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<\/p>\nThe temperature dipped into the low 50s as the company of American Stage\u2019s Into the Woods gathered Tuesday afternoon at Demens Landing Park. It was the first day for the cast, and the band, at the outdoor site on the St. Petersburg bayfront.<\/p>\n
Dressed for maximum warmth, the actors spent just under nine hours on the enormous not-yet-dressed wooden stage, as sound, lights and spatial relationships were adjusted. Day One always begins with a \u201cgetting to know the stage\u201d exercise.<\/p>\n
They had already worked on the classic Stephen Sondheim\/James Lapine musical, for weeks, in American Stage\u2019s spacious (and warm) rehearsal room.<\/p>\n
The move to the park is a \u201cmassive\u201d shift, said director Helen R. Murray. She had the cast \u201cwalk the set\u201d on first arrival. In the rehearsal room, they\u2019d hit their marks via duct tape on the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we\u2019re putting the show together,\u201d she explained, \u201cwe\u2019re saying \u2018This cross is going to take a few moments longer, so please anticipate it,\u2019 and \u2018This is going to be a change in level, so you have to be ready for the fact that you\u2019re walking up four steps here.\u2019 There\u2019s a lot of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
They\u2019re tasked with learning exactly where the edge of the stage is, and spots where there might be possible costume snags on the moving set pieces (costumes, however, won\u2019t be in play until the end of the week). \u201cIt\u2019s very important for them to walk the entire set in full broad daylight,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n
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Into the Woods is the fifth spring-tradition \u201cPark\u201d show supervised by Murray since she was named Producing Artistic Director in 2022, although it\u2019s the first time the veteran theater-maker has directed at Demens Landing herself.<\/p>\n
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Director Helen R. Murray, left, and choreographer Jennifer Kerner Scruggs.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause logistically it\u2019s such a massive piece of theater, it\u2019s been much easier for me to just produce when we\u2019re doing it,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause my workload is already really, really heavy as the producer. I\u2019m already out there a ton of the time, solving problems and taking care of things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Late in the afternoon, the actors were fitted with head microphones, and harmonized on several of Sondheim\u2019s show tunes with the musicians as sound levels were tested and adjusted.<\/p>\n
After a dinner break, the company re-assembled for scene tweaks, and a full run-through of the show. The lighting designer and operators arrived just before the sun went down, and worked on the stop-and-start lighting maneuver theater people know as cue-to-cue.<\/p>\n
The intricate lighting rig is all that\u2019s between the actors and the Florida sky. Because there\u2019s no proscenium arch overhead, there\u2019s no rigging or fly system to drop in backgrounds or set pieces. There\u2019s also no wing space to hide set changes, so everything in the fairy-tale world of Into the Woods (Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack & the Beanstalk et al) has to fit snugly out of sight until it can be rolled on when needed.<\/p>\n
Murray and her team move with military precision. \u201cThe backstage,\u201d she said, \u201cis as much of a dance as the front, as what\u2019s onstage. There\u2019s a constant movement backstage to make sure everything is rolling on at the right time, things are where they need to be so that when the actor walks on it\u2019s put in their hand, all that kind of stuff is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Into the Woods will open March 27 (with previews on the 25th and 26th) and run through April 26.<\/p>\n
Until then, the company will be working at the park nearly every day. \u201cInto the Woods, for as much as it\u2019s got in it, is not the hardest thing we\u2019ve done,\u201d Murray explained. \u201cAnd it\u2019s Sondheim \u2013 there\u2019s more movement than there is heavy dance work.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven so, it\u2019s a show where everybody\u2019s wearing kneepads under their costumes. And everybody\u2019s shoe tread is doubled because they need traction.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Baker\u2019s Wife (Morgan Tapp, left) and The Baker (Edward L. Simon).<\/p>\n
\u201cPark\u201d was in danger of getting cut as American Stage began to feel the post-Covid financial pinch, followed by the twin head-butt of the 2024 hurricanes. The annual spring show\u2019s high overhead was eating into the organization\u2019s already dwindling reserves.<\/p>\n
On her arrival, Murray remembers, she wondered aloud why Park was allowed to continue. What was the big deal?<\/p>\n
She looked at the bottom line: Park was steadily losing money. But, she recalled, everybody wanted to keep it, so Park became a big factor in budget balancing. \u201cAnd I adjusted the ticket prices, which hadn\u2019t been done in over 15 years. That closed the gap a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first Park show Murray herself programmed was Beauty and the Beast in 2024 (she inherited its predecessors, Ragtime and Footloose, because they\u2019d already been scheduled).<\/p>\n
\u201cI did Beauty and the Beast, and it showed how successful Park could be. We closed the gap so much. People were so excited about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I did the most requested musical we\u2019ve had in years, Hair. And it showed a massive drop-off in attendance. And I said \u2018I think that Park is a family-friendly event.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
She hadn\u2019t originally factored in Park\u2019s importance to the community. Launched in 2023, the \u201cSave Park\u201d campaign raised over $400,000 in its first weeks. \u201cAnd it wasn\u2019t all huge givers,\u201d Murray said. A lot of smaller donations were received from members of the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other thing about park is that it\u2019s an event. It\u2019s not just a piece of theater. It is the entry point for our community, in to the theater. And we need to lean into that heavily.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s doing that by working corporate nights, community nights, special events and other group-specific programming into the show\u2019s monthlong run.<\/p>\n
Each Park show costs approximately $600,000 to produce.<\/p>\n
Money, or the lack of it, is always a major concern for nonprofits like American Stage. Today, Murray reported, \u201cWe\u2019re stable, but we\u2019re not back to our pre-Covid numbers in either attendance or income. And quite frankly, and not to be dark about it, we\u2019ve lost people. People have passed on, and some of our larger donors moved away after the hurricanes.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we are seeing an uptick. While we\u2019re seeing growth, it\u2019s not at the speed we would like it to be. So we have to be very careful and mindful.\u201d<\/p>\n
There have also been personnel changes at American Stage. \u201cWhen I came in, the cash burn at American Stage was higher than their annual income was. And what was creating a false sense of security was, we had some really large one-off gifts. And we had all the Covid funding as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut those were one-offs. I realized that\u2019s not repeatable every year. So I cut the budget, a lot, once I got here. And it\u2019s because our operational costs should not be where they were having that kind of cash burn. They\u2019d been extremely fortunate in those one-off gifts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not that we\u2019re financially in a horrific place, it\u2019s that if we don\u2019t do these really smart, looking at the budget, and reducing to the point where our expenses and our income are balanced, then we will be in that place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe board and I all look at it and go \u2018We\u2019re not going to be able to sustain if we keep this up. So let\u2019s be smart.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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