Video by Max, class of 2008

The first stage in your theatre career? It starts at Idyllwild. Our Theatre Arts Program offers concentrated pre-professional training that incorporates advanced techniques to guide you toward greater self-awareness of your own potential and resources. Concentrations include acting, theatrical design and technical theatre, and musical theatre. Individual programs of study are written for each student and are geared toward personal interests and training as assessed by our faculty, based on auditions at the beginning of each year. In addition, individual college or conservatory counseling, along with preparation for the Unified College Auditions, is offered.

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The Idyllwild Arts Theatre Department presents:

THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT – THE SMELL OF THE CROWD
Book, Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
May 22 & 23 at 7:30 P.M. and May 24 at 2:00 P.M.

Long before bloated European epics such as Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera invaded Broadway in the 1980s, British librettists-songwriters Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse brought their thought-provoking musical to The Great White Way. The Roar of the Greasepaint—The Smell of the Crowd (1965), melded an inspired pop-flavored score with provocative social satire. This cerebral classic, almost never revived, is a heady mix of Samuel Beckett and Kander and Ebb. The show may have a big title, but it deserves it -- because it is a musical that is filled with big songs, big ideas, and bigger-than-life characters. Written about an era of extreme social disparity in the late 1960’s, The Roar of the Greasepaint The Smell of the Crowd takes hold of the stage with its clear message of the need for social equality. This satirical-yet-lighthearted look at the systems in place to separate the haves and have-nots continues to bear significance nearly 50 years later. Set in an eerie and unspecified location populated by a chorus of urchins, the abstract allegory follows the “game” [of life] played by the bullying, soul-less Sir, who changes the rules as he goes along and the naïve “little guy” Cocky, a modern day Everyman. A parable of class discrimination, one realizes how far ahead of its time this musical is. This morality play with smash hit songs like "Who Can I Turn To," "On A Wonderful Day Like Today," "The Joker," and "Feeling Good" tells us that the "Beautiful Land” is in the heart. Although this still innovative book, music, and lyrics may challenge the mind, we hope our production captures your heart.

Howard Shangraw, Director

IAF Theatre
May 22nd & 23rd at 7:30p.m.
May 24th at 2:00p.m.