Speaking of the Democratic Convention in August ... wouldn't it be a perfect time for a production of HAIR in Chicago? Our feisty, freedom-loving producer thinks so too. Watch for news on this topic soon, Goddess willing.
POPE JOAN plans are blooming as beautifully as the Japanese plum I see out my office window. Delicately. But as wildly and passionately as spring thrusting itself again onto the Chicago streets.
Christopher and the East coast arranger continue to confer about musical possibilities. Big, big score arrangement seems to be the continuing recommendation. And they're thinking about cutting some of the book scenes and musicalizing more of the show. For you non-composers out there, that casual statement translates into writing maybe another 25 percent more music ... awesome task. But if it's the right thing to do, that's what he'll do. He's thinking ...
And meanwhile, on the West Coast, we received an excited call from someone who is recommending a most tempting possibility ... Joan in Los Angeles? There's a very large theatre that's been recommended as absolutely perfect for a possibly bigger production. And a dream director. Pardon me while I send fervent light. These situations require the nexus of so many people that it will take the administrative talents of a Pope Joan. (You regulars saw that one coming up State Street).
What's so lovely, each time we hear it: the awesome strength of the musical's book and lyrics. Christopher's words are inflaming the imagination of more creativity -- very, very cool. As it should be.
Positive energy and movement abounds surrounding POPE JOAN, thank the goddess. While Chicago locals continue to opine -- and probably will for some time, it seems -- the long, involved processes of the next stage of development begin with great hope and encouragement.
Christopher and one possible East coast arranger have connected and begun to talk. We're very happy that this individual's enthusiasm for the score mirrors our own. The advice we've been given? Expand -- it's a huge dramatic score and needs the fullest "Broadway" sound possible. Like maybe about nineteen pieces. The arranger is now taking a look at the video, to better understand how the extant music works in context too. Christopher is thinking about the opening number again ... about the whole opening of the show, as a matter of fact.
Meanwhile, our producer has been busy on the West coast, checking out the opportunities there. Strong interest and a very strong market ... we'll keep you posted.
In the meantime, while he was there, Michael saw a smashing production of HAIR done at the University of Southern California at Fulton -- sixty kids in the company! Goddess bless educational theatre. More than once, we've all longed for its seemingly unlimited assets and facilities in the "real world" of commercial, where no tax dollars and no matching grants exist to support the expensive development of new work. Next weekend, Michael's taking a look at another college production of HAIR at Northwestern University. It'll be fun to see the contrast.
It's amazing, isn't it, how the tide ebbs and flows around art and artists? In vogue, and out again. And back in with a vengeance. You really have to know who you are if you're going to survive.
My apologies, POPE JOAN readers, for my brief silence. I'm back, thanks. (And thanks to the blessed acupuncturist I cannot name whose work is currently -- and absurdly -- illegal in Illinois! If you're an Illinois voter, make it clear to your state senators and reps that you want this changed immediately and won't stand for any more delay. End of political announcement but not end of fervent prayer.)
Anyway, so what's going on with the show? Like the crocus in front of my flat, it begins to grow again. Simply because it must. With the coming warmth, a certain fecund clarity begins.
The best news is that Christopher and Michael have begun to talk with an arranger about the JOAN score. In this situation, where we're moving ... let's just say "out of state" to begin to build the new team, these new marriages between producer, composer/lyricist/playwright, and arranger need to develop their chemistry thoughtfully, yet with the same instinctual great heart that created and drives the work from its genesis. The next step with the score is a big one, and we've got to make sure it's the right one. We're pleased with the previous work of this arranger. His ability to pen a winning pop arrangement ... he's working for and with the greats. And as to his ability to understand the translation of period to the modern ear ... he's got experience. We'll keep you posted on what develops.
Simultaneously, discussions begin about and with individuals who might be the right director at the next step. The same chemistry/experience/clout formula applies.
May Her new moon rebound life wherever it's needed most.
A very happy Easter from the Pope Joan Company.
What a cool week: Passover and Easter falling in the same timeframe this year means so many families are celebrating. In the grocery stores in my neighborhood, shelves overflow with matzos and egg dye, side by side. My family, of Polish ancestry, enjoys traditional food on Easter that my Irish-American husband won't touch -- "I've read James Michener's 'Poland' -- I know what's in that sausage," he says. It's all a matter of taste, I guess.
Which leads me to thoughts regarding matters of theatrical taste. And matters of the critics and POPE JOAN, and how they affect, have affected, and will affect the future of the show. The spiral dance we do together -- those who make art and those who write about the art that others make -- is a constant improvisation.
Last Sunday, Richard Christiansen, lead critic of the Chicago Tribune, wrote a fascinating essay on the role of the critic. Quoting rotten reviews of work from THE WIZARD OF OZ, APOCALYPSE NOW, THE WAY WE WERE, and STAR WARS, he opines that it's irrelevant whether a critic is right or wrong. "It's easy to come slamming down on a piece of work especially when one is partial to boring exaggeration," was one comment that caught my eye. And then he goes on to say that what's important isn't whether a critic was correct. What's important, he seems to feel, is the quality of the critical writing. Using Shaw as an example of a great critic, he maintains that what's important isn't "many actors and musicians who are long forgotten, but what Shaw had to say about these artists ... because he approached everything with sharp, bright intelligence." And he feels critics should be "something more than marketing tools in quote ads."
I found Christiansen's essay incredibly honest -- at least (and at last!) there's no denial that the critic secretly wants to be the author who's remembered -- as opposed to the playwright. But I also found it incredibly out of touch with the reality of the entertainment business as it really is. By denying the real impact of a critic's words on the economics of the entertainment business -- that a practical function of overnight criticism is consumer protection and marketing -- I believe the critic can abnegate responsibility for flip words that can do so much harm.
Particularly in Chicago, where reviews tend to stagger in, rather than going to print simultaneously, there is another interesting phenomenon to observe which I call the "me too" factor. Take a show -- any show -- here. And begin to observe who takes the leading position -- and who follow on the same bandwagon. And observe the economic impact of their words on the ticket-buying public.
Mr. Christiansen is a respected writer in this town who generally takes the "high road" in his comments and observations, even when they're largely negative. But other critics (who will remain nameless in this essay -- but you know who you are) tend to choose, as their style and point of view, the vicious and bitchy way out of the challenge of the critical essay. Writing a cruel but witty phrase is arguably a talent -- and arguably a destructive one. In this writer's cosmology, though, it's a talent that holds tremendous karmic impact.
Denial of that impact -- particularly in the name of the art of the artsy essay -- doesn't make the critic less responsible for the effect of his or her words. How can we protect the development of new work against the potential destructive ability of these would-be Shaws? It's a problem every playwright -- particularly playwrights like Christopher who write huge, expensive works -- must begin to cope with. The answer isn't returning to the chamber musical -- hedging our bets and making the possibility of economic disaster less probable. But how can a producer or a writer of large musicals protect himself in these days of six and seven-figure stakes?
Ask yourself these questions the next time the 179th production of CATS comes to your town. And the next time you read a critical lament about the dearth of development of new American musicals.
The POPE JOAN company wishes you a blessed, happy Passover, full of family, friends, and hope. Even if you're a critic.
The first day of spring arrived in Chicago with 20-foot waves that washed up Lake Shore Drive and reminded us urbanites that we were on a major body of water and Just Who Was In Charge. Pretty wild 60 mph wind.
I loved it. Blew away the first winter cobwebs -- which is what's going on around Pope Joan too.
Our producer wisely and prudently continues to gather information to form his opinions. It's fascinating to me -- the second leg of the POPE JOAN development journey (the not-for-profit production being the first) is legend already -- being told in intriguing variations, colored wildly by the point of view and sources available to the storyteller.
Here's one of my observations: one thing that varied widely, in the eye of the viewer of the Mercury production, was the element of expectation. If you expected the clerical equivalent of Broadway chandeliers that crashed from the ceiling, your expectations were unmet, and you were probably disappointed. If you expected the next step in development of the musical toward that (perhaps) ultimate end, your expectations were probably exceeded. But how could we have more clearly communicated what you were going to be seeing? That's one of the many evaluative questions we're asking ourselves as we consider our next options. We'll be sharing our thoughts as the weeks -- and our thoughts -- progress.
In the meantime, Christopher has begun his review of the material once again. The forever lesson of this art, and why so few persevere, I think: the art of writing is rewriting. Marjie Rynearson, our script consultant, is meeting with him for their first no-holds-barred mutual note session. Marjie is a wonder -- awesomely respectful to playwrights, sensitive to audiences, with a keen eye and ear. She doesn't rewrite. She asks the questions that enable the author to rewrite. That's the art of it for her. And why she's such a treasure.
More on all of the above next week.
Happy spring. Life always returns. It's Her way.
For the last few days, it's felt like spring around here. Nobody who lives here puts their winter coats away -- sometimes it snows in April. But it raises us.
POPE JOAN's last performance at the Mercury was last Sunday, March 10th. We're very sorry to have to disappoint people who've written us, hoping we'd hang on until they could get to Chicago. Rest assured that we'll keep you posted on where the Papessa will sing next. And rest assured that she will.
Watching the effect of the waves created by the first pebble in the water. That's what it's feeling like. We all recover and begin to plan the next moves in the stewardship of the POPE JOAN project. The music of POPE JOAN is something our audiences are asking for, and we hope we'll be able to be making a CD soon. We're exploring the benefits and drawbacks of each possible next configuration of the show -- city to personnel to ... everything. It's the time to evaluate, think, listen, and plan. We've learned a lot in Chicago. Fine-tuning a huge musical takes time.
Our dear producer remains, as always, the firm and positive leader he was born to be. It takes this kind of steadfastedness to make something this big happen, you know. That's why so few people are able to do it. And we're blessed with someone who can.
Christopher will be rewriting, as soon as he takes enough of a breather to get a little perspective and make the key decisions that must be made. He's considering everything from language in the book to instrumentation of the score. The trick, as he's often said to me, is listening to everyone. But only implementing the truth. Discernment: the art of the rewrite, and the craft of the musical.
He'll find the right way. She Who has guided this project from its first breath will be sure of that.
I'll be here, telling you her stories all laced with our own, for her pleasure, and, I hope, yours as well.
March 9, 1996 --
Feast of St. Frances of Rome, Widow
The perfect Christian spouse, so the story goes. Married at
eleven, raised six children, buried a husband, then founded the
Benedictine Oblates and died in 1440. It was said she always
traveled with "the familiar presence of an angel." So may we
all; listen.
Take 50% off your Pope Joan tickets because you followed this link!
When you pick up your
tickets at the box office,
These are strangely wild and quiet times. Wild, for the obvious reasons: the last performances of POPE JOAN in Chicago will finish this weekend. Quiet, because, in a media fun-house of distorted mirrors and reflections, only in the quiet can we hear the truth and know who we are.
I'll be telling you more stories in the next few weeks, I'm sure, about the Papessa's continued plans and adventures. Rest assured, we will be shaking the dust of Chicago from our shoes and moving on. And for the many, many people who have asked: yes, the music of POPE JOAN will be recorded as soon as we're able.
We are deeply grateful to the fans of POPE JOAN in Chicago, who continue to cheer the show at the Mercury. They make a point of telling us every night that -- how can I put this diplomatically? -- they wonderful whether the critics saw the same show they did. We are warmed by their enthusiastic and positive response.
And just to give credit where credit is due: thank you, Trudy Ring of NIGHTLINES (and Tracy Baim of OUTLINES) who have been kind enough to offer POPE JOAN their blessings and support. We appreciate the public words of these women more than we can say.
Speaking of more credit where due -- sometimes in the maelstorm of press on our lil' musical, I'm erroneously given credit as creator of this site. Sorry -- can't claim that honor. Marian Hank is our webmistress; she and the extraordinary team at Imaginary Landscape get the kudos here. I'm the author of the weekly news and various and sundry other prose around and about the site. Design Horizons is responsible for the graphics on the poster and new home page. Other sections have been written by other writers (Moore, Meyers, Allyn, Butler, Hepp). This week, we offer another essay from another production point of view -- "God is in the Details" -- by property master Tom Hartman. The workshop/collaboration aspect of the site is one of its proudest achievements, and you'll see it continue as the project continues. Don't mean to sound like The Carpenters, kids, but we've only just begun.
See POPE JOAN this weekend if you can. And walk in her blessings in the upcoming week.
March 2, 1996 --
Ember Saturday in Lent
"Comfort the fainthearted ..." 1 Thess. 5
Take 50% off your Pope Joan tickets because you followed this link!
When you pick up your
tickets at the box office,
Performances are
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 8:00 p.m, Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and
9:00 p.m., Sundays at 3:00 p.m.
Ticket prices are $35.00 for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday performances and
39.00 for Friday and Saturday.
Phone (312) 325-1700
Here's the headline and the bottom line, POPE JOAN fans in and near Chicago: call the box office and get your tickets now. The last POPE JOAN performance at The Mercury will be next Sunday, March 10th -- unless the verifiable first-class miracle is witnessed by all. We're sorry that we might have to disappoint fans who'd like to see the show later, but our good steward of POPE JOAN duties require us to take the Papessa down in Chicago so she may sing again and again elsewhere.
So what's going on? Is it a hit?
"YES!" say the majority of our audience members, many of whom have taken the time and trouble to tell us so, both in person, by snail mail, and through this blessed medium. When time (and writers' permissions) allow me, I'll publish some of them here in their full glory and wondrous diversity. What gives us the most joy is that people are talking -- about POPE JOAN and about the wild and varied themes and feelings her tale evokes. Here are some of my favorite comments, edited for length only:
"Two thumbs up!" -- President of a major Chicago-area Catholic women's college
"POPE JOAN is simply great. A Catholic HAIR for the '90s. People have GOT to see it!" -- Dan Plovanich, Chicago Acupuncture Clinic (down the street from the theatre)
"... Folks, you have to see this. It WILL make you think. ... The prevailing opinion of the group we were with is that this production makes it to the 'must see' list. The acting and production were great ..." -- MCSNet Bytes, 2/22/96 (Our special thanks to Karl, MCSNet guru and editor, who e-mailed this on the front page to his thousands of subscribers.)
"Very unusual and entertaining! Beautiful singing voices and excellent, colorful costumes. The leading actor and actress were perfect for their roles. What a superb cast! They can all take another bow!" -- Female audience member from Chicago
"You've created an outstanding piece of work in POPE JOAN ... being a novice history buff myself, I found the story line to be fascinating ... The music was interesting and provocative ... I experienced a very gratifying and inspired feeling during the culminating piece, 'A Thousand Years From Now.' It did appeal to my inner spiritual strength." -- "Pope Joan Fan" (from somewhere on aol)
"Several people asked me if we were offended by the content of the show ... after the first fifteen minutes, we were hooked. I know my Catholic Church history past and present, and only those who don't will say it's church bashing. To me, it was a story of spiritual guidance, strong faith and devotion, and man and the Church's total disregard for women's place in the Church. Very timely." -- Female audience member (from somewhere else on aol)
"A Thousand Years From Now" is a blockbuster ..." -- Male audience member (from an education-based internet site)
"I was truly impressed with the factual context, historical wit and punctual delivery of the cast. ... I studied Classics as an undergrad and only wished that a play like this would've been accessable instead of attending a Western Civ lecture ..." Another female audience member (from another education-based net site)And my personal favorite:
"... We loved it. Most importantly, through your work we recognize who you are and your participation to our planetary healing. We know that we are amidst an evolutionary leap and that your musical is another reflection of our leap in consciousness, as we also recognize the frequencies in the music that assist in the opening of our hearts and stabilizing the shift ... thank you, thank you, blessings." -- A male-female couple (at another aol address)I wish I had the time to share all the comments. My best demographic eye, formed by marketing research buddies, tells me that 85-90% of our audiences are coming out of POPE JOAN naming it a tremendous, original, uplifting, joyful theatrical experience.
And the critics? Well, the handful of people who really, really hated it, us, our ancestors, Pope Joan, and everything else in our theatrical universe happened, sadly, to be ... the Chicago critics.
So we'll see how the next week goes. If audiences rush to buy tickets this weekend, we'll be able to take down the closing notice and hang in. Otherwise, we've got to let this Chicago production go.
Don't worry about us. It takes more than a handful of critics to keep down the force we've unleashed here. Stay connected with these pages and you'll be the first to know what we're thinking and planning next.
And it's all about today, isn't it? We have two shows to give to our audiences today. The cast -- the most professional and generous people I have ever worked with -- continue to show each audience the wonder and pageantry of POPE JOAN. The show just gets better and better.
Be sure to check out cast member Mary C. Beidler's new poetic reflections on her experience playing in POPE JOAN.
Here's my closing tidbit, and a blessing from the Papessa herself: a teaser about a story that, when I have documents in hand, I'll share with you completely. A POPE JOAN audience member -- a Roman Catholic in Chicago -- called the Archdiocese of Chicago to query: "There's a musical playing in town called POPE JOAN. What does the Church say? Was there a Pope Joan or not?" Today he got a call from one of the Archdiocese's historians -- let the record show him a brave and honest man. He confirmed that yes -- probably there was such a female pope.
Glory be to the Goddess! Can it be that an honest historian will confirm what we have sung -- and known in our hearts and minds -- from the first day Christopher was inspired to compose for Her pleasure?
Pretty exciting. If there's a life that requires and elicits great faith, this is it.
February 24, 1996
--Around here, we celebrate St. Joan
And I don't mean D'Arc.
Around here, there is only one Joan.
What powerful energy swirls, my readers! I know you can feel it, even if you can't quite give it a name. That Her power exceeds our own is axiomatic.
The only metaphor for POPE JOAN tonight is ... well, it's Herself. All the glorious and wondrous stuff of Joan's legend: passion, power, truth, excess. With. great compassion, in Her name, at this holy time of Joan's birthing in Chicago.
And let's pause for a moment of great thanks: we have witnessed a real-life miracle. POPE JOAN opened to the joy of many and the great consternation of some. Where only a hole in the ground on Southport stood nine months ago, a glorious new musical has been born. CYBERBIL, our new program, made its breathless, last-minute debut. And it was glorious, folks. I myself sat on one of the steps of the stairway leading to the balcony (standing room only!) and watched with great admiration and thanks. The operative words of the evening, from the lyrics of "A Thousand Years From Now" -- "Look at what we've done." Said not with arrogance, but with great pride and tremendous gratitude for the love, generosity of mind and spirit, and plain hard work of every person in the company. And our awesome investors who believe in us. And our audiences, who tell us how the play heals, uplifts, entertains ... succeeds.
Gifts given at the opening were indicative of the sincerity of spirit and the tremendous karmic forces at work. Her Holiness herself, Elizabeth Laidlaw, gave each individual "angel cards" that "chose us" -- mine were "birth" and "compassion." Angela Allyn expressed herself by allowing each person to draw from an unusual Tarot deck the card that was meant for us -- mine, this time, indicated that every action was to be worship. Every breath a prayer. So be it, and so it is. Christopher and Michael each gave company members the celtic crosses modeled after the one Joan wears on stage. By the end of the night, we collectively resembled an exceedingly sweaty, colorful, rowdy band of roving priests and nuns, crosses swinging from our necks. As it should be, for that's what we have become at heart. "This work is my ministry," said one actor, expressing the feelings they all share as they perform this work. Singing the POPE JOAN score will do that to you -- replacement actors be forewarned!
At the joyful party afterwards -- thanks to the creativity and resourcefulness of Imaginary Landscape and the generosity of Sun Microsystems -- friends and fans were able to play with the first opening night "Web-O-Grams" in history. Yummy food and drink -- thanks to the creative kitchens of Strega Nona (do stop there before or after the show) -- nourished company and well-wishers alike. And what a diverse party! Company members, fans, friends, family, investors, press ... and one lone psychotic papparazzi, who just added to the local color. And then there was the after-party, held by the Cardinal-host-with-the-most, Matt McDonald. His theatre parties are legendary in Chicago. And all us saints and sinners let our hair down at last.
And the outcome? In a sentence, all Her work is one: the lives and work of Michael Butler and Christopher Moore continue to be surrounded with great controversy. As any men of great talent combined with tremendous spiritual and intellectual power, their very presence ... well, it tends to elicit comment. The reviews begin to pour in, but I'm waiting until mid-week to collect them and present them to you -- sometimes with my rebuttals and sometimes with my supportive comments.
What have our audiences told us -- besides their love for the show? They've talked about our prices. Yes, they're steeper than the not-for-profit price of last year's POPE JOAN. Why? It's simple: this JOAN cost more. Our chief expenses are the rent itself (we wanted a first-class theatre -- it costs more than a converted warehouse, kids) and actor costs. We proudly employ eight members of Actors' Equity, ten non-Union actors and three full-time understudies, plus nine musicians and support staff in the areas of art, business, and sales/marketing. It takes each and every one of these people to even get to the point where we can open the doors on a new musical in a brand-new theatre. Be real. This is 1995, and we're supported by private investors. No federal, state, or city monies, taxpayers. The entrepreneurial spirit of the arts in action.
Take 50% off your Pope Joan tickets because you followed this link!
But that's all talk until we take action.
Performances are
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 8:00 p.m, Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and
9:00 p.m., Sundays at 3:00 p.m.
Ticket prices are $35.00 for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday performances and
39.00 for Friday and Saturday.
Phone (312) 325-1700 And the latest? Brava to our Webmistress, Marian Hank, whose essay on "POPE JOAN and the CDA" and current First-Amendment politics was honored as a lead article on the arts index of the "24 HOURS OF DEMOCRACY" site which protested the passage of the recent Telecommunications Bill that threatens this site along with so many others. Joan's knowledge of the unity of politics and art have never been better expressed. Thank you from all of us, Marian.
Look for two very cool new essays next week -- one from cast member Mary Beidler, and the other from our property master, Tom Hartman. Like everything that's gone before them, two more divergent points of view and modes of expression couldn't be found. I love the creativity Joan gives us all!
Would it be comic for me to urge you and your'n to buy tickets? NOW, please.
Blessings on each of you, dear readers. Burn always with Her passion. Tell Her story wherever She gives you leave. There is no work that brings more joy.
February 17, 1996 -- Feast of St. Simeon, Bishop and Martyr Yes, another screaming beaming one, crucified at the age of 120 (yes, you read correctly) in the year 106. May we be blessed with long lives of service, if the Goddess so chooses.
Well, children of God, we're all down to put-up-or-shut-up time. Tonight, when I finish this last pre-opening news of the week, I'm dashing off to change from my grungies to my one black dress and be at The Mercury for the Friends of Conservation benefit tonight at 8:30. By the way, it's 5:45. The situation is perfect metaphor for preview week. For everyone.
This week in one sentence: the ultimate test of each company member's best mental, physical, and spiritual self.
How'd we do? Nobody's killed anybody. Yes, we've individually fought and made up dozens of times. Hundreds of acts of creativity, resourcefulness, and plain common sense have been executed. Hundreds of problems have been identified -- solutions are created just in time for more challenges to surface. And my favorite thing about every person in this company is the ability to keep our eyes on the objective: getting this darn Pope skit up there every night.
Yes, of course, the Disgruntled Anonymous Christians have begun to check in by phone. All too cowardly to leave names. 'Tis the season.
And how's the show? It's glorious. Our sold-out house audiences, despite two snowstorms (we sadly had to turn away people on the 14th), have left the theatre singing, talking -- and sometimes, quietly, still wiping away tears. Almost universally acclaiming it a hit and the theatrical experience of a lifetime. (One "I never saw such a piece of crap" from a disgusted 50-something white man, this reporter is compelled to note.)
This author's utterly biased, 'way too close to be objective opinion: it is everything it should be. The company is awesome -- onstage and off. POPE JOAN is a huge hit and deserves multiple Jeff nominations. Director. Designers. Performers. Production. There. I said it first. And I'll stand by it.
See you there. I'm the one in front, pacing with the cigarette. Bless each of you who reads this. May your experience of POPE JOAN heal you and raise you to the Goddess.
February 10, 1996 --
Feast of St. Scholastica, Virgin
Like the name implies, the lady (St. Benedict's twin sister, who founded the
Benedictines) was a scholar. Legend has it that her soul entered heaven in
the form of a dove rising from her body. I wonder if she inspired Joan in
her studies? She died in 542.
Blessings abound around our lives, and we pray they may spiral outwards to you in the great dance we share. And yes, of course we're all on the verge of madness. We are, after all, opening the doors to the public for the first performance of POPE JOAN in only four days! So much is happening to all of us at the same time. Realize, that for every story I tell you, ten others have happened simultaneously. Yes, someday I WILL write a book. But not before February 18th.
First, let me share the joy of working in a company where art, politics, and the spirit try very hard to become one in actions as well as words. On Thursday and Friday, the Pope Joan Workshop Web participated in "Black Thursday," the day of protest against the loss of freedom of speech caused when the Internet bill was signed by President Clinton on Thursday. Our webmistress, Marian Hank, darkened the site in participation with the "thousand points of darkness" created in cyberspace. The site was headed by a powerful quote on the subject from our producer. Speech must remain free. Thank you, Michael.
Then I want to send out a last-minute call to action: only a few days remain to buy tickets for the benefit performances this week. We really need your help to allow these shows to raise funds for the organizations involved (see last week's scoop, repeated below). I pray the Goddess will move your hearts to support them.
In keeping with POPE JOAN's theme of compassion for the sick, there will be a benefit performance on February 16th for two of Chicago's AIDS agencies: AIDSCARE, Inc. and the AIDS Pastoral Care Network (APCN). That night's performance will be preceded by a party at Cullen's Bar and Grill hosted by Mr. Butler and WXRT Radio Chicago on-air personality Terri Hemmert. Both Michael Butler and Terri Hemmert continued their long commitments to fighting AIDS with this benefit. Michael is a member of AIDSCARE's Founders' Circle, and Terri has been a volunteer with APCN for the last six years. The reception will include hors d'ouerves and drinks. Tickets for the benefit performance only are $50, while tickets for the performance and reception are $75. Reservations may be made by calling Tom Hartman at APCN at (312) 334-5333, or Stephan Donovan at AIDSCARE at (312) 935-4663.
Our Special Final Preview of POPE JOAN will look to responsibility for the planet, with Friends of Conservation as the beneficiary of the event. Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey JW Kent and The Honorable Michael Butler are Chairmen, and Reute Butler is General Chairman. The Prince of Wales is the Royal Patron of FOC. Performance will be at 8:30 that night only, with a reception immediately following at Strega Nona Restaurant. Tickets are $75, which include the show and reception. Reservations are available by calling Norma Cooke at (708) 965-3388. They are limited, and will be accepted in order of receipt.
If you can afford it, and enjoy seeing the raw excitement of a new musical in preview, it would be a very cool way to support these organizations. But if you're a poor artist, the very first preview of POPE JOAN, on St. Valentine's Day, is actors' night. Another Chicago tradition is to hold one performance open for our professional colleagues. If you're in the business and can't afford a ticket, that's the night to make a reservation -- all seats are first come, first served.
Meanwhile, back at the Mercury Theater -- where the marquee was being nailed up the last time I drove by -- the cast photos are being mounted in the boxes in front. (They're awesome) Inside, everything's happening at once.
On Wednesday, we had the sitzprobe (the theatre borrowed opera term for "sit n' sing")-- that critical rehearsal when musicians and singers all sit down and go through the arrangements for the first time together. Let's cut to the chase: it was awesome. Everyone was singing, dancing, cheering, and sometimes crying. As Michael said, "It's got that chill up the spine quality you have when you've got a hit." Well put. Gino De Luca's arrangements are perfection. He's avoided the melody lines, and has the orchestration carrying rhythms, counterpoint, harmony. Every moment is right, from the rise of the string quartet (bass, violin, cello, harp) in "The Healing" to the soar of the full orchestra in "This Church Will Stand." The tricky triplet flourishes rouse the passions. The guitar takes you to the wild English countryside. The anguish of the oboe breaks your heart. Percussion wildly beats the rhythm of the moment -- and how they change! And to top it all off, Deborah Abramson, our talented musical director, plays a dozen instruments on her synthesizer with both hands, while conducting with a finger, a nod, a shoulder, a hip, or -- occasionally -- a foot! The Pope Joan musicians are the best. So says me.
And meanwhile, an empty stage transforms into 9th century Rome and Aix-la-Chapelle. The set is under final construction, getting down to the detailing. Lights are hung and testing has begun. Sound systems move through parallel installs and tests. The actors refine each moment with Christopher. Public relations and marketing people work sixty-hour weeks.
The press has blessed us with their interest. Our great happiness: on Monday, an article by Barnaby Feder (officially getting the national scoop) featuring this site and POPE JOAN itself was printed in the NEW YORK TIMES. The Goddess i good, and Barnaby Feder is a great American writer of exquisite taste and timing, it goes without saying. We were ecstatic. Our first TIMES mention bears mentioning. And closer to home, the perfect chatty interview with our own Michael Butler in CHICAGO SOCIAL. Myself, I loved the cover best -- Michael in all his handsome glory, in what I think of as his HAIR tux (burgundy velvet), holding an antique book embossed with a cross, grinning the smile he smiles when he's really truly happy. And his interview was cool. Of course Christopher and I liked the part best when he said that the CELESTINE PROPHESIES' astrologer told him that POPE JOAN would be a bigger hit than HAIR. From His mouth ...
Goddess help us all, it's tech week. We're all doing more work, with more joy, than we ever dreamed we could. And the best sign of all: the dominant sounds, when you close your eyes, are music and laughter. As it should be. Wish us luck, guys and gals -- I'm off to the first dress rehearsal.
February 3, 1996 --
Feast of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr
Catholics raised in the '50s will remember the saint whose claim to fame was
the miracle of the stuck fishbone in the kid's throat. And the custom of
blessing the throat today. In 'flu season, it couldn't hurt, right?
And the blessings of Blaise on all the throats of our wonderful actor-singers as well!
Deep in Chicago's sub-zero deep freeze, the stalwart POPE JOAN kids wrap themselves into unrecognizable bundles of scarves, mittens, hats, coats, and shawls. Nobody's out on the streets but emergency vehicles ... and crazy theatre people.
But it's warm and wonderful inside The Mercury Theater, where we began to make our home this week. Talk about beautiful -- I'm amazed at what Michael Cullen and his crew accomplished in the last month. The theatre is a full restoration of the original vaudeville house it used to be in the '20s, down to some striking Roman sconces (which can't hurt thematically when every other song title has the word "Rome" in it). Wonderfully comfortable seats -- also restorations of the originals. Warm, tactile original brick walls, which we have discovered to be natural acoustic wonders. The theater is an unquestioned winner. Perfect, perfect, perfect. Those of you who have been long-time readers of this weekly download of Pope Joan chronicles followed the angst we went through to find a space. And now we all see why the Goddess threw some obstacles into our previous plans -- we belong here.
And if you want to find the company after hours, I can already tell you to look in the big back booth at Cullen's Bar and Grill. Excellent beer, good, rich, black coffee the way this writer likes it, and yummy eats. Music that ranges from Van Morrison through Frank Sinatra with the occasional Irish tune just to remind you where you are. And you can get there through the lobby of the theatre. See you there.
So much happens simultaneously that it's almost impossible to imagine we can get everything done ... and yet we seem to be knocking tasks down one step at a time, as we PoJoCoers say. The set loads in this weekend. Christopher is honing individual scenes and running acts. Let's put it this way: even at the stage where everybody's taking reams of notes on everything from movement to music to interp, our Script Consultant, Marjie Rynearson, put it best: "It works. Already -- without the costumes or the lights or the special effects -- it works." I had to smile. I too had taken pages of notes -- and cried my eyes out, moved by what I saw. What a show!
It feels like miracles are in the air: We were blessed by a real live angel on Wednesday when we went into The Mercury for the first time. As Christopher and I sat in the back row for the first time before rehearsal began, Butch, Chicago's most famous, eccentric, and lovable usher, ran in and gave us a kiss for luck. He told us he'd be there opening night to work. Our hearts rejoiced. Chicago theatre tradition has it that Butch's presence on opening night assures a hit. From my keyboard to the Goddess' ear.
Speaking of angels, our producer is another. In keeping with POPE JOAN's theme of compassion for the sick, there will be a benefit performance on February 16th for two of Chicago's AIDS agencies: AIDSCARE, Inc. and the AIDS Pastoral Care Network (APCN). That night's performance will be preceded by a party at Cullen's Bar and Grill hosted by Mr. Butler and WXRT Radio Chicago on-air personality Terri Hemmert. Both Michael Butler and Terri Hemmert continued their long commitments to fighting AIDS with this benefit. Michael is a member of AIDSCARE's Founders' Circle, and Terri has been a volunteer with APCN for the last six years. The reception will include hors d'ouerves and drinks. Tickets for the benefit performance only are $50, while tickets for the performance and reception are $75. Reservations may be made by calling Tom Hartman at APCN at (312) 334-5333, or Stephan Donovan at AIDSCARE at (312) 935-4663.
Our Special Final Preview of POPE JOAN will look to responsibility for the planet, with Friends of Conservation as the beneficiary of the event. Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey JW Kent and The Honorable Michael Butler are Chairmen, and Reute Butler is General Chairman. The Prince of Wales is the Royal Patron of FOC. Performance will be at 8:30 that night only, with a reception immediately following at Strega Nona Restaurant. Tickets are $75, which include the show and reception. Reservations are available by calling Norma Cooke at (708) 965-3388. They are limited, and will be accepted in order of receipt.
If you can afford it, and enjoy seeing the raw excitement of a new musical in preview, it would be a very cool way to support these organizations. But if you're a poor artist, the very first preview of POPE JOAN, on St. Valentine's Day, is actors' night. Another Chicago tradition is to hold one performance open for our professional colleagues. If you're in the business and can't afford a ticket, that's the night to make a reservation -- all seats are first come, first served.
Look for Will Hepp's funny, Will-like (and absolutely true) essay, "A True Company Man," -- his thoughts on being manager of this denizen of artists, business folks, and sales/marketing types. And Christopher has added another point of view: check out his piece on "Directing Pope Joan." He addresses a lot of questions people have been asking. You heard it here.
Stay warm in Her warmth, everybody. It's all coming together.
January 27, 1996 --
Feast of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Confessor, Doctor of the Church
"Chrysostom" means "golden-mouthed." Even those who persecuted him until he
died in 407 admitted the man was eloquent!
Undaunted by the January cold (and the heat's just jim-dandy in our rehearsal space again, thank the Goddess), the Pope Joan Company has accomplished an enormous amount of work in just a week.
The best artistic news was delivered to me this morning by Christopher Moore: he's proud (and relieved!) that the first staging of the show is complete from end to end. Starting at tomorrow's rehearsal, he and John Kokum, our production stage manager, will begin running an act at a time. By the middle of next week, we'll be moving into The Mercury Theater and beginning the inevitable fixes, pokes and tucks that happen when a director actually sees a show in the real space (versus the usual and customary taped floor which represents dimensions and levels in rehearsal).
But we already know that so much works, and that's the exciting part. Earlier this week, along with Michael Butler and our associate producer, Joseph Maalouf (who was in visiting from Montreal), we watched the musical numbers play out in order. Christopher was indeed wise to choose this order to direct -- what it revealed was the entire infrastructure of the dramatic arc, where the climactic moments will occur, and what the dominant stage pictures and sounds will be. And even in the usual motley array of rehearsal clothes, what pageantry is emerging! The choral sound of the Ensemble is astounding -- clear, crisp, and powerful. The physicalizations worked out by the cast with Christopher and Angela emerge cleanly. It's so much fun to watch an actor change from an aristocratic Cardinal to a crippled-up Roman peasant in less than a minute! And the stage pictures are gorgeous -- literally, Byzantine paintings come to life. (I don't suppose it's clear that this writer loves the staging, is it?!)
For more on last week's work, you may want to peek at Angela Allyn's cool essay, " "What is a Movement Director?" . Many "dancer types" aren't good with words and aren't able to explain how they do what they do. Angela Allyn is an exciting exception.
From another point of view, Michael Butler, our ever-political producer, has shared a dramatic story about HAIR and the last Democratic Convention in his newest essay from "Michael Butler's Memoirs." While we're busy in the Dark Ages, it's good to have some contemporary contrast!
A last tidbit/request: this writer's personal e-mail system has been giving her fits. If you have sent an e-mail message to susan@orlok.com in the last couple of weeks that I haven't replied to, would you be kind enough to resend it? The problem's in my own personal computer (love those Mercury retrogrades). I know, for one, that I received an interesting message that corrected a fact on one of our historical timelines. And I watched it blip into electronic oblivion. Thanks for your patience -- maybe I'm a reincarnated manuscript copyist who secretly resented the absence of parchment.
The box office is open at (312) 325-1700 for ticket sales, so please feel free to call early and often, as we say in Chicago. Our box office person at The Mercury reported that the very first call for tickets came from a person in Canada, who read about us on this very internet site. Pretty cool. Okay, I'll admit it. I do like this technology after all!
It's January in Chicago. As I write, the windows on the 1910 flat that's my home and office shake. Ice covers them ... on the inside. And I'm wearing almost all the clothes I own.
Undaunted by little things like the gusts of wind off Lake Michigan, our company has begun the first week of rehearsal -- officially "Week A" on our schedule, which means that only the non-Equity actors are rehearsing so far -- at least officially. A good indication of the dedication of our actors is that several have chosen to "visit" rehearsals, even though they're not required to be there, just to have another week to develop their vocal and physical stamina. (Here's another place where union and non-union economics play out on the practical level. Each week of Equity rehearsal is very, very expensive, since we have so many contracts.) So the director begins to shape the group scenes with the Ensemble first: practicality forms the rehearsal schedule. The result is astonishing, though. By Sunday, Christopher, Deborah, and Angela plan to have all the large musical numbers staged completely.
On Sunday, Michael Butler will observe the rehearsal. It's a perpetual discipline for him not to come to see the ongoing work every day, because he loves to observe the process. But he's discovered that, if he only watches about once a week, he's better able to see the progress and spot anything that doesn't feel right.
Last Monday's first reading was awesome, really. Not just because the book works -- and it does, particularly the new act break. But because the energy passing between the actors working together for the first time, and the large staff literally surrounding and supporting them, was palpable. The theatre was physically cold (grrr ... heating problems, getting solved by the Organic), but the warmth was palpable. And the joy. We thank Herself all around.
The first ads are hitting. Today's affirmation: Buy tickets. Buy lots of tickets.
And watch for two new points of view on the show -- from Company Manager Will Hepp and Movement Director Angela Allyn, the yin and yang of our company.
All of us in The Pope Joan Company just seem to be looking quietly at each other with wide eyes: it's really happening. It's really happening. We're going into rehearsal on Monday, and we can't wait! Everyone -- actors, production staff, and some of the investors who live in Chicago -- will be gathering on Monday evening for the read-through of the play.
Scott Brush, our Louis, who just finished another stint on AS THE WORLD TURNS, will be arriving this weekend. He's so happy to be doing two and a half hours of sequential theatre work every night again! Television's great for the money, but there's nothing like performing live.
Our super new musical director, Deborah Abramson, is busy studying the score so she'll be ready for the first rehearsal. She and Christopher went through the score and assigned all the supernumerary lines -- no small task, when you're dealing with two hours and fifteen minutes of music!
On Wednesday night, the production team gathered at Christopher Moore's for a detailed meeting. We were joined by the most recent addition to our production team, Tom Hartman, our property master. Already Tom is out and about searching for such esoteric props as "Byzantine bourzoukis and chastity belts with two keys" (for the market scene, "The Forum in Rome") and less challenging ones, like pascal candles and croziers.
Our set and lighting designer, Andrew Meyers (don't miss his smashing new essay on designing POPE JOAN, featured on this site) reported that the set construction has been moved from a single house and jobbed out to three separate ones -- somebody's doing building, somebody else is doing painting, and a third is assembling. But he's saved us mucho bucks in the process -- the classic "art versus budget" dilemma effectively solved.
The first publicity is beginning to hit. This week, Chris Jones wrote a "lively essay" (his words to one of our cast members) on the commercial remount in NEW CITY. The "INC." column in the CHICAGO TRIBUNE ran a wonderful teaser about the "controversial nude" poster (which nobody's seen yet in public -- it's GORGEOUS!). Tracy Baim in OUTLINES picked up the Bill Zwecker scoop in the SUN-TIMES. Not bad, the week before rehearsal begins. Not bad at all.
Families are chosen and given. Theatrical families -- intense, ever-changing, functional or dysfunctional as any other -- form, bond, and dissipate. But sometimes they form the friendship foundations of lifetime chosen families. Aren't spirals wondrous? May all our families be blessed by the Holy Family.
Yet another theatrical goodbye and hello. Our musical director, Daniel Stetzel, who had not yet begun the project, has decided to take another. We found out on Sunday night -- after some preliminary publicity had already gone out. Oh, well. Artists will do what artists will do!
And everything happens for the best. One of the graces of this mini-crisis was the opportunity to add more female energy to the project, which we have done.
And The Pope Joan Company welcomes Musical Director Deborah Abramson! Happy synchronicity allowed us to engage Deborah's services right as she returned to Chicago from Milwaukee Rep, where she just finished SHINE ON, HARVEST MOON. In Chicago, Deborah is best known for her musical direction of HANS BRINKER at New Tuners Theatre, as well as INTO THE WOODS and THE FANTASTICKS at her alma mater, Wheaton College. In 1994, she was one of five Chicago composers selected to participate in the New Music-Theater Ensemble's National Residency Program. She has composed scores for THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE, AS YOU LIKE IT, and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT"S DREAM.
Christopher had been watching Deb's work for a couple of years with growing admiration. We're delighted that our need and her availability translate into a major opportunity for this talented young woman. Another right place, right time. Isn't karma dandy?
Happy New Year from everybody with The Pope Joan Company! Everyone is returning from their "who knows when there'll be time to get out of town again" holiday visits. And this week has moved business to a high gear.
We're thrilled that the publicity campaign for the show will be beginning this week. Jason Roth, our stalwart account executive at Tom Doody and Associates (our PR firm), is coordinating the huge publicity blitz that will begin next week. Krista Ferdinand, our graphics expert at Design Horizons, is putting finishing touches on advertising and poster materials. You'll be able to see a great deal of their work on the workshop web in the next few weeks.
This week, work and meetings have multiplied. The set, designed by Andrew Meyers, is under construction out of town. Musical Director Dan Stetzel, Arranger Gino De Luca, and Director/Author Christopher Moore have been busily coordinating arrangements between themselves and the musicians being hired to play Gino's wonderful new arrangement.
Rehearsals will begin on January 15th at the Organic. Christopher is very happy, since the rehearsal space actually meets the same configurations as the performance space, thereby making staging in a separate place far less a nightmare than it sometimes can be. All the actors have had their scripts and music over the holidays, and are coming in well-prepared to begin the intense, concentrated period of putting together this huge production.
We all begin, in the smallest way, to see how all the pre-production pieces we've been sweating over for the last several months are coming together. The classic "scary and wonderful" phrase seems apt! And we pray for health, great strength, and happy spirits to carry us through the next month. While we're at it, we all wish the same for you.
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