The University of Tennessee

Clarence Brown Theatre»

Welcome!

Director's Q&A

This is the first time you've directed here. Tell us about yourself.

I grew up in Chicago in the 60's and 70's. As a young person, I was quite fortunate because there was a brilliant director and teacher running a school for child actors called Tom Thumb Players: Front Row Center. My parents sent me there when I was eight and MUSIC MAN was my very first play. The school's director Lester Netzky was a direct disciple of Marie Ouspenskaya, who was a direct disciple of Stanislavsky, which meant that he was teaching method acting to 8 year olds. Mr. Netzky (as we called him) did all musicals all the time. We did everything from OKLAHOMA to CAROUSEL to THE SOUND OF MUSIC to MUSIC MAN. So, in my first play, I was a kid in the chorus. What I remember most about my one performance (cause that's all you got), is when I fell off the bleachers during the song Shipoopi. That's my sole memory about that production. Somehow it must not have been too traumatic, because I continued acting for the next 25 years! I had the opportunity to perform in MM again when I was 12. These early experiences sealed my love for the musical theatre. In the mid-80's I started directing and had the chance to revisit MM in 1993 when I co-directed it at the College Light Opera Company in Cape Cod. I think I'll always be a musical theatre person at heart and this sensibility seems to find its way into everything I direct -- most especially Shakespeare.

Why do you think "THE MUSIC MAN" continues to be such a well-loved production?

MUSIC MAN is the perfect musical. There is not one ounce of excess: every word, every song lyric, every note contributes perfectly to the story. I think this is because Meredith Willson wrote the book, music and lyrics, and he wrote from his own life experience. If you read his autobiography, you find many colorful details about his hometown, family and friends that show up in THE MUSIC MAN. What else makes MM great? The score is sublime -- so many songs have made their way into popular culture -- not always true with musical theatre songs. The songs are more than simply "memorable," they imprint themselves in minute detail into your consciousness. But perhaps more than anything else, the play is timeless because of its theme: change or bust!

What will the audience experience at the show?

One of the many fulfilling things about working at CBT is experiencing the wonderful mix of resident artists, undergraduate and graduate students, and performers in the community both adults and children. We have an excellent cast of 40 who sing and dance up a storm. The scenic and costume designs by our talented graduate students are fresh and alive. And the story is uplifting, moving and lots of energetic fun.

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