Photo adventures of Barnaby & Cornelius

Entry by Mo Brady (Barnaby) March 2, 2009

As an actor, I've had some great first entrances on stage. I've emerged from lockers, slid down banisters, and scaled down brick walls in various shows to make my first appearance on the set. But HELLO, DOLLY! gives me my first chance to enter from "the pit," the space below the stage. , Greg McCormick Allen (who plays Cornelius) and I took some photos to show you how the twists and turns we make into get to our "places."

Greg and I share a dressing room with Matt Owen, our Ambrose Kemper. Our room is on the second floor of the Theatre, above the Brooks Brothers store in the Skinner Building. Our first entrance in the show isn't until the Scene Two, which gives us a bit more time to get dressed, style our hair, or (in my case) take pictures of ourselves in the mirror.

When we hear Jenifer Lewis begin singing "I Put My Hand In," that's our cue to make any last minute costume adjustments, grab a cough drop, and head out of dressing room (Hey! That's me!)


We twist and turn on our way to the stage, walking through the green room, past the wardrobe and sound desks, the water cooler, and the sound booth (where offstage vocalists sing), and to the stairwell.

Passing the entrance to the stage, we head down one more flight, into the catacombs of the Skinner Building. (You can tell its dark because I forgot to turn on the camera flash.)

Here we are in the pit. Its a large, mostly empty room, virtually the same size as the stage. The ceilings are also very high, to house any large scenery that may come up from the floor. However, in HELLO, DOLLY!, the only two things coming out of the floor are Greg and I.

Since the ceilings are so high, we climb two ladders to reach the bottom of the stage. (Be careful, Greg! Use the handrail!)

Our platform is so high up in the air, it feels like a treehouse. We like our little home in the floor, so we're a bit protective of it. That's why we made this sign. NO GIRLS ALLOWED...


... except, of course, our Jessi, our wonderful Production Assistant. She's down in the clubhouse with us, talking to the other stage managers on her stylish headset.

Just before our entrance, we crouch below the trap door, and wait for our cue from Jessi.

And just like clockwork, Barnaby and Cornelius pop out of the stage floor and into Vandergelder's Hay and Feed Store. TA DA!

Isn't the World Full Of Wonderful Things?

written by Neil Badders (Ensemble)
2/28/09

Twenty years ago this spring, I came to Seattle from Houston to begin rehearsals for a production of Mame, starring Juliet Prowse. I was thrilled and a bit nervous, delighted to be part of the first show The 5th Avenue Theatre produced, but apprehensive as to my welcome from the Seattle theater community. Until that time, The 5th Avenue had been a presenting house. With Mame, they began their distinguished track record as a producer.

On that first wonderful day of Mame, I met Seattle actors Cheryl Massey-Peters, Ellen McClain, Judy Ann Moulton and others who immediately made me feel that I was part of their community. Such generosity. Friendships were immediate and lasting. With this production of Hello, Dolly! Cheryl and I are celebrating 20 years of friendship and performing together. I also met a very special lady on the administrative side during that run of Mame who has been a valued part of my life. Marilynn Sheldon is a warm and caring spirit, a grounding presence in the crazy world of theatre. As Managing Director, Marilynn has been a key ingredient in The 5th Avenue Theatre’s success for 30 years.

Nearly ten years ago, I auditioned for and was cast in a production of Anything Goes, starring Dee Hoty. The director was David Armstrong and Anything Goes was his first production as Producing Artistic Director at The 5th Avenue. As “Captain” of the ship, I’m happy to say that David’s directorial debut was a splendid success. During this production, I met Seattle actors Greg Allen (Cornelius), Daniel Cruz and Matt Owen (Ambrose) and worked again with Cheryl. The four of us are working together in Hello, Dolly! with David at the helm.

Three years ago, I played Officer Lonigan in Wonderful Town at The 5th. This time, Associate Producing Artistic Director Bill Berry was directing and the show was a tremendous hit. After Wonderful Town closed, I went back to Texas to visit family. I was to stay for two weeks and stayed nearly three years. During that time, my Dad had his second stroke, a heart attack, bypass surgery and I drove him to 7000 miles of cognitive and physical therapy. I spent most of 2006 as his caregiver and worked part of 2007 and most of 2008 as Admissions Director at two nursing homes in the Houston area to stay close by. My folks are now doing well.

The character of Cornelius’s words following “It Only Takes a Moment” resonate powerfully for me:

"Today I’ve lost so many things. My job, my future, everything that people think is important, but I don’t care. Even if I have to dig ditches for the rest of my life, I’ll be a ditch digger who once had a wonderful day."

During my time as a caregiver, I despaired of ever singing on stage again. I was helping my family, doing the right thing. I was successfully working in a corporate marketing job, but missing part of who I am. In October, a phone call came from Seattle, Bill Berry was on the line asking me if I was available for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Hello, Dolly! My prayers were answered. I took steps to be available. How could I miss out on the opportunity to work once again with my Emerald City theater family at the The 5th Avenue Theatre, to rediscover my joy? I couldn’t and here I am.

So, as we bring Hello, Dolly! starring Jenifer Lewis, to vibrant life, I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve been provided by David, Bill and Marilynn and feel absolute joy as I work with the terrific cast, crew, orchestra, designers and staff of The 5th Avenue Theatre. There will be no better gift than to be performing two shows on my birthday, March 22, working with folks I love, during my 30th year as member of Actors Equity. Isn’t the world full of wonderful things?

photo above: Hello, Dolly! cast members Neil Badders & Pat Cashman

Read through of Hello, Dolly!

Read through of Hello, Dolly! with the entire cast!

photo credit Neil Badders (Ensemble)

Table Work & Learning Music

Blog entry by Mo Brady (Barnaby) 2/19/09

Hello from Hello, Dolly!

The 5th Avenue is back in the rehearsal studio, preparing for their next big production from the golden age of Broadway: Hello, Dolly! --and I am lucky enough to once again be along for the ride.

Although rehearsals for the principles began almost two weeks ago, today was our first day of rehearsal with the full cast. Until this point, the company had been layering in small groups of actors little by little.

For the first few days, just the principle cast was called for rehearsals. The schedule for these rehearsals consisted primarily of "table work" - where actors literally sit around tables with our director, David Armstrong, just to speak through the lines and to discuss the plot, situation, our characters and their motivations. This is a good time to discuss the historical context of the story, as well when major information in the plot is revealed. Basically, its a great opportunity to get everybody on the same page. Literally.

For me, table work is influenced primarily by the script - looking at the lines and thinking of how I can say them in the most realistic way. I always figure that if the director has done a good job, he has cast me because he sees a lot of myself in the role. So I try to encounter at the situations in the plot as I would encounter them myself. Of course, there are some technical things that go through my head, such as being aware of where the jokes are. Also, since I recently played another shy and goofy teenager in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, I am hyper aware of how the two characters can be different. But essentially, table work is about finding the truth in the text.

Then we began to learn music, learning harmonies and cut-offs, marking in our music the lyrics that Joel Fram, our wonderfully meticulous music director, wants us to emphasize. I'm a sucker for music direction, and I enjoy his passionate take on breath marks and ending consonants. He's the kind of music director that turns the work of being particular with your notes and your lyrics into a game. Its hard not to get excited when you see the way Joel conducts.

And as the throngs of dancing waiters began staging their leaps and turns, the principles began putting the scenes on their feet (or in my case, on my knees, a lot of the time. Again, it seems that shy and goofy teenagers crawl around on the floor a lot). Most of this work takes place simultaneously, in separate rehearsal studios. Today, I was joking around with Troy Wageman, a friend and fellow cast member, that even though we had both been called for four rehearsal days, we hadn't yet been in the same rehearsal room at the same time.

Finally, today was the first day that the female ensemble joined us. Seeing the legions of waiters and cooks and society ladies - almost forty cast members in total - was almost overwhelming, and definitely exciting. This day's rehearsal culminated in another read through of the script. This read through is quite the event: all of the actors sitting around with scripts on music stands, reading the lines and singing the songs together for the first time. I should say, everyone was sitting, except our fantastic Dolly Levi, played by Jenifer Lewis. She was strutting and marching all over the room, to the delight of the cast and our small audience alike.

Now that everybody is called for rehearsals, we can begin to stage the large production numbers, such as "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" and "Before The Parade Passes By." We only have seven more days in the rehearsal studios before we get to the stage. It'll be a busy week, full of blocking and staging - quite the task with over 40 bodies to choreograph. But having the full cast at rehearsal is motivation for all of us, and should propel us to complete the task by the end of next week.



Tracee Beazer (Minnie Fay), Suzanne Bouchard (Irene Malloy), Mo Brady (Barnaby) and Greg McCormick Allen (Cornelius) enjoy the read through.
photo credit Neil Badders (Ensemble)

Mo Brady ...back to the backstage blog!

Mo was an avid backstage-blogger for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and spent the time during Memphis: The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll as Assistant to the Director!

We're excited to have Mo back on stage for this upcoming production, starring stage & screen's Jenifer Lewis and Seattle's own Pat Cashman.

When asked about his favorite places to eat around the theatre, he replied:

"I love happy hour! Dragonfish and Palomino's especially. Give me $2 Miso Soup or $5 Pizza and I'm set. I'm Jimmy John's all the time now. Their Beach Club is great (no mayo, please). Plus, I'm a sucker for a black white and cookie from Speciality's."


Mo joined by some fellow cast members.
Left to Right, Maya RS Perkins (Ensemble), Mo Brady (Barnaby), Steven Reed (Associate Choreographer) and Tracee Beazer (Minnie Fay)

Backstage photo

Backstage with Cashae Mona, Meaghan Foy, Lauren Lim Jackson:

Photo by Allen Fitzpatrick