“What’s ironic is that we’re opening in Siberia–and the first musical number is ‘South for the Winter,’” says composer Gregg Opelka, laughing.
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But why this little workshop-crafted show from the midwest, rather than some better-known work from New York?
“The theater’s done American musicals before–Candide, Showboat, Hello, Dolly–but this will be the first original musical play ever done there,” says Crocker. “We’re cognizant of our responsibility in that capacity. How we work–that’s how they will assume not only New Tuners works but many theater companies in the United States work. Also, Boris really liked the theme of the little guys banding together and fighting for their rights against the big corporations.”
“In many ways we’re all in the playpen we’ve always wanted to be in,” says Crocker. “Not only do we have more construction workers, but if we wanted to bring a bulldozer out onstage–which we’re not going to do, though we’d love to–we could have the crew to carry it on.
“I have an advantage,” Pachino says, “because everyone learns ballet in French–or I can just show the dancers what I want.”
“That’s also what’s exciting,” says Crocker. “That we’re going to a country that’s experiencing what it’s experiencing now–where it could all be different tomorrow.”
