Looking for a Production of "Floyd Collins"

[Stagehand 15]

Posted: 11/29/07 at 10:27pm

One of my favorite “unseen” musicals is "Floyd Collins" by Adam Guettel. I happened to pick up the CD a number of years ago without knowing anything about the subject matter, music or its composer. I’ve listened to it nearly a hundred times over the years.

I would love to see a professional production of the show sometime in 2008. Does anyone know of a professional, regional, production that is scheduled?

I was lucky to see an early production of Guettel’s “The Light in the Piazza” here in Seattle and have been able to speak with Mr. Guettel on more than one occasion as he has worked on other projects for the Intiman Theatre.

Thank you.

Jack

[evadiva]

Posted: 11/29/07 at 10:53pm

Floyd Collins is amazing. I'm also a huge fan.

Google the show once in awhile. That's how I find out who's doing it. If I come across a production, I will let you know.

Good taste, my friend!

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 11/29/07 at 11:00pm

I heard that NYU Steinhardt is doing the show in the near future.

Love Floyd Collins <3

[EugLoven]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 1:35am

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 (link below) 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.

I have TONS of photos from the following production, if you were interested:

SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY
THEATRE DEPARTMENT PRESENTS
FLOYD COLLINS
Directed by Barbara Damashek
November 2006
Updated On: 11/30/07 at 01:35 AM

[EugLoven]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 1:37am

You may also want to check out this thread:
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=940545

Has some other cool production stories and photos

There always seems to be a common loyalty to this show and those lucky enough to see, hear, perform or be a fan of it!

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 2:23am

My school did a black box production of it last year and it was one of the most profoundly moving experiences I have ever had in a theater. I don't think I have ever cried so hard during a show and certainly never as much afterward. The show is beautiful in every way and will always be one of my favorite musicals.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 12:58pm

Floyd Collins is freakin' amazing.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 1:08pm

Better than Piazza, imo.

[Stagehand 15]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 8:07pm

Thank you one and all for the information on past and future productions of "Floyd Collins." Again, I hope to travel somewhere in the U.S. next year to see a professional production of the show.

Yes, I'm interested in seeing photos of previous productions and will check out all the links that have been given.

I just noticed that in Playbill's latest "Cue and A" with Norbert Leo Butz that his answer to the question, "Favorite Showtune" was anything from "Floyd Collins."

Again, if anyone learns about an upcoming production please feel free to email me.

Thank you,

Jack.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 8:33pm

I'm pretty sure that my high school is doing "Floyd Collins" this year. And, GOD, do I hope so.

[CyCoSpAz2]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 9:22pm

Pretty sure NYU is doing "Floyd Collins" this year.

[The Boy From Ohio]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 11:47pm

Here are some pics. of the CCM version...I didn't see it, now I wish I had.
http://www.ccm.uc.edu/musical_theatre/studio2.htm

[SahDu]

Posted: 12/1/07 at 6:07am

I definitely went to high school with one of the guys who played a reporter. He's fantastic.
Updated On: 2/15/14 at 06:07 AM

[FredCaver]

Posted: 12/31/07 at 5:07pm

The New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development will present "Floyd Collins" February 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16 and 17, 2008 at the Frederick Loewe Theatre, 35 West 4th Street, New York, NY 10012. Tickets are $20 general admission, $5 with valid NYU I.D. Ticket information is available at 212-998-5281. As an added bonus, noted cave explorer and author Roger Brucker, who wrote the book "Trapped! The Story of Floyd Collins," will participate in a talk-back with the audience following the 3:00 p.m. performance on Sunday, February 10. Brucker has explored Mammoth Cave in Kentucky for more than 50 years, and knew the real William "Skeets" Miller, the newspaper reporter who is portrayed in the musical. Information about Brucker is available at www.rogerbrucker.com.





Updated On: 1/1/08 at 05:07 PM

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 12/31/07 at 5:13pm

Clips from a fantastic student produced production at the Boston Conservatory

[barisaxy103]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 6:18pm

YES! this is true!!! It will be at NYU Steinhardt!!!! come see it!!!!


it will be excellent, i promise you!
Updated On: 1/21/08 at 06:18 PM