‘Reprise!’ Trims Sets, Not Stars

Big-name talent will be featured in “Reprise! Broadway’s Best in Concert,” a new subscription series of three concert versions of musicals at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse.

The series is scheduled to open with Jason Alexander in “Promises, Promises” May 14 to 18, followed by Keith Carradine, Joel Grey and Andrea Marcovicci in “Finian’s Rainbow” Sept. 24 to 28 and Tyne Daly in “Wonderful Town” Nov. 19 to 23.

The productions will be “semi-staged,” said Marcia Seligson, producing artistic director of the not-for-profit venture, “not a nightclub act or a revue.” At least some of the actors will carry scripts, but they’ll also move around the stage, in contrast to readings, during which they remain anchored. They’ll wear costumes, but there will be no costume changes. Dance numbers will be choreographed, and there will be some scenery, but these production elements will be “simple and pared down,” Seligson said.

Individual tickets will cost $35 to $40, with season subscriptions available for $95 to $110.

“Reprise!” is inspired by the Encores series in New York, which staged the current revival of “Chicago” in a concert format before it became one of Broadway’s biggest hits in a somewhat expanded format.

Seligson said the concert genre is “the next wave of musical theater,” providing an opportunity to do Broadway musicals without Broadway costs. The limited runs are attractive to stars who are otherwise committed to TV or film projects, she said.

Alexander confirmed that “the very short commitment gets you back on stage” but “saves you the huge expense of going back to New York.” In addition to playing George on the TV series “Seinfeld,” Alexander is a Tony-winning musical theater star.

The band will be on stage, behind the cast, but the Freud stage is large enough (60 feet by 100 feet) that there will be room for stage movement and the simple sets, Seligson said.

Musical director Peter Matz, whose credits include “The Carol Burnett Show” and “Bye Bye Birdie” on TV and “Grand Hotel” on Broadway, said he plans to use eight instrumentalists for “Promises, Promises,” playing “the main parts of the original orchestration with some electronic augmentation on keyboards.” In the fall, he hopes to use 14 or 15 musicians and an all-acoustic sound for “Finian’s Rainbow” and a 12-piece jazz band for “Wonderful Town.”

Matz said the intent is for most of the actors to be “off book”--to not carry scripts--but some may need scripts as “a security blanket.” Only one week of rehearsals will precede the performances.

Seligson said she picked shows that are relatively well-known but seldom revived--in contrast to the Encores series, which sometimes does extremely obscure, never-revived shows. “I don’t think ‘Sweet Adeline’ would sell in L.A.,” she said. “I wouldn’t do something very arcane here, especially not in the first year.”

The first-season budget will be around $500,000, she said. She hopes to raise at least half of that from ticket sales, with the rest coming from private foundations and personal donations. Last week an estimated 100,000 brochures promoting the series were mailed to people on arts and magazine lists. The Freud seats 586 in a wide configuration, but some of the side seats won’t be used.

As with the Encores series, the actors will work under contracts with the American Guild of Musical Artists rather than with Actors’ Equity, which handles most full stagings of musicals. Union contracts haven’t yet been signed.

Seligson considers the Freud “the best mid-sized theater in the city.” Near the northeast corner of UCLA, it is relatively easy to find, she said, in contrast with some other sites on the campus. “I’ve spent much of my life getting lost at UCLA,” she joked.

A journalist and events producer, Seligson hasn’t produced theater, but she said she has loved musicals since she saw Ethel Merman in “Annie Get Your Gun” at the age of 5. She wants to revive seldom-seen shows because “those of us with musical theater in our bones are worried that it might be cremated with the rest of us.”

Alexander acknowledged that “these shows weren’t written to be concerts. They were written to be visualized.” But, he said, “it’s a coin toss as to whether some of these shows are worthy of revival,” and “Reprise!” can help determine if the “entire score is worthy or whether the book stands the test of time. It’s a great way to test the water, and in the meantime you can listen to a great score and enjoy what you can from the book.”