I never saw the original production, but I played the Young Thing in 1996 and saw a local production in Chicago that used an alternative scene for the Writer/Actress scene rather than the silent movie scene heard on the recording. The show is basically played on a blank unit set (a couple of platforms, for example) with some furniture that can be moved on or off or just shifted around from scene to scene. The nature of the show is a series of two-person vignettes connected by one character who crosses from one scene into the next, so utilizing one set and recycling as much furniture and props into each scene (much like how LaChiusa utilizes recurring melodies from scene to scene throughout the score) helps reinforce the theme of the show.
Our set design had a series of three platforms on either side upstage mirroring each other with a lighted scrim panel acting as an entrance to each platform each lit with a different color. There was a huge halo above the center of the stage draped in white transparent material. And downstage was an additional small skirted playing area slightly lower than the stage. The various levels and the use of a different gobo for each scene helped define the individual settings of each scene. It was very clever and quite lovely.
I was thrown into the show just a couple of weeks before opening after returning from Circle in the Square when an actor was fired from the production. I wasn't very familiar with the material and learning the score was a bitch (the actress who played The Wife to this day still teases me about never getting the harmony right to We Kiss). All of us were struggling with the material and without getting into too much detail, the direction ended up being more of a "collaborative effort". Luckily, the cast was well-unified and we made so many discoveries in the book and score during the rehearsal period and did our best to creative a cohesive show. I thought it was a wonderful production. I have a video of the first preview and even with the glitches in the performance (a couple of lighting issues, I had an unassisted costume change in complete darkness and walked on stage with my wig
sideways, a couple of scenes weren't set into their final versions), I still find it a joy to watch.
One of my favorite memories, which was during a preview performance: We had a unit that rolled on containing two small rows of theatre seats for the Student/Wife scene which takes place in a movie theatre. The chorus of men were in the back row seated behind the Student and the Wife. At the "climax" of the song, the chorus sing their "ahhhhs" writhing with orgasmic ecstasy. Well, the seats had not been properly secured and the entire row slowly toppled over backwards in perfect unison with the timing of the climax ending with our feet sticking straight up in the air. It was freakin' HILARIOUS, but dangerous, so it never happened again.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Updated On: 5/7/09 at 11:53 AM
