Kevin Hull, Jen Kosta, Michael Scott Wells, Daniel LeMien
"This is the true story... of seven strangers... picked to live in hotels and a van...perform together and experience their first national tour... find out what happens... when people stop being polite... and start getting real...The Real World: Strega Nona."
Before diving into our experiences on the road, I figure that it is fitting to introduce the players in this adventure. There are seven actors in the show: myself (Strega Nona), Jen Kosta (Clorinda, u/s Mayor & Strega Nona), Jessica Rosa (Bambolona), Jimmy Featherstone (Papa Bambo), Kevin Hull (Mayor, u/s Big Anthony & Papa Bambo), Meghan Ihle (Theresa, u/s Bambolona) and Michael Scott Wells (Big Anthony). Based on the award-winning children's books by Tomie dePaola, 'Strega Nona' is the musical tale of a delightful Calabrian witch with a funny name, who finds herself in need of help after years of service to the village of Paola. There are bunions, headaches and warts to be cured and love potions to be made, and Strega Nona simply cannot do it all. She hires two helpers, Big Anthony and Bambolona, to help her both at home and with her magic. When Big Anthony fools with Strega Nona's magic pasta pot, pasta threatens to engulf the whole town -- unless Strega Nona can save the day!
The show is done in the very physical style of Italian Commedia dell'Arte and we are very much like old Commedia troupes of yore, travelling from city to city with our trailer, setting up our make-shift set and performing. Going into the project, I was not a complete stranger with the cast, having worked with Kevin Hull at Shady Shakespeare ('Twelfth Night' & 'Comedy of Errors') and Michael Scott Wells at the Willows ('Great American Trailer Park Musical').
In addition to the cast, there is also our awesome Tour Manager, Daniel LeMien, and our Technical Director/Sound Designer, Craig Freeman.
When we embarked on our journey, our producer from Maximum Entertainment, Eva Price, gave us a pep talk and told us that what we were about to experience was very similar to the Real World or Road Rules - seven individuals selected to perform together, live in hotels and travel in a van for six months. The experience is extremely intense because we are constantly forced to be with each other. Occasionally, we have our 'off' days where we are overtired and grumpy...but, for the most part, we have all gotten along well so far.
Well, that's it for now - stay tuned for the next blog which will cover our first adventure in Santa Rosa, CA. In the meantime, if you are jonesing for more reading about the Strega Nona National Tour, two of my castmates are also chronicling their adventures in blogs. Check out:
- My Road to Becoming a Strega by Jessica Rosa and
- Strega Nona: Behind the Pasta Pot by Kevin Hull
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
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