music by Harvey Schmidt
Sept. 29-Oct. 22, 2016
Marcelle Theater
Show Webpage
Production Photos
THE CAST
Potemkin – Kent Coffel
Orphan – Sean Michael
Angel – Larissa White
William Rosebud Rich – Zachary Allen Farmer
Revelers – Colin Dowd, Sarah Dowling, Christopher Lee, Todd Micali, Nellie Mitchell, Michelle Sauer, Kimi Short
THE NEW LINE BAND
Conductor/Piano – Sarah Nelson
Guitar – D. Mike Bauer
Keyboard 2 – Sue Goldford
Percussion – Clancy Newell
Bass – Jake Stergos
THE ARTISTIC STAFF
Directors – Scott Miller, Mike Dowdy
Music Director – Sarah Nelson
Choreographer – Michelle Sauer
Stage Manager/Lighting Technician – Brendan O’Brien
Scenic Designer – Rob Lippert
Costume Designer – Sarah Porter
Sound Designer – Benjamin Rosemann
Lighting Designer – Kenneth Zinkl
Props Master – Mike Dowdy-Windsor
Scenic Artists – Patrick Donnigan, Richard Brown,
Melanie Kozak, Paul Troyke, Kate Wilkerson
Box Office Manager – Jason Klefisch
Volunteer Coordinator – Alison Helmer
Graphic Designer – Matt Reedy
Videographer – Kyle Jeffery Studios
Photographer – Jill Ritter Lindberg
REVIEWS
“I’m so glad New Line Theatre opened their 26th season with this fanciful and tune-filled musical. Through their superlative efforts we’re able to see the premiere of a version that’s been revised by Tom Jones. I’m not sure what was changed, but what we’re privy to is a very engaging and entertaining production that will make you wonder why it isn’t performed with more regularity. The score itself is gorgeous, and I cannot recommend this neglected gem highly enough. . . a genuinely fun experience. . . With a truly memorable score and many amusing moments, one wonders why this musical isn’t more well known and successful. That’s why I urge you to check out New Line Theatre’s wonderful production of Celebration.” – Chris Gibson, BroadwayWorld
“Co-directors Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor have assembled an amazing cast to add polish and luster to Tom Jones’ and Harvey Schmidt’s musical. But they’ve also resurrected the forgotten style of a more beautiful time in this delightful piece. Aging hippies take note, your heart will find a home in Celebration. . . Part fable, part love triangle, and part 1960s hippie/Brechtian/Fantasticks-style love-in, this seldom-seen show succeeds brilliantly thanks to its post-Vietnam urgency, its post-Civil Rights egalitarianism, and perhaps even a soupçon of pre-Watergate naiveté—along with excellent leads and the sheer wit and exuberance of the whole ensemble.” – Richard Green, TalkinBroadway
“In a world full of remakes, rip-offs and rehashes, it’s nice to know that there are still surprises. . . New Line Theatre has proven time and again that what stumbles on the big stage can spring into life in a black box theater. Under the direction of Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor, New Line’s current staging of Celebration is a mystical journey that brings rebirth and rejuvenation.” – Paul Friswold, The Riverfront Times
“New Line Theatre’s world premiere of the revised Celebration features fantastic performances. . . This is a show that is a bit shocking, very funny and ultimately speaks volumes about the human condition. . . Once again, Scott Miller’s cast is top-notch. . . I’m extremely excited and honored to have been among the first few people in the world to see his revised version. I wouldn’t want to see it done any other way.” – Jeff Ritter, Critical Blast
“The rediscovery of neglected work is one of New Line’s strengths, and this jazzy life-cycle fable has a lot to recommend it. . . .Co-directors Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor make everything sing with the winsome, alluring voice that we’ve known and loved since The Fantasticks debuted in 1960.”“ – Judith Newmark, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Brisk and lightweight in appearance but abetted by universal themes of hope and beauty, age and death, Celebration is an intriguing musical written by the creators of The Fantasticks, which it strongly resembles in style and execution. The two-act story, first performed in 1969 and recently revised by bookwriter Tom Jones for New Line Theatre, is breezily performed by New Line’s cast within the cozy confines of the company’s Marcelle Theater under the watchful direction of Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor. . . It’s rarely performed by professional companies in America, so do yourself a favor and make a resolution to experience the seasons of Celebration at the Marcelle Theater while there’s still time.” – Mark Bretz, Ladue News
“Being an allegory, it’s a plot that must be experienced to be appreciated. Add the bouncy, cynical, often jazzy score and you’ve got the makings of yet another musical that fits perfectly into the black box of the Marcelle that is the home to New Line. . . Sarah Nelson leads a strong band which brings out the clever and exciting score. Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor co direct and set the mysterious and sometimes eerie feel of the story beautifully to stage.” – Steve Allen, Stagedoor St. Louis
“New Line Theatre is the first to premiere this revised version. Under the lively direction of Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor, the intimate black box space at the Marcelle seems like a marvelous fit.” – Andrea Torrence, St. Louis Theatre Snob
“Under the innovative co-direction of Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor, this restless relic gets a new dawn, and a swell cast seizes the day, strange as it may seem. . . Music Director Sarah Nelson crisply leads four other superb musicians in Schmidt’s unmistakable compositions. . . While the show was created in turbulent times, pleading for a sliver of hope to emerge, its message — to survive in a very cold, cruel world is tough, but the noble choice, no matter how hard the struggle — remains timeless.” – Lynn Venhaus, Belleville News Democrat
“The theme and mood of the production is stylishly presented, lending much to the overall entertainment value of the production and augmenting the performances of the excellent cast. Celebration is an entertaining production inventively staged. It’s not for everyone, as like almost all of New Line’s shows, this is for mature audiences. For the most part, Celebration is a witty, energetic, and extremely well-cast show that’s well worth checking out.” – Michelle Kenyon, Snoop’s Theatre Thoughts
DIRECTOR'S NOTES
Doesn't that sound like a great idea for a musical comedy?
All theatre is ritualistic in some way, but Celebration isn't just a modern descendant of ritual; it is actually ritual itself.
Bookwriter-lyricist Tom Jones wrote in the introduction to the 1973 published script, “Celebration is different. It is a fable. It has ritual overtones. It is based upon ancient ceremonies depicting the battle between Winter and Summer. It was suggested by an editorial in the New York Times about the meaning of the Winter Solstice. It annoyed the hell out of some people. It delighted others. It ran for only 109 performances on Broadway. But it is done often around the country and the world. And it has been phenomenally successful in Scandinavia (where the Winter Solstice is something to be reckoned with).”
There is no subplot here, no secondary couple, no eleven o'clock number. No, our four leads are the four seasons. This isn't just a story about nature; this is a story of nature. This isn't a story about the passing of time; this is the story of time. There is no Fourth Wall. And our stage is infinite. Which means the audience's imaginations do much of the work.
This really isn't like any other musical you've ever seen. (I find that's true of a lot of the shows New Line produces.) This is ritual disguised as linear narrative. This is a storytelling experiment. The “story” here is just the changing of the seasons and the calendar, and the climax is literally the clock striking twelve on New Year's Eve.
At the end of his intro to the published script, Jones wrote, “We did Celebration first at our Portfolio Studio. It felt good there. It belonged. When we moved it into the Ambassador Theatre on Broadway, it didn't feel as good. It seemed somewhat silly up there, not because it was less effective than a Broadway musical, but because it wasn't a Broadway musical. Who knows? Perhaps we will do it again someday. With revisions. And in a proper place.”
Tom Jones has given New Line Theatre the honor of premiering his revised Celebration, right here in St. Louis in our beautiful blackbox theatre. A proper place, indeed.
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