NewsPHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Behind the Scenes at the World Premiere Musical Secondhand Lions With Kevin EarleySeattle's 5th Avenue Theatre presents the world-premiere staging of Secondhand Lions, the new musical by Michael Weiner, Alan Zachary and Tony Award winner Rupert Holmes. Cast member Kevin Earley documented the rehearsal process and extended preview period.
By
Matthew Blank
September 30, 2013
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PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Behind the Scenes at the World Premiere Musical Secondhand Lions With Kevin Earley
PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Behind the Scenes at the World Premiere Musical Secondhand Lions With Kevin Earley
Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre presents the world-premiere staging of Secondhand Lions, the new musical by Michael Weiner, Alan Zachary and Tony Award winner Rupert Holmes. Cast member Kevin Earley documented the rehearsal process and extended preview period.
24 PHOTOS
It's an exciting day when a box of new programs for your brand new musical gets dropped off back stage. Every cast member grabs one and fumbles through looking at other’s bios and their own. This is also another reminder that an audience is coming...
Kevin Earley
Arriving in Seattle! Me (Kevin Earley) and Johnny Rabe being picked up at the airport a day before rehearsals start. I’ve been a part of the show, doing workshops, readings and recordings, for 6 years of its development. This will be Johnny's first day.
Kevin Earley
The entire cast and artistic staff sit down for one last "Table Read-through" with music before starting to put Secondhand Lions on its feet.
Kevin Earley
Here we all are in the rehearsal hall, putting "Sand,” one of the large production numbers in the show, up on its feet for the first time. Jason Danieley (seen from behind in the turban) prepares for his "up center" entrance.
Kevin Earley
Fight choreography in the rehearsal hall. Mark Jacoby (in purple) and Eric Esteb (the blur) battle it out in the "shadow fight” – old man vs. ninja. Fun stage magic allows us to shatter that chair on the table every night.
Kevin Earley
Upper left and Right: Music Director Ian Eisendrath works the amazing Ensemble and Orchestra. Bottom Left: Book writer Rupert Holmes (in the grey shirt to the right) listens to music rehearsal for the uplifting number "Fly Into A Better Tomorrow.”
Kevin Earley
We’ve moved into tech. Seen here, composer/lyricists Michael Weiner and Alan Zachary watch tech in the theater with Warner Brothers Theater Ventures Producer Mark Kaufman and his lovely family.
Kevin Earley
Our fearless leaders! Giving direction, making changes and keeping our spirits high are our amazing creative team.
Kevin Earley
We have a great number called “Alive or Dead” in which the princess and I are traveling the world to flee from the cruel Sultan’s reaches. Naturally, while hiding out in Sicily, we are pursued by the mafia.
Kevin Earley
Jason Danieley as the magnificent Sultan of Oujda, taking one last look back on his way to wreak havoc in the land of Oujda.
Kevin Earley
First thing you do when you get your costumes on in your dressing room is send a selfie to your spouse. (That lumberjack hat in the bottom right only made it on stage for 10 seconds, then was cut.)
Kevin Earley
Having fun while waiting in the wings… Jenifer Foote and Harris Milgrim backstage have borrowed Gregg Edelman’s prop – an instruction manual on planting and farming corn.
A family portrait from the finale! Me (Kevin Earley), Johnny Rabe and Jenny Powers, one happy family at the end of the show. Oh, the late 70's had such a fashion for glasses and hair.
Kevin Earley
Always and exciting day in any musical, the Sitzprobe in which the cast gets to hear and sing with the orchestra for the first time. The cast, writers, artistic staff and producers all come for this electrifying moment in a new musical.
Kevin Earley
The cast gathers before our first preview audience to get a pep talk from our director Scott Schwartz. Excitement, nerves and anticipation run through everyone. All at different paces.
Kevin Earley
More excitement for our first preview, with maybe a little skepticism form Harris Milgrim (just behind me). I'm kidding, he's just nervous.
Kevin Earley
Nick Gaswirth, Harris Milgrim, Jared Michael Brown, Nick DeSantis, Matthew Posner, and Deon Ridley. As we make changes during previews, The Wild Lion Boys are seen here in rehearsal working on their opening number.
Kevin Earley
Broadway veteran Gregg Edelman sits on side of the stage, with his cowboy hat by his side. Gregg, who plays Garth, is always cool as a cucumber.
Kevin Earley
Fight call! Broadway veteran Mark Jacoby’s character, Hub, is more of an action oriented character. As Nick Gaswirth pulls a knife on Mark, he contemplates his next exciting move.
Kevin Earley
Johnny Rabe tries to stay warm on stage during rehearsal with his Drury Lane Theater zip-up. Such a theater kid, we love him.
Kevin Earley
So when you are doing a new musical, we do preview performances at night and then come back and rehearse during the day. With this show, we have THREE WEEKS of this. Seen here, Jason Danieley going a little coo coo during rehearsal.
Kevin Earley
Before the preview that same night, Gregg Edelman going over changes to the script on stage. In 3 weeks of previews this is a daily occurrence. It’s hard to keep track of all the changes for each night.
Kevin Earley
Nothing happens without an amazing crew. The show has over 120 wig/facial pieces, over 100 costumes, 33 microphones, a barn, a front porch, corn, a gas station, over 30 swords, daggers and spears, two boats, two record players, a sand castle and a sheep.
Kevin Earley
I, Jenny Powers and Jason Danieley have been part of Secondhand Lions for over 6 years. Involved in readings, workshops and recording of this New Musical Adventure. This is truly a dream come true for us.
Based on the 2003 movie starring Michael Caine and Robert Duval, Secondhand Lions has a book by Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Curtains) and a score by First Date songwriters Weiner and Zachary. The musical will run through Oct. 6.
Scott Schwartz (Batboy, Golda's Balcony, Jane Eyre) directs with choreography by Joshua Bergasse ("Smash"). Tony Award nominees Edelman (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, City of Angels, Into the Woods) and Jacoby (Show Boat, Ragtime, Sweeney Todd) portray the eccentric uncles who are entrusted with their 14-year-old nephew for a summer. Rabe, who made his Broadway debut last season as Ralphie in A Christmas Story, The Musical, playsWalter – the teen central to the tale.
The cast also features Jason Danieley (Candide, Next to Normal), Kevin Earley (Death Takes a Holiday, A Tale of Two Cities), Kendra Kassebaum (Leap of Faith, Wicked), Jenny Powers (Grease, Happiness), Jared Michael Brown (The Pirates of Penzance), Sophia Anne Caruso (Fly, "Smash") and Justin Huertas (Avenue Q).
The ensemble includes Wendi Bergamini, Scott Brateng, Sydney Buckley, Sarah Rose Davis, Nick DeSantis, Eric Esteb, Lori Ann Ferreri, Jenifer Foote, Matthew Posner, Nick Gaswirth, Fawn Ledesma, Ulyber Mangune Harris Milgrim, Ryah Nixon, Deon Ridley, Indeah Thomaier, Grayson Smith and Kennedy Miller.
Secondhand Lions has scenic design by Eugene Lee, costume design by Ann Hould-Ward, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Kai Harada, hair and makeup design by Mary Pyanowski, orchestrations by Alan Lee Silva, dance arrangements by Sam Davis, projection design by Jeff Sugg and fight direction by Rick Sordelet.
According to the 5th Avenue, "Harkening back to a simpler time, when a boy's imagination was all that was needed to turn a regular summer on a Texas farm into the adventure of a lifetime, Secondhand Lions follows the extraordinary tale of Walter, a 14-year-old boy sent to live with his irascible uncles on their Texas farm for the summer. While there, the tall tales his uncles tell him—stories of hidden treasure and beguiling princesses—lead Walter on a magical odyssey through history and the past."
The musical is the newest project by Hunter Bird, one of the creative minds behind the immersive Off-Broadway revival of The Phantom of the Opera, Masquerade.
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