Over the next two weeks (Feb. 18 to March 1, 2009), Stephen Crane fans in Harrisonburg Virginia will be treated to a feast of Crane festivities! A new musical play version of The Blue Hotel opens on the 18th, and will stage ten performances. Saturday the 21st and 28th, talented musical group The Shakes, who provided the score for the play, will perform prior to the opening curtain. And throughout all this, The Blue Hotel inspired artworks shall be displayed in downtown Harrisonburg's The Artful Dodger. And now to the specifics...
Stephen Crane's The Blue Hotel (a new play adapted & directed by Michael Trocchia)
Info site:
Location:
Court Square Theater, 311 South Main Street, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Performance schedule:
Wed, Feb. 18-Sat, Feb. 21* 8pm & Sun, Feb. 22 - 3pm
Wed, Feb. 18-Sat, Feb. 21* 8pm & Sun, Feb. 22 - 3pm
Wed, Feb. 25-Sat, Feb. 28* 8pm & Sun, Mar. 1 - 3pm
*Catch The Shakes live for pre-show music on Feb. 21 & 28 7:30-8pm
*Catch The Shakes live for pre-show music on Feb. 21 & 28 7:30-8pm
Musical preview site (myspace):
Tickets: $10; $8 for groups of ten or more.
Coinciding with the play: "The Blue Hotel" Art Exhibit, artworks inspired by Crane's original story, will be held at THE ARTFUL DODGER in downtown Harrisonburg VA (47 Court Square). The exhibit will open February 13th and run through March 1st 2009, along side of the performance run. This project is made possible, in part, through a grant from the Arts Council of the Valley.
Needless to say, we of the Crane Crusaders and this blog are extremely jealous that we live nowhere near Harrisonburg Virginia. However, location should be no bar to enjoyment of these glorious events. We've tracked down The Shakes and anticipate release of their Blue Hotel cd to be somewhat swifter than Axl's schedule for Chinese Democracy. Shakesman Dan Easley has been skillfully interviewed and his comments will be posted to this blog next week.
But first we'll see comments from Michael Trocchia, director of The Blue Hotel play, in this exchange with your faithful Crane blogger:
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Pat: How did your Blue Hotel project come together and at which point did you know it would be partly funded by an arts grant?
Michael: I read "The Blue Hotel" for the first time in early Fall 2007. I was immediately struck by its dramatic qualities. As I read it over and over, the visual components for staging it fell into place. I took my cues from Crane. The biggest challenge was of course the storm. How to be true to its force in the story? That is when I figured the music must provide that force; it would serve as an emotional equivalent to the storm. But why stop there? Why not find a way to bring out the painterly qualities of Crane's work? And that is when I thought of mounting a coinciding art exhibit of works inspired by the story. I was awarded a grant to fund the music and the art exhibit late October 2008. But I had been making preparations with the musicians and getting things rolling for the exhibit before I knew officially about the funds.
Pat: How and why did you choose the Shakes to do the music for this play?
Michael: I was a big fan of The Shakes beforehand, and a good friend of Mark Lane's. He is a terrific songwriter, and he and the rest of The Shakes know how to get at the heart of the matter in their songs. That is what I wanted. Later summer 2008, I sat down with Mark and we went through a draft of the script. He, Dan Easley, and Crystal Shrewsbury ran with it. The process was thrilling to watch, and in the end they made a beautiful album.
Pat: Have you seen any performances of The Blue Hotel on film or stage before and if so, what did you think of them?
Michael: As I was considering adapting the story, I searched for existing adaptations. I came across Kadar's 1977 film version. I enjoyed the humor he brings out in the Swede, but found the film lacking in the tension Crane renders in the story. I wanted to SEE the scene in the saloon. I wanted to see the gambler and the barkeeper and the Swede together.
I read somewhere too that James Agee wrote a film script of the story but I never got my hands on it, and I read a little of a stage adaptation by Arthur Reel, but wished to do it differently from him.
Pat: I see that you are an instructor at James Madison University in Virginia. Have you ever met Paul Sorrentino of Virginia Tech and the Stephen Crane Society?
Michael: Yes, I teach part-time in the philosophy department at JMU. I've never met Mr. Sorrentino, though I am aware of his work on Crane. My only contact with the Crane Society has been to announce the show. The Society is a wonderful resource. I learned there that Crane was thought to have based Fort Romper on Kearney, NE. That sent me down a path into the history of the town around that time, and some of that history ends up in my adaptation.
Pat: How would you rank The Blue Hotel in comparison to Crane's other stories?
Michael: I'm no good at that kind of thing (i.e. ranking). I will say, though, as I was adapting "The Blue Hotel," I was reading many of his other stories and sketches with the intention to weave pieces of them into the adaptation. Elements, for instance, of "A Dark-Brown Dog," "Billie Atkins Went to Omaha," and, perhaps more obviously, "Nebraska's Bitter Fight for Life" find expression in my adaptation.
Pat: What was the biggest challenge you encountered in adapting The Blue Hotel story for stage performance?
Michael: Besides re-creating the storm, I wanted to keep what I could of Crane's narrative, especially at the opening of the story and the piece about the Gambler. So the character of Barkeeper delivers these two bits to us in the play. While he then serves as our window into the town and its social make-up, he himself is also very much part of it.
Pat: The Shakes have made several of their Blue Hotel tracks available online. Will "internet folk" be able to see any of the Crane artwork or video of the play?
Michael: I hope to get some of the artwork up on the internet, though this may not happen until after the run of the show.
Pat: What would you say is the primary goal of The Blue Hotel performances and exhibits you've coordinated?
Michael: The goal of the project is to bring the work of Stephen Crane, one of America's great literary figures, to the community in a way which deepens an understanding and appreciation of his artistic talents and vision.
The project provides an opportunity for local artists and musicians to cut across artistic boundaries and contribute to a single creative endeavor. By bringing together a variety of artistic talents in the region, the project will reflect the multi-dimensional qualities of Stephen Crane's literary work, broadening the community's understanding and appreciation of this influential author.
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Coming to this blog next week....In which we hear from The Shakes, musical contributor to these Blue Hotel events....In the person of DAN EASLEY, of the group. And, perhaps more!
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