Park Playhouse looking ahead
After year off due to virus, troupe rolling out “Ain’t Misbehavin’’’
After 2020 was the first summer since 1985 without musical theater at the Lakehouse in Washington Park, Park Playhouse will welcome back emerging-from-the-pandemic audiences with “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” a revue celebrating the music of Thomas “Fats” Waller, one of the most popular swing and jazz composers and pianists of the 1920s and ’30s.
It will be performed at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, July
6 to 24, on the amphitheater stage that Park Playhouse has called home since 1989, when the independent arts nonprofit was founded to take over from Live at the Lakehouse, a city-sponsored series begun four years before.
The students of Park Playhouse will take to the stage at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, Aug. 5 to 22, for their production of “Matilda the Musical,” based on the beloved children’s novella by Roald Dahl.
“After a year away, we can’t wait to get back to Park Playhouse in Washington Park for a summer season of musical theater,” Owen Smith, producing artistic director of Park Playhouse’s parent organization, Playhouse Stage Company, said in a statement. “With regulations and recommendations from public health officials in place, we are pleased to be able to give audiences a pair of shows to enjoy in a safe setting as we continue to fight to end the COVID -19 pandemic.”
Smith will officially unveil the Park Playhouse season Tuesday morning at a news conference at the lakehouse. Elected officials including Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, as well as business and other arts leaders, are scheduled to attend. Two weeks ago, Playhouse Stage became the first Capital Region theater company to announce the return of indoor theater to the area since the pandemic shutdown began, in March 2020. It will present the musical revue “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” for 12 performances from April 30 to May 16 at Cohoes Music Hall, the company’s indoor home since it went yearround in 2016.
Following current federal and state guidelines, and in consultation with local governments and health officials, seating in Washington Park will top out at 200 — half at paid tables in front of the stage, half for free on the amphitheater hillside, to be allocated via a lottery system with a maximum request for four seats, Smith said.
If the state expands capacity regulations further ahead of the summer season, additional free seats will be made available, Smith said. All seating, paid and free, will require a reservation and digital ticket; tickets will not be available on a walkup basis prior to performances. Ground-level tables, holding up to four people, cost $100 and go on sale May 1; lottery entries for free seats will be accepted starting June 15, with names drawn for the entire run on July 1. Both lottery entries and paid seating will be available via playhousestage.org or 518-434-0776.
In “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” a five-member cast performs lively, funny and swingin’ songs from Waller’s career. After premiering on Broadway in 1978, it won the Tony and Drama Desk awards for best musical. The Park Playhouse production will be directed by Jean-remy Monnay, artistic director of the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York, making his Playhouse Stage debut.
The company’s veteran musical director and pianist, Brian Axford will lead the seven-piece on-stage jazz band.
“Matilda” tells the story of the precocious title character, whose telekinetic powers help her deal with her family and other authority figures. Playhouse Stage’s general manager, Chuck Kraus, direct the production, with choreography by Ashley-simone Kirchner and vocal instruction by Brandon Jones. Axford will lead the eight-piece band. Frequent Playhouse Stage actor Chris Frazier (”The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” “Sweeney Todd” and others) will join PSC students to play the role of Miss Trunchbull, the strict headmaster of Matilda’s school.
Attendance in the park is expected to be strong as more people get COVID-19 vaccinations and feel increasingly comfortable in social setting, Smith said. Playhouse Stage originally announced “I Love You, Your Perfect ...” to run for eight performances over two weekends but quickly added a third based on strong sales. The company has the ability to extend the run for a fourth weekend if warranted by ticket demand, Smith said. Music hall tickets are available only by phone, at 518434-0776.