Tony Braithwaite, Benjamin Hollinger, Thomas Flynn and Jim Stanek
Thomas Flynn and Benjamin Hollinger
Before every rehearsal process at Act II Playhouse, there is a meet and greet where all of the actors in a show meet one another as well as the crew of the show and the staff at Act II. Those involved with the production of The Story of My Life were lucky enough to have writer Brian Hill and composer and lyricist Neil Bartram at the first meeting.
Brian Hill and Neil Bartram
(clockwise) Margie Price, Jim Stanek, Harriet Power, Brian Hill, Bud Martin, Neil Bartram, Jane Hulting and Tony Braithwaite
Neil Bartram, Brian Hill and Jim Stanek
Music Director Jane Hulting with Brian Hill and Neil Bartram
My involvement with Any Given Monday began with a phone call in early July, 2008: Paul Meshejian, Artistic Director of PlayPenn, phoned to ask if I’d be interested in directing a one-day rehearsal and public reading of Bruce Graham’s newest play. As it happened, I was booked that day (the Pennsylvania Bar hired me to teach a one-day summer seminar for trial lawyers on utilizing theatre in the courtroom) – but I’ve admired Bruce’s work for years and didn’t want to pass up the chance to work with him. The folks at the Pennsylvania Bar kindly rearranged my schedule, so at midday on July 18, I literally ran from the Wanamaker Building to The Adrienne to start our 1 pm rehearsal.
Act II Associate Artistic Director Harriet Power
Bruce and I met for several hours, talking through virtually every line of the script. I never tell a playwright what to write or what to change; rather, I ask lots of questions. Bruce did some revisions to the script, and on July 18, 2008, the four actors in that first cast raced through our five hours’ rehearsal (reading and discussing the play “at the table,” then putting it on its feet in a simple staging). After a brief dinner break, every seat and standing area at The Adrienne was packed, and the staged reading began.
It was an electric night – copious laughter, gasps of shock, a vigorous discussion afterward. I told Bruce that he’d probably have lots of offers, but that I was ready to commit to an Act II mainstage production immediately.
Several months and many negotiations later, Act II Playhouse and Theatre Exile teamed up for a coproduction of Any Given Monday. Pete Pryor, who’d been in the first staged reading, would continue in the role of Mick. We recast the mother and daughter. And in a most unusual move, we decided that Exile’s Artistic Director Joe Canuso (who was in the first reading) would play Lenny in the first month of the run at Theatre Exile, and when the show moved to Act II, Bruce himself would take over the role. Bruce is actually an Equity actor with a substantial resume, and this cast change would give the play an extra charge in its “maiden voyage.”
Bruce, our dramaturg Michele Volansky, and I met many times between July 2008 and the present; we also did an in-house reading with our cast in early October 2009. The conversations that come out of these sessions are among the most meaningful aspects of a life in the theatre: we talk and talk, not only about the play, but about our lives and perceptions and obsessions and ideas. I believe theatre exists to affirm that we aren’t alone – and certainly, these dramaturgical discussions allow us to ponder a lot of Big Questions (and, in a Bruce Graham play, to laugh. A lot!). Seven revisions of Any Given Monday came out of these many meetings, and the script changed further during the rehearsal process and even after the 4-week performance run at Theatre Exile.
The “replacement rehearsals” in preparation for the move to Act II have been absolutely fascinating. Actors’ Equity allows a total of 12 hours when a cast member is replaced: no more than 2 hours a day, no more than 6 hours a week. So on the third and fourth Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday of the Theatre Exile run, Bruce met with Pete Pryor, Genevieve Perrier, Catharine Slusar, and myself to rehearse for two hours….(and then, on these Wednesdays/Fridays/Sundays, Pete, Genevieve, and Catharine would go on to do the show with Joe Canuso).
Interestingly, we all, to a man and woman, loved this process. The actors reported that it was incredibly stimulating to listen and respond to a different “Lenny,” which gave them new energy halfway through an eight-week run. And Bruce and I laughed a good deal over the rather surreal experience of his stepping out of his role as playwright into the role of Lenny, and my suggesting things to help bring the character HE created to life (and occasionally giving Philadelphia’s King of Comedy adjustments that might trigger a bigger laugh).
I’ve been predicting that Any Given Monday will be the next Doubt or Art or Wit – that new play that will be produced all over the country. To have been able to direct its world premiere will always remain one of my happiest theatre memories.
~Harriet Power, Director
Director Harriet Power, Stephanie Graham, and Writer and Star Bruce Graham
Bruce Graham is “considered to be this town’s people pleasing David Mamet, builder of stories that suck you in and make you want to stay”(The Philadelphia Inquirer). This certainly proved true on opening night for audience, cast, and crew alike. Act II Playhouse was full of ecstatic and satisfied customers and workers on March 3, 2010 who came together to celebrate the success of Graham’s new show, Any Given Monday.
Justin Damm, Act II Marketing and Development Director Kimberly Reilly, Matt Silva, and Margie Price
Act II Producing Artistic Director Bud Martin, Actor Pete Pryor, and Juliette Pryor
Harriet Power, Bob Hedley (2nd and 3rd from the left) and their guests
Theatre Exile's External Relations Director Tenley Bank, her date, and Margie Price
Larry McKenna and Stephanie Graham
Larry McKenna, Actor Tom McCarthy, and Act II General Manager Melissa Zimmerman
Justin Zimmerman and Courtney Linde
Pete and Juliette Pryor, Harriet Power, and Margie Price
Bruce Graham, author of the highly acclaimed new play ANY GIVEN MONDAY - a co-production with Theatre Exile - also takes on the role of actor when the play moves to Act II Playhouse. Bruce recently sat down with Marketing Director Roe DeLuca to discuss his new sharp-tongued play that tests the moral boundaries of football, marriage and friendship.
RD: What inspired you to write ANY GIVEN MONDAY?
BG: For some reason I always wanted to write a play that took place during a Monday Night Football game. Many interesting evenings when I was younger – and gambling. (I also learned from Howard Cosell that John Lennon had been shot.) This play has been in my head for about 20 years. I always wanted to tie in the vicarious violence of football with the real thing. I also like writing dialogue for guys.
Playwright Bruce Graham, who also joins the cast of ANY GIVEN MONDAY at Act II Playhouse.
RD: You cover the gamut of sensitive topics in this play: political correctness, religion, class discrimination and social injustice, while injecting humor into some of the tense discussions. How important is humor to this play?
BG: The humor is incredibly important. Otherwise it becomes a rant and I hate that. I really hate this ridiculous political correctness this country is going through right now. It totally stomps on the First Amendment. Charges of racism have become the new McCarthyism. I’ve dealt with it before on Belmont Avenue Social Club and Coyote on a Fence. White guys aren’t supposed to write about racism for some reason.
RD: Were you intending to send a message with AGM, prompt debate/discussion, or both?
BG: Nahh. I’m just trying to make people laugh. I wrote it in two weeks. Literally.
RD: You’ve acted before. Have you ever acted in a play you also wrote?
BG: Yes. About 20 years ago I stepped into my show, Top of the World, because the actor’s TV series got picked up. We kind of knew this might happen when we hired him so me taking over the role was the plan - just in case. I’ve also been a last minute “understudy.” Once up at Long Wharf in Minor Demons and at the Philadelphia Theatre Company in According to Goldman. Both times I had to carry a script and you could hear the audience murmuring, “Doesn’t he know the lines? He wrote it.” Sorry, doesn’t work that way. I’ve also done the first “readings” of a lot of my plays. It helps. I can multi-task.
RD: How do you feel about taking over the role of Lenny? What will you bring to the role that differs from Joe Canuso’s performance for Theatre Exile?
BG: I’m taller. Actually, Joe is a much better fit for the role. Lenny’s a nice guy and so is Joe. I’ve never been accused of that.
RD: Is there any Lenny in you?
BG: Except for the fact we each have a college-aged daughter and married a Jewish woman, nope.
RD: How has the audience downtown been reacting to ANY GIVEN MONDAY?
BG: Most of the time, great. Especially young people. They love the dark humor. Older people have to warm up to it. It’s as if they feel a little guilty laughing. Overheard two college students the other night both saying how much they liked it. How funny it was. Then, one added: “But kinda’ disturbing.”
