story and actors were that good!”

That’s not hyperbole. For his portrayal of mentally challenged drifter Lennie Small, Nicholas Callan Haubner won the Broadway World Milwaukee award for Best Actor in a Play, and a nomination for a Footlights People’s Choice Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play. The play itself has also earned Tony Award nominations, and a New York Drama Critics’ Circle award.

The show is emotionally powerful, and not just because of its realistic portrayal of the Great Depression. “It’s about the struggle to find a human connection, and when you find it, knowing if you can trust it,” Martin observed. Steinbach added, “The themes of isolation and longing in the context of societal prejudice and the pursuit of the American Dream are as relevant today as they were in 1937.”

Of Mice and Men - 2018 Production at UW-Washington CountyThe set will look familiar to those who saw the show last year. One of the advantages of reprising the show is that they didn’t have to start from scratch. The set had been completely dismantled at the end of the last run, however. Cast member Peter Gibeau jokes that this year, “It’s like having an IKEA version of the set, with 1000 pieces that we have to try to assemble.”

Of Mice and Men is presented by Seventh Row Center, in partnership with Musical Masquers. The show will be performed at UW-Washington County on August 10, 11, 12 and 17, 18, 19 at 7:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and at 2pm on Sundays.

Of Mice and Men - 2018 Production at UW-Washington County
Of Mice and Men
UW-Washington County
400 S. University Dr.
West Bend
August 10, 11, 12 & 17, 18, 19
Tickets available online: www.musicalmasquers.org

Oklahoma Comes to Wisconsin

On By Kristin BayerIn TheaterLeave a comment

Tonya Fordham, director of Oklahoma

Musical Masquers is bringing Oklahoma to the Silver Lining Arts Center. To modern audiences, Oklahoma is a familiar, beloved favorite. But it was revolutionary when it was first produced in 1943. Based on the play Green Grow the Lilacs, it was the first musical that combined a play and songs into a fully integrated dramatic story with complete characters, and emotions broader and deeper than in previous musicals. It broke ground for the modern musical.

Oklahoma
Laurey and Curly find true love in Oklahoma

The story is a romance set in 1906 in Oklahoma Territory, featuring cowboy Curly McLain and farmer’s daughter Laurey Williams. Back in 1906, Oklahoma was the wild frontier, just barely opened to settlers. The story is sweet and romantic and comical, but it touches on darker, deeper themes of violence. It also touches on the historical quest for statehood.

This acclaimed musical broke Broadway records with its 2,212 performance initial run. Since then it’s enjoyed revivals, national tours, foreign productions, and was made into a film. It was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize in 1944.

Director Tonya Fordham is excited about the play. She’s an experienced director in the school district and on the local community theater scene, and she doesn’t direct just any show. Although she’d never seen Oklahoma on stage, she’d always loved the movie, and jumped at the chance to direct the play.

One of the things she loves is the music. Because it’s so singable, people assume that the music is simple. In fact, there’s eight-part harmony in one section, so it’s quite complex. “That’s the beauty of it. You don’t know how hard it is,” she explains. But it’s also fun. She calls it “the most listenable music ever produced for theater.”

The two Steve Sizers in Oklahoma
Steve Sizer, Jr. (as Curly) shares the stage with his dad, Steve Sizer, Sr. (playing Judge Carnes)

Cast member Steve Sizer, Sr. never used to think of himself as a singer. He was in Oklahoma back in high school in Greenwood, WI, playing the part of the peddler Ali Hakim. He remembers being relieved that they didn’t make him sing. In recent years his wife has gotten him involved in the church choir, and now he loves singing. According to Fordham, he’s actually good at it too.

In this production, Sizer plays Judge Andrew Carnes, father of Ado Annie, the girl who “cain’t say no.” Sizer describes his character as a curmudgeon who loves his daughter and wants to protect her honor in spite of herself, which means he wants to marry her off quickly. Unfortunately, he doesn’t think much of either of her suitors.

One of the things Sizer is enjoying about this production is sharing the stage with his son Steve, Jr. who plays the hero, Curly. The younger Sizer was always an athlete, and in high school was ranked #1 in the state in wrestling. He didn’t start singing and acting until his sophomore year in college. After being sidelined by a concussion as a freshman football player, he turned to choir, and then acting, and they’ve been a great fit for him. This is the third show the two Sizers have been in together. You may have also seen them in Spamalot, and Kiss Me, Kate.

The Fight Scene in Oklahoma
The Fight Scene

Although she’s only 5’1″, Fordham is a black belt in taekwondo, and fight scenes are one of her directing specialties. There’s a critical fight scene in Oklahoma. It was important to Fordham to make it realistic, because it’s the climax of a very dramatic scene. If it’s not right, she explains, then the scene becomes a parody, and the emotion is lost. Having an athlete in the lead has been an unusual bonus, and the fight training has gone extremely well.

According to Fordham, “There are three kinds of people in the world. There are the people who love Oklahoma, and think it’s the best. Then there are people who hate it. And then there are people who have never heard of it. Nobody is wishy-washy about this show.” Her goal, she says, is to make the people who don’t already love it love it, and those who do love it love it even more. It looks like she has achieved it.

Oklahoma
July 28-29, August 4-6, 2017
Silver Lining Arts Center at the WB High Schools
Purchase tickets

Photos by Amanda Voelzke

James and the Giant Special Effects

On By Kristin BayerIn Preview, TheaterLeave a comment

James and the Giant Peach
It’s that time of year, when the West Bend Children’s Theatre puts on its annual show for school children around the county (and everyone else who loves good theater, too.)

You may notice something different this year. There are men in the cast. And children. When the group began, back in the 1930’s, it was as a women’s group. It later evolved into a theater group, and for many years the shows have had all-women casts. This year the group decided to add men and children.

Graham Killeen, director of James and the Giant PeachDirector Graham Killeen said that it’s been a positive change, because now whole families can be in the show together. He also believes it’s important for the children in the audience to see children like themselves on stage. If they start to think about theater as something that interests them, they can see that there are opportunities for them to try it. And they can see role models they can identify with.

Killeen has an impressive resume in theater. He graduated with honors from UW-Milwaukee with a B.A. in theater, and has extensive acting and directing experience. He is also an award-winning independent filmmaker. And he is excited to be bringing that cinematic aesthetic to children’s theater.

James and the Giant PeachAccording to Killeen, theater audiences are changing, in large part due to the widespread use of video games, YouTube, NetFlix, and so on. Kids these days are used to getting a lot of their entertainment on a screen. “How do we do something that will pull kids away from the screen to the theater, and make them love the experience?” Killeen asks. “You have about five to ten seconds before the audience gets bored. So every ten seconds or so, something new, exciting or magical needs to happen on stage.”

Some of the magic in this year’s show, James and the Giant Peach, involves some impressive special effects. In one scene, for example, the giant peach is pulled out to sea by a flock of seagulls, while simultaneously being threatened by a group of sharks. According to Killeen, that one scene alone requires 18 people backstage to make all the special effects work, from the flock of flying seagulls, to the fog machine, to the circling remote controlled sharks. And through it all, the characters are dancing on the peach, and singing in three-part harmony.

Killeen said he was drawn to the show because of the size and challenge of it, from both an acting and a technical point of view. The story is complex, and artistically rich. The music is interesting and challenging too. It was written by the same team that wrote the music for the critically acclaimed movie La La Land. The show is accompanied by a live band, which includes electric guitar, bass, drummer, and keyboards.

James and the Giant PeacchPart of what he likes about the show is that it’s a modern fairy tale. Killeen said he thinks about it this way. “When kids see Snow White or Prince Charming, they want to be a prince or princess. But I hope when they see James, they see themselves in the story.”

But it’s not all about great entertainment. The group takes its educational mission seriously as well, and provides a framework to schools for class discussions before and after the show. In addition, this summer, for the first time, the West Bend Children’s Theatre will also be offering children’s summer camps with acting opportunities, and also workshops on technical aspects of putting on a show, such as building sets, lighting, etc. More information about that will be coming on the group’s website (www.wbchildrenstheatre.com).

The cast of 30-some has been practicing since January. They will put on an intense eight performances over three days, at the high school’s Silver Lining Arts Center. All performances are open to the public.

James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant Peach
Wednesday, April 19 – 9:30am and 12:45pm
Thursday, April 20 – 9:30am, 12:45pm and 7:00pm
Friday, April 21 – 9:30am, 12:45pm and 7:00pm
At the West Bend High School Silver Lining Arts Center
www.wbchildrenstheatre.com

Of Mice and Men - Paul Steinbach and Nicholas Callen Haubner

Of Mice and Men Comes to the West Bend Stage

On By Kristin BayerIn Preview, Theater1 Comment

Of Mice and Men, the well-known and well-loved novel by John Steinbeck, was published in 1937. Almost immediately, Steinbeck adapted the story into a play, which opened on Broadway while the novel was still on best-seller lists. It won the 1938 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Best Play award. Later this month, it is coming to life on the UW-Washington County stage.

For local theater director Paul Steinbach, however, it wasn’t the book or the play that was his first experience with the story. It was the 1992 movie version. Produced by Gary Sinese, it starred Sinese and John Malkovich.

As much as he loved the movie, Steinbach says that he’s grown to appreciate the play equally, though it’s quite different. “It’s edgier, it’s raw,” Steinbach says. “It doesn’t pull any punches.”

Steinbach says he has read the script dozens of times, and he never gets tired of reading it. “That’s the test of great literature. And that’s the brilliance of the play, that I’m still thinking about it, still finding nuance every time I read it.” And that, in part, is what has him so excited about the project.

The youngest member of a theater family, Steinbach first took the stage when he was seven years old. His father, John Steinbach, was an English teacher at West Bend West, and directed student theater productions. His sister, Sue Gilbertson, is well-known to local audiences for her work on and off stage. Paul has been an actor and a director. He was involved in West Bend’s annual A Christmas Carol production, and adapted the Dickens novel to the stage.

It’s this show that made him take the next step, to form an LLC and don the producer hat. He’s had certain cast members in mind for at least five years, and has been thinking about the show even longer than that.

“To me, not enough of community theater is about good storytelling. This isn’t a comedy or a musical, so it’s a little different than what you usually see. But it’s such a great story, and I wanted to tell it.”

In the story, George is a drifter, searching for work as a farm laborer during the Great Depression. He’s traveling with Lennie, a huge childlike man, who needs George’s protection to survive. After they find jobs on a ranch, George begins to let himself dream of a better life. But Lennie’s inability to control his urge to touch things he likes threatens to destroy their dreams.

Of Mice and Men cast

Steinbach didn’t hold traditional auditions for the show. Instead, he recruited actors he knew, and scouted local shows for talent. The story follows nine men and one woman, and Steinbach says it’s a solid cast of deeply experienced actors — three of whom live in the Milwaukee area. The commute to rehearsals is one indication of their commitment to the piece, as is the amount of work being put into a short run of only two performances. Steinbach says he couldn’t be more pleased with the effort of his cast members. “They’re as into this story as I am.”

Nicholas Callan Haubner plays Lennie. Steinbach spotted him playing Gaston in the Hartford Players’ production of Beauty and the Beast. He approached Haubner after the show, and told him he saw him as Lennie. Haubner’s first experience with the play was in a high school acting class. Already near his adult height of 6’4″, Haubner immediately identified with the role. He’s thrilled to have the chance to finally play this character.

The cast also includes Marvin Bynum, Jake Cox, Peter Gibeau, Melf Gourlie, Simon McGhee, Scott Pollnow, Keighley Sadler and Tom Stodola.

A lot of this show is uncomfortable, Steinbach says. “And that’s the beauty of it. I want people to be moved by it, and to leave thinking about it. It might make them squirm a bit, if we do it right, and I think we have the cast to do it right.”


Of Mice and Men
presented by Seventh Row Center LLC
at UW-Washington County
April 21 & 22, 7:30pm

For tickets: UW-Washington County Online Box Office

Of Mice and Men poster

Making A Connection – Deanna Gibeau and the West Bend Women’s Choir

On By Kristin BayerIn Performance, Preview1 Comment

Deanna Gibeau, Director of the West Bend Women's ChoirI had a chance to sit down and talk with Deanna Gibeau recently. She’s the director of the West Bend Women’s Choir, which is having a free concert this weekend. She’s even better known as an accomplished professional singer, theater director and performer, and teacher.

Common Ground: Thanks for talking with us, Deanna. You sound pretty busy. So, what prompted you to start a Women’s Choir too?
Deanna: A few years ago, I was the music director for a summer production of The Sound of Music, put on by Hartford Players. I was working with a group of nuns who were such amazing singers. The music was really beautiful, and we all got along so well, so at the end of the summer, I asked them if they’d like to keep singing together. The response was very enthusiastic, and that Fall we got together and the Women’s Choir began.

Common Ground: And so the nun’s chorus is still together?
Deanna: The nun’s chorus forms the core, but it’s not just the nuns. We also have women I met through UW-WC, and from the West Bend area, and some women who were my voice students. Members bring their friends. We’re happy to add new members who love to sing.

Common Ground: What kind of music do you choose for the choir?
Deanna: It’s a real mixture. That’s what I like. I consider who is in the group, and what they might like to do. Usually we have one or two classical pieces that are more of a challenge, and that I hope everyone will like when they learn them. Plus, I take requests and suggestions from members. After a few rehearsals, I get a sense of what will work, and what needs to be added to make a good program for the show. This year, we have some spirituals, a barbershop piece, a Bulgarian folk song, some French pieces, some sacred music, some folk songs. We have some pieces composed by a local composer, Ethan Tarvin, and based on well-known poems. A real variety.

Common Ground: Any favorites?
Deanna: That’s hard, because I love them all. But I really love the opening number. It’s a Mozart piece from The Marriage of Figaro, sung by the peasant women bringing flowers to the wedding, and maybe trying to curry a little favor. It’s very pretty, but more than that, when you think about it, how many thousands of times has that song been performed by a group of women on a stage? And now we’re doing it too, and so it connects us to them in a way, all those women over hundreds of years, in so many places. I really love that.

Deanna Gibeau, Director of West Bend Women's ChoirCommon Ground: I understand that one of the songs is a Gibeau original. When did you start composing?
Deanna: Oh, a long time ago. My piano teacher had me composing little pieces when I was growing up. In college I had some composition and orchestration classes. And over the years I taught music to little kids, and I wrote songs for them that I thought they’d like to sing. Then a few years ago, I teamed up with a partner and we wrote and produced a full musical, The Secret of the Goat Children. That’s when I began to realize how much I loved to compose. The piece we’re singing in this concert, I Am Not a Lone Voice, is from a larger work created for an experimental dance concert in Milwaukee a few summers ago. It’s a serious piece about women and human rights issues, and the mission work of one of our West Bend churches. It’s set in India. The lyrics are some of the beautiful words spoken by Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, and the music is based on the morning call to prayer.

Common Ground: The concert is a fund raiser for The Harvest House. Can you tell us a little about that?
Deanna: The Harvest House is a wonderful ministry sponsored by a number of our local churches, that provides a free meal every Saturday at St. James Episcopal. It’s been operating for over 20 years. Our group rehearses at St. James, and we’re having our concert there, so we thought we’d like to support their good work in return.

Common Ground: It sounds like a great group. If someone is interested in joining, what do they need to know?
Deanna: We’re always open to new members, women who love to sing. Our season will be ending with this concert, and we’ll start up again in Fall. Anyone interested can contact me at deannagibeau99@gmail.com, and we can set up an audition.

Thanks Deanna! Have a great concert!

If you’d like to see the Women’s Choir in concert, they’ll be performing
Saturday, April 21, 7pm & Sunday, April 22, 2pm
at St. James Episcopal Church
corner of 8th and Walnut in West Bend
Free admission – a free-will offering taken for Harvest House