“One Hundred Years’-A New Musical at 4th Wall

February 5, 2010 · Posted in Arts & Entertainment, Buzz, Q on Stage

(L-R) Richard Colonna with Christine Orzepowski, Lenny Gallo Center, Marisa Cucuzza with Craig Tiede - photo by Tom Schopper

source: www.qonstage.com
by Sherri Rase

Ridgefield, Queens is far from Italy, but “One Hundred Years Into the Heart” is close, very close. Times change, but somehow people continue to strut and fret their hour on the stage no matter when that hour occurs. You’ll be hooked from the very beginning, when Carmine first begins his story.

This production is the latest installment in 4th Wall Theatre’s Musicals in Development where new works are produced in workshop format, where lighting separates spaces and set pieces and props are minimal. Often the authors are hearing the work performed for the very first time. Curtain times for this show are 7:30 p.m. for all three evenings to accommodate a talk back after each performance, where the cast and crew will take audience questions. The discussions will solicit audience commentary, which provides the writers, actors and production crew with ways to refine further these auspicious beginnings.

Our interlocutor for the trip backward and forward in time is Carmine, played by Richard Colonna. Carmine is a pastiche of both the book’s author Richard Vetere and his uncle and is the perfect narrator for this story, the nugget of which has a very personal history. Vetere’s cousin Sal has an early experience that sets the stage when the fictional Sal’s life crosses with a very nuclear family.

Regina (Christina Orzepowski) is Carmine’s once and future love. They dated in their youth, and while Carmine remained in Queens working in his family’s restaurant, Regina went to college and their lives took different paths. Now a widow whose daughter disapproves of her beau, Regina can only marvel at the connections that bring one full circle round. Stephanie (Marisa Cucuzza) is the head strong twenty-something that keeps Carmine on his toes. The two are flint and steel and strike one another at every opportunity, while Regina struggles to keep the peace between the two people she cares about. Vincent (Lenny Gallo) is the college man, also from the neighborhood, who has never made a wrong step either by accident or design. When Carmine phones a friend to get some masonry work done for Regina, Sal (Craig Tiede) steps into the picture and into their lives-for the first time for some, a different full circle for others.

What a pleasure it is to hear a) a brand new musical with b) literate engaging lyrics and c) melodies that are not regurgitations of themselves. The work is delightful in using a combination of 20th century harmonies, a bit of the “East Side, West Side” milieu, and a very sweet rendering of a song that could easily have been sung by Dean Martin or Louie Prima about 40 years ago. We are treated also to delicious combinations of duets, trios, quartets and quintets, in which the beauty and clarity of each select singer’s voice wrestles with assonance and dissonance and resolves with aplomb.

This production is reminiscent of the Latin fascination with spirits and ghosts as the spirits and hearts of the dead walk among the living from the very beginning-Stephanie’s talking about her father, Carmine reminisces about his father and some of his friends, and there’s also ghost walking among us, isn’t there?

These fabulous actors are all veterans of 4th Wall productions and the blend of voices as well as the texture of the individual efforts is impressive. The harmony of the production as a whole-minimal sets, clear voices, sparkling lyrics-all make the evening memorable. Being able to talk back afterward is a gift.

Gwen Ricks-Spencer has realized a vision that leaps in three dimensions, perhaps because of the minimal sets and amenities. And a fourth dimension of very flexible time. Pools of light-Ricks-Spencer’s designs as well-illuminate a dining area, and projections suggest the scene changes and venues. Matt Burns is Production Manager, with Martha Thalheimer as Stage Manager. Marcus Hauck is Musical Director and Orchestra all at once, the music a character in itself and as changing as situations and minds.

Colonna’s Carmine is mercurial, happy, pensive and thoroughly Italian. He is the love child of Dino, Louie, and Tony Bennett, and faithful always to his Regina. His heart is pure and entirely of gold. Regina is a troubled Queen. She’s the queen of Carmine’s heart, queen of her domain as she sees it, and queen of pain as well. She’s a woman with a secret and secrets will out.

Stephanie idolizes her father Philip, who died sometime before. She recognizes that her mother needs and wants a man in her life and comes to realize the length of time and most of the depth of the connection between her mother and Carmine, yet it doesn’t keep her from challenging him. She’s engaged to Vincent, an adjunct professor and newly published author, but Zeus is about to put a lightning bolt right between her eyes.
Vincent is a man who does everything right. On his way to school as a boy, he happened to go down an alley when he saw something fall from a window-that something was a baby, a boy named Sal. The two of them became bound by fate in ways that wouldn’t become clear until much later. Sal is the workman that Carmine’s friend sends to Regina’s house to work on the backyard, and he is the agent of Stephanie’s undoing. Sal’s got big plans that include easier money than breaking his back. Those plans could be costly.

Jeffrey Lodin’s music and William Squier’s lyrics are so far out of the ordinary in the very best way. Carmine’s opening song. “How It’s Supposed to Be,” in Colonna’s heartfelt performance, rings true in every respect. That rosy glow isn’t heartburn, it’s nostalgia, and you may not recognize it at first since you have never heard this song before. It’s all the happiness of one’s individual sense of rightness. Vincent’s “Right Before It Rains” is an evocative portrait told by a gifted storyteller. We have the photograph of the young hero, and the reality behind the façade. The chemistry among the cast is beautiful and believable, and keep a hankie tucked somewhere for the tear or two you or your date might have at the finale. It will stay with you for a while. Cent’anni!

It’s a very short run for such a weighty title, “One Hundred Years into the Heart” will be at Westminster Center for the Arts on the Bloomfield College Campus February 4, 5 and 6 only. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m., with a talk back session with cast and crew immediately after each evening’s performance. Tickets are only $15, with discount pricing available for students and seniors. Tickets may be reserved by calling 973/748-9008 ext. 279. Visa, MasterCard, and Discover are accepted. Tickets may also be purchased on-line and additional information is available at www.4thwalltheatre.org.

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