Teen Players put on 1940s-style musical
Philipstown Depot Theatre teens will tell the tale of a 1940s screenwriter who is writing a play that is being turned into a film as he writes it, in the musical City of Angels. At times the creator and the creation play side-by-side onstage, as well as the real girlfriend, the fictional girlfriend, the femme fatale and a cast of characters who sing and dance.
Director Katie Bissinger, lighting/set designer Donald Kimmel and costume designer Charlotte Palmer-Lane have the challenging job of creating a stage picture that is sometimes black and white, sometimes color and sometimes both.
The backstage show, headed by stage manager Riley Bissinger and assistant Parker Parella, had to be choreographed to allow for these multiple quick changes. Vocal coach Linda Speziale and music director Paul Heckert have challenged the actors to learn intricate harmonies and pull out all the stops in true 1940s film noir style.
For the first time in Depot history, four sets of siblings are in the City of Angels cast: Jeremy and Justin Roffman, Dahlia and Sophie Kropf, Ronan and Freya Wood-Gallagher, and Josie and Mollie Altucher. The cast also includes William Speziale, Harper Levy, Noga Cabo, Corydon Zouzias, Dante Nastasi, Aurora McKee, Stasia Coope, Andrew Nachamkin, Jocelyn Lane, Greta Garshagen, Roisin Daly and Matan Broshi.
Shows run from Thursday, July 30, through Sunday, Aug. 2. Tickets are $12, available at brownpapertickets.com, philipstowndepottheatre.org or 800-838-3006.
