KITSAP SUN PREVIEW By Michael C. Moore, mmoore@kitsapsun.com; July 26, 2016
FOREST THEATER SUBMERGED FOR 'THE LITTLE MERMAID'
SEABECK — Andrew Coopman came from New York to the Seattle area because he wanted his work in theater to be more inspired by nature.
After less than a year, he seems to have hit the jackpot.
"A fellow cast member, Tod Harrick, told me they were doing 'The Little Mermaid' at the Kitsap Forest Theater," Coopman said as a rehearsal wound down at the rustic amphiteater. "I looked at him and said, 'What do you mean, a forest theater?'"
Harrick, a veteran of a number of productions put on by Seattle's Mountaineers Players at the venue, did his best to explain, and did a good enough job entice Coopman — who had been working with Edmonds' Driftwood Players and Studio East in Kirkland — to cast his line for the "Little Mermaid" directing job.
"It was like all the puzzle pieces fell together," Coopman said. "I wanted to be inspired by nature, and all of a sudden I was here. It's unbelievable."
An unabashed fan of the Alan Menken-Howard Ashman musical, which began life as a Disney animated feature, Coopman said he understood, even before seeing the amphitheater for the first time, the difficulties of pulling off a show set largely under the sea, without benefit of lighting or other special effects.
"I came out last winter and drew a bunch of pictures, which helped me block the show," he said. "I really wanted to designate between areas that were going to represent dry land and those that were going to be the ocean. I wanted to create levels that would help identify where we are."
Even more important in the process of pulling audiences under water will be the costumes, designed by Misha Perritt and constructied from scratch by Perritt and a phalanx of assistants. Coopman said they will be as evocative as possible of the undersea setting, while still being true to the iconic characters.
"For a lot of the costumes, we were going more for suggestions, things that were nautical," he said. "Misha has done a wonderful job of coming up with all these original looks, while still referencing the characters everyone will recognize."
Coopman said his efforts to expand the roles of the production's ensemble players — working them into more of the show's song-and-dance numbers by putting them in multiple roles — made Perritt's job even more formidable.
"I think we ended up with 105 costumes, all from scratch," he said. "There are the leads and the Mersisters (one of whom is played by Perritt's daughter, Mia), and they all have a lot to do. But I wanted to bring the ensemble into more than a few of the songs, which meant a lot more costumes.
"I think she (Perritt) probably hates me," he laughed.
A good portion of the cast for "Little Mermaid" is new to the Mountaineers, but there still are plenty of links, both familial and otherwise. Anna Vizarre, who's playing Ariel, and Jonathan Fowles (Sebastian) both were in last summer's "Shrek: The Musical." Musical director Ben Bentler was the accompanist for last spring's "The Music Man," in which choroegorapher Molly Hall played a featured role. Keyboardist Olivia Hickerson has been on hand for a number of KFT shows.
Key newcomers include Kori Lopreore (Eric) and Natasha Chen, a KIRO-TV reporter in her day job, as the villainous Ursula.
The rehearsals for "Little Mermaid" have introduced Coopman to working in the outdoors in ways he probably hadn't imagined.
"I'd never been camping before," he said of the rehearsal regimen that puts the largely Seattle-based cast and crew in tents and sleeping bags in the weeks before the show opens. "It's fun for me just on that level, doing something new. But it also really helps to build this ensemble. You meet everybody's families, get to know everyone."
Anna Vizzare is thrilled to have the opportunity to portray a dream role in such a magical environment. This is her second summer in the forest, after she appeared in Shrek last summer as Teen Fiona and one of the Three Blind Mice.
Anna is extremely passionate about musical theatre. She graduated from Holy Names Academy just one year ago, and at 19, is pursuing further studies to propel her on-stage career. Some of her favorite past roles have included Olive in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Penny in Hairspray. Anna also has a deep love for dance and is lucky to train at The Studios and work with her teacher, Chryssie Whitehead.
Here is what Anna has to say about her experience in The Little Mermaid:
“I am so honored to give my take on such an iconic character in a show we all know and love. It’s even more exciting to get to do this in a beautiful forest environment.
.jpg "Anna Vizzare as Teen Fiona, Shrek 2015")
I’ve found such joy in finding her deeply human qualities and bringing those to life in a way that animation simply cannot. She is passionate, feisty, curious, and has the biggest heart in the world.
Exploring this story on stage has given me new insight into the lack of understanding between Ariel and other characters. Most obviously, there is a communication barrier between Ariel and Eric, but there is also a deep divide between Ariel and King Triton. That father-daughter relationship is built on love, but becomes strained out of Ariel’s desire for something her father fears.
What ties this whole show together is the community that the Kitsap Forest Theater creates. Every single day at rehearsal, I feel lucky that I get to do what I love with people who have become like family to me. We’re all working toward the moment we will perform for you, and welcome you into this community!
This is going to be an unbelievable show and you won’t want to miss it!”
Invite your friends and family to enjoy this spectacular show - buy your tickets today!
Our George Banks, Tod Harrick, writes about his thoughts about Mary Poppins, his role, doing this as a family, and the magical Kitsap Forest Theater:
Virginia Woolf wrote that “on or about December 1910, human character changed.” The story of the Banks family in Mary Poppins, and George in particular, is that change – of modernity – in microcosm. He is struggling mightily to be what he believes he should be, but in his heart he knows that if the child he was saw the adult he has become, he would hate himself.
To me, Mary Poppins is only a fantasy at the very surface. At its core, it is a very real, very human tale. The rigid class constraints of Victorian England are breaking down. Sweeps are coming into the parlor, nannies are kind, and Mary Poppins brings the magic of emotional freedom and with it unlimited potential. To us, living in a time and place of much, it may be difficult to remember, but Mary Poppins reminds us how magical personal freedom can be to those who do not have it.
And in the same way, The Kitsap Forest Theater is a microcosm of what to me makes the Pacific Northwest great, the combination of awe-inspiring natural beauty with vibrant human creativity and communal effort. Every time I walk down that path to the theater, through trees that could only grow here, cascading ferns evoking primordial landscapes, and – when they are blooming – Rhododendron blooms like floating pink clouds, and enter into the natural amphitheater surrounded by giant firs and birdsong, with the gentle rush of the creek in the background, I am transported into another world.
The first time we came here, it was because we thought it would be a great place to introduce theater to young kids, giving them the chance to see a show without having to sit inside a dark room for 3 hours. We saw Beauty and the Beast. We were right. The picnic lunch and trails to run on at intermission filled gaps in nicely and gave our children the opportunity to really enjoy their first musical. The show itself was top-quality. Not knowing much about the theater at the time, we assumed it was a professional production, and were amazed to learn after the show that everyone involved was a volunteer. We’ve remained amazed at the ongoing commitment of talented, hard-working people this theater inspires. It is what keeps us here, and is one of the reasons that, after 90 years, it is still thriving and growing.
The ads for this place say, “family-friendly”, and I can’t stress enough how true that is and how important it has been for us as both audience and as we’ve become part of the company. The shows involve whole families. Children grow up in this theater into kind, committed young adults, and having so many wonderful teens (and adults) as role models for our children has been yet another unexpected blessing of being here.
I’ll close by noting that presenting a story of a broken family becoming whole has driven home for me at a visceral level how positive an experience involvement in outdoor theater has been for our own family. With walks through the woods and along the creek, game nights in the cabin, building sets, and rehearsing scenes together, it’s like classes and summer camp for the whole family, plus we get to be in shows…great shows! The last night of tech rehearsal, my 11 year-old daughter Jasmine came to me and said, “you know, I just realized that – metaphorically – the lark is Mr. Banks,” to which I had to reply, “I never thought of that. I’ll use that.” And that’s the best thing. As a parent, you get chances to teach your children things or to watch them learn things, but the opportunity to learn things, about life, art, creativity and hard work -- with your children is, “much rarer, and much more valuable.” And we cherish it. Hope to see you at the theater!