PERFORMING ARTS
76
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The prolific New York City director James Brennan works closely with
his actors and dancers to bring out the subtler aspects of the musical. A
talented dancer, Brennan played the show’s male lead, Bobby Child, on
Broadway in the 1990s.
day in January. Not a single space was available in the parking
lot stretching from Riverside to the Vero Beach Museum
of Art. Theatergoers were there for two very different shows.
On the Stark Stage, the boisterous musical comedy Crazy for
You was bursting with love, laughter and tap dancing. On
the smaller Waxlax Stage, the one-man show, Underneath the
Lintel, presented a Dutch librarian on a round-the-world trek
for the meaning of life.
HANDMADE PRODUCTIONS
But how did those two shows and all the others for the past
32 years come to fruition in the first place? They don’t roll
out the back of a van, pre-assembled and ready to go. These
aren’t touring company productions making stops in 20 states.
Every one is handmade at Riverside for Riverside. Allen D.
Cornell, the theater’s producing artistic director and CEO,
calls it “America’s largest small-town professional producing
theater.” The emphasis is on “producing,” meaning created
from scratch specifically for Riverside. Still, many theatergoers,
including season subscribers, don’t understand what Riverside
does despite Cornell’s regular explanations on opening nights.
“Riverside is a dynamic artistic enterprise that creates
original versions of the shows selected for its stages,” says
Cornell.
Here’s a step-by-step look at the production of one show,
Crazy for You. It started a year in advance, when Cornell chose
the upcoming season’s shows. Cornell knew he wanted to
produce Crazy for You and was waiting for the right time.
“After 42nd Street’s huge success (in January 2010) I’ve been
looking forward to another great fun, tap-heavy show,” says
Cornell.
Next he built his creative team, choosing James Brennan for
director. “There is no one else who I would want to entrust >>
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