Theatreworks

During 30 years and more than 10,000 shows, Theatreworks has had more than its share of accolades and ovations -- and some bloopers that would have made the Bard blush.

The company, based at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, has had an unscripted nude scene, a fire in Rome, a Hamlet who took an unexpected fall during his "To be or not to be" speech, and enough goofy adlibs to fill an entire "World's Funniest Theater Moments" reel.

These are the exceptions, to be sure. Theatreworks, a semi- professional company that employs local and regional actors, including some students, is known for its quality productions. Its free summer Shakespeare festival is among the most acclaimed in the state.

Yet as the company gears up for its production of "Macbeth," slated for Friday through Sept. 4 at the Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater, the players reflect on not just three decades of applause - - but also the snafus.

THE RANSOMING OF KING HENRY V

The curtain was about to rise, and the star of "Henry V" was missing. The 1998 show had to be canceled.

"We didn't know what the devil was going on," says Murray Ross, artistic director of Theatreworks. "Had the king been captured, or was he in fact dead? Every scenario was going through our mind."

Henry (actor Richard Nelson) was located after an extensive search by the Theatreworks crew -- in jail.

"King Henry had quite a wild night that involved some drinking and other debauchery," says Ross. "It landed him some serious charges which were subsequently dropped."

Ross and Drew Martorella posted the king's bail, and he made a triumphant return to stage.

"He did a great job when he returned, but you don't expect the noblest king in all of England to end up in jail," says Ross.

MURRAY ROSS -- WINE CONNOISSEUR

During the production of "The Alchemist" in 1980, Ross instructed his two lead performers, Whit Andrews and Chris Lowell, to get into their con-artist characters by coming up with a scam on the cast.

Lowell worked as a French instructor at the Fountain Valley School and often took groups of students to France. Lowell informed Ross he would need to spend 10 days in France in March and would be forced to miss some rehearsals. Ross granted the request.

Lowell describes Ross as a wine aficionado and connoisseur, and decided to use Ross's passion for his scam.

Lowell returned from France with news for the cast.

"I told them I had been in a situation where I had to make a decision on the spot to bid at an auction on a very rare bottle of 1836 wine -- or thereabouts -- that was really quite an incredible bottle for only a few hundred dollars," says Lowell. "I said it was quite a deal and I bought it for Murray as a gift and hoped they would bail me out and help chip in for this expensive bottle of wine."

Lowell collected a few hundred dollars from the cast and informed them the rare vintage was being stored at the house of a wine fanatic in Denver in a climate-controlled cellar.

A short while later, at the cast party at Ross's residence on Tejon Street, Lowell made a presentational speech about the rare bottle and then stressed the cast's appreciation for Ross' leadership and guidance. Lowell handed the fancily wrapped and bagged bottle to Ross after the speech.

Ross unwrapped his treasure and a flabbergasted grimace crossed his face. Ross, a lover of wine, was face to face with a dastardly bottle of vulgar Night Train Express.

"There was a moment of kind of hushed, disbelieving silence in which Whit and I ran like hell to the door before they skinned us alive," says Lowell.

The cast hastily chased the cons, wondering where their money had been spent.

When they caught them, the con men were unloading hordes of booze and food from their car.

"Everybody in the room was ready to kill us until we pointed out that every dollar we had conned them out of was being spent on the party," says Andrews. "They forgave us and a good time was had by all."

Ross -- and the cast -- had been bamboozled.

NERO FIDDLED

In Plautus' "The Rope," a god whimsically appears at a temple to deliver the prologue. In Theatreworks' 1978 production, someone decided to use a flash pot, a device that relies on explosive powder to produce a quick burst of smoke, for the god's mysterious entrance.

On opening night, the flash pot produced more than just smoke.

"I kind of overloaded the flash pot," says Steve Wallace, who played a slave. "I touched it off and immediately afterwards, somebody says to me, 'The set is on fire.'"

The temple was burning as the play went on. Wallace attempted to smack out the fire with his hand, but had minimal success.

Freddi Karp, stage manager, came up with a quick solution. She speedily filled a two-pound Folgers coffee can with water, raced behind the upstage scrim to the escape steps and handed the can to Wanda McCaddon, who was playing a first-century Roman priestess. McCaddon made her entrance and casually walked to the fire and poured the can's contents onto the blaze.

"I was a little stunned, but it wasn't burning real intense," says Wallace. "I don't think anybody in the audience realized what was going on, that it wasn't supposed to happen."

PERICLES SANS LOINCLOTH

In an apparent effort to add spontaneity to his performance, Ntare Mwine, who played the title role in Theatreworks' 1991 production of "Pericles," decided to leave his loincloth backstage.

In a scene where Prince Pericles is shipwrecked and washed upon shore, destituted Mwine enters stage in just a loincloth. But one evening, he decided on a change of costume.

He entered stark naked, then quickly grabbed a sandal for strategic placement.

"I was sitting there just horrified," says Ross. "I'm thinking this is Shakespeare in the park. This is family entertainment. This guy is capable of anything. What's he going to do next?"

Ross could have never imagined.

Three nights later, Mwine went missing before a performance. Ross was forced to send a stage manager on stage in the lead role, reading from a script. At least he wasn't naked.

THE PINEAPPLE OF WRATH

In one of the most famous scenes in the "Grapes of Wrath" the Joad family approaches the border to the promised land, California, when they are stopped by a sheriff performing customs duties.

The sheriff asks the family if they have anything unusual in their belongings.

They say they do not. After a brief search that reveals nothing, the officer lets the family move on.

One evening during Theatreworks' 1992 run of "Grapes," the sheriff added a twist to the scene -- finding some contraband in the truck.

He turned toward the Joad family and said, "Ah ha, what is this?"

The sheriff was holding a pineapple high to the sky.

The actors, unprepared for the joke, broke into laughter.

"They were so good," says Ross. "The family turned upstage and had a quick laugh before turning back to the audience and covering it up."

Members of the audience who were familiar with the play shared a laugh with the actors.

"There were a few chuckles in the audience," says Ross.

"It may have stunned a few audience members, but there were more than a few smirks.

"It was one of those rare moments of unplanned theater magic."

'THE WEST WING' GOES SOUTH

Paul Redford, writer and producer for the NBC series "The West Wing," played the title role in Theatreworks' 1988 production of "Hamlet."

Ross designed the set for "Hamlet" with a 6-foot-deep trapdoor in the center of the stage so actors could enter and exit the stage quickly between scenes. Ross was proud of his design, but was unaware of its dangers until opening night.

Redford was deeply absorbed in his "To be or not to be" soliloquy, when he took a step backward and disappeared from sight.

The lead actor had fallen six feet into Ross' trapdoor.

"My first thought was, 'Oh, my God, he's killed himself,' because it's a six-foot drop. He stepped back and went right down it," says Ross.

Redford emerged from the hole uninjured and jumped back into the soliloquy without missing a beat.

Redford's recovery was so quick the audience didn't even have time to gasp, and it seemed the fall was a planned part of the performance.

The fall went from frightening accident to hilarious when Redford repeated the fall on two more evenings.

"To happen once it was bad enough and everyone thought, 'Oh, this will never happen again,' and then it just kept happening and each time he miraculously emerged unscathed and without missing a beat went on each time," says Ross. "It was just outstanding.

"Paul was directionally challenged."

NO SMOKING, PLEASE

Mike Morgan was playing one of the sons in Theatreworks' 1991 production of "Death of a Salesman." Morgan lit and began smoking a cigarette, just as the script directed, when an audience member in the third row stood up and decided to offer alternative direction: "Excuse me, sir, would you put that out?"

Morgan ignored the heckler and continued with the scene.

After a few more drags, the audience member was at it again: "Excuse me, you are smoking! Would you put that out?"

Morgan finally put out the cigarette, aggravated and not wanting an extra character from the audience in the scene.

"We were all just stunned," says Ross. "What was he doing?"

"It was right during the midst of the big no-smoking phase," said Bob Pinney, a Theaterworks veteran. "It was rather hilarious."

CURTAIN CALL

Actors and directors in Theatreworks shared those anecdotes, and many others, with laughter and smiles.

The goofs and blunders seem to be the war stories that unite the performers.

To Ross, these goofs and blunders offer reminders of how exciting live theater can be.

"Theater is a mysterious and absurdly risky business -- it's just so complicated and unpredictable," he says.

"Theater is always a miracle and an accident waiting to happen -- and, naturally, there are always more mishaps than miracles. But sometimes the mishaps can be miraculous, and like the real miracles of theater, which really do happen, they too have a share in our marvelous territory."

COMING ATTRACTION

Theatreworks will present Shakespeare's "Macbeth" Friday through Sept. 4, 7:30 p.m. Wednesdaysdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays, at the Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater, 3955 Cragwood Drive, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Admission is free, with reserved seats $22-$25; 262-3232.

Copyright 2005
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