When will the curtain go up?
PacRep shuttered, but hasn't closed down its efforts
CARMEL >> More than 25 years after establishing the Pacific Repertory Theatre in Carmel, stage actor, director, and producer Stephen Moorer remains committed to its historical presence, its growth and development, and to producing quality theater of the people, by the people, for the people of this community— and beyond.
In March, PacRep was in the midst of its fiveweek run of “Matilda” at the Golden Bough Theater, with one week to the finale, when COVID canceled the remaining performances. The production of “Marjorie Prime” was set to open two weeks later, at the Circle Theater, but didn’t.
“At that point, we believed we’d experience a month to maybe six weeks of shutdown,” said Moorer. “But, as the pandemic and the news progressed, we realized we had no idea how long our theater would be dark.”
The cancelation of “Marjorie Prime” was like tipping the first domino. Next was “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” sacrificing the early summer season. The late summer season, promising “Shrek” at the outdoor Forest Theater, was the next to go.
“When it came time to announce ‘ Othello’ and ‘Death of a Maiden’ for September,” said Moorer, “we finally understood it would be 2021 before we could present a live performance. This also took out ‘ The Addams Family Musical’ and our holiday tribute concert, ‘ The Beat Goes On,’ featuring ‘ Sonny and Cher.’”
At best, he says, it’s speculation, since no one can predict when the curtain will go up again. Recently, Moorer has heard that 2021 might not see live theater, either.
“We actually may be looking at a second year of trying to survive without performances,” Moorer said. “In the best- case scenario, we’ve postponed ‘Shrek’ until next summer at the Forest Theater. The same for ‘ The Addams Family Musical’ at the Golden Bough. But we don’t really know. We’re ever hopeful. We’re even willing to be optimistic.”
Artist in residence
Rhett Wheeler, who grew up performing for PacRep, is known for a pretty outrageous “Ursula the Sea Witch” in 2018’s Disney adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.” This year, he was playing the malicious Miss Agatha Trunchbull in the adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “Matilda,” when the theater went dark.
“For the health and safety of the performers on stage and the patrons in the audience, Stephen took action and decided, just before Gavin Newsom laid down the law, that we would lose the last week of ‘ Matilda’ performances,” Wheeler said. “I love what I do, which is performing for
live audiences. To have this joy taken away because of this crazy coronavirus is understandable, of course, but it’s also disappointing.”
The real disappointment, says Wheeler, is that “Matilda” is primarily a kid cast. All the children performing in this show were so sad to lose such an important outlet for creativity and interaction.
“As an adult, I understand the situation a lot more,” said Wheeler, 33. “But I was once one of those kids. I’m lucky enough to say I do this for a living now. I would love to know that some of these kids are on that path, as well.”
Wheeler was 8 years old when he started singing professionally, beginning with “Phonics & Friends,” a sing-along program, teaching English as a second language. After years as a youth actor and model, he studied musical theatre in a pre-college program at Carnegie Melon, followed by musical theatre studies at Ithaca College, ultimately commencing from The New School University with a bachelor’s degree in performing arts.
After acting in regional theater, Wheeler spent five years at sea, performing lead vocals in cruise-ship productions. For the past three years, he has performed lead vocals in thematic productions at Tokyo Disney Resorts.
One of his most memorable concert performances took place in 2015, at Walt Disney World, Florida. Ariana Grande was running late, so legendary musician, composer, producer David Foster pulled Wheeler out of the audience and up on stage and asked what he wanted to sing.
“I asked if I could sing one of David Foster’s songs,” said Wheeler. “I sang ‘The prayer,’ with him accompanying me on the piano. It was a dream come true.”
Today, Wheeler is not at sea, is not at Tokyo Disney Resorts, is not in concert, is not on stage with PacRep Theater. He is sitting at his family home in Carmel, helping his 6-year-old niece navigate distance learning.
“My livelihood is on hold right now,” he said, “but I am enjoying the beautiful side benefit of spending time with my family. What I’m concerned about is the arts, a multi-billion-dollar industry that has been shut down. And yet, people are dealing with this pandemic by staying home and listening to music, turning on Netflix, relying on the arts to get through this. We need to realize how important the arts are and support them.”
The show must go on
PacRep has been shuttered, but it has not closed down its efforts to remain present and relevant in the arts community. While performances ceased, SoDA, the company’s School of Dramatic Arts has continued, online for the balance of spring and the summer semesters, giving kids something creative to do while sheltering in place. Yet, as the fall semester began, SoDA was allowed to present half its classes in person, on the outdoor Forest Theater stage.
“Once kids have been doing academic classes via Zoom all day, the last thing they want is another hour online with us,” Moorer said. “To see 10 6-year-olds doing their Disney Dance Class on stage, following safety protocols from a social distance, was the first live performance I’ve witnessed in half a year. It was a very special moment.”
SoDA also hosts a Musical Theater class for adults, who wear masks when sedentary, at a social distance but remove their masks when dancing, as it is considered exercise.
In addition, despite the cancelation of two significant fundraising events, PacRep hosted its first online gala, July 26. Partnering with Aubergine Restaurant and Doorbell Dining, PacRep had gourmet meals delivered to patrons’ homes, accompanied by a bottle of wine from Albatross Ridge. Television News personality Barry Brown served as the master of ceremonies, which included silent and live auctions through a Zoom chat room.
PacRep’s second fundraising event is based on the legendary Heron collection of early Forest Theater posters, artist-rendered cover pages of the Carmel Pine Cone, antique maps whose artistry and intricacy could only be the work of the prolific Jo Mora (1876-1947).
Many years ago, near the end of her life, Constance Heron, daughter of Shakespearean actor Herbert Heron, who founded the Forest Theater in 1910, and served two terms as Carmel mayor in the 1920s, donated most of her father’s collection of ephemera to PacRep. In the ensuing decades, much of the collection has been featured on the walls of the Golden Bough Playhouse. As the Golden Bough enters into a remodel, and the posters are coming down, Moorer and his crew decided it was time to share the art with the community.
Working with fundraising auction platform “BiddingForGood,” PacRep has launched the “Old Carmel Memorabilia Auction” online, now through Oct. 15.
“Theater has always been for the people,” says Moorer. “The Golden Bough is a piece of California history and lore. This organization was started by artists and has always been run by artists, with equal right- and left-brain skills, who know how to create theater in person and, now, online. It takes time and commitment to keep a cultural organization afloat, but we’ll be here for a while.”