Manitowoc’s Masquers stages unique enigma ‘City of Angels’ at Capitol Civic Centre May 11-13
MANITOWOC - Picture this: the Golden Age of Hollywood, jazz and a hard-boiled detective mystery all wrapped up into one enticing package — a satirical musical comedy coming to a local theater near you.
This spring, become immersed in all the glitz and glamor of a bygone era with The Masquers' production of "City of Angels." Performances are May 11-13 at the Capitol Civic Centre. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now.
Not to be confused with the 1998 film of the same name, "City of Angels" (the musical) is a far different story and genre than the fantasy romance starring Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan.
The musical opened on Broadway in 1989 and won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
The plot takes a satirical look at 1940s Hollywood through the eyes of a writer named Stine, while also telling a parallel storyline through Stine’s fictional counterpart, a detective named Stone, whose world is an ode to 1940s film noir.
The show explores these two stories with the unique and visual device of color. Stine’s 1940s Hollywood is in brilliant color, whereas Stone’s world is shown in the muted tones of black and white, just like the gritty noir films the detective’s story emulates.
First-time director for The Masquers Phillip Jindra jumped at the opportunity to tackle all the challenges of the intricate and technically difficult production.
“Two things drew me to the show,” he said. “Jazz and the concept that half of the scenes are told as a noir movie and the other half are told as a bright Hollywood movie. And jazz is so fun. You don’t see a lot of musicals that heavily feature jazz to this extent. It’s the perfect setting to capture all the different styles of jazz that developed over the '20s, '30s and '40s.”
When asked about the unique device of telling the story through color, actor Logan Lopez (Lt. Munoz/Pancho Vargas) was eager to elaborate.
“The black and white lets the audience know that there is a real world and a fictional world," Lopez said. "There are a lot of dualities in the show, and the color clashing with the black and white represents that. Eagle-eyed viewers will see that duality.”
To seamlessly tell the dual storylines, many of the actors play dual roles. Stine is a novelist in 1940s Hollywood in the midst of adapting his noir-themed novel for the screen, and many of the characters from his story are a mirror of the people in his everyday life.
Tessa Komorowski Jindra is cast as the real-life wife of Stine in 1940s Hollywood, and she also plays the ex-lover of Stine’s counterpart (Stone in the noir detective story).
“From an actress’s perspective,” Komorowski Jindra said, “distinguishing and finding the differences between these two different characters, even though they have similarities, while finding the physicality to separate the two characters, was the hardest part.”
So, what makes this niche production universal to a wider audience?
“It’s classically American,” Sam Oswald, the actor who plays Stone, said. “For some, it represents the Golden Age of cinema. For others, it’s a tumultuous, scary time of prejudice. … Hollywood is uniquely American, as is jazz music. Anyone from any walk of life can appreciate these two elements, these two pastimes that are married in this show.”
Acting and technical challenges aside, "City of Angels" has a very human tale to tell. At the show’s core, the beating heart of the story is a reflection of the human condition, and Zach Glaeser has waited 17 years for a company to bring this very human story to the stage.
Glaeser is cast as Stine, the novelist turned playwright, and the morally gray character of Stine is one of the aspects of the show that enticed him to audition.
“Stine isn’t a virtuously moral, standard lead," he said. "People can relate to him. Not in the good things, but his struggles to be a good person.”
And what’s more universal than to empathize with the struggles of the human condition?
"City of Angels" is a wholly unique enigma. It is a noir mystery wrapped in the enticing package of jazz and the glamor of old Hollywood. It’s the story of real people acting out the fictional lives some of us have fantasized about. Who doesn’t want to be the hero of their own story? Or the damsel? Or even the villain? It’s plain, good storytelling that transports you to a different time and era for a few hours, and The Masquers invites you this May to join them for all the glamor, all the jazz, and all the good old-fashioned adventures of a hard-boiled gumshoe.
Promotional events
The Masquers has the following two pre-show events to take advantage of:
Pre-Show Q&A: Looking to learn more about the technical side of theater? Want to dive deeper into the details of bringing "City of Angels" to the stage? Director Phillip Jindra will lead a Pre-Show Q&A discussion prior to the May 12 show, from 6:40 to 7 p.m. in the Webster Lounge upstairs at the Capitol Civic Centre. Anyone is welcome to this discussion, even if you don’t have a ticket to the show.
'Paint the Town Red ... and Black and White': You can also take part in The Masquers’ "Paint the Town Red … and Black and White" promotional event. Get glamorous and dress to impress. Before the show, stop at one of the participating vendors (The Elbow Room, The Wharf, Brix, Luigi’s or Waterfront Wine Bar) and take advantage of discounts being offered. Once at the Capitol, take photos at photo op spots set up by The Masquers and post them on the Masquers' Facebook page to be eligible to win. The winner will receive a voucher for two free tickets to the next Masquers production.
If you go ...
What: The Masquers, Inc., production of "City of Angels." Book by Larry Gelbart. Music by Cy Coleman. Lyrics by David Zippel.
When: 7:30 p.m. May 11-13
Where: Capitol Civic Centre, 913 S. Eighth St., Manitowoc
Tickets: Available at the Capitol Civic Centre box office, online at cccshows.org or by calling 920-683-2184. They are $30 for adults and $19 for students 18 years and younger.
More information: themasquers.org
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This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc Masquers stages City of Angels at Capitol Civic Centre
