A world of song

As the lights go down in the River City Yacht Club, eight actors and actresses are waiting anxiously offstage for their turn to go.

In the course of the next 90 minutes, each one will be thrust into the glare of the spotlight, going solo in a musical revue with only their own talent and determination -- and a very small budget.

Many of them are new members of the Cape Girardeau amateur theater group The River City Players, such as the first one who will be thrown to the lions tonight, Curtis Prichard.

Prichard has never acted in front of a paying audience. But during the Players' production of the musical revue "The World Goes 'Round," featuring the famous Broadway tunes of John Kander and Fred Ebb, he'll be the glue that keeps the array of musical numbers together -- the tough-talking New York bar owner and master of ceremonies.

"I could probably sum it up in one word. Scary," Prichard said of being on stage. The acting virgin drove his wife, Michelle, to auditions for the musical revue in May, and was convinced to audition by the director, Christine Beardslee.

Together they came up with a character -- the goomba club owner that has to remind everyone he owns everything in the place, "even the dames."

"I've been to New York a lot, and that character was just based on some people that I've met there," said Prichard. "I got a feel for that gruff, Northeastern, aggressive type of attitude."

Prichard was just another piece of the puzzle that magically came together to help the amateur group pull off its first musical of any kind in several years.

Musicals in any sense are grand productions, but for a community theater the challenge is that much greater. The actors are amateurs, even though many of them have received some education in theater or dance.

All of the work that goes into the production is done on a voluntary basis -- no one gets paid for what ends up being a huge amount of work.

And the budgets are terribly small, something that doesn't help when musicians, costumes and some sort of set design is needed to put the touches on the talent.

"A lot of times when you're leaving work and coming straight here and you don't leave to go home until 10 or 10:30, it's hard," said Beardslee. But she takes the hard work in stride as just being "community theater life."

The daunting task didn't discourage Beardslee, though. This musical production was her baby, something she's been trying to convince RCP to do for a while.

When Ebb recently died, Beardslee thought it would be appropriate to do a musical revue of the songs he wrote with Kander, some of Broadway's best-known songs like "Cabaret," "New York, New York" and "Kiss of the Spiderwoman."

"The first show I ever saw in New York City was 'Chicago,'" said Beardslee. "And right after that I went to see 'Cabaret.'"

Beardslee had the motivation, but the right supporting ensemble is also needed to do a musical.

"You have to know musicians and you have to know someone who reads music," Beardslee said. "It just takes a lot more people than a play."

Beardslee was lucky, since she had access to both. Bryan Parker, who has directed musicals at Sikeston's Little Theater, lended a hand on vocal direction, and pianist Gloria Schumer and drummer Gabe Austin helped provide some rhythm for the singers to dance to.

Parker, who also sings and acts in the show, said the talent of the group made his job a lot easier than it could have been.

"We have such good voices in this cast so it was more about deciding on vocal preferences and nuances than teaching," said Parker, a Southeast Missourian employee. "We just use different people and their different talents."

Some of those talents include Meagan Edmonds and Pamela Bell, both of whom have solid acting experience. Then there's Kathy Heckman, who has tons of vocal experience singing with her church and in other capacities.

Heckman's only problem, said Parker, was that sometimes her singing was "too pretty."

Edmonds did the choreography, something she's trying for the first time even though she has some dance experience. Like Parker, she found it was easy with this cast.

"A lot of that was pulling it from the person themselves," said Edmonds.

The choreography shows a range of emotions -- from the sultry to the proud to the love struck.

Singing and dancing isn't the only focus of the revue, though. There's plenty of acting going on, and especially a lot of crowd interaction. The audience isn't only there to be entertained, but to be a prop in the show.

"I've seen a lot of shows where the people just sit there in their chairs," said Beardslee. "For this show I want them to have to turn around in their seats and look behind them."

Several times during the performance cast members are placed in the crowd, and suddenly a spotlight hits them. During the final number, every one of them ventures out into the audience, each one talking to crowd members. It's not a show for shy people, but that's part of the effect the Players are striving for.

"We wanted for people to be able to walk in a feel like they're in a different place," said Beardslee.

She points to the glittering red, silver and black streamers hung around the walls of the Yacht Club. "Nobody hangs things on the wall in a play. We wanted this place to sparkle. Everybody has fun when they go to a place like this."

Not only is the production meant for the audience to have fun, but the players, as well.

"Everybody got along so well," said Edmonds. "Almost too well at times."

The group is laid back and ready, but the jitters are bound to strike on show night. When that happens, the Players' newest member has the perfect remedy -- get caught up in the fantasy.

"It forces you to go into character," said Prichard. "The guy I'm playing is so cocky he doesn't even know the meaning of nervous."

Kander and Ebb musicals:

"Flora the Menace" (1965)

"Cabaret" (1966)

"The Happy Time" (1968)

"Zorba" (1968)

"70 Girls 70" (1971)

"Chicago" (1972)

"The Act" (1978)

"Woman of the Year" (1981)

"The Rink" (1984)

"And the World Goes 'Round" (1991)

"Kiss of the Spiderwoman" (1992)

"Steel Pier" (1997)

"Fosse" (1999)

"The Skin of Our Teeth" (1999)

"The Visit" (2001)

source: Musical Theatre International

msanders@semissourian.com

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