Hello everyone!

Honestly, back in April, I didn't know if I'd make it to this weekend in one piece.

It was a tough month with the second Hutchinson Theatre Guild production opening on May 8th.  The production is Lucky Stiff (many thanks to those of you who have attended) and has been very well received.  I was really the one man show with this production as I served as Director, Music Director, Scenic Designer, Lighting Designer and Sound Designer.  As a preview of all of the work that was put into this production (215 lights cue, 41 sound cues and 135 hours of rehearsal later), the cast, crew and I put in around 3000 hours on Lucky Stiff.  That is the equivalent of working 125 days, 24/7.  It was a little crazy to think that since November of 2013, I have put in nearly 630 hours on this production. 


The production has been very well received.  For those of you who are unaware, I thought I'd share my director's notes about the production as well as some information about the production.

DIRECTOR'S NOTES
In 1988, Lucky Stiff premiered at Playwrights Horizon. This company is based on West 42nd Street in New York City and is, in their own words, “a writer's theater dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers and lyricists, and to the production of their new work.” Notable alumni of Playwrights Horizon include Bruce Norris, Alfred Uhry, Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine, Edward Albee, Sarah Ruhl, Doug Wright, Annie Baker, William Finn, Christopher Durang and our authors, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Productions that have originated at Playwrights Horizon include Sunday in the Park with George, Dead Man’s Cell Phone,  March of the Falsettos, Clybourne Park, Assassins, and Driving Miss Daisy, to name a few.

Lucky Stiff is based on the novel The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo by Michael Butterworth. Scholarship about the book, which was published 1983, does not speak highly of it, with
“too morbid” and “far too silly” being used regularly in reference to its concept, plot and otherwise. And while Mr. Butterworth’s critics and fans might not have appreciated the novel’s quirkiness, it was that very quality that attracted Ahrens and Flaherty. Like any adaptation, there are parts of the book which were tossed in favor of more interesting relationships, comedic value and simplicity of story. But the morbidity and silliness of the novel is broadly evident in Lucky Stiff. While to my knowledge Flaherty and Ahrens have stayed silent about their influences in this production, it is clear that a good portion of this musical is a throwback to American musical theatre. Music theatre buffs will recognize the imitation of musical theatre styles from Sondheim to Rodgers and Hammerstein and everywhere in between. I’m particularly taken by musical numbers in this production which I can clearly draw the conclusion that they were influenced by specific production numbers from specific productions. One, example of this is “Harry’s Nightmare”. Having recently seen Hutchinson Community College’s production of Fiddler on the Roof, it is clear that our nightmare sequence is
inspired by, if not lovingly ripped off of, “Tevye’s Dream”.

As Ahrens’ and Flaherty’s body of work has grown, their source material has often been based on quirky stories. Besides Lucky Stiff, other works which display the same playful writing as seen in Lucky Stiff include Suessical! the musical (which is based on the stories of Dr. Suess), Once on this Island and the current Broadway production of Rocky which is based on the film series featuring Sylvester Stallone of the same name. They also have ventured into literature with a much more serious bent, the best of example of which is the epic musical Ragtime, whose original cast featured Broadway powerhouses Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald, among others.

The conceptualization of the production you see today is quite different than I suspect most of you are used to. With ten people on our small stage and the production’s numerous locales, our story
must be told using minimal scenery, costumes and properties out of necessity. Working under these
parameters resulted in a happy accident. The production harkens back to the very basics of theatre which boils down to a group of actors telling a story. Lucky Stiff does not claim to be anything other than that. And while our story is “strange, we know”, it does something which I think theatre should do more often: give us the ability to enjoy ourselves without pretense.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens’ (authors of Suessical! The musical and Ragtime) musical comedy Lucky Stiff will be presented by the Hutchinson Theatre Guild at their production facility, Stage 9 at 9 S. Main in Hutchinson, KS, May 8th musical is the second production of the 2014 Season. Lucky Stiff follows the adventures of Harry Witherspoon, a recent beneficiary of his Uncle Tony Hendon’s will. Prior to inheriting the six million dollars bequeathed him, Mr. Witherspoon has to take his deceased uncle on a vacation of a life time to Monte Carlo. The trip will be anything but a vacation.  Annabel Glick, employee of the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn, is watching Harry’s every step - for if he does not execute the requests of his uncle for the vacation preciously, the Dog Home will become the benefactor of Hendon’s will.

Little do Annabel and Harry know that the six million dollars at stake does not really belong to Hendon as he stole the money from his lover’s husband, an Atlantic City mob-affiliated casino owner. Hendon’s lover, Rita, and her brother Vinnie, head to Monte Carlo to track down Witherspoon and the money. A daring game of cat and mouse plays out to hysterical effect as Witherspoon and Glick battle for control of the inheritance, all while being chased by Rita and Vinnie who are desperate to get the money back. Set to an imaginative score featuring many different musical styles, Lucky Stiff is sure to keep the laughs coming as complications and a special twist keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

Lucky Stiff is performed by special arrangement with Music Theatre International.

Cast members include Lynn Hase (Harry), Piper Harding (Annabel), Whitney Lansdowne (Rita), Matt Lansdowne (Vinnie), Aaron Parker (Tony), Ben Jones (Luigi), Amy Brownlee (Dominique and Ensemble), Kathy Lansdowne (Ensemble), Kelly Gauthier (Ensemble) and Amanda Moore (Ensemble). The production is directed by Charles A. Johnston and stage managed by Blaine Teter.

So that's what I've been up to.  I am pretty much in Artistic and Managing control of all production aspects of each individual production and thus, the Hutchinson Theatre Guild.  It's a lot of responsibility but hopefully it will pay off handsomely. I'm in discussions to stay on another year (or at least part of it) with the Guild.  The church that use to be Northminster Presbyterian (now called New Covenant) has an opening for their choir director.  I've been floated as a possibility for that job as well.

So...stay tuned.  Who knows what may ensue.