Here I’m going to collect the Venue reviews that I do at the end of each blog post if the show is performed either with a company I haven’t gone to see before, at a venue I haven’t reviewed before, or if the configuration of the venue was changed for the particular performance in question.
Music Mountain Theatre
Originally from my Phantom Review
If you want to know about the musical, then I’ve reach the end of my discussion on that already. But as a person who loves theater, I also love theaters, so I wanted to take a couple of paragraphs to discuss each new venue that I revue. I’ll probably place these reviews at another place on the siteMusic Mountain Theater is a converted warehouse which houses a 250 seat audience, a large proscenium and a large backstage area. The entire facility is brand new, so any part of the building that the audience can see will be in great shape. Since we went to the opening performance for the entire theater company there was a gala afterwards that took place mostly in the lobby, which is beautifully constructed and decorated with strong colors, 4 large lighting sconces and with concessions and box office on opposing sides. The rest of the theater boasts a lot of storage space as well as classrooms off to the side of the backstage.
Their current season is 16 shows, plus another 14 children’s shows, so if you miss one production there will be another right around the corner. In years past they have done almost exclusively musicals, but this year they seem to be branching out a bit with a few plays on the docket as well. They are able to accomplish this abundance of theatrical output by having a two to three week rehearsal schedule for their productions (as discussed above) the shortest I’m aware of in community theater. I expect to be writing about many more shows in the future at MMT, since their season dwarfs that of almost any other theater in the region (with the possible exception of the Kelsey Theater, but I don’t think even that will have 30 shows this year).
Some things to look out for: There is no center aisle, so if you are seated in the center you’re going to want to go to the bathroom before the show starts. The air conditioning is quite loud at times (this is a common problem in found spaces, unfortunately). Not a deal breaker, but it is noticeable when it comes on during a song.
Open Arts PAC (with Rooftop Theatre Collaborative)
Originally from my Tick, Tick…BOOM! Review
Open Arts PAC is a 80 or so seat theater with a slight thrust stage and not a lot in the way of technical options (no fly space, enough lights for a couple of separate washes and some specials). The audience is completely configurable; this was the first time I’ve been there that they’ve set up the audience with tables and chairs. But it can be tough to figuring out seating arrangements because the optimal seating plan for 40 people is very different than the same for 80 people. In this case there were a few risers of seats in the back for spillover, but instead of being used for that, those back seats seemed to fill up first, keeping most of the audience away from the action. However, this building has multiple theater companies that run shows in its space, and the number of companies is now growing, so hopefully we will see more productions there in the future.
Rooftop Theatre Collaborative’s mission statement, as described in the curtain speech, is to provide patrons with opportunities to experience works that speak to a modern audience. So far they seem to making a lot out of a little and I look forward to their next production.
The Kelsey Theatre (with Pierrot Productions)
Originally from my Dogfight review
The Kelsey Theatre is one of the most productive theaters in central NJ; their 2017-2018 season boasts 18 full length plays and musicals as well as 7 productions for kids. It is part of the Mercer County Community College campus, and as such the building itself is a little dated. The lobby somewhat resembles what you might see outside a high school auditorium. That said, the stadium-style audience seats 383 and doesn’t have a bad seat that I’m aware of. The lower section of the audience seats about 80 and is wheelchair accessible.
The stage itself is in proscenium without much room to customize that configuration, but it really doesn’t need it. There is a cyclorama along the back wall for projections and lighting effects, a semi-permanent platform on stage right that can be used for the orchestra or extra performance space, and a catwalk above the stage that goes (unseen) all the way to behind the audience. This is all accessible from backstage via a large spiral staircase. Several dozen lights and electrics are above the stage and over the audience that can be utilized by ambitious lighting designers. This does come with the risk of overly complicated light plots (which aren’t unheard of in the space).
Additionally, there is a full scene shop and storage space behind the stage and beyond stage left. For those companies with the resources and talent (of which there are many resident at the Kelsey), this means that lavish, complicated and interesting sets are the norm for the companies that put on larger plays and musicals. This is something which frankly does put the Kelsey apart from most theatrical spaces in the area.
I can’t tell you much about Pierrot productions. They’ve been resident at the Kelsey for many years, but I’ve only seen one of their other shows. I’ve checked their back catalog and they have done a lot of musicals recently, but I’ve been told that isn’t a limitation of their mission as a company. The program to Dogfight did make it clear that they have production staff members in common with the board of Rooftop Theatre Collaborative, who recently produced tick, tick…BOOM! at Open Arts PAC.
One final note about the Kelsey: Because of the altitude and placement of the catwalk, the spotlights are on a very steep angle. As a result, they can’t reach all the way to the back of the stage and their range drops precipitously if the actors are above ground level. Moreover, when actors are far downstage the spotlights cast shadows all over the actor’s faces. I implore next season’s lighting and scenic designers to get together for a meeting to discuss how to best handle the use of spotlighting for platforms, do a 3 dimensional map of the spotlights’ capabilities if you have to. I’ve seen shows with good lighting at the Kelsey and shows with bad lighting, but even those with great lighting (like Dogfight) end up having their actors in the dark at some point because the spotlight can’t reach them.
Who do I think I am? 