On Saturday June 16th I drove to Berkshire Theatre Group in Stockbridge for
a preliminary production meeting with the Director, Choreographer, Lighting
Designer, Costume Designer & the Production Manager. The meeting took about
six hours with one hour off for lunch. We went through the entire show,
generally mapping out every scene. We looked at the theatre to figure out the
challenges of the space. We also came up with a general game plan for pacing
our rehearsals: we have a little more than three weeks to produce, which is in
reality a luxurious amount of time for summer theatre. Most shows mount in ten
days to two weeks. It’s going to be a great show!
What exactly is the show, you ask? It’s called A CLASS ACT: A MUSICAL ABOUT MUSICALS. This is a show built around the songs of Edward Lawrence Kleban, best known as the lyricist for A CHORUS LINE, the beloved
musical about dancers auditioning for a role in a new show. Ed was also a
talented composer- but just like Stephen Sondheim, he had to start out as part
of a songwriting team in order to catch a break. Sadly, unlike Sondheim, ACL was
Ed’s only crowning achievement. Try as he might, he was never able to get any
of his own musical projects to succeed. And even worse, he developed cancer in
his late forties and died in his prime.
The first act of A CLASS ACT opens at the Schubert Theater
in NYC, where Ed’s friends gather for a memorial service in 1988 (a year after
his death) before a record breaking performance later that day of A CHORUS
LINE. Ed’s story is told in flashback and his songs provide a glimpse into the
happiness and heartbreak he encounters along the way. Ed’s last will bequeathes
his songs to his friends, with the expressed hope that they will turn them into
a musical. And in reality, that is exactly what happens.
The show originally opened at the Manhattan Theatre Club in
2002 for several months and then reopened on the stage of the Ambassador Theatre
for a short Broadway run. It was nominated for a number of Tonys and Drama Desk
awards.
We are very fortunate to have a connection to Linda Kline, who
(along with Lonny Price) is a librettist of ACA. Linda was Ed Kleban’s last
significant other, and (we believe) the basis for the character of Lucy Chaprakowski
in the show. Linda has a large collection of Klebaniana and she is truly the
authority on all things Ed. The director of our production, Bob Moss, realized
that he was once the Stage Manager for Linda when she and another woman ran a
children’s theatre in NYC called the Peppermint Players. Linda also happens to
live in Stockbridge. She has provided us with a number of additional dialogue
pages as well other insights into Ed’s life which we were able to incorporate
in large and small ways. Linda even sent me the sheet music for a song I wished
to restore to our show that was on the original soundtrack but was removed
after the show went to Broadway. She also sent along a CD recording of Ed’s
memorial service (held at the Public Theatre in NYC) which included eulogies
from Linda, David Shire, Joe Papp, Marvin Hamlisch, Wendy Wasserstein (an MHC
alum who briefly dated Ed and remained a close friend through the end of Ed’s
life) and other famous artists of the Broadway stage. Linda also provided a CD
of Ed’s own taped versions of all the songs chosen for ACA. To be sure, it is
pretty eerie to hear Ed’s voice and piano coming from my speakers.
The unusual moment that day took place in town when we drove
to a local diner. I got out of the car and heard a voice behind me say “Is that
Mark?” It turned out to be Wayne Abercrombie (former UMASS choral director and
current director of the Children’s Choir of Springfield) whom I had just worked
with a week before when I accompanied for his choir at the Eric Carle Museum. He was in Stockbridge to attend a funeral and just happened to be
driving on the same street I was on.
