Sock and Buskin's first production of the year, "City of Angels," explores what it means to be true to oneself through a comparison of two worlds: detective fiction and 1940s Hollywood. The musical, which debuted Thursday night in Stuart Theater, works with the challenge of presenting two simultaneous story lines, and the result is a production that seamlessly darts between real and fictional worlds to create a show that is both visually and narratively compelling.
"City of Angels" revolves around the adaptation of a detective novel to the big screen, and the problems this creates for its author, a confused but well-intentioned New Yorker named Stine. As he continues writing the screenplay, the characters in the play and the people in his life become one and the same - accordingly, the majority of the show's cast play dual roles.
Because the worlds of film noir and 1940s Hollywood both emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation, Stine is left with a series of decisions to make, both in his own life and in that of his detective alter-ego, Stone.
The character of Stine, played by Federico Rodriguez '09, can hardly hold his own life together, let alone that of Stone, played by Dan Sterba '08 , or the other characters he has created. For example, though he is in love with his wife - played gracefully by Emily Borromeo '09 - he finds himself in bed with his director's assistant, Oolie, played by Leighton Bryan '08.
To add frustration to an already stressful life, Stine's director insists on taking credit for the writing of the film and tries to compromise Stine's integrity by removing social issues from his screenplay. The director, Buddy, played by Aubie Merrylees '10, is endlessly pompous, sleazy and unscrupulous, but is easily the most comic character in the show.
As with nearly every character, Buddy's wife, Carla, played by Zoà Chao '08, has a film noir counterpart, Alaura, who represents Stine's real-life opinion of her. Chao creates a vibrant, though believable, characterization of the conniving, gold-digging Alaura.
"It's an unusual musical," said the show's director, Lowry Marshall, a professor of theatre, speech and dance. "It's complicated. It's funny. A lot of musicals, more than anything, work on sentiment. But ("City of Angels") is really hard edged, and really funny in places."
"The film within the play is the really fun part. It's like a big puzzle that you have to put together," Marshall added.
Production for "City of Angels" completely transformed the Stuart Theater into a versatile, multidimensional space, and the show's elaborate set is made of a large central performance space and a series of smaller, more structured areas. Two sides of the performance space include audience seating, and large set pieces - such as an inverted recreation of the iconic Hollywood sign - help the show transition between shadowy film noir scenes and sunny Hollywood. "We wanted to do something really challenging and different with the space," Marshall said.
The line between the Hollywood and film noir worlds is clearly drawn through lighting and costume choices. In the noir scenes, lighting is heavily shadowed and costumes are black and white, while in the other scenes, the costumes and lighting reflect a bright, California aesthetic.
"City of Angels," like all Sock and Buskin productions, was selected by a board of faculty and students. Casting began at the start of the school year, and the cast has been rehearsing since the second week in September.
"City of Angels" was written by Larry Gelbart with music and lyrics by Cy Coleman and David Zippel, respectively. It ran on Broadway from 1989 to 1992, during which it won six Tony Awards, including one for Best Actor in a Musical for Brown alum James Naughton's '67 portrayal of Stone.
The show runs Oct. 18-21 and 25-28 in Stuart Theater.
