Monday, August 25, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Newsflash: Hippies Spotted In Asbury Park "Hair" on the Boardwalk
By Philip Dorian
Two River Times
August 22nd 2008
On opening night of Hair at the Carousel on the Asbury Park boardwalk, heavy rain (precipitation) fell during the song about snow (not precipitation). Dripping through the roof in several spots, including onto the stage, the rain did not dampen the spirits of the show's anti-Vietnam War protesters or of their adoring capacity audience. The particular scene is a hippie be-in, and the downpour brought us all, audience and cast, together for a precious two hours.
That's what Hair was supposed to do, before we traded tie-dye for navy blue and activism for going-along-to-get-along. Two years ago I wrote that Hair, 40 years after emerging as the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, had become passe and that its relevance might be mainly historical. Dated Hair is, but despite some valid criticisms, ReVision's quality re-vision makes for a valid time-study. Director Andy Goldberg imbued his energetic cast with respect for the era as well as the material.
Don't go to Hair looking for a plot or even a linear story. It's New York City, 1968. Claude (Casey Gensler), drafted to serve in Vietnam, vows to burn his draft card and refuse induction. In the end he does go, with predictable consequences.
Claude's tribe includes his sex-and-drugs-obsessed friend Berger (Scoop Slone); his girlfriend Sheila (Ephie Aardema); Jeanie (Julia Arazi), who's pregnant by Claude; Hud (Kyle Taylor Parker), a tough "colored" guy; sweet, vulnerable Crissy (Marah Meese); and diverse hippies.
Claude is ambivalent about serving, while Berger is in the 'hell no, I won't go' camp. Gensler and Slone, contrasting types, match up well. Their friendship rings true.
Musically, The Tribe rediscovers "Aquarius," Good Morning Starshine" and "Let the Sunshine In" with enthusiasm and "Frank Mills" gets the proper wistful treatment from Meese. Ms. Aardema, an accomplished singer, is a potent presence throughout, and Arazi makes of pregnant Jeanie the waif you want to protect. Britt Johnson's cameo as a curious tourist is a comic highlight.
Hair ushered in the era of amplification, and there is a tendency for companies to treat their theater spaces like 15,000-seat concert venues. ReVision is no exception. The band, offstage at the rear, provides excellent backing, but a sizeable portion of the lyrics is lost in vocal volume and over-amplification, a significant flaw, considering the absence of a coherent book. While a choreographer is listed, the dancing is free-form and more Stone Pony-ish than stageworthy.
On the big-plus side: Most of act two is Claude's war-themed hallucination. Vietnam is represented of course, as are the American Revolution, the Civil War, both World Wars and '60s Civil Rights issues. The extended scene can be as fuzzy as Claude's drug-addled brain, but here it's clear as a bell and ethereal all at once. Director Goldberg uses the Carousel's many aisles and levels, and costumer Steven Epstein's creations blend accuracy with a sense of humor. The second act works better here than anywhere else I've seen it.
The fortitude that turned the recently-decrepit carousel building into a viable theater venue is praiseworthy in itself. What a pleasure to see Asbury Park's Boardwalk, virtually deserted for decades, bustling again with shops, strolling couples, laughing teenagers and, would you believe, even theatergoers.
"Hair" runs through August 31 at The Carousel, south end of the Boardwalk in Asbury Park. Performances are Thurs-Fri at 8pm; Sat at 7 and 10:30; and Sun at 7pm. For tickets ($35): 732-455-3059 or online at www.revisiontheatre.org
About Hair's fleeting nude scene: Here it's semi. A few of the 17 hippies are starkers and a few topless, but the once-shocking display is redundant now anyway - silly even. Of far more importance, the audience is not invited on stage to dance with the cast after the curtain call. C'mon, ReVision; get with the program.
Two River Times
August 22nd 2008
On opening night of Hair at the Carousel on the Asbury Park boardwalk, heavy rain (precipitation) fell during the song about snow (not precipitation). Dripping through the roof in several spots, including onto the stage, the rain did not dampen the spirits of the show's anti-Vietnam War protesters or of their adoring capacity audience. The particular scene is a hippie be-in, and the downpour brought us all, audience and cast, together for a precious two hours.
That's what Hair was supposed to do, before we traded tie-dye for navy blue and activism for going-along-to-get-along. Two years ago I wrote that Hair, 40 years after emerging as the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, had become passe and that its relevance might be mainly historical. Dated Hair is, but despite some valid criticisms, ReVision's quality re-vision makes for a valid time-study. Director Andy Goldberg imbued his energetic cast with respect for the era as well as the material.
Don't go to Hair looking for a plot or even a linear story. It's New York City, 1968. Claude (Casey Gensler), drafted to serve in Vietnam, vows to burn his draft card and refuse induction. In the end he does go, with predictable consequences.
Claude's tribe includes his sex-and-drugs-obsessed friend Berger (Scoop Slone); his girlfriend Sheila (Ephie Aardema); Jeanie (Julia Arazi), who's pregnant by Claude; Hud (Kyle Taylor Parker), a tough "colored" guy; sweet, vulnerable Crissy (Marah Meese); and diverse hippies.
Claude is ambivalent about serving, while Berger is in the 'hell no, I won't go' camp. Gensler and Slone, contrasting types, match up well. Their friendship rings true.
Musically, The Tribe rediscovers "Aquarius," Good Morning Starshine" and "Let the Sunshine In" with enthusiasm and "Frank Mills" gets the proper wistful treatment from Meese. Ms. Aardema, an accomplished singer, is a potent presence throughout, and Arazi makes of pregnant Jeanie the waif you want to protect. Britt Johnson's cameo as a curious tourist is a comic highlight.
Hair ushered in the era of amplification, and there is a tendency for companies to treat their theater spaces like 15,000-seat concert venues. ReVision is no exception. The band, offstage at the rear, provides excellent backing, but a sizeable portion of the lyrics is lost in vocal volume and over-amplification, a significant flaw, considering the absence of a coherent book. While a choreographer is listed, the dancing is free-form and more Stone Pony-ish than stageworthy.
On the big-plus side: Most of act two is Claude's war-themed hallucination. Vietnam is represented of course, as are the American Revolution, the Civil War, both World Wars and '60s Civil Rights issues. The extended scene can be as fuzzy as Claude's drug-addled brain, but here it's clear as a bell and ethereal all at once. Director Goldberg uses the Carousel's many aisles and levels, and costumer Steven Epstein's creations blend accuracy with a sense of humor. The second act works better here than anywhere else I've seen it.
The fortitude that turned the recently-decrepit carousel building into a viable theater venue is praiseworthy in itself. What a pleasure to see Asbury Park's Boardwalk, virtually deserted for decades, bustling again with shops, strolling couples, laughing teenagers and, would you believe, even theatergoers.
"Hair" runs through August 31 at The Carousel, south end of the Boardwalk in Asbury Park. Performances are Thurs-Fri at 8pm; Sat at 7 and 10:30; and Sun at 7pm. For tickets ($35): 732-455-3059 or online at www.revisiontheatre.org
About Hair's fleeting nude scene: Here it's semi. A few of the 17 hippies are starkers and a few topless, but the once-shocking display is redundant now anyway - silly even. Of far more importance, the audience is not invited on stage to dance with the cast after the curtain call. C'mon, ReVision; get with the program.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
"Hair' grabs gold ring
Scoop Slone, Casey Gensler and Ephie Aardema are co-stars in ReVision Theatre Company's production of "Hair," being staged at the carousel house in Asbury Park.
(Dennis Carroll)
August 19, 2008
by TOM CHESEK, Asbury Park Press
What a piece of work is "Hair: the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" that caught Broadway with its pants down more than 40 years ago.
Welded to its Summer of Love origins, devoid of all but the barest-bones plot points, populated by the sketchiest of characters, the 1967 show created by James Rado and Gerome Ragni might have been little more than a vanity project for its writer-stars if it weren't for one crucial distinction — those songs.
Working with composer Galt MacDermot, the authors crafted a set of generational anthems, emotional ballads and satiric sing-alongs that stand very well on their own, even as they shoulder the entire weight of moving the show along. All this, without owing a thing to the conventions of Tin Pan Alley's Golden Age.
Along the way to revolutionizing the whole musical template as practiced in postwar America, "Hair" managed to shed a number of Broadway bugaboos — against sex and drug references, interracial romancing and liberal dropping of the f-bomb, to name but a few. Most of all, it's famous for the shedding of clothing, which the cast does during the "Be-In" sequence that forms the climax to the first act.
ReVision Theatre Company, the new professional troupe based in Asbury Park, has selected this unorthodox show as its first extended-engagement production — and they've opted to do it in an unorthodox venue, the Carousel building that adjoins the old Casino at the south end of the boardwalk.
Unless you're a recovering 1990s skate punk, you probably haven't been inside that historic roundhouse for many years; not since the hand-painted ponies of the old wooden ride stampeded out of state. Boardwalk developer Madison Marquette has done a tremendous job getting the unique structure up to speed as a live performance venue, a purpose it was never designed for.
Director Andy Goldberg (whose 1970s-retro tribute to the Aussie pop group Boney M was a smash on European stages) and the ReVision team have also worked hard in orienting this show to its unusual space, keeping the cast of 17 actors mostly above the audience on a central riser, side platforms and scaffolds.
As Claude, the conflicted "Tribe" member whose drafting into the Vietnam-era army forms the crux of the drama here, Casey Gensler shares the spotlight with Scoop Slone, who displays some solid rock-star cred as the Puckish, self-centered Tribesman Berger. If anything, however, "Hair" is an unusually democratic show in which pretty much everyone gets their turn to shine — with stand-out moments delivered by Kyle Taylor Parker ("Colored Spade"), Julia Arazi ("Air"), Mike Russo ("Don't Put It Down") and Ephie Aardema ("Easy To Be Hard").
Special kudos should go out to lighting designer George Hansel, who's met the considerable challenges of rigging and illuminating this oddball space with an effort that pays off in full during the extended "trip" and hallucination sequences of the second act.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Celebrating diversity with 'Hair'
Asbury Park troupe stages alternate production to one in Central Park
Monday, August 18, 2008
BY PETER FILICHIA
To paraphrase a famous Cole Porter lyric, is it Granada he sees, or only Asbury Park?
Both, in fact. Thomas Morrissey feels that ReVision Theatre, the new troupe he's co-founded, is in the right place and time to benefit from Asbury Park's continued renaissance.
"And because we're in such a diverse community," he says, "we decided to put on the most diverse show we could: 'Hair.'"
The famous 1968 rock musical had already been announced for a summer engagement in New York City's Central Park before Morrissey and his partners, David E. Leidholdt and Stephen Bishop Seely, chose it.
In Asbury Park, the musical is being staged in the Carousel on the Boardwalk by Andy Goldberg, who had an off-Broadway hit with "The Bomb-ity of Errors." Scoop Slone, the lead singer of the rock band Maslow, stars.
The 54-year-old Morrissey and his co-artistic directors are expecting a great many Baby Boomers.
"We'd like it if people from Deal and Spring Lake would drop by, too," he says. "They embraced 'Hair' when they were young, for this was the generation that broke the rules and helped change the perception of the Vietnam War.
"But," he says, "these kids believed they had the answers, and we now know they weren't always right. Sex and drugs don't cure things. So 'Hair' offers the good and bad of the era."
It was quite a different musical that got Morrissey interested in theater.
"'My Fair Lady,'" he says. "My parents and I came to New York from Davenport, Iowa, when I was about 5. Pretty soon into it, I whispered to my parents, 'I want to do that when I grow up."
"That," however, didn't necessarily mean performing, though Morrissey did plenty of that in community theaters and children's stages in Iowa.
"When I did summer stock," he says, "I became more aware of what it takes to put on a show. So I watched the people who did lights and sound. I went to the box office and learned the system of ticket-selling. I checked out how the press agents wrote their press releases. It wasn't just about performing for me."
In the '80s, Morrissey worked as a house manager for two Greenwich Village theaters and became a member of the illustrious Circle Repertory Company.
"It got too entrenched in doing one specific kind of play," Morrissey says, "and then it seemed to be repeating itself. And that's why they closed down."
Morrissey responded in 1995, a year before Circle folded, by starting a company called the Genesius Guild, named for the patron saint of actors. It centered on developing new work. ReVision, though, will do new and old works, hoping to mount three next year in a space that will become a 300-seat theater.
A redevelopment company named Madison Marquette has greatly helped. "They rehabilitated the Paramount Theatre in town, and they gave it to us for a recent benefit. That went so well, they gave us some money to do 'Hair,' too."
So sure is Morrissey that ReVision will succeed that he's bought a home in Asbury Park, though he's keeping his Manhattan digs as well.
Only one question left, and Morrissey knows it's coming before it's asked. "Yes, of course, we'll do the famous nude scene."
Peter Filichia may be reached at pfilichia@starledger.com or (973) 392-5995.
Monday, August 18, 2008
BY PETER FILICHIA
To paraphrase a famous Cole Porter lyric, is it Granada he sees, or only Asbury Park?
Both, in fact. Thomas Morrissey feels that ReVision Theatre, the new troupe he's co-founded, is in the right place and time to benefit from Asbury Park's continued renaissance.
"And because we're in such a diverse community," he says, "we decided to put on the most diverse show we could: 'Hair.'"
The famous 1968 rock musical had already been announced for a summer engagement in New York City's Central Park before Morrissey and his partners, David E. Leidholdt and Stephen Bishop Seely, chose it.
In Asbury Park, the musical is being staged in the Carousel on the Boardwalk by Andy Goldberg, who had an off-Broadway hit with "The Bomb-ity of Errors." Scoop Slone, the lead singer of the rock band Maslow, stars.
The 54-year-old Morrissey and his co-artistic directors are expecting a great many Baby Boomers.
"We'd like it if people from Deal and Spring Lake would drop by, too," he says. "They embraced 'Hair' when they were young, for this was the generation that broke the rules and helped change the perception of the Vietnam War.
"But," he says, "these kids believed they had the answers, and we now know they weren't always right. Sex and drugs don't cure things. So 'Hair' offers the good and bad of the era."
It was quite a different musical that got Morrissey interested in theater.
"'My Fair Lady,'" he says. "My parents and I came to New York from Davenport, Iowa, when I was about 5. Pretty soon into it, I whispered to my parents, 'I want to do that when I grow up."
"That," however, didn't necessarily mean performing, though Morrissey did plenty of that in community theaters and children's stages in Iowa.
"When I did summer stock," he says, "I became more aware of what it takes to put on a show. So I watched the people who did lights and sound. I went to the box office and learned the system of ticket-selling. I checked out how the press agents wrote their press releases. It wasn't just about performing for me."
In the '80s, Morrissey worked as a house manager for two Greenwich Village theaters and became a member of the illustrious Circle Repertory Company.
"It got too entrenched in doing one specific kind of play," Morrissey says, "and then it seemed to be repeating itself. And that's why they closed down."
Morrissey responded in 1995, a year before Circle folded, by starting a company called the Genesius Guild, named for the patron saint of actors. It centered on developing new work. ReVision, though, will do new and old works, hoping to mount three next year in a space that will become a 300-seat theater.
A redevelopment company named Madison Marquette has greatly helped. "They rehabilitated the Paramount Theatre in town, and they gave it to us for a recent benefit. That went so well, they gave us some money to do 'Hair,' too."
So sure is Morrissey that ReVision will succeed that he's bought a home in Asbury Park, though he's keeping his Manhattan digs as well.
Only one question left, and Morrissey knows it's coming before it's asked. "Yes, of course, we'll do the famous nude scene."
Peter Filichia may be reached at pfilichia@starledger.com or (973) 392-5995.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Woof's Super Fruity Party Punch
posted by Karl Wilder
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Fusion on the Fly Blog
http://chefprivato.blogspot.com/2008/08/woofs-super-fruity-party-punch.html
For those of you who thought that the Public Theatre's production of Hair was too clean, that it lacked grit, soul, energy, love, sweat, tears and anger; run, or take a train to Asbury Park, New Jersey and see this definitive production of the Love Rock Musical Hair. Staged by the Revision Theatre .
I was in a cast many years ago and have seen this show in several incarnations and have never been left with such a powerful punch as this version provides. If for any reason the director and choreographer of the Public version do not go to Broadway the producers need look no further than Andy Goldberg (director) and Elisabetta Spuria (choreographer) to find the talent needed to have audiences on their feet, not because they have been invited to join a Mama Mia type dance party, but because they have been touched deeply.
From the moment the lights come up and Aquarius begins as the souls of our pasts are given a summons from a Royal medium the chills begin. All around us the ghosts appear and as they grow stronger in voice they become real and it isn't a nostalgic look back, we are there. It's 1968 and we are at war, young men are needlessly dying in a war we know is wrong.
The voices are powerful and strong as the past comes to life as real and vital as anything we have experienced.
Many versions of hair make Berger the 'star'. Here we see him on his own methadrine trip, one of those selfish types who talk a good game and will someday be a Republican excusing his life with a yearly cheque to some charity.
As we become fully a part of the tribe, the tribe moves above us, around us, in front of us immersing us in their world.
When Claude sings 'Where do I go?" and the cast turns to him in the final chorus we are a part of them beseeching him to join them in being free, not to give his life for some idiotic thought of patriotism. We as the audience know no matter what the sacrifice, nothing changes.
As the show draws to a close we want them to stay, celebrate their youth just a little longer, be a part of something important, sing and dance for as long as you can. Don't become us.
It can't happen.
We know who they are, and we know who they will become. A population that has allowed the president and the congress to run roughshod over our constitution. We, who are complacent sheep going along with anything to be perpetuate the illusion that we are 'safe'. We who as the lights go on and souls of who we used to be depart sit stunned with tears in our eyes for what we have allowed ourselves and our country to be.
Theatre this evocative should run much longer than 3 weeks. The City of Asbury needs to give this amazing company an extension on the Carousal building and when it finally closes spend their resources turning the space into a Theatre, not some wasteful shopping court. If equity is an issue, guys bend your rules, you do it all the time to screw actors. Bend them again to give them a chance to be seen.
I'll make the trip to New Jersey again for this, but not to buy a pair of sunglasses.
Go to the website, read the names, remember these performers. Keep your eyes on them as they continue to work and hopefully fulfill the promises so many of us have failed.
So how do we go from here to a punch recipe? Hey, I'm a food writer, it may not always be a smooth transition but what is?
The one thing I remember about the 60's was punch, fruit juice (always eventually spiked) was served in big Christal or glass bowls. As hard as this cast works an Angel Hair pasta recipe just wouldn't cut it. They need something to rehydrate as they skinny dip til the sun comes up.
2 cups sugar
1 huge ginger root cut up
2 cups water
Warm the water on the stove and simmer the ginger root in the water for 30 minutes then stir in the sugar to make a syrup.
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup lime juice
1 cup unsweetened Cranberry juice
1 cup Cherry juice (tart if you can get it)
1 cup Pineapple juice
7 cups water
Once the syrup is made, stir in all the fruit juices and chill. Serve like a lemonade over ice and if the party calls for it spike it with some booze. Vodka, rum, or tequila blend best with fruit juices, but hippies can't be choosers so use what you've got.
Best served at final cast parties to celebrate a job well done. For this cast I would man the Barbecue at no fee, and I'm expensive.
Ephie Aardema, Julia Arazi, Casey Gensler, Kyle Taylor Parker, Marah Meese, Mike Russo, Scoop Slone, Keith Antone, Steven Charles, Joay Caldwell, Spiro Gallatsatos, Martin Gould Cummings, Deidra Grace, Iliana Inocencio, Britt Johnson, Hannah Shankman, Anita Welch
The Band
Brian Green, All Coffey, John Gronert, John Manga, Jim Mcilvain, Steve Pleasnarki, John Luckenbil
Band Conductor: Andrew Hertz
Set Design: Russell Michael Scramm
Lighting: George Hansel
Costumes: Steven Epstein
Sound: Simon Ghezzi
Assistant Director: Heather Foard
Associate Set Design: Dawn Von suskill
Production Stage Manager: Julie Meyer
Assistant Stage Manager: Ann Marie Chiatia
Music Direction: Andres Hertz
Choreography: Elisabetta Spuria
Director: Andy Goldberg
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
“Hair” in Asbury’s Carousel House
NJMonthly
NJ My Way
August 11, 2008 04:47 AM ET Permanent Link
It’s two revivals in one.“Hair,” the rock musical that revolutionized Broadway 40 years ago, is opening Friday as the first event held inside Asbury Park’s newly refurbished Carousel House, the boardwalk landmark that for decades sat empty and falling apart like much of this Shore town.
The show is being produced by ReVision Theater, which was founded in Asbury Park in November by members of the Genesius Theatre Group in New York. Stephen Bishop, one of the founders of ReVision, says he left New York for the Jersey Shore because the renaissance going on in Asbury provides good opportunities for the arts.
He also thinks it’s good for his production that another “Hair” revival recently opened at the Public Theater in New York. “Several people from that “Hair” helped us,” he says. “And lots of people don’t want to drive to New York, so they can come here to see us.”The play explores the hippie counterculture of the 1960s; it scandalized the nation with scenes that included profanity, drug use and sexuality in ways never before seen on the American musical stage. Still, songs such as “Aquarius,” the title song “Hair,” “Easy To Be Hard” “Good Morning Starshine,” and “Let The Sunshine In” became hits.
Bishop hopes staging the play at the Carousel House will be a hit too. “We were looking for alternative spaces, storefronts, garages, parks,” he says. “We had worked with [Asbury’s oceanfront developer] Madison Marquette and they were working on the Carousel House. We drove over and said: This will work, it’s a fantastic venue.”
The Carousel House was built in the late 1920s as part of the Casino entertainment complex on the south end of Asbury Park’s Boardwalk. During Asbury’s glory days as a resort, the building housed amusement rides including a large carousel. As the rides were dismantled through the 1980s the building fell into disrepair.
Madison Marquette has restored the copper roof and green cupola with elaborate trim, and reinstalled ornate glasswork windows. The show will be staged as theater-in-the-round. “It’s perfect for ‘Hair,” a show about hippies who come in and take over a space,” says Bishop. The show runs until August 31. Check here for times and tickets.
NJ My Way
August 11, 2008 04:47 AM ET Permanent Link
It’s two revivals in one.“Hair,” the rock musical that revolutionized Broadway 40 years ago, is opening Friday as the first event held inside Asbury Park’s newly refurbished Carousel House, the boardwalk landmark that for decades sat empty and falling apart like much of this Shore town.
The show is being produced by ReVision Theater, which was founded in Asbury Park in November by members of the Genesius Theatre Group in New York. Stephen Bishop, one of the founders of ReVision, says he left New York for the Jersey Shore because the renaissance going on in Asbury provides good opportunities for the arts.
He also thinks it’s good for his production that another “Hair” revival recently opened at the Public Theater in New York. “Several people from that “Hair” helped us,” he says. “And lots of people don’t want to drive to New York, so they can come here to see us.”The play explores the hippie counterculture of the 1960s; it scandalized the nation with scenes that included profanity, drug use and sexuality in ways never before seen on the American musical stage. Still, songs such as “Aquarius,” the title song “Hair,” “Easy To Be Hard” “Good Morning Starshine,” and “Let The Sunshine In” became hits.
Bishop hopes staging the play at the Carousel House will be a hit too. “We were looking for alternative spaces, storefronts, garages, parks,” he says. “We had worked with [Asbury’s oceanfront developer] Madison Marquette and they were working on the Carousel House. We drove over and said: This will work, it’s a fantastic venue.”
The Carousel House was built in the late 1920s as part of the Casino entertainment complex on the south end of Asbury Park’s Boardwalk. During Asbury’s glory days as a resort, the building housed amusement rides including a large carousel. As the rides were dismantled through the 1980s the building fell into disrepair.
Madison Marquette has restored the copper roof and green cupola with elaborate trim, and reinstalled ornate glasswork windows. The show will be staged as theater-in-the-round. “It’s perfect for ‘Hair,” a show about hippies who come in and take over a space,” says Bishop. The show runs until August 31. Check here for times and tickets.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Former Carousel House Now a Home for ‘Hair’ - New York Times
By GWEN OREL
Published: August 9, 2008
ASBURY PARK - THE Carousel House has been empty for years, but from Aug. 15 to 31, it will be filled with the sounds and sights of the Age of Aquarius. The recently restored building is the setting for “Hair,” the first fully staged production by the nonprofit ReVision Theater here.
ReVision’s founders, Tom Morrissey, David E. Leidholdt and Stephen Bishop Seely, came to know one another through the Genesius Theater Guild, based in Manhattan and started in 1995 by Mr. Morrissey, 52. ReVision became the new incarnation of Genesius this year. The three men, who share a house as well as the title of producing artistic director, moved to Asbury Park this spring.
They wanted to start a regional theater that could incubate work for Broadway, like the Barrington Stage Company in Massachusetts, where Mr. Leidholdt, 43, had worked as an associate producer. “We opened atlases, picking out cities,” said Mr. Seely, 35.
They sought a town that was developing, diverse and gay-friendly. Mr. Morrissey added: “All the other towns we looked at didn’t need us. We want to make an impact.”
The performance of “Hair” will be in the round; seats will be on risers and on floor cushions, with the cast performing on a platform and on three scaffolding towers. The director is Andy Goldberg, of “Bomb-itty of Errors,” the hip-hop Shakespearean play.
Built as part of the Casino entertainment complex on the Boardwalk, the Carousel House, which dates to 1929, had a carousel in place from about 1932 to 1990, according to Helen Chantal Pike, a historian and author of “Asbury Park’s Glory Days” (Rutgers University Press, 2005). Later occupants included a skateboard park and flea market.
According to Courtney Johnson, marketing director for the real estate company Madison Marquette, one of the owners of the Carousel House, it has been given a new roof and cupola, replacement glass and iron gates. Other performances and art exhibits will take place there in the future, she said.
ReVision’s plans include smaller shows during the year, a holiday show and summer musicals in a variety of places, with both new works and reimagined classics expected.
ReVision has a group, ReScript, that reads submitted plays and is run by Lou Liberatore, another Asbury Park resident. Mr. Liberatore also runs the Jersey Shore Writer’s Studio and was nominated for a Tony Award in 1988 for his featured role in Lanford Wilson’s “Burn This.”
ReVision’s three producers have other jobs: Mr. Leidholdt teaches at a summer theater camp in Manasquan and will be a producer for American Family Theater in Philadelphia in the fall. Mr. Morrissey teaches musical theater at Wagner College in Staten Island and at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. Mr. Seely tends bar in Asbury Park.
At a pool party fund-raiser for ReVision, George Hansel, the lighting designer for “Hair,” said he was happy to see the group in the city. A resident for 25 years — “I’m a townie,” he said — he runs a local performing arts company called the Black Box Theater. Noting that a lot of “carpetbagger” types have come through Asbury Park, he said, “ReVision fills a niche of quality.”
Besides, he added: “They pay everybody, which is rare.”
“Hair” runs from Aug. 15 to 31 at the Carousel House on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park, 700 Ocean Avenue at Asbury Avenue. Information: (732) 455-3059 or http://www.revisiontheatre.org/.
LET THE SUN SHINE IN Cast members of “Hair,” from left: Martin Gould Cummings, Julia Arazi, Mike Russo, Marah Meese and Spiro Galiatsatos. (David Hunsinger for The New York Times)
Published: August 9, 2008
ASBURY PARK - THE Carousel House has been empty for years, but from Aug. 15 to 31, it will be filled with the sounds and sights of the Age of Aquarius. The recently restored building is the setting for “Hair,” the first fully staged production by the nonprofit ReVision Theater here.
ReVision’s founders, Tom Morrissey, David E. Leidholdt and Stephen Bishop Seely, came to know one another through the Genesius Theater Guild, based in Manhattan and started in 1995 by Mr. Morrissey, 52. ReVision became the new incarnation of Genesius this year. The three men, who share a house as well as the title of producing artistic director, moved to Asbury Park this spring.
They wanted to start a regional theater that could incubate work for Broadway, like the Barrington Stage Company in Massachusetts, where Mr. Leidholdt, 43, had worked as an associate producer. “We opened atlases, picking out cities,” said Mr. Seely, 35.
They sought a town that was developing, diverse and gay-friendly. Mr. Morrissey added: “All the other towns we looked at didn’t need us. We want to make an impact.”
The performance of “Hair” will be in the round; seats will be on risers and on floor cushions, with the cast performing on a platform and on three scaffolding towers. The director is Andy Goldberg, of “Bomb-itty of Errors,” the hip-hop Shakespearean play.
Built as part of the Casino entertainment complex on the Boardwalk, the Carousel House, which dates to 1929, had a carousel in place from about 1932 to 1990, according to Helen Chantal Pike, a historian and author of “Asbury Park’s Glory Days” (Rutgers University Press, 2005). Later occupants included a skateboard park and flea market.
According to Courtney Johnson, marketing director for the real estate company Madison Marquette, one of the owners of the Carousel House, it has been given a new roof and cupola, replacement glass and iron gates. Other performances and art exhibits will take place there in the future, she said.
ReVision’s plans include smaller shows during the year, a holiday show and summer musicals in a variety of places, with both new works and reimagined classics expected.
ReVision has a group, ReScript, that reads submitted plays and is run by Lou Liberatore, another Asbury Park resident. Mr. Liberatore also runs the Jersey Shore Writer’s Studio and was nominated for a Tony Award in 1988 for his featured role in Lanford Wilson’s “Burn This.”
ReVision’s three producers have other jobs: Mr. Leidholdt teaches at a summer theater camp in Manasquan and will be a producer for American Family Theater in Philadelphia in the fall. Mr. Morrissey teaches musical theater at Wagner College in Staten Island and at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. Mr. Seely tends bar in Asbury Park.
At a pool party fund-raiser for ReVision, George Hansel, the lighting designer for “Hair,” said he was happy to see the group in the city. A resident for 25 years — “I’m a townie,” he said — he runs a local performing arts company called the Black Box Theater. Noting that a lot of “carpetbagger” types have come through Asbury Park, he said, “ReVision fills a niche of quality.”
Besides, he added: “They pay everybody, which is rare.”
“Hair” runs from Aug. 15 to 31 at the Carousel House on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park, 700 Ocean Avenue at Asbury Avenue. Information: (732) 455-3059 or http://www.revisiontheatre.org/.
LET THE SUN SHINE IN Cast members of “Hair,” from left: Martin Gould Cummings, Julia Arazi, Mike Russo, Marah Meese and Spiro Galiatsatos. (David Hunsinger for The New York Times)
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