LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
HTP Brings a Bit of Broadway to the Beach |
by Fay Jacobs |
Now that the Henlopen Theater Project's season is over, Managing Director James FitzSimmons, or Fitz as he likes to be called, took a few minutes to talk with Camp Rehoboth's Fay Jacobs about this summer's experiences. Fay Jacobs: So...how did it go? James FitzSimmons: Well, it's pretty much a blur. We did five shows in four weeks and it was exhausting but fun! We did three full productions and two readings for the New Works/New Voices series. It was an amazing experience. I got to see J for J, Jenny Sullivan's play about her family with John Ritter and Bruce Davison, Ancestral Voices, the new A.R. Gurney Play with the all star cast and the incredible Another American: Asking and Telling by Marc Wolf. What a line-up! Like I said, it's a blur! What's amazing is that after New York and D.C., Rehoboth was the next stop for Another American. The tour started in Rehoboth and now it's in San Franciscoto be in that kind of company is pretty terrific. Marc Wolf's one-man show about the military ban on gays serving openly was very, very powerfulinvigorating theater and an affecting message. What was the reaction locally? We got more comments and reaction about that show than any we did. Very positive. Marc said that the Rehoboth audiences were smart and very responsive. And we were glad to be able to hold the opening night performance as a benefit for the Camp Rehoboth Community Center Project with a reception at Celsius afterward. One of my favorite reactions to the show was from a very straight subscriber who admitted that he was glad he didn't know the topic of the show before he saw it, or he might not have comebut he thought the show was just terrific and he said he was glad he didn't miss it. That kind of reaction makes it so worthwhile. I'm sorry I didn't get to see Kristen Foery's play Stones. How did that go? That was my personal favorite. She addressed issues of growing up and grief and loss in her play. To come out and see an audience sobbing from the words of a 17 year old writer was simply amazing. We had a great cast and director and the luxury of a week to work on the fully staged reading. I think that really made my entire season. Ancestral Voices was a very touching play as well. Seeing Sada Thompson live on stage here in Rehoboth was thrilling for me. I remember seeing her on Broadway many years ago; and of course I loved her on Family. But the television play Andre's Mother by Terrance McNally was very special for me as one of the first TV productions to deal honestly with AIDS bigotry. Sada calls that one "a gem of a show," and she had comments about it when we did the talk after the opening night of Ancestral Voices. And she and Len (Cariou) were so easy to work with and genuinely happy to be here at the beach working with us. We were lucky to be able to present the Delaware premier of Ancestral Voices. With J for J and Ancestral Voices, HTP had some pretty high power actors visiting the area. Do you think they enjoyed it? Absolutely. Len played golf every day; Sada was delighted to be part of this project and come down to the beach. And John Ritter loved being here. He was all over town. Not only did he do J for J but he stuck around to see Another American... I know this because he sat in front of me....and of course Lisa Pelikan and Bruce Davison have family here, so they're familiar with Rehoboth Beach. Well everybody really got involved. Housing was at a premium and everyone was very good natured about all the different accommodations we had for them. The crew kept their sense of humor when we kept moving them around to a different house every night. But we tried to take advantage of all the things there are to do here. We checked out lots of happy hours, several folks went to the Renegade to see Chris Peterson perform, and we played a lot of miniature golf with the cast and crew. Of course, everyone had to have Dolles caramel corn. Did the actors and crew get a chance to sample some of our restaurants? Absolutely. In fact, several restaurants were nice enough to keep their kitchens open later than usual for us so we could go out after performances. We had late night dinners at Cloud 9, Celsius, and Yum Yum, among others. How was it working at The Little Theater at Henlopen High School? The space worked well for us. Actually, we got lots of compliments about how the place looked. Well, it's so intimate. You can see fabulously from every seat in the house. You can't say that about most Broadway houses. I know. Of course, we'd love to be in our own theater some day and that's our goal, but for now, The Little Theater is a very good space. It's certainly convenient. I was happy with the technical aspects of the shows thereand now we know more about how it will work. So, overall, how did the HTP season go? Well, we paid our bills! That's pretty much all you can ask for a new theater company. The response from the community was very, very gratifying, I hope people are as pleased as we are about the way the season turned out. Though they are probably not as tired as some of us are! Is there rest in store for the weary? I sure hope so. I'll be wrapping things up here this week and taking a little time for myself. I intend to finally get to the beach! And can you give us a hint about plans for next season? Puleeeze!!! I can't even think about it yet....but we will be back! Plans are being made! To subscribe to the 2001 season of the Henlopen Theater Project, or for more information on their plans to bring Broadway to the Beach, call James FitzSimmons at 302-226-4103. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 12, Aug. 25, 2000. |