Floyd Collins

[Weez]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 7:49pm

Just got the cast recording of this, and I absolutely love it. I don't know why Adam Guettel thought to make a musical about a man stuck in a cave, but I'm very glad he did.

However, I do have to wonder... how exactly was this one staged? Any and all insights gladly welcomed!

[JumpJumpJumpSoHigh]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 7:55pm

I don't know how it was originally staged, but I saw it at Playwrights, back when they first opened their 42nd St. theatre and were reviving their most popular works for a weekend apiece -- and they used minimalist staging to GREAT effect then. The show opened with Floyd pretty much miming his explorations through the cave, with the aid of (I think?) a rope and a couple of chairs. And when he was trapped, he was seated on one of the chairs. That was pretty much it, sets-wise, and it was probably one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen on a stage. I really wish they'd do an open-ended off-Broadway revival of this. It's such a beautiful show.

~JJJ

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 8:25pm

IIRC, the original was staged in much the same way. It's a tough show to stage, when you think about it: your title character has nothing to do except sit/lie there for almost the entire evening, and the chorus (which is supposed to be way overhead) is standing *around* him.

It's one of those shows I live in fear that someone will ask me to design. I have no idea how I'd approach it.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 10:50pm

I haven't seen it, but from what I've read in reviews, in the original staging, he was lying down throughout the entire show.

I don't like the entire score, but "How Glory Goes" is probably the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. The ending is just amazing. I'd see the show just for that moment.

[ElFantasma14]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 11:07pm

I agree about "How Glory Goes." Man, Guettel knows how to write final numbers, doesn't he?

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 11:17pm

The Shaw Festival staged the show in 2004 and in their smallest and most "awkward" theatre. The Court House Theatre is basically a giant room on the 3rd floor and the Shaw builds a quite amazing theatre in the space. But anyway, it astounds me that Eda Holmes managed to direct and choreograph the show so successfully in the space. The whole opening with Floyd exploring the cave was lots of lighting tricks with Floyd being illuminated in utter blackness. The most amazing thing was when Floyd explored the cave (going right into the the audience) and started that amazing yoddle call, the actors stood in valms of the theatre and yoddled back, creating the echo effect and the audience had the most amazing experience of having voices ringing through that little theatre. Much of the set looked like it was made of limestone, but if you looked closely it was stacks of newspapers. I especially remember Holmes's genius while staging the carnival scene, where Floyd sits neatral centre stage (in the cave) while the merchants hock their wears and the townspeople and even Floyd's father and stepmother lose themselves and forget about the ailing man.

Here are some scans from the show. It's still probably one of the most amazing shows I've ever seen anywhere.

Cover -
Show Shots from Program -



Updated On: 7/5/07 at 11:17 PM

[kyle.]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 12:18am

I have heard many AMAZING things about the Shaw production.

I only wish I could have seen it. Does anyone have a cd or video? Please PM me!

[Hairspraydoll]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 1:23am

The staging I have seen was very minimal which I think is how it was meant to be. It is a beautiful show. I love the music!

[TheKryptoniteKid]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 3:05am

That's heartening news. Our national musical group -- Kookaburra -- is performing it for six weeks come December.

Is the cast recording readily available?

[EugLoven]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 3:14am

As soon as I saw the title of this post, I had to click.

FLOYD COLLINS was the first musical I performed in my college career (after a 3-year hiatus) at San Francisco State University.

I don't know how often this piece is produced (I'm willing to wager about 5 times a year in America somewhere). It's so obscure and the music is extremely difficult to learn, and the staging is so up-in-the-air.

But I must say (and I say this humbly) that the production I was in November 2006 (directed by Tony Award-nominated director/composer Barbara Damashek) was just astounding. We performed 8 shows to sold-out audiences and were [-this close-] to bringing it to the Scotland Edinburgh Theatre Festival (but the funds didn't come through).

It's quite simply one of the most beautiful musical scores in the obscure off-Broadway world. Anyone who "accidentally" stumbles across a staging of this show or the cast recording is in for such a treat.

The Shaw production photos above look fantastic (with the set built of newspapers). Their staging sounded like it had similar aspects, with actors doing the yodeling around the theatre and the crazy "Carnival" scene with everything happening at once. I saw photos of a Chicago production last year where the "cave" was in wood-work below an on-stage platform.

When my college staged it, we had a small 8x8-foot wood platform center-up-stage, a wooden plank stage-right (with a paint-ladder behind it), two wooden-crates stage-left, a bucket of water and a sand box. That's it. Later in Act 2 we lowered a canopy. We wrapped rope all around the stage to simulate the rope-pull scene. We covered Floyd with a burlap bag during the above-ground scenes and sometimes talked and sat on him. We hung a swinging rope from the ceiling for "The Riddle Song."

We used very "organic" staging, creating almost all the sound-effects by hand. The cave noises, the wind, pouring water, the crickets, whittling wood, dropping rocks, ruffling newspapers. We poured sand from a bottle onto the stage during "Through the Mountain." All of the echoes were human voices (not a sound-effect).

All of the in-cave lighting was done by the cast hiding around the theatre shining flashlights onto the actors. Floyd climbed through the cave in darkness with a rope and a lantern, rolling and sliding around the floor of the theatre. Fortunately our theatre-space was just excellent, with the stage down below the stadium-seating chairs and little alcoves in the walls. We also created roles of "ho-dags" which were Kentuckian cave-spirits, who were "responsible" for the hi-jinks in the cave and kept an eye on Floyd. Very eerie.

Our orchestra was a fiddle, a keyboard, a cello and a guitar.

Our cast was phenomenal and it will forever be one of the most challenging and rewarding pieces I've ever had the utmost pleasure to perform.

Photos courtesy Eugene Lovendusky
SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY
THEATRE DEPARTMENT PRESENTS
FLOYD COLLINS
Directed by Barbara Damashek
November 2006













Updated On: 11/30/07 at 03:14 AM

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 10:51am

I have never cried so hard in a theater. It was an extremely moving evening at the theater.

[mallardo]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 11:51am

I saw a production by one of the small LA companies in which they built a tunnel into the walls of the theater auditorium, so Floyd's opening number had him crawling right around the audience before ending up in the spot on stage where he would be stuck for most of the rest of the show.

[WordedGrace]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 2:20pm

I have to agree "How Glory Goes," is probably one of the most amazing ways to close out a show. I got choked up when I heard Audra's version of it and then I got the cast recording. I'm banned from listening to it while driving though.

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 4:23pm

I've never seen it, but have enjoyed the cast album for YEARS - I'd love to see a production sometime.

Can't wait to hear Princess Bride - it's gotta be coming soon, right...? Right???

[Weez]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 4:44pm

Actually, Guettel and Goldman had a falling out, so it's never coming.

I think I'm sadder for the miscarriage of 'The Princess Bride' than I am for the death of 'Company', and 'Company' is possibly the closest to perfection I have ever experienced at the theatre. At least I saw 'Company' and have the cast recording. I can't even begin to dream how amazing 'Princess Bride' would have been, but dreaming is all any of us have.

Laugh at my floridness if you want, but you know it makes sense. :P

Updated On: 7/5/07 at 04:44 PM

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 5:18pm

This is one of my favorite shows that I have NEVER seen. But the movie version in my head is brilliant...if I had a few million to blow I would produce a film.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 5:24pm

WordedGrace: OMG, once when I was listening to the song while driving, everyone began passing me. It wasn't until I got to the exit that I realized I was driving 10 mph below the speed limit.

[thejcm]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 5:33pm

Actors Theatre of Louisville did the show a few years ago (2001/2002 maybe? I don't feel like digging out my program) but the way it was staged was there was some a bunch of open space downstage, but in the back was a series of tunnels made out a giant-sized erector-set looking thing that Floyd crawled through, where he was stuck was somewhere center stage. All of the outside action took place on the open space downstage, which had a couple levels to it as well. The band was on a pretty high platform on stage right.

It was a very cool set. But seeing as I was in high school, and I have forgotten about lots of things in high school, that's about all I remember. I do remember that Ron Bohmer was Floyd and he was amazing.

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 5:37pm

Weez - was that from Guettel or Goldman? That's upsetting - I hadn't heard about that!

[Weez]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 5:52pm

https://www.playbill.com/news/article/105825.html from February.

Article makes it sound like it's mostly Goldman, but as I understand it, Guettel isn't necessarily the easiest to work with either. Not that it matters how it happened.

[evadiva]

Posted: 7/6/07 at 11:24pm

Oh I love this show too. I bought it off iTunes. Laid down on the couch and was RIVETED the entire time. Never saw it. I would give anything to see a good production of it. I couldn't bear to see a sucky one.

I dream about this show all the time: seeing it, directing it, staging it, singing Nellie....

I love it so much - I just don't have the strength to get into it now. I'll just be writing for hours.

[jv92]

Posted: 7/6/07 at 11:29pm

I've seen this show many times (though unfortunately not in its original incarnation at Playwrights) and I am moved every time. It's a stunning piece. However, Guettel's very best, in my opinion, is Piazza.

Re: Princess Bride
Well, Guettel is not at fault this time. Genius doesn't always come quickly. It takes him a while to write. So what? Goldman should have gotten over that. Updated On: 7/6/07 at 11:29 PM

[evadiva]

Posted: 7/6/07 at 11:32pm

It blows my mind how all of Guettel's stuff is all so different. Piazza, myths, floyd. All completely different beautiful sounds.

I dedicated an entire blog to Floyd Collins. I'll get around to posting it.

[jv92]

Posted: 7/6/07 at 11:38pm

They're so different...yet some different. Very few composers can really do this, what Guettel does. While each of his scores sound different and are unique, there are flourishes and touches that are uniquely Guettel. The only other three music theatre composers I can think of that do what he does are Bernstein, Sondheim and Kander.

[WordedGrace]

Posted: 7/7/07 at 3:52am

Sporkgoddess, the exact thing happened each time I listened to the CD in the car. The kids weren't happy about it all. Nice to know I'm not the only one mesmerized easily while driving. Probably why I don't drive if I don't have to.