Production Info

Directed by Gina Kaufmann

Music by Kurt Weill, Lyrics by Langston Hughes, & Book by Elmer Rice

Summary

In a working class Manhattan neighborhood in 1929, tensions build as the people in this multi-ethnic neighborhood rub up against one another. The story centers primarily on an extramarital affair and a romance between a Jewish and a gentile teenager, but the rich undertones of longing and the layered relationships bring this entire complex little world to life. Weill called it “An American Opera”, interweaving jazz, musical theatre and classical opera esthetics with spoken word.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Rehearsal Schedule January 27-February 1, 2014

Rehearsal Schedule January 27-February 1, 2014
**Subject to Change- Please remain flexible throughout the week**
E-mail Stage Manager Arielle Herold with questions: aherold@umass.edu

Monday, January 27:
DAY OFF

Tuesday, January 28:
6:30pm- Actors Called:
Aeri Kim
Ashton Martin
Ben Finn
Christina Mailer
Conor Dennin
Dan Kadish
Dana Schnitzer
Dayna Fisk
Eddie Flannery
Eliza Baxter
Esther Sokoloff-Rubin
Frank Aronson
Gabe Randall
Griffin Lyons
Hala Lord
Hannah D’Alessandro
Hannah Szydlo
Jessica Campbell
John Cheek
Julia Edgerly
Khalila Lord
Liana Gineitis
Lily Filippatos
Lydia Barrett
Mac Leslie
Melissa Ennulat
Michael Carotenuto
Peter Vaiknoras
Rob Stahley
Ryan Hill (at 7:45pm)
Sophia Schweik
Sylvia Barjolo
Tiberius Cuipylo-Watkins
Tori Clough
Tristan Lewis-Shurter
Uriah Rodriguez
Zen (at 9:30)
*No Ruby Cain- approved with stage management
6:30pm- Run Act I
8:00pm- Children’s Ensemble Released
8:00pm- Choreography & Staging in Rand:
“Moon-Faced, Starry-Eyed” (Dayna Fisk, Ben Finn, Conor Dennin, Lily Filippatos)
“Wouldn’t You Like To Be On Broadway?” (Tiberius Cuipylo-Watkins, Liana Gineitis, Eliza Baxter)
8:00pm- Dialect work with Julie Nelson in URS (Melissa Ennulat, Dan Kadish, Jessica Campbell, Michael Carotenuto)
8:00pm- Fight Choreography
            John Cheek
            Rob Stahley
            Dana Schnitzer
Work Trouble Spots at End
10:30pm END OF NIGHT

Wednesday, January 29:
6:30pm- Actors Called:
Aeri Kim
Ashton Martin
Ben Finn
Christina Mailer
Conor Dennin
Dan Kadish
Dana Schnitzer
Dayna Fisk
Eddie Flannery
Eliza Baxter
Esther Sokoloff-Rubin
Frank Aronson
Gabe Randall
Griffin Lyons
Hala Lord
Hannah D’Alessandro
Hannah Szydlo (at 8pm)
Jared Beaulieu
Jessica Campbell
John Cheek
Julia Edgerly
Khalila Lord
Liana Gineitis
Lily Filippatos
Lydia Barrett (at 8pm)
Mac Leslie
Melissa Ennulat
Michael Carotenuto
Michael Seavey
Peter Vaiknoras
Rob Stahley
Ryan Hill
Sophia Schweik
Sylvia Barjolo
Tiberius Cuipylo-Watkins
Tori Clough
Tristan Lewis-Shurter
Uriah Rodriguez
Zen (at 9:30pm)
*No Ruby Cain- approved with stage management
6:30pm- Run Act II
8:00pm- Children’s Ensemble Released
8:00pm- Work Trouble Spots at End
10:30pm END OF NIGHT

Thursday, January 30:
6:30pm- Actors Called for “Catch Me If You Can”:
Ruby Cain
Julia Edgerly
Gabe Randall
Esther Sokoloff-Rubin
Sophia Schweik
Hannah D’Alessandro
Khalila Lord
Tristan Lewis-Shurter
7:15pm- ADD Actors:
Aeri Kim
Ashton Martin
Dan Kadish
Dana Schnitzer
Hala Lord
Hannah Szydlo
Jessica Campbell
John Cheek
Lily Filippatos
Mac Leslie
Melissa Ennulat
Michael Carotenuto
Peter Vaiknoras
Uriah Rodriguez
Zen
7:30pm “Wrapped in a Ribbon”,
8:30pm Children’s Ensemble Released
TROUBLE SPOTS TBD (please be available for this day, we will be making a call later in the week)
10:30pm END OF NIGHT

Friday January 31:
*Please note this rehearsal is mandatory for all company members*
6:30pm-FULL COMPANY CALLED
6:30pm- DESIGN RUN #1
10:30pm END OF NIGHT

Saturday, February 1:
REHEARSAL IN CURTAIN- PLEASE EXPECT TO BE CALLED
1:00pm- Actors Called for Fight Choreography/“Catch Me If You Can” Choreography”:
Ruby Cain
Julia Edgerly
Gabe Randall
Esther Sokoloff-Rubin
Sophia Schweik
Hannah D’Alessandro
Khalila Lord
Tristan Lewis-Shurter
Griffin Lyons
Rob Stahley
Mac Leslie
Liana Gineitis
Eliza Baxter
 TROUBLE SPOTS TBD (please be available for this day, we will be making a call later in the week)
5:00pm END OF NIGHT

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Schedule January 21-January 25, 2014

Hello everyone,
Please see below the schedule for the upcoming week. If you have any conflicts for this upcoming week (appointments, classes that go into the evening, etc) please let me know as soon as possible so we are able to schedule around these conflicts. If you have already told me about a conflict and it isn't reflected in the schedule, please e-mail me to confirm.

As a reminder, please arrive to rehearsal warmed up vocally and physically. Dan Kadish has graciously offered at lead warm-ups prior to his call time (not always 6:30pm, so if you are interested in warming up with him, please note his call time. He is also a fantastic resource if you want to ask him about some warm-ups to do on your own). Like Mark suggested last week, meet up with some fellow company members prior to rehearsal and warm-up together and go over your pitches for numbers we are working on! 204 will be open most nights, and if it isn't I will let you know of an alternate space to do your warmup. The Rand will also be open a half hour before rehearsal for you to use if you would like.

Street Scene Rehearsal Schedule Tuesday, January 21- Saturday, January 25, 2014:


Monday, January 20:
DAY OFF

Tuesday, January 21:
Rehearsal is will be held in multiple spaces, please check to see where you are called. The following outlines the schedule for each space:

Curtain Theater
6:30pm- Gabe Randall, Hannah D’Alessandro, Khalila Lord, Ruby Cain, Esther Sokoloff-Rubin, Tristan Lewis-Shurter, Julia Edgerly, Sophia Schweik Called
6:30pm- “Catch Me If You Can Choreography
8:00pm All Children’s Ensemble Released


Rand Theater: Rehearse Pages 1-98
6:30pm Hannah Szydlo, Aeri Kim, Tori Clough, Lily Filippatos, Ashton Martin, Hala Lord, Ben Finn, Eddie Flannery Called
6:30pm- Overture
6:45pm- ADD Melissa Ennulat, Jessica Campbell, Christina Mailer, Frank Aronson, Michael Carotenuto, Sylvia Barjolo
6:45pm “Ain’t It Awful the Heat”
7:15pm- ADD Peter Vaiknoras
7:15pm- “Marble and a Star”
7:30pm- ADD Dana Schnitzer, Rob Stahley, Mac Leslie
7:30pm- “Get a Load of That #1”
7:50pm BREAK
8:00pm-“When a Woman Has a Baby”
8:15pm- ADD John Cheek and Uriah Rodriguez
8:15pm-“Somehow I Never Could Believe”
8:45pm- ADD Zen
8:45pm-“Get a Load of That #2”
9:10pm BREAK
9:20pm- “Ice Cream Sextet”
10:00pm- “Let Things Be Like They Always Was”
10:30 END OF NIGHT

Wednesday, January 22:

Rehearsal is will be held in multiple spaces, please check to see where you are called. The following outlines the schedule for each space:
Curtain Theater
6:30pm- Dayna Fisk, Ben Finn, and Conor Dennin Called
6:30pm- Review “Moon-Faced, Starry Eyed” Choreography

Rand Theater: Rehearse pages 99-172
6:30pm- Aeri Kim, Hannah Szydlo, Ashton Martin, Dana Schnitzer, Melissa Ennulat, Hala, Jessica Campbell, Lily Filippatos, Mac Leslie, Dan Kadish, Tori Clough, Michael Carotenuto, Peter Vaiknoras, Uriah Rodriguez, Zen, Gabe Randall, Ruby Cain, Esther Sokoloff-Rubin, Tristian Lewis-Shurter, Khalila Lord, Sophia Schweik, Hannah D’Akessandro, Julia Edgerly
6:30pm- “Wrapped in a Ribbon”
(Children’s Ensemble Released after “Wrapped in a Ribbon”)
7:30pm- ADD Rob Stahley, Liana Gineitis, Eliza Baxter, Tiberius Cuipylo-Watkins
7:30pm- Coaching with Hala Lord and Dana Schnitzer
7:30pm- “Lonely House”
7:50pm BREAK
8:00pm-“Wouldn’t You Like to Be On Broadway”
8:30pm- “What Good Would the Moon Be?”
9:00pm- “Moon-Faced, Starry-Eyed”
9:10pm BREAK
10:00pm- “Remember That I Care/Marble and a Star”
10:30pm END OF NIGHT

Thursday, January 23; pages 173-2396:30pm Gabe Randall, Ruby Cain, Esther Sokoloff-Rubin, Tristian Lewis-Shurter, Khalila Lord, Sophia Schweik, Hannah D’Akessandro, Julia Edgerly
6:30pm- “Catch Me If You Can”
7:30pm- ADD Rob Stahley, Liana Gineitis, Christina Mailer, Melissa Ennulat, Mac Leslie, Dana Schnitzer, Daniel Kadish, Hala Lord, John Cheek, Uriah Rodriguez
7:30pm- “There’ll Be Trouble”, “A Boy Like You”
7:50pm BREAK
8:00pm Children’s Ensemble Released
8:30pm- ADD Tiberius Cuipylo-Watkins
8:30pm- “We’ll Go Away Together
9:10pm BREAK
9:30 pm- ADD Ashton Martin, Melissa Ennulat, Eliza Baxter, Lydia Barrett, Sophia Schweik, Hala Lord, Sylvia Barjolo, Lily Filippatos, Tori Clough, Esther Sokoloff-Rubin, Jessica Campbell, Dan Kadish, Peter Vaiknoras, Mac Leslie, Michael Seavey, Conor Dennin, Michael Carotenuto, Eddie Flannery, Ryan Hill, Tiberius Cuipylo-Watkins, Uriah Rodriguez, Jared Beaulieu, Zen, Griffin Lyons
9:30pm- “Lament”
10:30 END OF NIGHT

Friday January 24: pages 240-2736:30pm- Hannah Szydlo, Julia Edgerly, Gabe Randall, Sylvia Barjolo, Eliza Baxter, Michael Seavey, Ryan Hill, Jared Beaulieu
6:30pm- “Interlude”
8:00pm- ADD Liana Gineitis, Rob Stahley, Mac Leslie, Peter Vaiknoras, Christina Mailer, Hala Lord, Melissa Ennulat, Ben Finn, John Cheek, Lydia Barrett, Ashton Martin, Dayna Fisk, Jessica Campbell, Lily Filippatos, Tori Clough, Dan Kadish, Michael Carotenuto, Eddie Flannery, Frank Aronson
8:00pm “Lullaby” through “Finale”
10:30pm END OF NIGHT

Saturday, January 25:
1:00pm Ruby Cain, Gabe Randall, Sophia Schweik, Julia Edgerly, Esther Sokoloff-Rubin, Tristan Lewis-Shurter, Hannah D’Alessandro, Khalila Lord
1:00pm Fight Choreography
“Catch Me If You Can”
TBA
5:00pm END OF NIGHT



Thursday, January 16, 2014

Rehearsal Schedule for Friday Jan. 17, 2013

REHEARSAL WILL BE HELD ON THE RAND STAGE

2:00pm Mark and Luke to work in 204 on Act II

2:00pm Lydia Barrett, Tori Clough, Ryan Hill, Tiberius Cuipylo-Watkins, Eliza Baxter, Conor Dennin, Eddie Flannery, Jared Beaulieu, Hannah Syzdlo, Griffin Lyons, Ashton Martin, Sylvia Barjolo, Lily Filippatos, Ben Finn, Michael Seavey

2:00pm
Physical Work/Scene Work

4:00pm ADD Zen, Dana Schnitzer, Hala Lord, Dan Kadish, Uriah Rodriguez, Melissa Ennulat

4:00pm
Begin work on pg. 60-61, 113, 221

5:30pm-7:00pm MEAL BREAK

7:00pm Full Company Called (Excluding Dana Schnitzer, Hannah Szydlo, Aeri Kim, Zen, Jared Beaulieu, Griffin Lyons and Children’s Ensemble [Ruby Cain, Esther Sokoloff-Rubin, Gabe Randall, Sophia Schweik, Julia Edgerly, Khalila Lord, Hannah D’Alessandro, Tristan Lewis-Shurter]

“Finale” Musically

Final “Ain’t it Awful” Musically

10:30PM END OF NIGHT


Street Scene Press Release

UMass Amherst
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Street Scene at a glance

by Kurt Weill, Elmer Rice, and Langston Hughes
directed by Gina Kaufmann
musical direction by Mark Swanson
choreography by Erica Wilson-Perkins
special guest: bass-baritone John Cheek
special guest: soprano Dana Schnitzer
Feb. 21, 26, 28, March 1 at 8 p.m.
Feb. 23 at 2 p.m.
The Rand Theater (For this production, tickets will be reserved seating.)
Buy tickets to Street Scene

Related events

Post-show Q&A

For this landmark event, the Department of Theater expands its usual First Friday Q&A program. Audiences at the Feb. 21, 23 and 28 performances are invited to stay after the performance for a free Q&A with members of the creative team and cast.

Special events

The three men whose collective genius createdStreet Scene were each masters of their craft. We invite community members to join us for three FREE events in February that highlight their individual talents.

Cabaret! Songs of Kurt Weill
Featuring student performers with Clifton J. Noble, Music Director
Sunday 02.02.14 at 4:00 PM
Sweeney Recital Hall in Sage Hall, Smith College

Hold Fast to Dreams: The Poetry of Langston Hughes
with Steven C. Tracy, Professor of Afro-American Studies, UMass
Sunday 02.09.14 at 4:00 PM
Bezanson Recital Hall, UMass

Stirring The Melting Pot: Elmer Rice's We, The People
a staged reading directed by Paul Adolphsen, UMass Theater Department
Sunday 02.16.14 at 2:00 PM
University Museum of Contemporary Art, Fine Arts Center, UMass

A community of artists comes together to createStreet Scene

Street Scene is the most influential show you’ve never heard of. This 1947 artistic hybrid, the result of an unlikely collaboration among playwright Elmer Rice, poet Langston Hughes and composer Kurt Weill, left a huge mark on musical theater, with everyone from Cole Porter to Stephen Sondheim taking inspiration from its innovations.

And just as three very different men came together to create this American opera about life in a run-down Manhattan tenement, a diverse group of artists is collaborating to mount a mammoth production with a three story set, a forty-person cast and a thirty-piece orchestra, opening Feb. 21 in the Rand Theater at UMass. The piece is a co-production of UMass Theater and Five College Opera.

“It’s a coming together of over 90 collaborators, from different disciplines, across different campuses, to create a story about a multi-ethnic community and the glue that holds it together and rips it apart,” said Gina Kaufmann, a UMass Theater faculty member who is the opera’s director.

The cast includes John Cheek, a world-class bass-baritone singer who has sung at the White House and appeared at the Metropolitan opera more than 350 times, and soprano Dana Schnitzer, a UMass alumna and faculty member who also serves as Artistic Director of MetroWest Opera in Boston. Cheek and Schnitzer serve as mentors to several generations of cast members across a wide range of experience, from an 8-year-old making her opera debut to students from the Five Colleges who are looking toward music or theater careers, and a number of experienced performers from across the Pioneer Valley.

The characters of Street Scene are thrown together by circumstance in the run-down tenement in a multi-ethnic, working class Manhattan neighborhood during two stifling summer days in 1946. The story, by turns joyful, playful, and melancholy, centers around a romance between a Jewish and a gentile teenager and on the consequences of a mother’s extramarital affair and a father’s rage, but it is the rich undertones of longing and the layered relationships amid the tenement residents that bring the complex world of Street Scene to life. The story is in part about the limits of dreams and aspirations as a younger generation struggles to forge a path different from its parents’.

The music reflects the diversity of the community from which it springs. With elements that encompass classical music forms, spoken word, the jazz esthetic, and even film noir orchestrations, this piece stretches the art of opera in fascinating directions. Some of the music underscores dance numbers influenced by the jitterbug, the charleston, and praise dancing from the Black churches of the day.

“It uses all of these different musical styles that match the characters,” said Street Scene musical director Mark Swanson, an Amherst College music professor. The elements create a musical collage to shape the identity of the piece.

“It’s a diverse group finding a common language,” Swanson said. He was talking about the singers and the production team, but he could just as well have been talking about Weill, Rice and Hughes and the characters they bring to life.

Street Scene is a co-production of the Department of Theater and Five College Opera.

This production is made possible in part by the Kurt Weill Foundation.
Contact Us
Dept. of Theater, Fine Arts Center 112
University of Massachusetts Amherst
151 Presidents Drive
Amherst, MA 01003-9331
Penny Remsen, Department Chair
General e-mail: umasstheater@theater.umass.edu
General information number: (413) 545-3490
Fax: (413) 577-0025
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Saturday, January 11, 2014

Rehearsal Schedule Monday Janaury, 13-Saturday, January 18, 2014

Thank-you all for your hard work this week! We were very productive, and it was great to dive further into this wonderful piece. Please see below the rehearsal schedule for Monday, January 13, 2014-Saturday, January 18, 2014. Please remember as we move forward, this will change and it is pertinent that you check your e-mail nightly for those updates.



Monday, January 13:
2:00pm Liana Gineitis, Rob Stahley, Eliza Baxter, Mac Leslie, Dayna Fisk, Ben Finn, Lily Filippatos, Conor Dennin Called
Final Rose/Sam Duet (page 262-270)
“Moon-Faced Starry-Eyed” Review Choreography in Curtain
2:45pm Moon Faced in Rand
3:00pm Add Tiberius Cuipylo-Watkins
3:15pm “We’ll Go Away Together” and Scene
3:50pm Coachings With Mark:
3:50pm Mac Leslie
4:10pm Lily Filippatos
4:30pm Melissa Ennulat
4:50pm Daniel Kadish
5:10pm Michael Carotenuto
5:30-7:00pm MEAL BREAK
7:00pm Frank Aronson, Jessica Campbell, Hala Lord, Tori Clough, Melissa Ennulat, Michael Carotenuto Called
7:00pm Coaching with Frank Aronson
7:15pm “Ain’t it Awful The Heat”
7:15pm Add Peter Vaiknoras and Uriah Rodriguez
(If time allows before 7:30, “Marble and a Star”. If not, it will be after.)
7:30pm “Ice-Cream Sextet” Staging and Choreography
Coachings with Mark:
Jessica Campbell
Tori Clough
10:30pm END OF NIGHT


Tuesday, January 14:
2:00 Rob Stahley, Mac Leslie, Hannah Szydlo, Eliza Baxter, Conor Dennin, Peter Vaiknoras, Tiberius Cuipylo-Watkins, Dayna Fisk, Lily Filippatos, Heather Lord, Eddie Flannery, Peter Vaiknoras, Ryan Hill, Michael Carotenuto, Lydia Barrett, Sylvia Barjolo, Ashton Martin, Ben Finn, Michael Seavey, Daniel Kadish, Melissa Ennulat, Uriah Rodriguez, Christina Mailer, Sophia Schweik, Khalila Lord, Jessica Campbell (if possible), Hannah D’Alessandro, Esther Sokoloff-Rubin Called
            “Lament”
Sections 13 & 14 Scene Work:
            Liana G, Dayna Fisk, Lily Filippatos, Ben Finn, Conor Dennin, Mac Leslie, Griffin Lyons, Rob Stahley, Heather Lord, Peter Vaiknoras, Peter Vaiknoras, (John Cheek if
available)
4:00 add Liana G, Griffin Lyons, (John Cheek if available)
5:30-7:00pm- MEAL BREAK
7:00pm Rob Stahley, Liana G, Peter Vaiknoras, Mac Leslie, Hannah Szydlo, Eliza Baxter, Conor Dennin, Tiberius Cuipylo-Watkins, Dayna Fisk, Lily Filippatos, Heather Lord, Eddie Flannery, Peter Vaiknoras, Ryan Hill, Michael Carotenuto, Lydia Barrett, Sylvia Barjolo, Ashton Martin, Michael Seavey, Daniel Kadish, Melissa Ennulat, Uriah Rodriguez, Christina Mailer, Zen, John Cheek, Sophia Schweik, Khalila Lord, Hannah D’Alessandro, Esther Sokoloff-Rubin, Jared Beaulieu, Jessica Campbell, Dana Schnitzer, Ben Finn, Tristan Lewis-Shurter Called
            “Lament” & Scene work on Sections 18 & 19
            Finale if time allows
10:30pm END OF NIGHT

Wednesday, January 15:
2:00pm Liana Gineitis, Eliza Baxter, Dana Schnitzer, John Cheek, Heather Lord, Sylvia Barjolo, Ruby Cain, Uriah Rodriguez, Christina Mailer, Griffin Lyons, Ryan Hill, Jared Beaulieu, Michael Seavey Called
2:00pm Sections 16, 17, Interlude, 20, 21
4:00pm Add Peter Vaiknoras, Ben Finn and Peter Vaiknoras
5:30-7:00pm MEAL BREAK
7:00pm Michael Seavey, Liana Gineitis, Eliza Baxter, Peter Vaiknoras, Rob Stahley, Mac Leslie, Frank Aronson, Michael Carotenuto, Jessica Campbell, Hala Lord, Uriah Rodriguez, Daniel Kadish, Melissa Ennulat, John Cheek, Ben Finn, Peter Vaiknoras, Dayna Fisk, Lily Filippatos, Sophia Schweik, Ruby Cain, Lydia Barrett, Ryan Hill, Eddie Flannery Called
7:00pm Section 22-End of Show (Including Finale)
10:30 END OF NIGHT

Thursday, January 16:
2:00pm TBD
5:30-7:00pm MEAL BREAK
7:00pm Full Company Called- Read/Sing Thru
10:30pm END OF NIGHT

Friday, January 17:
2:00pm Full Company Called (Specific Call Times TBD)
2:00pm Work Act I
5:30-7:00pm MEAL BREAK
7:00pm TBA
10:30pm END OF NIGHT

Saturday, January 18:
1:00pm Full Company Called (Specific Call Times TBD)
1:00pm “Wrapped in a Ribbon and Tied in a Bow” & Act II
5:00-6:30pm MEAL BREAK
6:30pm Full Company Called (Specific Call Times TBD)
6:30pm “Wrapped in a Ribbon and Tied in a Bow” & Act II

9:30 END OF NIGHT

All the Best, 

Stage Management