STAGE TROUPE FINDS A HOME IN ASBURY PARK

By TOM CHESEK • Correspondent • May 30, 2008 • Asbury Park Press

It's a classic Asbury Park story. A team of dedicated artists, boasting an impeccable set of credentials, leave the big city to seek their fortune on a new and unfamiliar frontier — and find a home here in the fabled city by the sea. Taken under their wing by a supportive local arts community, they make friends, forge connections and work to establish Asbury Park's place as the true heart and soul of the Shore artscape.

Sounds inspiring, for sure — a pity it almost didn't happen in Asbury.

When Thomas Morrissey returned to Genesius Theatre Guild, the Manhattan-based stage company he founded in 1995, he and his fellow Genesius directors David Leidholdt and Stephen Bishop Seely made the rather daring decision to relocate the acclaimed troupe to a different city — one that could conceivably support the guild's innovative range of offerings, while offering in turn a more reasonable cost of doing business. The producing partners visited several locations on the West Coast, and researched dozens of others — including Paducah, Kentucky, a city that has lured a new generation of artists and entrepreneurs by renting vacant lofts for the price of one dollar a month.

"People kept mentioning Asbury Park to us," says Leidholdt, adding that "we had been here a couple of years ago and thought it wasn't quite ready yet."

Still, with an influx of artists and creative professionals finding friendly harbor here in recent years — people like Marjorie Conn, who relocated her Provincetown Fringe Festival lock-stock-and-name to Asbury Park — the prospect of setting up in such a manageably sized, conveniently located, artistically attuned place was ultimately too much to resist. Following Morrissey to town, Leidholdt and Seely rented a house and began to take a good look at their company's mission in this new locale.

With Tom, David and Stephen sharing the title of Producing Artistic Director, the principals took on Shore-based, Tony-nominated actor Lou Liberatore (who had worked with Morrissey at Circle Repertory Company) as their Literary Director — and, in what was perhaps their boldest move to date, decided to retire the Genesius name in favor of a new identity.

"We thought of things like Three Guys in a Theater, Three's Company," says Seely, a prolific actor and director who worked on the musicals "Tarzan" and "On the Record" during his tenure at Disney Theatrical Productions.

According to Leidholdt, a veteran freelance director and co-founder of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, "We settled upon ReVision, since this was going to be sort of a re-visioning of what we'd done before."

The partners officially opened for business late last year, moved to join such organizations as the Monmouth County Arts Council, ARTSCAP, and the local Chamber of Commerce, and applied for New Jersey non-profit status. They even set up temporary headquarters at Asbury Park's VFW building; where they've conducted workshops, classes and auditions. All that's been missing is a performance space to call their own.

Enter Mattison Park, the downtown martini lounge and restaurant whose owners "asked if we could recommend or supply an act," recalls Leidholdt. Taking the request and running with it, ReVision assembled what's slated to be the first East Coast staging of a buzzworthy new musical bio on one of the most iconic ladies of the silver screen — just in time for the gay pride celebration.

Presented for a single performance this Sunday, "Daydreaming: Channeling Doris Day" presents Broadway actress Kathy Morath (who co-scripted with director Dennis Bailey) as a successful but troubled businesswoman who "finds she has to channel Doris Day to get through the day."
It's a "musical journey" framework for a score of songs made famous by the wholesome golden goddess of Hollywood, including "Que Sera, Sera," "Secret Love" and the title tune.

Actor-accompanist Christopher Stephens co-stars in the 5 p.m. program, for which tickets are available at $10 each, and seating can be reserved by calling (732) 455-3059 or visiting www.ReVisionTheatre.org.