Inside Syracuse Stage

Transcript

Welcome And What’s Ahead

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Hi everyone, my name is Miss Ray, and welcome to another episode of Inner Harborcast. This episode, we are going to be focusing on another incredible organization doing direct impact with our community right here in central New York. Now, live theater is alive and well right here in central New York, and one of the region's premier theaters is getting ready for another powerful production. Syracuse Stage is presenting Joe Turner's Come and Gone, a moving story from playwright August Wilson that dives into history, identity, and community. Joining us today and to tell us more about this show and what's coming up with the season and next is artistic director and main spokesperson Bob Hupp. How are you today?

SPEAKER_03 0:46

I am great. Thanks for having me today.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Of course. We're happy to have you. So, like I said, Syracuse Stage is bringing Joe Turner's Come and Gone this March. I believe it's March 11th. Does that sound crack? That's wonderful. So for our listeners that may not be familiar with the play, can you kind of tell us about what that story's about?

SPEAKER_03 1:04

You bet. So August Wilson, one of the great American playwrights, wrote him and going in 1988.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

It's set in.

SPEAKER_03 1:31

Beautiful study of human nature. August Wilson chronicles the black experience throughout the 20th century. Uh in his century cycle, 10 plays. In my opinion, this one, this one is my favorite. Joe Turner's Coming Gone is my favorite because it's full of mysticism and the power of the poetry of August Wilson's language. I just love this play. It's a true American classic. And this is Syracuse Stage's eighth August Wilson play. And I'm excited that we're able to open it this March.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Absolutely. That's wonderful. And then along with Joe Turner's Come and Go, you also have other shows as well. You had a Christmas story, you just got done with, let me see, I want to make sure Relentless. That's right. You did. You just got done with that. So how do these shows like play into this idea of like a theme for a lineup? You know what I mean? So you're picking these shows that kind of amplify your at this point. It was 25-26 season. Right. So what is that process of playing?

SPEAKER_03 2:32

Right, sure. I'm joined by our associate artistic director, Melissa Crespo, our resident playwright, Kyle Bass. We're charged with picking a season at Syracuse Stage. And we really we look at what's happening in the world. We look at what new plays are out there, what, and of course, practical things like what rights are available. Uh oh, uh and and but mostly at the end of the day, the it comes down to what stories do we think will resonate with central New York? What stories will entertain, will delight, will challenge, uh, cause us to ask questions. But at the end of the day, we're coming together with strangers or family in a dark theater for a couple of hours, having a common communal experience. And we think that's a very special thing. So we're looking to find stories, a very diverse array of stories. Because if you look at our season, there's family-friendly musicals and world premieres and everything in between. Uh, and that kind of diversity is very important to us too.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

Yeah. And then for next season, I know you just announced your 2016.

SPEAKER_03 3:27

You literally just announced it, right?

Why Musicals Dominate Next Year

SPEAKER_02 3:29

Um, yeah. So is there going to be like a little bit of a different tone for upcoming season, or what are some shows that we can look forward to?

SPEAKER_03 3:36

Well, there's a lot going on in the upcoming season. Interestingly, we're leaning into musicals next year, half the season, uh, our mute are musicals.

SPEAKER_02 3:44

Just to kind of just a quick question are those like something that's like common now? Like, is that something that people are like kind of gravitating towards?

SPEAKER_03 3:53

Is the musicals that people generally have gravitated more towards musicals? Sure. They tend to be more popular. Yeah. Uh, oftentimes, if somebody's picking one show to come at Syracuse stage, they'll probably come see the show we're doing at the holiday time. Uh, but we think that musical storytelling is vital. And so we want to be responsive to the folks who are coming down to stage, but we also want to, you know, be adventurous too. So even in those three musicals, uh, a couple of them are very familiar, Tony Award-winning, popular musicals. One of them is a very familiar one. Uh, and then one is a world premiere. So if you want, I'll go into some of those titles.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

Sure, go right ahead.

SPEAKER_03 4:30

You know, uh uh we uh we're opening the season with Come From Away, which is again one of my favorite musicals. It's the story of what happened after 9-11 uh at an Air Force base in Newfoundland, Gander Air Force Base, when all the planes around the world were grand grounded. 7,000 strangers were grounded at one small town. And how the community came together to welcome those strangers and feed them and clothe them and see to their needs is an inspiring, uplifting story. You know, we're coming up on the 25th anniversary of 9-11, and so this play will open the week after that, and we believe it's a wonderful way to remember uh what that meant to our country in so many ways. But but come from a way opens the season, and then we go right into one of the most popular musicals of all time, and that's La Miz.

SPEAKER_02 5:22

Yes, you know, very exciting.

SPEAKER_03 5:24

I've been trying to get the right I've been trying to get the rights of Lay Miz for 10 years.

SPEAKER_02 5:28

Uh and I'm looking forward to you must have felt like this was a victory, you know, to finally be able to announce that.

SPEAKER_03 5:33

100% I'm looking forward to directing it. This is uh interestingly enough, this is the fifth time I've directed this show, first time in Syracuse. Yeah, uh uh, and so I'm really excited about that. That that that's gonna that's something that you know people have seen, I think a lot of folks have seen Lame Is, but they've seen it in usually a 3,000-seat theater. Come see it in a 500-seat theater. It's an amazing experience.

Why Live Theater Matters Here

SPEAKER_02 5:57

I'm sure. Um and then Syracuse Stage has also been a part of our community for for a few decades now, quite a few. Um, why is it important to have theaters like this exist in central New York?

SPEAKER_03 6:10

I think it's essential. And I think Central New York is fortunate to have a lot of wonderful theaters uh here in Syracuse and across the region, across the area. It is, you know, uh, if you go back in history, Syracuse is the home of the Schubert brothers, uh the most uh significant uh leaders in theater uh in America, you know, in terms of you go to Broadway, you're at a shoot, you're at a Schubert theater. Uh and so I think it's important for Syracuse to continue that tradition. And I think it's important. We live in such an isolated world, you know, we're in front of our computers all day long, we're on our phones. Uh we live, you know, in that kind of isolation. Well, theater is the opposite of that. Theater is the antithesis or the anecdote to that, I think, when we come together for live theater, we're coming together in a space and we're sharing a common experience. And that kind of common experience, I think, is vital to who we are as humans. Uh, I think storytelling is essential to who we are as a civilization. Yeah. Uh, and so I think theater really, live theater, really fills an important need in our well-lived lives.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

Yeah. I would tell, I mean, here working in radio, we attest all the time that the experience of live music and live, live, live is just way better. It's just a totally different thing compared to seeing something on TV. You know, before we had you over, I we were going through looking at how Lay Miz was gonna be on the 2026, and we were like, oh my gosh, we've seen the movie, you know. But we're like, man, the live experience must is gonna be different. You know what I mean? It's gonna be similar, but it just touches you and connects with you in a totally different way than than something on the screen. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 7:47

You know, when you go to a movie, and uh I love to go to the movies, nothing that you do is gonna change what's happened on that screen. You know, you go get popcorn, you whatever you do, you get up, you go into a different room, come back. It's gonna be the same in live theater. The audience is part of the equation. How the audience breathes and reacts influences the work that's going on on stage. And that's a special kind of thing that you can't get anywhere else.

How Syracuse Stage Builds Shows

SPEAKER_02 8:11

Yeah, yeah, that's that's absolutely correct. So you bring in shows, is that correct?

SPEAKER_03 8:16

No, we create them ourselves. So that's like let there are, you know, like the landmark, for instance, brings in touring shows, uh, and that they do an amazing job uh at that. Syracuse stage creates our own shows. Okay. No, well, we do, we do, uh, we have used local actors absolutely. There's an amazing uh local actor community here in central New York. Uh and you know, we're on the campus of Syracuse University. We partner often with Syracuse University. Uh, most of our actors come from New York. Uh, myself or Melissa, we'll go down and work with directors to we'll cast the shows in New York. Those actors will come to Syracuse and we we we house them in our housing. They rehearse, we build all of the sets, we create the designs specifically and specially for central New York. Some of the shows are direct partnerships with the Department of Drama, like Les Miz. Uh uh and then we have another show later in the season called John Proctor is the Villain, which had a huge was a huge hit with uh Sadie Sink on Broadway a couple of years ago, and we're gonna be producing that, and we'll use drama students in that production. So we're very fortunate. It's a win-win relationship that we can be absolutely you know, uh there on campus and and working in with the Department of Drama. But that kind of partnership, I think, is a special characteristic of Syracuse Stage.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

Sure. And then are there ways maybe behind the scenes? Do you do behind-the-scenes work, have local people working in there?

SPEAKER_03 9:39

Well, you know, everybody who works the stage, we have over 50 employees. They all live here, they're all residents of central New York, they've made Central New York home. Uh, and and so uh, you know, they're they're coming to work day in and day out to create these stories. And we have designers and other folks who come in from all over the country. It's kind of, I hope it's the best of both worlds.

Access Pricing And Community Nights

SPEAKER_02 9:58

But the people that are really making the calls are the ones that that deal with the everyday people that would then in return be going to the shows. That's right. That's right. That's right. That's wonderful. I love to hear that. And then how are ways that you make Syracuse Stage accessible and welcoming to everybody in the community? You kind of talked about the creative process and choosing stories that are correctly articulate things and themes that are going on. Are there other ways or is that like a main focus?

SPEAKER_03 10:26

Well, you know, we want our work to be accessible to everybody. So the first weekend of production is always pay what you will pricing. You can come in and for a dollar, you can see any show at Syracuse Stage. Uh, you can always subscribe. The best way to seeing to see shows are either be a three-play subscriber or a six-play subscriber. And that's what we encourage people to do because it's the most economical way to see the body of work over the course of a year. But we have open captioning, we have sensory-friendly performances, uh, you know, and we do whatever we can to make sure that folks from all walks of life, from all backgrounds, can access Syracuse stage and make it a part of their lives. And then we do fun stuff too, like we do trivia night, uh, you know, we do happy hour, uh, we do a lot of, you know, we do community night where uh different vendors from our community can come in and and meet people who are coming to see the show. So there's a we're very mindful that it's more than just a couple of hours of coming to see a play. We've got to be for everybody and we've got to make sure that it's an experience you don't forget.

Frozen And A Sherlock Holmes Premiere

SPEAKER_02 11:26

Right. Absolutely. And then is there really anything else that you kind of wanted to share about the work of Syracuse Stage, maybe some upcoming events? Well, I want to mention, I want to mention two things if I can't.

SPEAKER_03 11:37

Uh, you know, after uh Joe Turner's Come and Gone, uh the our production after that is is Disney's Frozen, which is a huge show, gonna be a big show.

SPEAKER_02 11:45

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 11:45

That's that's a family-friendly musical for everybody. We're running for over a month. Uh so that's that that's a huge way uh for us to wind up our current season. Yes. Uh and and we look at musicals. I mentioned earlier that we were doing three musicals in our season. The one that I'm we're very excited about will be a year from now. Uh it's called Dust and Shadow: The Unraveling of Sherlock Holmes. This is going to be a world premiere musical. You know, one some of our most popular plays deal with mysteries. And this musical, in addition to being an amazing new musical, uh, it is, you know, just it's a Sherlock Holmes story. Uh, and so that kind of excitement where you have uh that diverse array of plays. We did a play uh earlier this year called The Hello Girls that nobody had ever heard of. It was a musical that wasn't brand new, but had uh, you know, wasn't a Broadway hit yet. And we did work of it here, and it was one of the most popular musicals we've ever done. Dust and Shadows fits into that same category. So it's an eclectic array of stories all woven together by the fact that they're created specifically for central New York.

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Very cool. And then was there anything else that you wanted to add? That second thing, frozen, and then was there anything else?

SPEAKER_03 12:57

Well, the the the the Dust and Shadow was the second thing. Yeah, the fact that that you know we we really try to uh tell stories that appeal to everybody.

Final Thanks And How To Attend

SPEAKER_02 13:04

Yes, perfect. I love that. That's wonderful. So thank you again, Bob, for coming in on behalf of Syracuse Stage and sharing more about Joe Turner's Come and Gone and the the upcoming shows and the work that you do right here in our community. Um be sure to check out your the shows, come support at Syracuse Stage.org um to see all the