A hymn to Goodspeed

A hymn to Goodspeed

I review mostly dramas.  As some of my ATCA colleagues know, I’ve Jay Handelman (left), Wendy Rosenfield, Goodspeed’s Dan McMahon and Barbara Gross encounter Domina’s bust from “Forum.”never been a big fan of musicals. I know my limitations and that’s one. Les Miserables made me miserable and Annie Get Your Gun made me want to go out and buy one … and then visit the set of Les Miserables with it.{“type”:”block”,”srcIndex”:0,”srcClientId”:”631349df-2692-4009-9725-60d23d30fb9e”,”srcRootClientId”:””}

So I am happy to report that, not only did I survive the two musicals on the schedule at last week’s ATCA conference, I actually enjoyed them — particularly the dazzling Carnival at the Goodspeed Opera House, which moved me in a way that few musicals have.   

On our all-access tour, I appreciated the tremendous amount of work that goes into a production of this scope. I was awed by the the sheer, innovative genius of Lou and his More wonders in the Goodspeed scene shop. Note the prophetic sign, addressed as much to critics as techies.colleagues at the Goodspeed’s scene shop. The largest of its kind, the shop can seemingly surmount any obstacle posed by the theater’s relatively small stage. The art of rolling backdrops onto specially built metal canisters and then unraveling them back of stage is only one of the shop’s more clever tricks.  

I was also delighted to know that the Goodspeed, always on the lookout for set and period props, might just accept your quality junk. Don’t throw away those ham radios, claw bathtubs and TV consoles! What could be more gratifying than to see your Rheingold Beer bar light cast its smoky glow over the festivities of a future production? Lou tells me you can contact him and let him know what you’ve got. If they like what they hear, they’ll come pick it up!

— Bill Coyle, Flushing, NY