After a phenomenal first weekend of Peter Pan performances on the ACT mainstage, we caught up again with director Jerry Crouch for some "little know facts" about Peter Pan. Jerry, as usual, delivered in fine form. So here they are, straight from the "walking encyclopedia of musical theatre's" mouth .... Peter Pan ... Did you know?
1. James Barrie "invented" the name "Wendy." It was a mispronunciation by a little girl whose father was a dear friend of Barrie's.
2. Charlie Chaplin was Barrie's first choice for the 1924 silent film version of Peter Pan, which eventually starred Betty Bronson. 3. The first time Cathy Rigby toured in the live musical version of Peter Pan in the early '70s, her singing was dubbed by another singer because she had never sung professionally.
4. In 1965, George Cukor and Audrey Hepburn, director and star of 1964's My Fair Lady, almost did a movie version of the musical Peter Pan, which co-starred Sir Laurence Olivier as Captain Hook.
5. Mary Martin's teenage daughter, Heller Halliday, was originally slotted to play Wendy opposite her mother (as Peter), but director Jerome Robbins argued nobody wanted to be reminded that Mary was a 40-something mother playing an adolescent boy!
Wednesday night the cast of Peter Pan performed for family and friends, just two days before Friday's official premiere. ACT managing director Susan Harper welcomed a nearly full house: "You are probably the most important audience to them. They really care what you think because you are their family and friends."
If the "Family and Friends" night performance is any indication of what we can expect when the show opens, it's going to be a special ride. The audience was wowed by Peter Pan's flying entrance into the nursery, humored by Captain Hook's musings on the alligator who took his hand, and delighted by the dancing and playful interaction of The Lost Boys and Native Princesses.
Check out Tiger Lilly and The Native Princesses in action on ACT's YouTube channel. These girls can dance!
We open the new ACT blog on a Wednesday, and Wednesdays mean a Q & A session with one of the folks here at ACT -- staff member, show director, actor, volunteer -- who is making things happen at the theatre. Nope, we aren't trying to reproduce the Frost-Nixon interviews. These are breezy "get to know you" sessions. We toss softball questions and wait for home runs.
Susan Harper, ACT managing director, boldly volunteered to be our first interviewee. (How's that for leadership?) Susan came to ACT in the spring of 2003 and spent three year running the theatre. After a short stint away she returned as director this past July.
Susan has been busy preparing for Peter Pan, ACT's 2009-10 Mainstage premiere. But we caught up with her and promised a candy bar if she would answer our questions before the Wednesday Q & A deadline. She happily obliged:
So, how's it feel to be back at ACT?
Leaving ACT was a big mistake and I'm happy I was asked to return. It isn't often in life that you get to rectify a mistake.
What are some of your short and long terms goals for ACT? Our short term goal is to produce excellent theatre this year and balance our budget in a challenging economy. To produce excellent theatre, we put together artistic teams of the highest quality and support their work. We pay the directors and designers of our shows to make sure the quality is high but also to ensure that the volunteers (actors and production crew) have an absolutely stellar experience. To balance the budget we have to hit our ticket projections and keep expenses at or below our projections.
Long term, our goal is to secure this organization for the future with adequate facility reserves (to keep our building in good shape), cash reserves, and an appropriately sized endowment to provide us with earned income to support our work.
Tell us something special about ACT we may not know? ACT is the oldest continuously operating theatre in Asheville, and one of the oldest in the country. All of our actors are volunteers; they have day jobs like being a dentist or running a bed and breakfast, teaching school or working in a deli.
You've just stepped in as managing director, and you are about to put on the biggest show in ACT history. How's Peter Pan coming along? Peter Pan is a monster show! On every level. But director Jerry Crouch has it totally in hand and has made sure that it is a wonderful experience for all the actors. I'm very impressed with his work.
I know you were on the set painting last week. Is it safe to say you're a "hands on" director? Everyone here does what it takes to get the job done. Generally I work up front, but in a crunch I'm happy to pick up a paint brush.
How does ACT set its season performance lineup? We have an Artistic Selection Committee that meets in the fall to develop our season, both for the Mainstage and 35below.
You must have some history with acting/performing. Any good stories from your past? I was in a play in high school but have totally blocked the experience from my mind. I have no desire to be on stage. My job is to make sure others have that experience. But I did play the violin as a child and I thought I was quite good, but I've been told after the fact that I was quite horrible.
So we shouldn't expect to see you on the ACT Mainstage anytime soon? Diva*licious perhaps? You'll get all you want of me doing curtain speeches during the year. I guarantee you I won't be vying for time on the stage.
So, what type of candy bar to you want? A Milky Way!
(Coming tomorrow: A video sneak peak of Peter Pan, taken at Wednesday night's "Family and Friends" performance.)
After a phenomenal first weekend of Peter Pan performances on the ACT mainstage, we caught up again with director Jerry Crouch for some "little know facts" about Peter Pan. Jerry, as usual, delivered in fine form. So here they are, straight from the "walking encyclopedia of musical theatre's" mouth ....
