Ken Ludwig - Blog http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/ en Copyright 2011 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:03:06 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Playwright Ken Ludwig Talks Christmas, Alec Baldwin, and the Jersey Shore We catch up with the acclaimed local playwright to discuss his new children’s show at Adventure Theatre. By Sophie Gilbert For The Washingtonian Ken Ludwig is probably Washington’s most accomplished playwright, with six Broadway plays and six in London’s West End under his belt. The former Steptoe & Johnson lawyer garnered a Tony nomination for his first Broadway play, Lend Me a Tenor, which was described as “one of the two great farces by a living writer” by the New York Times. Ludwig also wrote the book for Crazy for You, which ran for three years in London and won the 1992 Tony for Best Musical. His new play, ’ Twas the Night Before Christmas, is at Adventure Theatre through January 2. We caught up with Ludwig to talk about the show, as well as his writing routine, other new projects, and why he’s a fan of Alec Baldwin. Airplane%20400dpi.jpg Tell us about ’ Twas the Night Before Christmas . Is this your first children’s play? It is. It came about because, of all serendipitous things, I was at a convention in New York, and Michael Bobbitt came up to me. He said, “Hey, would you write a play for us?” and I said, “I’d love to.” Maybe a month or two later, he called me and said, “What’s the title, because I need to put it into advertising,” and I said, “I don’t know, because I haven’t written it yet.” So we agreed on the title ’ Twas the Night Before Christmas, and I wrote it after that. It’s about a sweet, neurotic mouse named Amos who’s afraid of having an adventure and doesn’t want to leave the house. His best friend is a girl named Emily. They find an elf at the window and have to fly off to the North Pole to save Christmas. The play isn’t really about the Clement Moore poem, but I weave that in. Was it a challenge writing for children, or did it come naturally? It was very natural. I love children’s books, and I have two kids, whom I’ve taken to children’s theater for years. I loved the innocence of it, and being able to write about things like adventure, honesty, and good nature. Working with Michael is fantastic because he’s very smart and very able, and doing an amazing job over there. Do you have anything else going on this season? In November, I had three world premieres and four openings in 30 days. I have a brand new comedy at Cleveland Play House called The Game’s Afoot, directed by Aaron Posner. A Crazy For You revival just opened in London. And there’s also a play I wrote for high schools called Midsummer/Jersey, an adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream set on the Jersey Shore. That came about because an organization that works with theater in high schools asked me to write a play for them. In most modern plays, with the way theaters are run, you want as small a cast as possible, and only one set. But for kids, you want to write a play with as many parts as possible, especially female parts, because so many more girls try out for high school drama than boys. So I wrote a play for 20 girls and five boys, and the four lovers are like Snooki and the Situation. And the mechanicals, instead of being men, are all women—they run a beauty shop on the boardwalk. That premiered at the James Robinson High School in Fairfax. You’re obviously enormously prolific. What’s your usual writing routine like? I write every day, which I think is important for a writer. I normally get up very early and write from 7 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon. You’ve worked with some incredible actors over the years. Do you have any favorites? So many have been a pleasure. There’s Alec Baldwin in Twentieth Century—you get to go to his favorite table at Elaine’s, and he’s always surrounded by interesting people. Carol Burnett in Moon Over Buffalo, because she knew how to get laughs—it was just innate. People just adored her. Hal Holbrook, who was in Be My Baby, is a fantastic guy and a great actor, and Joan Collins, who was in Moon in London, is as smart as can be and really knows how to hold the stage. I’ve also been lucky in Washington to work with great people like Holly Twyford and Rick Foucheux. Ever tempted to move to New York? I wouldn’t do very well raising a family in New York. It’s just not me. Washington is a great place; it’s sophisticated, it’s beautiful, and it’s big, and it also has one of the biggest theater scenes outside of New York. I get to roll up my sleeves and work with theater people here, and that’s all I want.]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/playwright_ken_ludwig_talks_christmas_alec_baldwin_and_the_j/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/playwright_ken_ludwig_talks_christmas_alec_baldwin_and_the_j/ Theatre Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:03:06 -0500 MD Theatre Guide interviews Ken Ludwig on Twas the Night Before Christmas and other New Works MD TheatreGuide You may have bumped into Ken Ludwig recently at a Virginia high school or a children’s theatre in Glen Echo Park or in a theatre in London – because this prolific writer is a busy man. His ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas is selling out and entertaining young audiences at Adventure Theatre. His new play Midsummer/Jersey recently gave high school actors a thrill of a lifetime. I am so honored that Ken found time in his busy schedule to do this interview. Thanks Ken! When were you asked to write a play for Adventure Theatre, and how did you get the idea to base the play on ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas? DSC_4494small-250x193.jpg I was asked by Michael Bobbitt over a year ago, when we bumped into each other in New York City. He asked me to write the Christmas show for Adventure Theatre and I was delighted, but he needed a title rather quickly and I hadn’t written the play yet. So I came up with ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas, thinking that I’d base the play somehow on the Clement Moore poem. How long did it take you to write it? Were you involved in the casting and rehearsals? It took me about 2 months to write it, but then again it’s based loosely on stories that I used to tell my children at Christmas time. Yes, I was very involved in casting, and I’m pleased to say we ended up with the five absolutely perfect actors for this play. I was involved in rehearsals to some extent but with a director as great as Jerry Whiddon, there wasn’t much for me to add. I mostly attended run- throughs and previews, which gave me ideas for a few re-writes. Did you attend the opening night at Adventure Theatre, and what did you think about the production? I did attend the opening performance and I think the production is spectacular. Have you written any other plays or stories for your children? No, I’ve never written any children’s plays or stories before, but I certainly made up children’s stories to tell my children when they were young. Why is it important to write for children’s theatre and to get children into the theatre? I think it’s enormously important to write plays that children can attend because theatre-going is a habit – you want to start it early. Theatre opens our imaginations in a way that nothing else does and we want our children to experience the sense of humanity that theatre embodies. Another one of your plays – Midsummer/Jersey started performances on November 17, 2011 at James Robinson Secondary School, in Fairfax, VA. Why did you decide to try out the play at a high school and why this specific one? Are there high school performers in the cast? ken-ludwig-3-250x167.jpgI wrote Midsummer/Jersey specifically for high schools and colleges and so it made all the sense in the world to have the world premiere at a high school. We chose James Robinson because they have such a terrific theatre department. There were only high school performers in the cast. What’s the show about? The show is a re-telling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream set in the here and now on the New Jersey shore. What have learned so far about the play while watching the first few performances? I was delighted to see that the high school kids loved performing something as challenging as a re-telling of a Shakespeare play. I was equally delighted that the audience seemed to enjoy every second of it. They really “got” the fun of the interplay between the two sources: Shakespeare and modern teenagers. Read Full Article]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/md_theatre_guide_interviews_ken_ludwig_on_twas_the_night_bef/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/md_theatre_guide_interviews_ken_ludwig_on_twas_the_night_bef/ Theatre Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:23:08 -0500 Ken Ludwig encourages Abington High’s ‘Leading’ thespians via Skype A few weeks ago, I spoke via Skype with students at Abington High School who are currently performing my play Leading Ladies. The following is an article by Kaitlyn Linsner published in The Montgomery News. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Instead of spending time after the school day to rehearse lines, block scenes or try on costumes, the cast of Abington Senior High School’s play “Leading Ladies” spoke with someone for an extra kick of inspiration on Oct. 26. This someone answered questions about their characters, plot influences and how to deliver certain lines and every cast member took it to heart because they were talking to internationally acclaimed playwright Ken Ludwig — the very man who wrote “Leading Ladies.” “The ability to talk to a playwright is amazing,” senior Ben Salus said while his friend, Mike Zaharczuk, nodded in agreement. “It was truly inspiring, especially for two kids who want to get into acting.” For more than an hour, the cast with its show director, Kristen Caiazzo, sat in the high school’s auditorium for a video conference made possible through Skype. Ludwig spoke to the students from Washington, D.C., and a streaming video of the conversation played on a large projector screen onstage. One by one, or sometimes two at a time, cast members stood at the microphone and asked Ludwig questions ranging from whether or not his Fado inspired his work to who his favorite character in the play is. “Audrey is my favorite,” Ludwig said and instantly the two students playing Audrey threw their hands up in excitement and one even let out a scream. “She represents the heart beating in all of us that we need to nurture and keep alive because it speaks to our basic humanity. I see her as somebody we should all imitate.” Needless to say, junior Morgan Boetifuer and sophomore Emma Lukens, the two “Audreys,” were a bit starstruck post video conference. “To have him say such complimentary things about the person we’re trying to be is amazing. I’m going to really think more about my character,” Lukens said. Some students wanted to know more about being a playwright and the origin of Ludwig’s love for his craft. Ludwig gladly shared parts of his life story, which gave way to later show ideas. He was born and raised in York, Pa., and loved growing up there. Most of his plays take place in small towns because he liked the connections he made there and understood that community of people, he said. “For me there’s more comedy to be had in that realm than in other places,” Ludwig said. “These [the characters in “Leading Ladies”] are all people I knew. If you look around, you see all of these types because these are people we live with in our lives.” Ludwig explained he was “being bitten by the bug” at an early age and that he knew for a very long time that being a playwright was all he wanted to do. “Leading Ladies” premiered in 2004 and since then has been performed all over the world. Students asked if it was meant to play off Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” “There are hints of Shakespeare in all of my plays,” Ludwig said. “’Twelfth Night’ is my favorite Shakespeare and it seemed to fit in the plot. This is meant to be a new take on ‘Some Like It Hot’ with ‘Twelfth Night.’” “Leading Ladies” starts with two Shakespearean actors, Leo and Jack, played by Salus and Zaharczuk, who have ended up performing in Moose lodges throughout Pennsylvania’s Amish country. They decide to ditch the lousy show gigs when they hear of a dying old lady in York, Pa., who will be giving away her fortune to her two long-lost English nephews. They arrive ready to play the part, but find out the relatives are not nephews but nieces. Leo later falls in love with the old lady’s niece, Meg, all while hilarity consumes the plot, which is all about having an adventure, Ludwig said. “It’s about taking a chance because, if you do, you have a chance at life,” he said. “When playing these characters, you have to remember they’re not all that they seem on the surface.” The cast has been rehearsing for two months now and has been doing quite well, Caiazzo said. She fell in love with the characters and message of the play when she performed in it two years ago and knew then she wanted to bring it to Abington Senior High School. “I had full faith that our two leads [Salus and Zaharczuk] could do this justice, and I had them in mind from the beginning,” she said. “We are going to have people rolling in the aisles.” Students found it most helpful that Ludwig could help them better understand their characters and really bring them to life. The two seniors playing Meg, Emilie Mehler and Sabring Silva, both agreed that Ludwig’s insight gave them what they needed to take the character to a deeper level. “What high school students bring to a play is a freshness, a genuineness that isn’t jaded, an honesty that you start to lose when you get older,” Ludwig said. “The play functions as it was intended because they bring an enormous value to it innately.” Before signing off, Ludwig left the cast with a few words of advice. Make sure the lines are better than perfect, never paraphrase, talk to each other like you mean it and never try to be funny, he said. Students thanked him, and as soon as the conference ended, they began to talk a mile a minute about what they had just experienced and just how much better it will make their performance. “People are going to fall in love with this show,” Salus said.]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/ken_ludwig_encourages_abington_highs_leading_thespians_via_s/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/ken_ludwig_encourages_abington_highs_leading_thespians_via_s/ Theatre Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:01:34 -0500 4 Openings in Two Months! Crazy For You at the Novello Theatre on the West End. It was a wonderful experience all around. I spent the week before we opened with the cast, working on a new twist on the ending, and it ended up working just fine. People are saying that the show is even better than it was in Regent’s Park, and that is also just fine. Here's the new video trailer: The other fun news is that I’m about to jump into rehearsals for three new world premieres, all of them opening in November within about two weeks of each other. Midsummer/Jersey, a play I wrote specifically for high school students, premieres at Robinson High School in Fairfax, VA on November 17th and runs for three performances, through November 19th. As you might have guessed, it’s A Midsummer Nights Dream meets Jersey Shore. I wrote it in part as a way to help high school students understand and appreciate Shakespeare. I'll be working with them throughout the rehearsal process, to give them a sense of what it's like to work on a new play with the playwright in the room. From what I understand, the kids are having loads of fun with the script. They’ll be performing a one-hour version of the play in a couple of weeks as part of the Virginia Theatre Association play competition (Oct 28-30 in Reston, VA). I’m thrilled to be delivering the keynote speech at the awards banquet on the last day of the conference. More on that soon. 'Twas the Night Before Christmasstarts rehearsals this week at The Adventure Theatre in Bethesda, MD and performances start November 18 and runs through January 2. (For those of you new to my blog, this one chronicles the adventures of a mouse, an elf and a spunky little girl who set off to save Christmas from an evil ex-elf who is trying to double-cross Santa.) Finally, my new comedy-thriller, The Game's Afoot (or Holmes for the Holidays) will have its world premiere at Cleveland Play House. Previews start November 25, opening night is November 30 and the play runs through December 18. The story takes place during the holiday season, when William Gillette, the star of Sherlock Holmes, invites the cast of the play to his Connecticut castle, an isolated house full of tricks and mirrors. One of the guests is stabbed to death and Gillette transforms into Sherlock Holmes (metaphorically ... sort of) in order to track down the killer before another murder takes place. Aaron Posner is directing and the cast is marvelous. So I have a busy month ahead, but what could be better? You mean I get paid for this?]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/4_openings_in_two_months/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/4_openings_in_two_months/ Theatre Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:29:54 -0500 My PEN/Faulkner Gala Speech I am currently writing a book about Shakespeare. How it will be received I don’t know. As one fellow scribe has said, “However much we writers claim to be indifferent to critics, all of us are secretly only satisfied with “Hail, Sun God, Rise and Lead They People.” At the moment, I’m up to the Hamlet chapters, and so I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Free Will versus Fate. One of Shakespeare’s central metaphors related to this theme involves the relationship between the world of the theatre and so-called “real life.” He makes this comparison again and again, from one play to the next. “Life’s but a poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage.” “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.” “A kingdom for a stage, princes to act, / And monarchs to behold the swelling scene.” Shakespeare seems to be asking: Are we human beings merely actors? Are the lives we lead written out for us and predetermined, or are we free to change the script as Hamlet tries so desperately to do? Four weeks ago today I dropped my daughter at college as a freshman. For several years now, I’ve seen that moment marching towards me as surely and inevitably as Hamlet saw the Ghost of his Father marching across the battlements of Elsinore, and I saw it coming with a similar sense of doom. (As I recall, the Ghost was not known for his joie de vivre.) For my wife and I as we boarded the plane with our daughter, as for Hamlet on the battlements, the writing was on the wall. The script was written, the future was inevitable and there was no changing it. When Hamlet sees the Ghost for the first time, his reaction is staggering. Something absolutely impossible has happened right before his eyes. He cries “Angels and ministers of grace defend us!” and he thinks, “That’s my father!” Three nights after dropping my daughter off at college, she called me. She had just been to the college health clinic because of a sore throat. She told me that she had had a throat culture, they discovered strep, she was on an antibiotic that she was taking twice a day, and that she was feeling much better. She sounded level-headed, and spoke with a sense of maturity that I had never heard before. This was a girl who once, at tennis camp, got her head stuck in a freezer. She sounded happy about her classes and eager to study for them. I thought: “Angels and ministers of grace defend us! That’s my daughter!" The writing, once again, is on the wall, and, unlike Hamlet, I’m happy to follow the script and not even try to change it. The wheel turns. Life goes on. Aren’t we lucky. ]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/shakespeare/my_speech_for_penfaulkner/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/shakespeare/my_speech_for_penfaulkner/ Shakespeare Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:18:15 -0500 Set Design for 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Adventure Theatre (where my play 'Twas the Night Before Christmas will open later this fall) just sent these photos of the set design models. The designer is Luciana Stecconi and as you can see, they are really fantastic! Emily's House full%20house%20small.jpg Santa's Workshop workshop%20small.jpg A close-up of the toys (I hear the shelves will light up on the real thing!) toys%20SR%20small.jpg ]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/set_design_for_twas_the_night_before_christmas/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/set_design_for_twas_the_night_before_christmas/ Theatre Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:11:11 -0500 My New Play at Adventure Theatre I was at a workshop last week for my new Christmas play ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas, which was commissioned by Adventure Theatre in Bethesda, MD. The story is about a girl named Emily who goes on an adventure with Amos the Mouse to the North Pole to save Christmas. It seems that a former elf—who once tried to sell Santa’s sleigh to Wal-Mart and was demoted--is trying to take his revenge by stealing the Naughty and Nice list. The play is being directed by Jerry Whiddon who, as you probably know, is one of the best directors in America. The cast includes Gary Sloan, Associate Professor of Drama at Catholic University, as Sir Guy of Gisbourne, the former elf. I know first hand what he can do on stage because I saw his Hamlet many years ago at the Shakespeare Theatre. (He was one of the best Hamlets I've ever seen.) The rest of the cast includes Rex Daugherty, as Amos the Mouse; Rachel Zampelli as Calliope the Elf; Emily Levey as the little girl; and Alex Perez as Mulch the peasant - and he doubles as Santa Claus. Final%20Emily%20Webready.jpgI also had an opportunity to see the costume designs by Chelsey Schuller for the first time, and as you can see, they are truly amazing. It’s terrific working at Adventure Theatre - Michael Bobbitt runs it like a swiss watch. The theatre is getting ready to open their next show, Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse, and they did a run-through next door to our workshop. The noise from their room was crazy, so we shouted our lines back. If theatre doesn't have an element of play in it, it's not theatre. Right? Pictured Above: Costume design for the character of Emily by Chelsey Schuller]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/my_new_play_at_adventure_theatre/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/my_new_play_at_adventure_theatre/ Theatre Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:03:52 -0500 Brief Encounter with...Crazy For You's Ken Ludwig Whatsonstage.com's Andrew Girvan Crazy For You opened at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park last week (8 August, previews from 28 July 2011) reuniting artistic director Timothy Sheader with the multi-award winning creative team behind last year's Hello, Dolly! - choreographer Stephen Mear and designer Peter McKintosh. Zangler.jpg Set at the time of the Great Depression, Ken Ludwig's 1992 escapist Broadway musical is largely based on the 1930 Gershwin musical Girl Crazy, but includes several other Gershwin hits including "I Got Rhythm", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Embraceable You" and "Nice Work If You Can Get It". The musical was last seen in the West End at the Prince Edward Theatre where it opened in March 1993 starring Ruthie Henshall, Kirby Ward and Chris Langham and ran for almost three years. The Open Air's production, which runs until 10 September 2011, stars Kim Medcalf, David Burt, Sean Palmer, Clare Foster, Harriet Thorpe and Michael McKell. An American playwright and director, Ludwig is also the author of comedy Lend Me A Tenor, the Sham and Carroll musical adaption of which recently enjoyed a short-lived West End run at the Gielgud Theatre - the same West End house where the play had premiered in 1986. Whatsonstage.com's Andrew Girvan talks to Ludwig about re-writing a 1930s musical for a modern audience and seeing your own work adapted for the musical stage. The producers had acquired the right to do a Gershwin musical. They came and asked me if I’d do it because I'd written a comedy on Broadway. I was of course very flattered and thrilled to be asked to do it, but I have to say I hesitated. I didn’t know how I would write a book to a musical. But then I found director Mike Ockrent, and we found Susan Stroman who was an unknown choreographer at the time. I wrote it very quickly, it was ready to go as soon as we could. They came to me in December 1991 and I had done the first draft by March 1992. We did a workshop, and everyone was really happy with it so they scheduled rehearsals for summer. We were up and running at the National Theatre in Washington DC for an out of town try-out by October. It went very quickly and lo and behold we had quite a success. It played for years and years on Broadway, then it came here to London and won two Olivier Awards (Best New Musical and Best Theatre Choreographer). So it worked out. It was a real labour of love. The music and lyrics are all by George and Ira Gershwin. George did write with other lyricists and Ira did write with other composers during her lifetime but this was all George and Ira. I was originally asked to do an adaptation of the musical Girl Crazy because it seemed to be their most successful musical. But musicals in those days were very different and I read the script and, with respect to the authors who are long gone, it didn’t hold together or make sense for audiences today. It had a lot of stereotypes that we would find repugnant; it had not much of a storyline, a very thin little thread; it was like lots of little sketches, then a great song. I said to the producers that I didn’t feel comfortable trying to do an adaptation of Girl Crazy, but they let me try to write a whole new musical from scratch. We kept one element from the book: By going West - from New York to Nevada - I was allowed to take two of the numbers and make them feel like book songs, that really told the story of the musical. I got to choose the numbers, it was completely me. There was nothing there, they said I had the right to all those songs. George and Ira Gershwin wrote over 400 songs together and I tracked them down on CDs. I must have the biggest selection of Gershwin CDs in the world, because I would just track them in any way I could. They had their own archivists and were helpful. I listened to Maureen McGovern on her album doing a version of "Naughty Baby" and I thought, "I’ve got to get that song, it’s terrific," as well as Michael Feinstein doing "What Causes That?". There’s a wonderful album that Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald did with duets of Gershwin songs. That encouraged me to use others. I just started at the beginning and tried to come up with a story and put songs into the moments. All the time, nothing was considered sacred. If a song worked we worked it in. If it didn't we’d put in another one, trying to use all Ira and George songs. They were geniuses, truly, two great geniuses in America’s history. I’ve done outdoor Shakespeare and those sorts of things but having my work performed outdoors is a new experience for me. Its very interesting, like I’m writing a children’s play. I went to one of the theatre’s previous productions and I was struck by how much of a different experience it is. There are planes which fly over and people have a drink in their hand. It’s a different experience which is enormously exciting. I’m thrilled to be over here, I cannot speak highly enough of the people doing the production of Crazy For You. Such professionals. Timothy Sheader did one of my shows a while ago and he’s an amazing director. To work with him has been incredible. Years and years ago Peter Sham and Brad Carroll came to me and said they would like to take a musical of Lend Me A Tenor and I said "lets give it a shot." They’re good guys. They worked very hard and produced that musical together and they were very good. They premiered it at the Utah Shakespeare Festival several years ago and I went out to see it and it was very good. The audiences loved it. I really kept hands off. When they first did it, they tried to be very respectful of me and the material and I said, "don’t treat me or the material with kid’s gloves. Don’t open the musical in the living room of the hotel suite. Don’t write a play about the hotel suite, open it up, make it a real musical, go to the theatre, go to the party, go behind the theatre." They started writing a musical - which they did beautifully - and the next thing I hear they’re doing it out of town, then a theatre in London and the next thing I know they’re in the Gielgud. I spend my life thinking about theatre and musicals so I know every moment that might be related, I know every moment where Hello, Dolly! is different to The Matchmaker. I spend my life thinking about comedy on stage. I think if I had adapted my own play I’d have a lot of emotional attachment to it and I probably wouldn’t do as good a job as someone else who could get some perspective on it. For some reason, Tenor has always had an international comedy flavour to it. It may be that it’s set in the opera world and a little opera company so we can all have fun with it and not be too reverential. The Europeans do it all the time. It seems to have been translated in lots of countries, the Far East and South America. There seems to be elemental aspects to it, certain basic comic notions so basic to us, that you can see them in all cultures. Photo: Sean Palmer and David Burt in Crazy For You]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/london/brief_encounter_withcrazy_for_yous_ken_ludwig/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/london/brief_encounter_withcrazy_for_yous_ken_ludwig/ London Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:53:30 -0500 Just back from London... Crazy%20for%20you%20cast.jpg Crazy For You at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park, London is moving full-steam ahead and looking great. I spent last week in the UK and had a wonderful time in rehearsals. They were held at the Toynbee Studios on Commercial Street, deep in the heart of the commercial district of London. The cast of this production is absolutely top notch. Sean Plamer and Clare Foster star as Bobby Child and Polly Baker, Kim Medcalf plays Irene, Michael McKell is Lank and David Burt plays Bela Zangler. The entire ensemble is fantastically good, and Tim Sheader , Stephen Mears and Gareth Valentine - the director, choreographer and music director - are doing a terrific job making the production feel fresh and vital. The rest of the week was packed with meetings, meals with old friends and great evenings at the theatre. I had dinner one evening with my dear friend Chris Luscombe who just had a big triumph with his revival of JB Priestley’s When We Are Married on the West End and is about to start rehearsals next week for a tour of The Madness of King George III. (His production of The Merry Wives of Windsor for The Globe Theatre was shown in movie theaters all over the U.S. recently.) I also went to opening night of Yes, Prime Minister and met one of the the playwrights, Johanthan Lynn. In my view he's one of the great comedy writers and directors of our time and it was a privilege to see him there. On my way past the Haymarket Theatre, I bumped into (read “we almost ran into each other”) Tom Stoppard and we chatted briefly. I also saw Lend Me The Tenor the Musical, which is running at the Gielgud Theatre in the West End. Everyone did a terrific job and I was thrilled to meet the cast afterwards. They were fantastic. Towards the end of the week, I did several interviews with the British press, one of which is to be aired on the Elaine Paige show for her Sunday show on BBC Radio 2. (I'll let you know in advance when the show airs.) All in all, a very wonderful week. I'm looking forward to heading back to London soon. ]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/just_back_from_london/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/just_back_from_london/ Theatre Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:07:18 -0500 Book Launch Party!
Hugh Nees, Ian Merrill Peakes, Valerie Leonard, Ken Ludwig, Holly Twyford and Erin Weaver. (Photo by Rosey Strub)
Last Saturday, the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA hosted a book launch party for my new anthology, Lend Me A Tenor and Other Plays. It was wonderful to see so many friends there. We had about 300 people in all, including Mark Russell (maybe my favorite comedian of all time), Roxanne Roberts from the Washington Post, Janet Griffin, who runs the Folger Theatre – and every known member of my own family. Maggie Boland, the Managing Director of Signature Theatre, hosted the event with her usual graciousness. In addition to much sluicing and munching of hors d’oeuvres, we did some readings from three of the plays included in the anthology, Shakespeare in Hollywood, Moon Over Buffalo and Lend Me A Tenor. It was fun trying to come up with excerpts from each of these plays that would stand alone and could be performed with only a little introduction. (I failed to come up with a good candidate from Leading Ladies. I suppose I could have used Act One, Scene 2 (and the beginning of Scene 3).) We opened with the first few pages of Shakespeare in Hollywood, where the columnist and radio personality Louella Parsons (played by Valerie Leonard) is broadcasting live outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre just before the opening of the movie version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Max Reinhardt (played by Hugh Nees). For those of you who have a copy of the anthology, this excerpt can be found on pages 233-237 (that was a hint to buy the book). Ian Merrill Peakes, who just got nominated for a Helen Hayes Award as Best Actor, played movie exec Jack Warner, and Erin Weaver (who was Aggie in the Kennedy Center reading of Sherlock!) played Warner’s love interest, Lydia Lansing. Next, we did two related excerpts from Act II of Moon Over Buffalo (pages 120-123 and 136-141 of the anthology …). The first one is the scene in which George (Ian again) comes in drunk, thinking Charlotte (played by Holly Twyford, also up for a Helen Hayes) has left him for good as a result of his infidelity. Erin played their daughter, Hugh played their manager, and Valerie played Ethel. The second excerpt was the beginning of the next scene when the daughter Roz is “on stage: at the start of the company’s production of Private Lives and her father George (still drunk) doesn’t show up … then finally does show up dressed as Cyrano de Bergerac. We ended the readings with a short scene from Lend Me A Tenor - the one where Tito (Hugh Nees) and Maria (Holly Twyford) have a shouting match in the bedroom in Scene One (pages 24-25 of the anthology – oh, come on, just get on Amazon and buy it). I’m immensely grateful to all the actors who volunteered their time to lend their amazing talents to the afternoon. I’m equally grateful to Signature’s terrific staff, including Jennifer Moss Kincade, Bethany Shannon, Kevin Bradley and Kendrick Maxey. I wish that everyone reading this could have been at the event. But for those who weren’t, you could sort of relive it by buying the anthology... : )]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/anthology/book_launch_party/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/anthology/book_launch_party/ Anthology Wed, 09 Mar 2011 10:41:09 -0500 I'd love to hear your thoughts on your favorite monologues for men. Ken replies: Dear Adolpho, I'm so glad to hear you've enjoyed reading the blog. I'd be happy to suggest a few monologues for men from my plays as well as some of my favorite monologues from Shakespeare. From my plays, there are three monologues that might be of interest: 1. From Lend Me A Tenor, I would recommend Saunders' monologue towards the end of Act I, just after he's discovered that Tito Merelli is unconscious and possibly dead. I've included this monologue below, since it requires putting three speeches together. 2. From Leading Ladies, I'd suggest Doc Meyer's monologue at the beginning of the Act I, Scene 2 (page 11-12 of the Samuel French edition); 3. And from Shakespeare in Hollywood, I would suggest the short monologue by the character Max Reinhardt in Act I, Scene I, page 17 of the Samuel French edition. As for monologues from other sources, I couldn't tell from your email if you were looking for specifically comic pieces, so I've included a range of my favorite monologues from Shakespeare's plays: From Much Ado About Nothing, there are two great monologues by Benedick. Both are from Act II, Scene 3: The first one is at the beginning of the act and begins, "I do much wonder that one man..." and the second one is towards the end of Act II and begins, "This can be no trick..." From Henry IV, Part 1, I'd suggest Falstaff's speech in Act II, Scene 4, that begins, "If sack and sugar be a fault, God help the wicked." From Midsummer I'd look at Oberon's monologue from Act II, Scene 1, "My gentle Puck, come hither..." or from Act IV, Scene 1, Nick Bottom's monologue that begins, "I have had a most rare vision..." From As you Like It, Act II, Scene 1, there's the Duke's speech that begins, "Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile..." And of course, everyone's favorite, "Our revels now are ended" from the Tempest, Act IV, Scene 1. If you're looking specifically for tragedy, you might look at Hamlet or Macbeth. Here are a few of my favorite speeches from those plays: From Hamlet: Act II Sc 2: "Oh what a rouge and peasant slave am I!" and Act I, Scene 2: "Oh that this too too solid flesh would melt..." And from Macbeth, I'd look at Act II Scene 1: "Is this a dagger which I see before me?" I hope this is helpful. Thanks so much for writing and all the best for your future in acting! Regards, Ken From Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me A Tenor, Act I, Scene 2: SAUNDERS has just discovered that world-famous opera star, Tito Merell, whom patrons of Cleveland Grand Opera have paid large sums of money see perform the role of Otello that evening, is either unconscious or dead. MAX, his assistant, suggests that the performance go on as scheduled, with the understudy playing the starring role instead. SAUNDERS Well, I guess that wraps it up. End of the road. Arriverderci. I’ll have to make an announcement of course. A few brief words, nothing elaborate. Ladies and gentlemen — Mr. Tito Merelli killed himself this afternoon, thereby depriving many of…a great pleasure. It was universally acknowledged that he sang like a angel, but apparently he wanted to prove it. In short, our star for the evening has departed this world in a final gesture of selfishness and deceit unrivaled in the history of comic opera! What? Still do the performance? Oh oh oh absolutely. We can prop him up and play a record. Add a few lines about how he was wounded in the Battle of Cyprus, then carry him around the stage on a stretcher. What’s that? Use the understudy? The understudy. Of course! My God you’ve solved the whole problem! Skip the announcement, stick a note in the programme —“The role of Otello will be sung by Albert Rupp.” And then if there is anyone still in the audience when he takes his bow, they can stone him to death? The ultimate operatic experience! One thundering orgasm of insane violence! Make Salome look like The Merry Widow! To ask Ken a question, click here.]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/questions-for-ken/id_love_to_hear_your_thoughts_on_your_favorite_monologues_fo/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/questions-for-ken/id_love_to_hear_your_thoughts_on_your_favorite_monologues_fo/ Questions for Ken Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:27:41 -0500 American Embassy Sponsors production of Ken Ludwig's Moon Over Buffalo in Moldova Ken Ludwig's Moon Over Buffalo at the National Theatre in Balti, Moldova, sponsored by the American Embassy. The follow is an excerpt from Mr. Fleckman's Cultural Envoy Report to the State Department accompanied by photos from the production. DSC_1059%20%282%29.JPG"I am pleased to report that on the evening of Wednesday, December 15, Ken Ludwig's play Moon Over Buffalo made its debut at the Vasile Alecsandri National Theatre in Balti, Moldova. It is my clear impression that the production provided a window, previously unexplored, into an effervescent form of American comedy/farce, never before seen by theatre-goers here. They followed the action closely - and there is a great deal of action indeed! -and took pleasure in the ups and downs of a theatre troupe stranded in Buffalo, and praying for an angel to lift them back up to the big time. One must remember that these themes are novel to spectators here. As sophisticated as their tastes are, there have never been American plays in the repertory of the National Theatre, and the vagaries of American life are not necessarily the same as the vagaries of life in Moldova. Be that as it may, there was sustained applause, and a standing ovation, at the conclusion of Moon Over Buffalo. The Executive Director of the theatre then spoke to the audience, thanking the American Government for its support, and gave me the opportunity to express my appreciation to the actors for their dedication, and the people of Balti for their welcome to me." DSC_1020.JPG DSC_1036.JPG DSC_1042.JPG DSC_1084.JPG ]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/american_embassy_in_moldova_sponors_production_of_ken_ludwig/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/american_embassy_in_moldova_sponors_production_of_ken_ludwig/ Theatre Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:47:15 -0500 Do you have any suggestions on how to create a 'peg leg' for the character Long John Silver? Treasure Island. Do you have any suggestions on how to create a 'peg leg' for the character Long John Silver? Nothing is mentioned in the script. Thank you, Venice Ken replies: Dear Venice, Thanks for your inquiry. In the past, we've had the actor tie his leg up in the back (bend at the knee and tie the ankle around the thigh), and then add a costume piece to create the peg leg. Provided you have the right costume piece, this should work well. Alternatively, for the London production, the actor had a costume piece that fit over his real leg to make it looks like a peg leg. I hope this helps. There are a few photos and videos available on the Treasure Island page of the website, if you'd like to take a look at what others have done. All best wishes, Ken To ask Ken a question, click here.]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/questions-for-ken/do_you_have_any_suggestions_on_how_to_create_a_peg_leg_for_t/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/questions-for-ken/do_you_have_any_suggestions_on_how_to_create_a_peg_leg_for_t/ Questions for Ken Wed, 15 Dec 2010 14:51:07 -0500 Fox on the Fairway's Ken Ludwig and Arch Campbell: Politest golf trash-talk ever TBD Arts MegAubrey200dpi.jpgThe inspiration for Ken Ludwig's A Fox on the Fairway, about a madcap golf tournament, has an office down the hall from TBD. WJLA's Arch Campbell has been playing golf with the Tony nominated playwright for the duration of their 20-year friendship, and when I first asked Campbell about it, he said they were both terrible. "I might have shot 90, and he might have shot 100," says Campbell of their last meeting. "I started out with a birdie. It all went downhill from there. We walk around out there, two old guys – he's not old, I am – joking and talking." Campbell is being modest – he always wins, says Ludwig. "For a while he played quite a bit," he says. "He has a wonderful attitude towards life. He brings the same attitude he has towards life to the game of golf, which is easygoing, upbeat, optimistic ... Knowing how to relax in golf gets you halfway there. His wonderful attitude helps him play better." Their golf traditions include citing the work of author P.G. Wodehouse, who wrote many stories about golf. "One time he wrote me the letter in the style of P.G. Wodehouse, and with Ken, he and I refer to our clubs in the P.G. Wodehouse style," says Campbell. "A nine-iron is a niblick, and a seven-iron is a mashie, a two-wood is a brassy, a three-wood is a spoon." So, with their long history of golfing together, did Arch inspire any of the characters? "Justin is a young version of Arch," says Ludwig. "He's a complete wiz-bang at golf, and he's so sweet. He doesn't realize how talented he is, he just does what he does, and he does it so well that he doesn't notice. And he gets the girl in the end." "He is pulling your leg," says Campbell, when I relay this message to him. Given the chance to trash talk Campbell's game, and this is the best Ludwig could do: "Arch is so good he would make a saint nervous. He's so relaxed he can drive you crazy ... I'd really appreciate it if he got a little worse."]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/fox_on_the_fairways_ken_ludwig_and_arch_campbell_politest_go/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/fox_on_the_fairways_ken_ludwig_and_arch_campbell_politest_go/ Theatre Wed, 03 Nov 2010 10:44:52 -0500 Ken Ludwig talks about 'A Fox on the Fairway' with The DC TheatreScene The DC TheatreScene If he had a theme song, it would be “Make ‘Em Laugh”, and Washington playwright Ken Ludwig has been doing just that for years. So far, he’s had over 15 plays produced, with more to come. Perhaps his most famous are Lend Me a Tenor, which recently closed its Broadway revival, the adaptation of the restoration comedy The Beaux Stratagem and the Gershwin musical tribute Crazy for You. He has no trouble attracting great actors: Stanley Tucci and Hunter Foster in Lend Me a Tenor, Alice Ripley and Robert Prosky in Shakespeare in Hollywood, and Hal Holbrook and Dixie Carter in Be My Baby.If he has a mantle, it’s getting crowded. He’s received an Olivier, two Tony Awards and two Helen Hayes Awards. Full%20Cast%20Endsmall.jpg His newest comedy, A Fox on a Fairway, is set, in case you didn’t know, on a golf course. Where did that idea come from? A friend suggested it one day on the links. “After all,” he tells us in the video interview below, “golf is innately funny … you wear silly clothes … you get all excited about getting a little ball in a tiny hole, [and] the stakes are amazingly high.” A Fox on the Fairway has audiences at Signature Theatre laughing a lot, and at the same time – on opening night – some of the major theatre critics were not impressed. I asked Ken Ludwig to talk about writing the show, working with Director John Rando and the wonderful Signature cast. Joel: On your website, you say A Fox on the Fairway is about love and hope. Can you say more about that? Ken: I think this play, like many of my plays, is about the notion that if you look at the world with a good heart and keep your sense of optimism you can make your life matter. These are not just platitudes. Everyone has to make a choice. You choose how you approach life. Things may not always work out the way you want them to, but that doesn’t mean that some of us don’t continue to face the world with a deep sense of optimism and fellow-feeling. My plays are an attempt to move the ball in the right direction – towards a sense of humanity and good fellow-feeling. If we don’t achieve that, we’re lost. How you live your life is up to you. But that’s the choice we all face. Joel: Most of the critics seem to have missed that connection. Are they getting too jaded? Ken: Yes. Joel: What would you say to those who were critical of the play? It must have teed you off, or is it just ‘par for the course’ of being in this business? Ken: I don’t read reviews. Joel: Signature has assembled an outstanding cast - Meg Steedle, Aubrey Deeker, Jeff McCarthy, Andrew Long, Holly Twyford, and Valerie Leonard. Did you take part in the casting process? Ken: Yes, I was part of the selection process of the cast, as I always am with my plays. Joel: What do you like most about the performances of the Signature cast? Ken: I like that they are skilled, intelligent, professional, hilarious and full of integrity. This is one of the best casts I’ve ever had in any of my plays. Joel: Thanks to your writing, John Rando’s direction and the cast’s great comic timing, the show draws some big laughs. Do you think we laugh enough in the theatre? Ken: I do think there should be more comedies in the theatre. I think we all have a tendency to take ourselves too seriously. Joel: Which scenes from the Signature production are your favorites, and is there a scene that John Rando directed that made you say, “I never thought of that!” Ken: John was constantly coming up with wonderful ideas. My favorite moment is at the very end, when Louise steps forward and sums the play up. Joel: Are you planning changes to the script, and if so, what are they? Ken: I made a number of changes in the play while we were in rehearsal and then in previews. That is the great joy of working on a new play with actors and an audience – trying to get it just right. [In his review, John Glass from Drama Urge, who saw a recent performance writes, “Things have tightened up since opening night. About halfway into its five-week schedule, the show has apparently lowered its handicap, dropping 30 or so minutes from the runtime, to end at less than two hours”.] Joel: Your work is often a tribute to comic writers from the past. You say you often re-read the classic comedies. Who are some of your influences? Ken: George Farquhar, Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Shaw, Wilde and Kaufman and Hart. Joel: Why do you enjoy having your plays performed here? Ken: I love working in Washington because this is my home. It’s a joy to work with all the great actors and directors who live here. Joel: What are you working on now? Ken: I’ve just finished a new play which sets A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the Jersey Shore. It’s called, not surprisingly, Midsummer/Jersey. Joel: What do you want audiences to take with them after seeing A Fox on the Fairway? Ken: I hope they come away feeling rejuvenated, inspired, and happier than when they went in the door.]]> http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/ken_ludwig_talks_about_a_fox_on_the_fairway_with_the_dctheat/ http://www.kenludwig.com/blog/theatre/ken_ludwig_talks_about_a_fox_on_the_fairway_with_the_dctheat/ Theatre Sun, 31 Oct 2010 12:41:48 -0500