That’s Show Biz
As I watched the Tony awards I realized that at least two of the shows have been in the works for nearly a decade. Both were film-to-stage adaptations, and turning a movie into a musical is at least a five-year process. Just securing the rights can take years and cost more than buying a home on the Boardwalk.
Once the rights are secured, the book writer, the composer, and the lyricist work and work and work, realize that Act II stinks, and re-write the whole thing. They finally have a read-through of the piece to see if it works “in voice” as well as they thought it did on the page. Luckily for the writers, every actor in the room has at least a dozen suggestions to improve the show. Bless their hearts!
Then there’s the producer(s)—endlessly raising money, schmoozing with actors and casting agents to land the best talent, praying the costume designer doesn’t get a better offer, that the lighting designer stays sober, that the set designer stays under budget, that the orchestrations are finished in time, that none of the actors end up in the wrong headline…producing a Broadway show is harder than teaching a fish to tap dance.
I’ve worked an array of behind-the-scenes positions, so I know about the headaches, the heartaches, the backaches, the flops. I was part of a team hired to piece together the score of a 1924 Gershwin show they found in a warehouse in New Jersey 80 years later. The job involved being vocal coach for a disgraced star desperately trying to make a comeback, convincing a famous sitcom actress that what she did on TV wasn’t working in a 3,500 seat theatre, pouring three martinis into an elderly comedienne whose contract clearly stated she would not fly…she flew whether she remembered it or not.
It probably takes just as much work to produce a can of corn, but it can’t possibly be as much fun! ▼
CAMP Rehoboth Puts Art at The Heart of Our Community
Hit Me with Your Best Shot
Back in March, 40 folks went on a CAMP Out tour to Africa for a photographic safari of South Africa and Botswana. Now they’ve each picked their best shot from that trip to exhibit in the CAMP Rehoboth Gallery in Best Shot Africa. These incredible photographs are available to purchase as part of a mini-fundraiser for CAMP Rehoboth, with a percentage of the proceeds going to help support an African wildlife charity. With apologies to Toto, “It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from [this], but nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do.” This exhibit runs through June 30, with a reception on June 22 (1-3 p.m.) to meet the photographers. ▼
CAMP Rehoboth Gallery Hours
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Fri | 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat | 10 a.m-4 p.m. Sun
PERFORMING ARTS
CAMP Rehoboth Community Center (37 Baltimore Avenue; 302-227-5620) presents Voices from Stonewall to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. Conceived and written by Michael Gilles and directed by Fay Jacobs. June 22—4 & 7 p.m.
Cinema Art Theater (17701 Dartmouth Drive, Lewes; 302-313-4032) screens new independent films through the Rehoboth Beach Film Society, providing a refreshing alternative to the onslaught of “summer blockbusters.” National Theatre Live: The Audience—June 17 & 18. Check the website for films and show times.
Clear Space Theatre Company (20 Baltimore Avenue; 302-227-2270; ClearSpaceTheatre.org) is ready to open their summer season. June 25: Mamma Mia!, Hello, Dolly! on June 28, and The Wedding Singer on July 3. All three shows run in repertory through Labor Day weekend.
Dickens Parlour Theatre (35715 Atlantic Avenue, Millville; 302-829-1071) offers magic and comedy in an intimate setting. June 14-15: Kevin Bethea; June 19-25: The Great Kaplan.
Freeman Stage (31750 Lake View Drive, Selbyville; 800-840-9227) continues their 2019 season with these June events—14: Mid-Atlantic Symphony Starry Night Opera with Opera Delaware; 15: The Tamburitzans; 20: Reid Belstock—juggler and comedian; 21: Kat Edmonson; 22: Kashmir—the Live Led Zeppelin Show; 27: Kaia Kater; 28: Terrence Simien and the Zydeco Experience; 29: Boz Scaggs: Out of the Blues Tour. See website for details.
The Milton Theater (110 Union St., Milton; 302-684-3038) “keeps Milton weird!” June events: 14: Peek-a-Boo Revue (18+ only); 15: The Ultimate Johnny Cash Experience; 20: Office Space (film screening); 21: Midget Wrestling; 22: Ted Vigil is John Denver; 27: Crazy Rich Asians (film); 28/29: The Calamari Sisters in Sausagefest. See website for details.
Possum Point Players (441 Old Laurel Road, Georgetown; 302-856-4560) has Dixie Swim Club—a comedy about five Southern women who meet at the same Outer Banks cottage every August for 33 years. Through June 16.
Rehoboth Beach Bandstand (Rehoboth Avenue at the Boardwalk) hosts their 57th season of concerts through Labor Day—June concerts: 14: Love Seed Mama Jump; 15: Lights Out—Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons tribute band; 16: Jackson Flats; 21: US Air Force Band Singing Sergeants; 22: Parrotbeach; 23: Rehoboth Concert Band, under the direction of Sharon Still; 28: Groove Train; 29: Gypsy: A True Stevie Nicks Experience; 30: Delaware National Guard’s 287th Army Band. All concerts begin at 8 p.m.
Second Street Players (2 South Walnut Street, Milford; 302-422-0220/800-838-3006; secondstreetplayers.com) has a cast rehearsing in their newly remodeled theater for Happy Days: a New Musical—opening July 19.
Stango Park Concerts (corner of Kings Highway & Adams Street, Lewes) are presented every Tuesday evening by the City of Lewes, WSFS Bank, and the Delaware Division of the Arts. June 18: The Annapolis Bluegrass Coalition (Cape Henlopen High if it rains); June 25: Delaware National Guard Army Band (Bethel United Methodist, 129 W. 4th, if the weather turns dicey). Don’t forget to bring a blanket or a beach chair! All concerts begin at 7 p.m.
Galleries & Museums
Abraxas Studio of Art (515 Federal Street, Lewes; 302-645-9119) features the oil portraits and landscape paintings of Abraxas.
The Brush Factory on Kings (830 Kings Highway, Lewes; 302-745-2229) houses a co-op of 50 local artisans and merchants.
CAMP Rehoboth Gallery (37 Baltimore Avenue; 302-227-5620) features Best Shot Africa—through June30. (See listing elsewhere in this column).
Cape Artists Gallery (110 W. 3rd Street, Lewes; 302-644-7733) is a half block from the Zwaanendael Museum (See listing elsewhere in this column) and features the work of two dozen artists, with much of their art focused on beach scenes.
Delaware Art Gallery (239 Rehoboth Avenue; 302-853-5099) offers new and classic Delaware photographs by Kevin Fleming.
Gallery 37 (8 South Walnut Street, Milford; 302-265-2318) represents over 45 artists and artisans from around the country with fine art, wood-turned vessels, fibers, glass art, and more.
Heidi Lowe Gallery (328 Rehoboth Avenue; 302-227-9203) Mineral Instincts, with works by Aimee Petkus and Anna Johnson continues through June 30. Earrings Galore, showcasing earring works by over 40 national and international jewelers. Morning ring classes (where you make your own ring) are held on Wednesdays in July and August.
Peninsula Gallery (520 E. Savannah Road, Lewes; 302-645-0551) is one of the largest fine art galleries in the state, with over 3,000 square feet of display and custom framing space. Awakenings—photography by Brook Hedge—through June 25.
Rehoboth Art League (12 Dodds Lane, Henlopen Acres; 302-227-8408) has a fantastic schedule of classes—pottery, pen and ink, collage—something for all ages, including a summer camp. Current exhibition: Coastal Living (juried members’ showcase exhibition)—through July 14. Make sure you have the 70th Cottage Tour of Art on your calendar—July 9 & 10.
Rehoboth Beach Museum (511 Rehoboth Avenue at the Canal, 302-227-7310) has fresh exhibits on their renovated second floor for you to enjoy, as well as lots of Rehoboth Beach history on the first floor. They host some delightful walking tours of the city, too. Check the calendar on the website.
Tideline Gallery (111 Rehoboth Avenue; 302-227-4444) offers unique gifts, Judaica, jewelry, pottery, lamps, and art glass.
Ward Ellinger Gallery (CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard, 39 Baltimore Avenue; 302-227-2710) features art in different mediums by abstract expressionist Ward Ellinger and Sondra N. Arkin. ▼
Doug is the Artistic and Musical Director for CAMP Rehoboth Chorus, Director of Music Ministries at Epworth UMC, and co-founder and Artistic Director emeritus of the Clear Space Theater Company. Contact Doug at dougyetter@gmail.com if you want to add your events to the calendar. Check out CAMP Arts on our website at camprehoboth.com for links to all the listed theatres, galleries and museums
Images: Profusion, painting by G.W. Thompson, Rehoboth Art League. Still Standing by Brooke Hedge at Peninsula Gallery. Moonstone Planpae by Aimee Petkus at Heidi Lowe Gallery.
CAMP Rehoboth Arts Programs are supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on DelawareScene.com