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WASHINGTON COUNTY ARTS GUIDE DECEMBER 2012 – FEBRUARY 2013
1
unpainted wood cut into the
shape of an old odeon
marquis. On each side of the
stage are half-finished
trellises and baroque
columns.
It is the bare bones of a
theater, and on it they flesh
out the bare bones of a play.
While the performers are
working, Lewis constantly
gestures to things that aren’t
yet there. He points to this tree, and then
to that tree. But there is nothing but grey-
painted stage.
Lewis gestures broadly and hops
around at the edge of the stage while
offering instructions to his cast. In
essence, he’s thinking out loud and letting
his body do some of the thinking.
“Face out to the audience,” he tells
Amy Jo Halliday, “so you’re still engaged.
Think really bad operetta. Just be there,
and we’ll know you’re the village
ingénue.”
“Do I come in on the 1?” Valley asks
her director.
“You come in on the 2,” Lewis says.
By the end of the push-
through, everyone looks
exhausted, but there are still
more than an hour of musical
rehearsals before anyone goes
home for the night. “So those
are the pieces,” Lewis tells the
performers. “Nowwe have a
path to the play.”
Still, he says, there will still
be some parts that need
changing so he won’t be “sick to
look at them.”
But as much work as it is to get all the
pieces in place, it’s obvious the cast enjoys
the process of getting the play together –
another part of the magic of theater.
Oh, and as for Stenseth’s cold? He’s
feeling a lot better, thanks.
After all, the showmust go on.
– Christmas on Broadway opened on
Friday, Nov. 23 and performances
continue through Dec. 23. Performances:
7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, 2 pm Sunday
and select Saturdays. Tickets start at $30
for adults, with youth discounts available.
Tickets available at broadwayrose.org.
Christmas on Broadway stars a
quintet of actors who are well-known
to patrons of Broadway Rose and
other local stages: Amy Jo Halliday,
Joshua Stenseth, Rebecca Teran,
Norman Wilson and Amanda Valley.
And, if it seems they fit their parts
perfectly, it’s no accident. Writer Rick
Lewis has worked with all of them.
According to Alan Anderson,
Marketing Director at Broadway
Rose, when Lewis first started
tossing ideas around for the play he
began describing the type of actor he
wanted for the roles.
“He’d describe the character and
he’d say, ‘kind of like a Josh type,
kind of like a Norman type,’”
Anderson recalls. “Finally, he said,
‘Why don’t we just ask Norman and
Josh?”
WRITER BUILDS ROLES
AROUND CAST MEMBERS
“I’m trying to
make it simple
and not take
itself too
seriously.”
RICK LEWIS
Rick Lewis, the writer and
director of “Christmas on
Broadway,” decided to start with
a familiar cast and build a holiday
revue around their unique talents.