BROADWAY BEGINNINGS

The road to Broadway runs through Goleta – who knew?

by Tom Jacobs
Santa Barbara News-Press
November 12, 2003

Give my regards to . . . Goleta?

Given its noticeable lack of neon lights, it's safe to assume that Cathedral Oaks Boulevard will never be mistaken for Manhattan's 42nd Street. But beginning Thursday night, Dos Pueblos High School will qualify – at least temporarily – as off-off-off Broadway.To kick off an innovative new program called "Broadway Beginnings," the school's theater department is staging the world premiere production of the musical comedy "Grand Duchy."

This isn't some student-written show: Its creators are an acclaimed television writer/producer and an internationally successful pianist composer. The family-friendly musical has been given staged readings at important theaters in New York, New Jersey and Southern California. But composer John Bayless and librettist Robert Freedman have been frustrated by their inability to get a fully staged production with sets and costumes. So when Dos Pueblos drama teacher Clark Sayre called them up and offered his students' services, their response was: Why not? "Would I rather it be done on Broadway first and then at Dos Pueblos? Sure!" said Mr. Freedman. "But having it done the opposite way would be fine, too."

"My initial reaction was, 'That's wonderful, but can they sing this music?' '' said Mr. Bayless. "It's very tricky. But by God, they can do it! I went to a rehearsal a couple of weeks ago, and they are pulling it off." The seeds of this "odd and wonderful experience," to use Mr. Freedman's phrase, were first planted 20 years ago. In 1983, Mr. Freedman and Mr. Bayless were both in the inaugural class of New York University's master's program in musical theater. Their advisers were no less than Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

"John and I were struggling to come up with an idea for a musical," recalled Mr. Freedman, who wrote and produced the Emmy Award-winning miniseries "Life With Judy Garland." "We both liked (Mark Twain's story) 'The Prince and the Pauper,' and we started to write a musical version of that. But I felt that I wasn't finding my voice, expressing my particular sense of humor." In the midst of this frustrating period, Mr. Freedman relaxed for an evening by watching the classic Preston Sturges comedy "The Lady Eve."

While sharing his enthusiasm for the film with Mr. Bayless, he came up with an idea. "I thought, 'Why don't we do something in a genre we like and understand – a '30s screwball comedy?' So instead of having two 10- or 12-year-old boys change places, as in 'The Prince and the Pauper,' we had two teenage girls (a princess and the leader of a band of rebels) exchange identities. We set it in a screwball comedy country, a tiny duchy in the middle of Europe."

Reaction to their work was quite positive, and the prestigious company Playwrights Horizons agreed to hold a staged reading. Playing one of the leads was a young actor named Clark Sayre. There was talk of a full production, but it came to nothing. Two years later, another staged reading was given, this time at the well-known Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. Again, interest was expressed in a full staging, but it failed to materialize.The creators then went their separate ways. Mr. Bayless embarked on a successful career as a pianist, specializing in improvising on the works of classical composers. Mr. Freedman moved to Los Angeles to write for television, ultimately winning a Writers Guild Award for the HBO drama "A Deadly Secret."

"Three or four years ago, we got together for dinner at his house in Los Angeles," Mr. Bayless recalled. "I sat down at the piano and started playing the songs, and we started singing them. That was the first time I had even thought about this show in 16 years."Inspired by the evening, "Robert took it upon himself to make a CD of some of the best takes from the readings, and he sent them around to people in Los Angeles. One director took an interest in it and provided us with a reading at the Falcon Theatre (in Burbank)."

In the audience was Mr. Sayre, who had moved back to his home town of Santa Barbara and was teaching drama at Dos Pueblos. He had kept the show in the back of his mind all these years, hoping to some day direct it. Now, he realized, he could not only fulfill that dream – he could also give his students an unparalleled learning opportunity." I wanted to provide the kids the experience of creation," he said. "It's like going to the store and buying an egg vs. going to the farm and seeing how an egg is hatched. We get to see the process of how a musical is created. That's an incredible education for kids." Indeed, it has been an exciting time for the young thespians – particularly 17-year-old Sarah Mutinelli, who plays the dual lead roles of the princess and the rebel leader. She has been able to work directly with both the librettist and composer (who will accompany the students on piano for all performances). "It's really challenging," she said. "If we were doing 'Oklahoma,' I could watch the movie and see what the character is like. With this, I had to come up with my own ideas. It's nice – I get to put a little bit more of Sarah into the character than I probably would otherwise."

The process has also been a learning experience for the creators, who are getting a much better idea of which of their ideas work well and which do not. Looking over his 20-year-old score with the young singers, Mr. Bayless has found himself puzzling over his own work and asking, "What the hell did I do that for?" "There were certain idiosyncratic things that I put in the score," he said. "When you're younger (and eager to show the world what you can do), there's a 'Look at this!' element in your work. So it's interesting for me to go through it and find those places that can be simplified."

"The best way to learn about a show is to put it on and see how the audience responds to it," said Mr. Freedman. "A reading tells you a lot, but it can't tell you everything. We're learning what things work when you actually have to stage them. This is a show with a lot of doors opening and closing and a lot of quick costume changes. Watching Clark make it come alive on stage is fascinating." "We've been moving around scenes," Mr. Sayre said. "The show has gone through so many permutations that there were some scenes that appeared to be out of order. The kids discovered that. They'd say, 'How can I know that (piece of information) if we haven't done that scene?' The writers went, 'Good point.' ''

As that exchange suggests, "Grand Duchy" is a big, complex show – which may be one reason it has yet to be produced professionally. It has 18 character parts – a daunting number for an Equity company, but a godsend to Mr. Sayre, who is always trying to find good roles for as many students as possible.

He is also constantly looking for new musicals, which is one reason he established the Broadway Beginnings program."High school students don't have enough material that isn't 'Oklahoma' and 'Godspell' and 'Joseph' – the things we've seen a million times," he said."There's a lot of fantastic material out there. Maybe it's not published. Maybe the writers aren't big enough names to command a Broadway performance. Maybe it's only been done regionally or only had readings." Mr. Sayre has notified his contacts in New York that he's open to submissions. "This will give writers a place that's totally safe to develop a new work," he said. "They're not in the spotlight at all. Once it's done, I hope we can get these shows published."

He has also established a board of directors. "We'll probably hammer out a vision statement at our January meeting and lay down the foundations," he said. "How are we going to fund raise? What are we going to fund raise for? It's a slow process, but the timing should align well with the new theater building." (A new 750-seat theater, with an orchestra pit, will open on campus in 2005.)

For the moment, however, Mr. Sayre's focus is on "Grand Duchy." "The score very much reminds me of Leonard Bernstein," he said, noting that Mr. Bayless was a protege of the "West Side Story" composer." It's a farce, basically, but it has a poignant mother-daughter reunion scene. The princess and the rebel are both unhappy, so they try another life (by exchanging identities). "The characters are trying to find themselves and fit in, which is a theme the high schoolers can relate to in a lot of different ways," he added." The theme of 'Grand Duchy' is that, although change is frightening both on a personal and societal level, it is necessary, and ultimately, very rewarding."