Wednesday, 5/14/97 Communism comes to life in musical production
THEATER: ‘Flora’ teaches workshop cast practical acting skills,
preparation
By Cheryl Klein Daily Bruin Senior Staff At first glance, it’s
hard to see the similarities between energetic, Converse-clad
theater student Tom Lenk and the sedate young man in a yellowed
1930s photograph. Vocal director Gary Busby hands him the picture
merely to point out a possible hair style for the character of
Harry in "Flora, the Red Menace." But the cast of the UCLA Musical
Theater Workshop’s spring production finds more than a few
parallels between themselves and the young, struggling artists they
play in John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical. Opening Thursday in
Schoenberg Hall Auditorium, "Flora" follows the title character’s
struggle to find work in the Depression-era job market. Instead she
finds Harry, who preys on her idealism and naivete to induct her
into the Communist Party. The Depression. Communism. Not exactly
part of the typical college student’s daily vocabulary. In fact,
admits Teresa Sanchez, who plays Flora, "When we tell our friends
it’s about communism, it’s the wrong thing because people think
‘oh’ and they walk away. But it’s more of a story about how far
would you go to change for a person you really like?" It’s also
about trying to make a career out of what you love. A sort of play
within a play, the musical is presented as part of the Federal
Theater Project, an actual program dedicated to employing actors
hit by the crash. This premise conveniently explains the sparse
cast size and why the actors themselves shuffle sets between
scenes. And what the Federal Theater Project did for young actors
60 years ago, UCLA’s Musical Theater Workshop does at least on a
small scale today. "I think this class really gives me practical
training," Lenk says. "It’s like this secret thing that nobody
knows about. A lot of (alumni) from this class are getting cast in
big Broadway shows. It’s not something you see in the UCLA
brochures, though." "It’s a class you could take over and over
again and it would never be the same," Sanchez adds. Both she and
Lenk are veteran workshop members, as is the majority of the cast.
The pervading level of experience and the established group
dynamics played heavily in director John Hall’s choice of shows.
The fall production of "Godspell" and last quarter’s children’s
musical called for lung power and over-the-top performances, but,
Lenk points out, "John called the children’s show a ‘primary color’
thing, with no underlying anything." "John Hall is known for
putting shows on in two or three weeks. But here he’s taken his
time and we’ve gotten really good characterization," Sanchez
continues. When the students sat down to write their character
biographies, they were virtually working from scratch. When Kander
and Ebb wrote "Flora" in 1965, it was well received –
then-17-year-old Liza Minelli even won a Tony Award for her
portrayal of Flora. Yet their success with "Cabaret," shortly
after, soon left "Flora" in the dust as audiences embraced the
darker, but otherwise similar musical. "But Kander and Ebb still
liked it," Sanchez says. "They still had a little thing in their
hearts for it. They kept rewriting it." It is the rewritten version
the workshop is performing, but Lenk casts a certain amount of
skepticism on the writers’ changes. "It has a couple of
bring-out-your- Kleenex moments," Lenk says. "They did the rewrite
in 1987, which I think is the same year that ‘Les Miserables’ came
out, and I think they were trying to go in that direction and have
that heavy drama in there." Yet, "Flora" remains a comedy. The show
opens with a montage of ’30s newsreels, including such gems as
"Cannonball Richards," a man who made his mark by voluntarily
receiving multiple cannonballs in the belly, and an ironically
blithe portrayal of a father handing money nonchalantly to his son
after hearing one of Franklin Roosevelt’s encouraging fireside
chats. From here we move to live actors, standing tall in caps and
gowns, pantomiming hearty handshakes as they receive their
diplomas. A few beats later they meet again in the unemployment
line. It is a humorous form of self-deprecation for most graduating
north campus students. But those pursuing the arts are painfully
aware of a reality without callbacks. And this is where the
workshop steps in. Lenk describes a professional audition earlier
in the year, where he and several of his classmates ran into UCLA
students in the master of fine arts program. "They were wearing
sweat pants and some of them didn’t have their music prepared,"
Lenk says. "But we’ve been taught to have our music ready, to dress
for the part. And we were the ones who got seen and who got the
callbacks." "Flora" gives even more students a chance to learn
their profession, since it is double cast, with a completely
different ensemble on alternating nights. Sanchez compares her
version of Flora to Maria Eberline’s. "I tend to appear younger on
stage and more cute and she can be more sophisticated," Sanchez
says. Indeed, Eberline and Adam Harrington (the other Harry) have a
smooth charisma on stage, while Lenk’s innate humor seems
determined to come through. "They had to try to make me a lot more
grown up because I’m usually playing the nerdy young whatever,"
Lenk laughs. "Here I have to walk around in a wife-beater on stage.
I’m supposed to be this sex symbol, which is kind of a joke because
it’s way out of the typical parts I’m usually cast in." Lenk did
the research behind his new role as a political activist, and what
originally seemed foreign ended up underlining the similarities
between today’s youth and their Depression-era counterparts. "A lot
of people have never been to a rally or a protest. I went to the
announcements on Friday about who won the elections and it was
really interesting to see people our age so passionate and riled up
about something," Lenk observes. "A lot of what went on was similar
to the communists who wanted to make changes back then. So I think
people our age will be interested to see the parallel." THEATER:
"Flora, the Red Menace" opens Thursday at Schoenberg Hall
Auditorium and runs through May 18. Tickets are $10, $5 for
students. For more information, call 825-2101. BAHMAN FARAHDEL
Maria Eberline, a second-year theater student, plays Flora Meszaros
in "Flora, the Red Menace" on alternating nights. BAHMAN FARAHDEL
Adam Harrington, a first-year theater student, plays Harry
Toukarian in "Flora, the Red Menace" on alternating nights. BAHMAN
FARAHDEL Trisha Rapier, a fourth-year music student, plays
Charlotte in the UCLA Musical Theater Workshop production of
"Flora, the Red Menace." Previous Daily Bruin stories: ‘Godspell’
performance presents a piece of musical