April 2001

This season has been a wonderful one captivating audiences and critics. Audiences have immerse themselves in compelling visuals, rich ideas, startling language and bold theatricality and responded with standing ovations, record breaking attendance, sold-out performances. Each season, we work very hard to find plays which capture your hearts and your imagination, while surprising and provoking you. Next year the list of plays under consideration is extremely exciting. Cabaret, The Graduate, The Vagina Monologues, Pulitzer Prize winners Wit and Dinner With Friends, Proof, A Clockwork Orange, Shakespeare’s R & J, Closer, Honk: The Ugly Duckling and Copenhagen are a few of the considerations.

As the only professional company in the region, the Hippodrome is vital in the development of Gainesville as a cultural center. Some of the best work in the theatre today is brought to life on the Hipp’s intimate stage. Our design and artistic team is one of the best in the country. Our productions rival any that you might see in New York City.

We thank all our subscribers because you make all this possible. Your support allows us to plan our season well ahead, to negotiate for properties that are difficult to get rights on, and to secure the best artists, designers, and staff to bring you the best in American theatre.

We invite you to join thousands of theatre lovers for a season that is both relevant and extremely entertaining. There has never been a better time to become a season subscriber!

Last year had a record number of sold out performances. Don’t be left out. Be part of the excitement. Subscribe today!
 
 

 One of the most intriguing questions about Jane Martin’s new comedy, ANTON IN SHOW BUSINESS, is "who is Jane Martin?" She first appeared on the popular scene during the 1982 Humana Festival of New Plays with her play, TALKING WITH. The play, which is a collection of monologues, was moved to the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York and was later directed for PBS by Oscar-winning actress Kathy Bates. Most of her plays (if not all) have premiered at Actors Theatre of Louisville. However, there is no picture on the wall and no headshot in the playbill to inform us of the identity of this entertaining playwright. It is one of the great mysteries of American Theatre! There has been much explanation on Ms. Martin’s identity --- a group of Louisville playwrights, specific individuals, and Jon Jory, who served as Artistic Director of Actors Theatre of Louisville for over three decades. I would be reluctant to bet money on any one particular group or individual, however, ANTON IN SHOW BUSINESS sounds like a farewell homage to an art form that Jon Jory served in his brilliant career at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Jory says of this most recent success at the Humana Festival, "This play is interesting in the fact that it’s hard to feel valuable in this culture if you’re an artist because the economies and politics of the theatre shape who artists think they are. And so the artists formed in this crucible lose confidence and direction. This is a comedy about what people in the process confront, and it asks the question, what can the artist do in a culture that doesn’t value her?" Perhaps his comment sounds a bit serious, but never fear, this backstage comedy is filled with satire and the character’s traumas and predicaments are hilarious.

I am particularly excited about directing this play for the Gainesville audiences. One reason is that Martin’s play strikes a very vivid chord. Her depiction of these eccentric characters is wonderful and so true to life. We are able to hold them close to our heart as they struggle through the trials and tribulations of the nonprofit arts scene in America. Secondly, I am lucky to have a wonderful cast of women whom I’m dedicated to as artists. And finally, even though the play is a comedy, perhaps the audience will embrace the difficulties that artists go through keeping us intrigued and entertained.

Jane Martin will remain a mystery to us, but her plays will exist long after she is dead and gone…or will we ever know when and if she is departed?
 
 

By now you have received your subscription/ contributing subscriber renewal letter. We hope that you have had time to fill it out and send it back and that, even if you are a flex subscriber, you will renew early. Your renewals make it possible for us to make sound financial decisions and important artistic decisions as we head into the new season. Thank you for renewing today!

We need your help. Our theatre’s layout makes late seating very challenging. For shows like Macbeth, it is especially difficult because the entrances to the theatre are used extensively by the actors. We have to weigh the inconvenience to the late arrivers against the difficulty in keeping the production running and the artistic product intact for our actors and our audience. Many theatres can easily provide late seating. At the Hipp, late seating takes late audience members into the action of the play and takes our audiences’ attention away from the production.

Electronic media is so prevalent that people don’t worry about being late to a movie or pausing the videotape to leave the room. Theatre is different. There is a sacred, ritual aspect to the theatre that allows our audiences to enter into the magic of a live performance.

Join us in our efforts to keep the magic of theatre alive and vibrant! Arrive early to your next Hippodrome production. Thanks.

Jane Martin’s ANTON IN SHOW BUSINESS takes you backstage in a hysterical look into the world of theatre. ANTON IN SHOW BUSINESS tells the story of three struggling actors and an ill-fated production of Anton Chekhov’s The Three Sisters in San Antonio, Texas.

Having passed their New York auditions in a rather non-traditional manner, three actresses are cast in a production of Chekhov’s The Three Sisters to be performed by San Antonio’s Actors Express. There’s Lisabette, the young third grade teacher who recently made her acting comeback in a community theatre production of Fiddler on the Roof. She’s been cast as Irina, the youngest and most optimistic sister. Casey on the other hand - a veteran of off-off Broadway, having closed 200 productions without ever getting paid - is set to play Olga, the plain, older, more jaded sister. And then there’s Holly, the famous TV star whose agent convinces her that performing in a theater production of Chekhov would buy her some respect (and more film offers). She’s playing the dark, passionate middle sister Masha because, as she sensitively puts it, " the most powerful person plays the best part." Added to this rather eclectic cast of players is a country music star that plays the romantic lead, a flamboyant costume designer, a corporate drone from a sponsoring cigarette company, a rich-hick funder, a hard-working Stage Manager, an arrogant English director, and an incompetent producer who tries to hold things together. In all, 7 women play 15 characters.

The adventure of the "three sisters" follows them down a Texas rabbit hole and into the American theater Wonderland. Their madcap excursions take them through the typical regional mire like funding crises, impossible critics, eccentric directors, and inept producers. But like Alice, they fail to comprehend the mad tea party that the American theatre sometimes resembles. But through all their failures, they search for life’s deeper purpose. Because comedy as an art form is based on pain- and because this comedy is written by Jane Martin- the actors’ trials and tribulations can be very, very funny.

Do the women pull it off? Will San Antonio get that Russian masterpiece? Will Holly get that film she’s after? Is Lisabette headed for Broadway? And what will Casey do with the money from her first paid acting gig?

Despite the challenges and failures the women of ANTON… experience, there is no shortage of laughter. The play is full of wild antics and humor in the tradition of the backstage comedy (think Noises Off or Bullets Over Broadway). There’s the leading lady/leading man romance, fights with directors, power trips, actors playing multiple characters and of course, ongoing funding woes. Like Chekhov, Jane Martin has captured the humor of life. It just happens to be the life in show business.

Come see the play critics hailed "Hilarious, smart and even a little warped" (Houston Press), "Jane Martin’s very best play to date" (Chicago Sun Times) and the finalist for the American Theatre Critics/Steinberg New Play Award.
Previews April 18 and 19. Show runs April 20-May 13.
 
 

All cultures and traditions in the world have had some relationship with alcoholic spirits.  Fermented fruits, seeds and plants brought humans into the nostalgic presence of the Gods, where they offered dances, songs, arts, souls.
The word Alcohol comes from the Arabic al-kuhul, a term meaning a fine powder of antimony used as an eye makeup. The word alcohol originally denoted any fine powder; the alchemists of medieval Europe later applied it to essences obtained by distillation, and this led to the current usage.  Alcohols are normal by-products of digestion and chemical processes within cells and are found in the tissues and fluids of animals and plants.  Like any other food or beverage in the world, liquors are just another complement that can help in the production of the art--and why not in the appreciation of the arts as well?

The Hippodrome State Theater Bar has for over a decade been offering refreshments for our audiences.  Our menu is not limited to spirits, beers and wines, but also offers soft drinks, candies, popcorn, coffee, and cookies, making the old federal building the only place in Gainesville where you can watch your movie with one of your favorite drinks (not to mention the famous Hippodrome popcorn).  You can also share an apéritif with your date before or between acts of our main stage production, an extra touch to make your evening all the more enjoyable.  So welcome, and cheers!  In our next installment, we will talk about our new beers and wines.
 
 

The 2000-2001 HITT program year has been incredibly exciting and award winning for program staff and participants. We are proud of the HITT program as it continues to serve the community and receive honors and accolades!

The program year began with a bang as HITT Project Director, Bonnie Harrison, and Hippodrome Producing Director, Mary Hausch, jetted off to Granada to lead a HITT session sponsored by the Florida Association for Voluntary Agencies for Caribbean Action. (FAVA/CA). Recently, Ms. Harrison received the Florida International Volunteer Corps 2000 Outstanding Achievement Award for her dedicated work in the Caribbean dating back to 1997.

Back home in Florida, HITT performed at a number of conferences and for a variety of different agencies, including the PIPSA Drug Summit, the March of Dimes Chain Reaction Conference, the Florida Department of Children & Families, and the Florida Learn and Serve Conference. Especially exciting for HITT participants was the recognition they received from Florida Governor Jeb Bush for their performance during the closing ceremonies of the PIPSA Drug Summit in Tallahassee. In fact, HITT performer Wilfredo Gonzalez was hand selected by Governor Bush to sit with him, First Lady Columba Bush, and Florida Drug Czar Jim McDonough at the Head Table during the Summit.

Another highlight for HITT was performing at the Florida Learn & Serve Conference in Orlando. HITT has twice been named the very best Service Learning Project in the Nation by Learn & Serve. At this year’s conference, HITT Project Director Bonnie Harrison was honored with the Steve Tunick Award for her outstanding work guiding the HITT program.

Locally, HITT presented their anti-tobacco performance piece, "Who Wants To Have A Million Dollar Body" at the 12th Annual Middle School Health Conference sponsored in part by The March of Dimes Chain Reaction Youth Leadership Council and Alachua County School Board Safe and Drug Free Schools Program. Modeled after the popular game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," this HITT piece cleverly educates youth about the very real, and often fatal, consequences of tobacco use.

As the 2000-2001 HITT program year draws to a close, the Hippodrome would like to congratulate the staff and participants for their success and many awards. Thank you to Bonnie Harrison, Sandra Dietel, Marcia Brown, Gabrielle Byam and Ty Hallmark for your dedication, hard work, care and concern for the youth in our community. You have truly made the Hippodrome very proud!
 
 

Every year, the Hippodrome asks aspiring young playwrights throughout Florida to submit original plays for our Florida Teen Playwright Festival.  Each play is submitted to a national panel of judges and three winners are selected to have their plays produced on the Hippodrome stage.  Teen playwrights work with the theatre's professional staff, playwrights, actors, and directors to refine their work and to see it come to life on the stage.

The Festival is and annual event that inspires teens from all over the state of Florida to explore the world of theater and to write plays.  Each year the Hippodrome works with hundreds of teachers throughout Florida to introduce the art of play writing and to encourage students to find their own unique form of dramatic expression.  The program gives students an opportunity to submit their work and, if selected as a finalist, to experience the continued development of their play in a professional environment.  Each student submits an original full-length one-act play of 25-45 minutes to be judged by a national panel of judges.  The judges select 3 winning plays.  The Hippodrome produces these plays presenting them in a showcase.  This year the Festival will present the winning plays on April 28-30, 2001 on our second stage.  Funded in part by the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the festival is truly an educational experience involving collaboration between Florida high school students, teachers, UF, SFCC college students, and the Hippodrome’s professional artistic staff.

The work of the young playwrights has always been extraordinary.  Their work is strengthened through a residency, which includes a rehearsal process with professional directors and actor. Through this exploration, talented young artists have an opportunity to refine their work and to find their own artistic voice.  Come celebrate the work of our young artists.  Join us for the Florida Teen Playwright Festival, April 28-30, and share an extraordinary evening of creativity, humor and insights by the state’s best young artists.

Don’t miss your opportunity to be part of the excitement.  Join us for the Teen Playwright Festival 2001.

Alison Jim, who played the "fourth witch," the one who literally dances up a storm, in Lauren Caldwell’s MACBETH has consented to an interview and, like everything else in her life these days, it’s happening on the run. As a fellow actor with some shared dressing room moments I’ve agreed to catch the whirlwind witch as she flies. (And I may as well admit right up front, I’m one of her biggest fans.)

Five years ago this month (March) Alison was playing "Scout" in the third week of holdover of the best selling show in Hippodrome history, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. She was slightly disgruntled because she was missing her own twelfth birthday party. This year she’s not only foregoing a seventeenth birthday celebration, but Spring Break as well. She’s more pragmatic these days, "every cast is like a new little family." So she’s right at home this time around and right where she wants to be.

Her passion is dance. And to watch her pursue this passion is like watching a porpoise frolic in the sea or an eagle soar above – freedom, joy, and pure poetry in motion. (She choreographed her own dances for MACBETH.) But the most astounding thing about this young dancer/actor is the seeming ease with which she inhabits the chaotic world of a contemporary teen. A junior in high school, duel enrolled at Santa Fe Community College, Alison downplays her talent. When reminded of the phenomenal success of MOCKINGBIRD and her huge role in that she shrugs, "Playing Scout was just like playing myself. I was a tomboy and would tell the truth to anybody straight up."

Director Caldwell, smitten with her talent and reliability, "I can giver her notes on the run. I tell her something once and she incorporates it," has tried to get Alison back onstage at least twice since MOCKINGBIRD. Once in the role of a psychotic teen killer, "I was a seventh grader. I wasn’t ready to go there!" and again in last season’s FRANKENSTEIN, "okay, I could kick myself for not taking advantage of that opportunity."

But Alison isn’t much on regret. She gave up dance classes for a few years and acknowledges that she’d probably be a better dancer if she hadn’t. But she’ll just have to work that much harder now. And hard work is a welcome challenge. Her plans for college include New York City. "I have to be in New York, otherwise I’ll die. I’m itchin’ to go." She wants at least a year of study in Italy where she can practice the Italian she has studied for two years. And it is "the fashion capital of the world." Alison sees a possible life in fashion design after a career as a dancer and choreographer. "I think I might be good at it. There are so many possibilities."

Right now she’s on her way to ask Adam Cohen, MACBETH Stage Manager, for some rosin for her ballet slippers, having had to turn a near tumble into an acting moment right before. Seizing the possibilities – one of the challenges of the most seasoned stage artist – that is something Alison already understands.
 
 

Critics have been singing Hedwig’s praises since its off-Broadway debut in 1998: "sublimely trashy and surprisingly powerful" (LA Times), "the most exciting hard rock score written for the theatre since, oh, ever" (Time), "a much-needed jolt of bathos and wigged-out histrionics" (The Advocate), "the absolutely fabulous glam rock musical" (Village Voice). After a flood of awards and recognition (Obie Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, a Grammy nomination and 3 Drama Desk nominations, Best Direction and Dramatic Award at the Sundance Film Festival) the Hippodrome State Theatre is thrilled to bring you this one-of-a-kind rock odyssey.

How did Hansel Schmidt - some slip of a girlyboy from Germany - become Hedwig, an internationally ignored song stylist in the US? Hear Hedwig’s story as she relates her sex change helped her to escape communist East Berlin and become a rock star in America. Part Plato’s Symposium and part rock and roll, Hedwig unfolds in pun and song through a wildly imaginative creation reminiscent of Velvet Goldmine.

See why The New York Times predicted Hedwig to be "…the kind of Rocky Horror Picture Show-style event that may inspire a rabid cult following." Don’t miss out! Hedwig and the Angry Inch June 1-24 at the Hippodrome State Theatre. Previews May 30 and 31.