It's no fluke that playwrights frequently turn to the classics of great literature for stage adaptations. For one thing, there is built-in name recognition. For another, the original works are usually filled with enough drama and interwoven plot lines for three or four plays and scripts, much less one.
Two of Broadway's biggest blockbuster hits - not only on the Great White Way itself, but in their various touring versions - are "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Les Miserables," both musical editions of public domain classics.A novel that's fallen into public domain is one more big "plus" for a script writer. There are no royalties attached. It boggles the mind to attempt to comprehend what the royalties would be for Victor Hugo's and Gaston Leroux's families today, based on the massive box office sales of "Phantom" and "Les Miz" (not to mention the peripheral merchandising).
Another immensely popular classic author, whose books - even his uncompleted one - have provided more theatrical fodder is Charles Dickens.
Would you care to guess how many theatergoers have seen "A Christmas Carol" in the past several years? While Pioneer Theatre Company has yet to cave in to the "A Christmas Carol" cash cow rut (last year's hilarious parody, "Inspecting Carol" was as close as PTC will probably ever get), some of the company's most successful productions in recent seasons - both critically and financially - have been Artistic Director Charles Morey's original adaptations of three classic stories: "Dracula" (which has become fairly popular around the country), "The Three Musketeers" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Next week, PTC patrons will see yet another world premiere of another Morey stage adaptation: his version of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities."
"I've been toying with this one for some time," Morey said during a recent interview while taking a break from rehearsals. "But I didn't start working on it seriously until about a year ago."
Morey is also directing the work; a huge undertaking, considering that the production involves a cast of nearly 30, of which only seven have one speaking role each. The others are involved in either the sizeable French or English ensembles (or both), and some have as many as four or five specific roles.
Besides the French/English ensembles, the cast list also has a third intriguing category: "beheaded aristocrats." How would you like to audition for those parts?
"A Tale of Two Cities" has been adapted many times before, for stage, film and television. For his adaptation, Morey's approach has been to focus on Sydney Carton, a clever and dissolute young lawyer.
"Basically, this is Sidney Carton's story," explained Morey, "and the novel is told from his viewpoint. It's written in his voice. It is sort of semi-autobiographical in tone. Analytical evidence indicates that Dickens identified with both Carton and Charles Darnay
a young man charged with treasonT. They're two halves of Charles Dickens' own personality, if you will."
In the first draft of Dickens' novel, Carton's name was Dick Carton, so that the two central characters' initials would have been D.C. and C.D., one the same and the other the opposite of the author's initials. Carrying the alter-ego motif one step further, both Carton and Darnay bear a remarkable resemblance - enough so that when Carton defends Darnay in court, he uses this to confuse the prosecution's major witness and show him up as a liar.
One of Morey's major challenges was encompassing so many events, times and locations on the stage. How do you depict "the best of times and the worst of times" from a book that covers nearly 40 years in both London and Paris?
"That's the challenge in adapting any novel to the stage - translating it into theatrical terms," said Morey. "What we've come up with is a strongly narrative- and plot-driven piece of theater, with very open and fluid staging that allows it to move quickly from event to event."
The operative word in that last quote is "we've." While Morey's name may be on the script (and he's also directing), this first-time-ever production has also involved quite a bit of input from Morey's creative staff: resident set designer George Maxwell, guest lighting designer Karl E. Haas, resident costume designer Linda Sarver, resident musical director James Prigmore and fight director David L. Boushey.
Commenting on one of the show's biggest challenges, Morey noted: "How does it work visually and work in so many locations? One major problem is getting from place to place. Most novels have more locations than you would normally have in a play. Contemporary theater has been influenced by film - especially in the unity of time, space and action - and we've sort of broken that apart.
"To a large extent, you could credit the breakthrough in form to Trevor Nunn and the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of `Nicholas Nickleby'
another Dickens classicT. They showed what was possible. Shakespeare, too, jumps all over the place. But in the late 19th and early 20th centuries we got into `naturalism' and `realism,' when all the action took place in one room over realistic periods of time."
With "A Tale of Two Cities," Morey and scenery designer George Maxwell are trying to create a "theatrical reality" where anything is possible.
With the action shifting between London and Paris, Maxwell will utilize two side-by-side turntables and a moveable pallet, the latter to facilitate moving the production's infamous instrument of death - the guillotine - as well as carriages and other large props.
Props and furniture will be used to differentiate between the two cities and cultures, along with four scrim panels that will be flown (dropped down from the fly space), depicting the main imagery of the show: death, liberty and angels.
"This is a great space to play with and I have a great staff to help make it all happen," said Maxwell. The Weber State College graduate has been with PTC since 1974. Next summer he'll be designing the three Randall Jones Theatre productions for the Utah Shakespearean Festival: "The Tempest," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "You Can't Take It With You."
To get ideas for his "Tale of Two Cities" scenery, Maxwell watched videos of both movie versions and did considerable visual research into painters and artists of the period.
"I gleaned quite a bit from just watching both of them
the filmsT, but I'm doing something here quite different from them."
- COSTUME DESIGNER Linda Sarver has been busy with this show, too.
She began drafting her first designs in June, long before the show had even been cast, then she made adjustments to enhance particular actors' appearances once the cast had been selected.
While the leading players will have fresh, made-from-scratch costumes, the bulk of attire for the huge ensemble is being pulled off the racks of PTC's extensive wardrobe collection.
"There's no way we could have made all of these costumes," Sarver said. "We don't have enough labor, money or time. There will be things hitting the stage that haven't been used for years and the staff is having fun with costumes from `Amadeus' and `She Stoops to Conquer'. . .clothes from all kinds of shows are getting resurrected on the ensemble."
"It will get a little exciting backstage," Sarver predicted. "especially on this show, where some people are playing seven or eight different characters. There'll be no time for card games backstage on this one."
Out in the wings, unseen by the audience, it will be a flurry of coats, wigs and hats constantly being changed.
"And in this show, there's the added dimension of Carton and Darnay required to look alike. But the two actors playing them
guest Equity artists Matthew Loney and David HarumT aren't exactly duplicates. One is slightly taller than the other. They have to switch coats at the end and we're working some costume magic," Sarver said.
She noted that hair designer Cynthia McCourt is also very busy with this production. "It's a big hair show, with wigs for the men in the French ensemble and powdered wigs for the aristocrats."
Considering that the audience's attention is usually drawn to a performer's face - and the hair that surrounds it - hair design has become a dominant feature in stage productions.
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Additional Information
Dates, cast for `A Tale of Two Cities'
Pioneer Theatre Company's world premiere production of "A Tale of Two Cities" opens Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m. on the Lees Main Stage of Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 300 S. 1340 East (Broadway at University). It will continue Mondays-Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. through Nov. 12.
All seats are reserved. For reservations, call 581-6961.
The cast includes Matthew Loney, David Harum, Richard Matthews, Robert Peterson, Kathleen McCall, Craig Bockhorn and Barbara Tirrell in the leading roles, along with Margaret Crowell, Max Robinson, Sam Stewart, David Valenza, Tom Markus, Tom Jacobsen, Mark Larson, Robert Ormsby, David Spencer, Raymond Hoskins, Scott Nielson, Richard Hamilton, Mike Boswell, Roy Newton, Len Childers, Siobahn Flynn, Joan Mullaney, Rebecca Hunt, Brenda Cowley, Andy Soren and Sarah Kaelin in a variety of ensemble roles.
Running concurrently with "A Tale of Two Cities" will be an exhibit of printmaking and paintings by Michael Goro and Victoria Goro-Rapoport in PMT's Loge Gallery, which is open to the general public from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. until noon on Saturdays.