Geva Theatre’s 2017/18 Season

Even though, as a trustee, I’d already gotten a sneak peek at the line-up for next season, I went to the Season Announcement event. It was a relief finally to be able to share my excitement with other people!

Mark Cuddy introducing the new season

This season, Geva conducted a survey of audience reaction to a variety of musical titles (many oldies but goodies, but a few more recent and lesser known to Rochesterians) to gauge their levels of enthusiasm. When I had a chance to take the survey, there was only one on the list that I personally considered a “wouldn’t miss” (since I hadn’t seen it when it originally ran on Broadway). Many respondents hadn’t heard of the musical, but most people would recognize the composer: Lin-Manuel Miranda. Yes, the genius behind Hamilton. But I wasn’t holding my breath that I’d see it anytime soon. So when Artistic Director Mark Cuddy shared his desire to mount In the Heights (which won four Tonys in 2008,  including Best Musical and Best Original Score) here at Geva next fall, I wasn’t the only trustee to be giddy. Incredibly, Geva will be the first regional theatre to license the show.

That production, directed by Melissa Rain Anderson (who has appeared on stage at Geva, as well as directed multiple productions, including the recent hits Spamalot and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum), will open the Geva’s 45th season, but it won’t be the only reason to visit the theatre next year. Also on the Wilson Stage will be the world premier of Matt Smart’s The Agitators, The Story of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, which was recently commissioned by Geva and presented as a play-reading. This play is particularly timely, with the upcoming celebrations of Susan B.’s legacy and women’s suffrage.

And remember Rochester’s Steve Rosen, who recently starred in Forum? And Hunter Foster, who starred in Spamalot and Sylvia? Foster will be directing a new musical comedy, The Other Josh Cohen, co-written by Rosen and David Rossmer. The Diary of Anne Frank will follow, and I anticipate this play being as resonant and relevant to today’s world as the recent production of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. It is sure to provide some teaching moments for many of the RCSD classes that will go to see it (and Geva’s adding extra student matinees to meet the anticipated demand). The final Wilson Stage production will be Steel Magnolias, directed by Rochester’s Skip Greer. Mark even teased the audience with the promise that the production will feature a nationally known actress, to be announced in early 2018!

Chris Mannelli & Pam Sherman

I’ve had to subscribe to the Fielding Stage again, as well. If you read the D&C, or attend Geva’s Summer Curtain Call or the Women’s Foundation of Genesee Valley Purse for Change event, you’re familiar with Pam Sherman. She’s not just an accomplished “Suburban Outlaw” and fundraiser auctioneer, but she’s also a comedic actress, and she’s going to star in Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End, directed by Mark Cuddy. Mark, himself, is returning to his acting roots to play a role in the world premier of Heartland. The Fielding will also host another world premier (yes, that makes three in total!): One House Over, a co-production with Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.

And that’s just the highlights! Executive Director Chris Mannelli reported that over 50% of current subscribers had already pre-renewed, and I suspect after today’s announcement, that figure will increase rapidly. For more information about the complete season, visit Geva’s website: gevatheatre.org.

TEDx Rochester: "flip"

Apparently, over 500 people applied for the 170 spots to attend last Friday’s TEDx Rochester event (“to flip the script on our hometown”) at Geva Theatre (it was a small audience, because it was on the Fielding, rather than Wilson Stage). Because the competition for a seat was so keen, the committee was looking for openness, curiosity, and witty responses in the application (no wonder I was initially wait-listed…). I was extremely impressed with how well organized it was, and loved that the book we received came with an “Agenda-ish.” And I was surprised to run into a few familiar women.

Suzanne Piotrowski, the organizer, welcomed everyone, and informed us that this was going to be an “inside outside experience”: not only inside the theatre, but also out at the breaks. She challenged us with the goals of meeting at least 10 new people (otherwise we weren’t “doing TED right”), and of being “comfortably uncomfortable,” since we might hear things we don’t agree with. And she exhorted us to “please rise from your luxurious complacency and do something.” What she didn’t admit until later was that the breaks would be an extrovert’s dream and an introvert’s nightmare. I did talk to a few people, but I can vouch that the cellphone is an introvert’s best friend…

There was more diversity among the speakers than the audience, but I did meet an Afghan MBA student at RIT (who admired our ability to be outspoken about our leaders…), and several other interesting people I would otherwise never have had the opportunity to cross paths with. The live speakers were interspersed with fascinating taped talks from other venues, and each was inspirational in his or her own way. For example, Mary Lupien, a community activist, engaged us with how she had moved from performing relatively simple acts of charity to the much more active and challenging acts of using her privilege to work for social justice. Alyza Alix, an incredibly poised high school student from Camden, NJ, recited some of her stirring poetry, then encouraged the audience to “live,” and not settle for doing things we weren’t passionate about (it reminded me of a student’s similar entreaties at the TEDx Allendale Columbia, and I’d love to check in with both of them in a decade to see how their idealism fares in the face of the realities of adulthood…).

Astrophysicist Judy Pipher challenged us to “flip” what it means to be feminine, which is mostly associated with deference and delicacy, and that reminded me of Trump’s recent distasteful expectation that his female staff “dress like women.”  Film-maker Mara Ashmed, who was born in Pakistan but was raised globally, challenged the notion of borders, and I couldn’t help but think locally of the self-imposed borders right here in Rochester: east side vs. west side, quadrant vs. quadrant.

Although they were all interesting, the ones that resonated most for me were the ones that weren’t I-centric. Two well-selected taped talks are available on the TEDx website: Celeste Headlee’s presentation of “10 ways to have a better conversation” a year ago, particularly pertinent now: https://www.ted.com/talks/celeste_headlee_10_ways_to_have_a_better_conversation, and Jae Rhim Lee’s experiments with a mushroom death suit – https://www.ted.com/talks/jae_rhim_lee – sign me up!

The intensity of the talks was broken up with entertaining performances by RIT’s a cappella group Eight Beat Measure and the Rochester Ukulele Orchestra. I was relieved that by the end of the day, I hadn’t failed – I’d met 10 new people, and I left inspired to communicate better and become more involved in less comfortable activities. It was definitely a day of ideas worth spreading, and I hope next year they will use a larger venue, to spread the ideas to even more people.