Playhouse's new director to revitalize season of musicals

Sunday, February 26, 2006

TWO ON THE AISLE: Cathy Nelson Price

The warm weather is months away, but for summer theaters across the country, things are heating up. On Route 1 in southern Maine, though the motels may be in hibernation mode, the venerable Ogunquit Playhouse is hopping.

The new artistic director, Brad Kenney, who until recently held that same position at the Foothills Theatre in Worcester, Mass., has big plans for the historic venue, ones that balance a present-day vitality with a respect for the past. He's got an experienced staff partner in Kim Starling, who began at the playhouse several years ago as director of operations, and now holds the title of associate artistic director.

Together, they're taking steps to continue the summer slate of all musicals that has characterized recent seasons. The upcoming 2006 offerings include "Beehive," June 19-July 8; "Hello, Dolly!" July 10-22; "Cabaret," July 24-Aug. 5; Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Cinderella," Aug. 7-26; and "Menopause, The Musical," Aug. 28-Sept. 16.

While musicals are more expensive to produce, they're what summer audiences want to see, according to Starling.

"Our surveys are telling us that we have not just a musical audience, but a Broadway musical audience. It helps flesh out what direction we need to be in, and people are responding to the change to bigger, more current musicals that are on our docket," she explains.

When he came on board, Kenney says, "It was my great hope to keep (the playhouse) a musical theater performing house and really stretch it, push it toward seasons that are exciting. We'll have some of the classical titles that will keep people who've been coming for decades happy; but also branch out into brand new things that are being seen on national tours or still on Broadway."

His connections are making it happen. "We have 'Beehive' coming in to open the season; we're working with Worcester Foothills on that one; it was the most successful four-week run in the history of the company," Kenney says. "Also Sam Mendes' (Studio 54 revival of) 'Cabaret'; Worcester was the first theater in the country to be allowed to touch it and we'll be the second.

"We'll remount and re-orchestrate Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Cinderella' here; it will be the production that played at Madison Square Garden. When we do 'Hello, Dolly!' the sets will be constructed from the original plans. Production quality is what the outside world thinks of (longtime playhouse producer, the late) John Lane and Ogunquit; that's what they expect to see here."

They also equate the playhouse with star names, a hard-to-replicate legacy of the heyday of summer stock when the city heat sent grateful Broadway and Hollywood luminaries along the sea-cooled straw hat circuit.

Recent seasons have seen television veteran Sally Struthers in a number of roles, and she'll be back this year as Dolly Levi. (Struthers has a fan in Starling, who notes, "One of the great things about Sally is that she's an icon for multiple generations, thanks to 'Gilmore Girls' and 'Still Standing.' ")

But shows do not live by stars alone, and unless the rest of the cast is top-notch, folks might feel reluctant to fork over $40-plus for a single ticket. That's where Kenney and Starling are currently focused, as casting calls shift into high gear for regional auditions throughout the country.

"I coordinate the casting in terms of auditions, but we will go together to do the casting and also with the individual directors (for the shows.) It's a team effort to make sure the directors get the casts they want. Because we're not a resident company, we're able to cast very specifically," Starling explains.

That also means keeping a closer eye than in years past on some of the local talent available, as well. Says Kenney, "It's my desire to get the people of Maine and even New England a little more involved. Onstage, behind stage, marketing, promotion, all of it."

For more information on John Lane's Ogunquit Playhouse, including show descriptions and ticket information, call the theater at 646-2402 or visit the Web site at www.ogunquitplayhouse.org.

Cathy Nelson Price is a theater critic who lives in Cape Elizabeth.

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