Depot Theatre presents dance drama
Five rehearsals in, the folks responsible for producing The Tango Diaries at the Philipstown Depot Theatre in Garrison had mastered the outline.
Attention turned to fine-tuning, including lighting, blocking (where to stand and how to move) and what inflection to use when saying a line, which could be changed on the fly by the playwrights in the room.
For months, Alice Jankell has acclimated to her new role as the venue’s artistic director. (She succeeded Nancy Swann, who retired after 20 years.) Now serving as a hands-on director for her first play as an employee, she’s keen on spotlighting a work that showcases why Argentina’s chief cultural export exerts such a powerful hold around the world that it has “saved people’s lives,” according to the promotional copy. The play, which features dancing and live music (via electronic keyboard), opens May 2.
A pro’s pro, Jankell spent the last four decades compiling a blizzard of prestigious acting, writing and directing credits, including musicals for Disney. Last year at the Depot, the Kent resident directed Dirt in conjunction with the Putnam Theatre Alliance, a coalition she helped kickstart during the pandemic.
Early rehearsals for The Tango Diaries unfolded with purpose and playfulness. Ideas ricocheted between the stage, Jankell’s seat and the play’s writers, Ron Hutchinson and Alisa Taylor, who are driving up from Brooklyn for each rehearsal and performance with their white lapdog, Lucy, in tow.
“More than any other dance, the tango touches the human condition in a deep manner, which is why there’s a global obsession over it,” Jankell says. “The largest festival is in Finland.”
This is the play’s premiere as a stage production, though 6 million people listened to a radio version on the BBC, which is quite a feat because there’s no way to see people dance over the aural airwaves.
One of Jankell’s directorial challenges is to weave choreography with drama to ensure fluidity on the small stage. Characters often pierce the fourth wall.
Local actors include Maia Guest, Sara Jay Halliday, Erin McGuff-Pennington, Dante Nastasi, Mike Pirillo and John Christian Plummer. Haldane senior and intern Oliver Petkus occupied the assistant director chair for one rehearsal. Musicians and four dancers (two of whom have prominent acting roles) travel from New York City.
The tango itself is constructed of several set steps that can be reassembled in any configuration. One person leads, the other follows, and “that interplay is the challenge,” says Jankell. “It’s a visceral transfer of power, mixed with intimacy; it takes great concentration to do it well.”
Married to a psychiatrist, Jankell views the dramatic arts like a sociologist: “It’s a way to explore how people navigate each other, like two dancers. Theater helps us understand human behavior.”
The Philipstown Depot Theatre is located at 10 Garrison’s Landing. The Tango Diaries opens at 7:30 p.m. on May 2 and continues weekends through May 18. See depottheater.org for tickets, which are $25, $30 or $45 each.
