Dish-Houston

BY DISH CONTRIBUTOR BILL O'ROURKE: 

Editors Note: Lizzie was written by Steven Cheslik-deMayer, Tim Maner and Alan Stevens Hewitt. Here’s an interview between them and our Bill O’Rourke.

Bill: Steven, you recently received a MacDowell fellowship to begin work on a new solo music theater piece. Will this interfere with your continuing work on Lizzie?

Steven: Not at all. The writing on LIZZIE is really done, so now we're working with other artists to bring our vision to the stage, which is demanding but it's not the same as writing. It takes FOREVER to write and develop a show, so to keep momentum going, you need a good start on the next thing as your current project comes to fruition.

Bill: Tim, which roles did you originate in Robert Wilson shows?

Tim: I originated roles in Robert Wilson’s production of Heiner Müller’s Hamletmachine, which won an Obie-award in NYC and then toured Europe (Man Leaning Forward) and his production of Richard Strauss’ Salome at Teatro alla Scala, Milan , Italy (Herod).

Bill: And your own theater. I love it’s name “tiny mythic theater.” How did you come up with that?

Tim: My co-founders and I came up with the name “tiny mythic” drunk in bar in Cambridge , MA , during a summer teaching fellow residency at Harvard.  The name definitely reflected the kind of productions we wanted to do: big ideas and high-end production quality on shoestring budgets that still allowed us to focus on the details.

Alan Stevens Hewitt – You played bass on Broadway for Lysistrata Jones. That was by Douglas Carter Beane, who is better known for Xanadu. Do you have any stories about DCB that you would like to share? Did you learn anything from doing LJ that you feel helped you in making Lizzie?

Alan: DCB was always quick with a quip and impeccably dressed--with a little bit of "zhuzh" (as he would call it) of a pocket square in his jacket.  Lyssie J was a fun show and a great group of folks to work with--the rhythm section were and are dear friends (we met playing the 1st Natl. Tour of Spring Awakening) and we still play and hang together.  I try to learn as much as possible from all of my experiences, and I think everything I do in the theatre informs everything else.  Perhaps not specific to Lyssie J, but in general I do feel that as a performing musician (coming up I will be the bass chair for ROCKY on Broadway), I have a perspective that is very useful when writing and orchestrating, and helpful in communicating with the musicians who are playing my work. 

Bill: The audience for Lizzie should be HUGE! But I know you’ve played some very small audiences.

Alan: I know both Steven and I have experience touring in bands, he in a duo (sometimes trio?) called Y'all, myself in a group called The Low Road.  I recall a couple times on the road when we played to fewer people than were on stage (TLR was a five-piece), but you play your show for the folks who are there, and you play as well and with the same commitment you would were you playing to 1500.  I think what you learn from that is to make sure the work is self-justifying.  

Bill: There have been TV shows and movies about Lizzie, but the only show on Broadway that I know of was quite a while ago. (Note: I’m not sure who answered these next questions. The interview was done by email.)

Alan: Our take on this story is so different from anything that's been done before. If anything, we feel like the fact that there have been lots of other adaptations of the story works in our favor because people are familiar with the story. One of the main reasons we chose this story to make into a musical is because it's sort of an American myth, it's a story people have a connection to even if it's only the jump-rope rhyme.

The show may seem intimate on paper because it's only four characters, but it's actually big. The music is big, the emotions are big. We'd love to see it on Broadway.

Bill: From here to Philadelphia , to Denmark , to Portland . How did you wind up going to Denmark ?

Alan: The folks at Fredericia Theatre in Denmark saw a presentation of LIZZIE at NAMT. (National Alliance for Musical Theater is an organization based in New York that puts on a big festival of new musicals every year and theater producers and presenters from all over the world come to see what's new.) We were really lucky to be included in that festival in 2010.

Bill: Who came up with the excellent idea to tell the whole story through only four on-stage performers?

Alan: Tim and Steven had the idea from the beginning that the conceit of the show would be 4 women singers in front of a rock band. We saw the Lizzie Borden story as essentially about 4 women in a house. There are men in the story, historically speaking, but they're not essential from our point of view.

Bill: Have you played Houston before? Do you have any other links to our area? How do you like it? If you’ve had time to look around, what’s your favorite thing about our city?

Steven: Years ago when we toured with a musical act, I spent time in Houston and all over Texas .

Alan: For me, traveling is always about the people you meet.  And the people of Houston have been absolutely lovely.  I am so grateful for the warm embrace and hope to be back before too long.

Tim: This was my first time in Houston , and it was a wonderful experience. The people have definitely been the standout (both the incredible staff at TUTS Underground and the audiences we got to meet).

More of Bill O'Rourke's theatre reviews and stories can be found HERE.