The musical comedy Dollface will be workshopped at Kaatsbaan International Dance Center in Tivoli this Saturday, December 19 at 8 p.m. Created by husband/wife collaborators B. J. Sebring and composer/ lyricist David Forman, Dollface tells the story of Dolores Zuckerman (played by Linda Shell), a gal who yearns to become television comedienne, but perhaps lacks the comedic smarts. Yet she manages to outsmart the brains behind a botched jewel heist.
We’re reminded that in 1956 Queens, career options for women were limited, and television stardom was an unattainable dream to most working-class girls. Still, some fed their dreams of glamour and fame with daily doses of juicy fantasy, set against the era’s rock ‘n’ roll. Aided by her showgirl friends, the Moist Towelettes, and her upstairs neighbor Mrs. Silberfarb, Dolores manages to win back boyfriend Hank (Collin Carr) after her tryst with smoldering cigarette magician Victor Catalan (David Tass-Rodriguez).
The musical was previously produced at New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College, then moved to the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck and on to the Prince Theatre in Philadelphia. A first staged reading at Kaatsbaan last summer brought in a standing-roomonly crowd.
This second staged reading will give producers the opportunity for further fine-tuning, explains arts administrator Timothy Hess. “Every time they do a reading like this, they find that they can tweak it here, change it there, in hopes of eventually attracting a producer to take on a full production.” It’s a process-oriented way of working a piece that serves both the creators and the performers doing the reading – and the audience members as well, who are entertained by semiprofessionals in a hometown-playhouse sort of atmosphere.
Kaatsbaan – actually named for an old field game that has come to represent “a playing field for the imagination” – is a nonprofit, professional creative residence and performance facility situated on a stunning 153-acre historic site facing the Catskills. Founded in 1990, it provides dance companies, choreographers, composers, set designers and all dance artists with a setting where they can create and showcase new work, rehearse, perform and develop new productions. It serves artists and dance communities across the US and around the world. Visit www.kaatsbaan. org for more information.
Dollface is written and conceived by B. J. Sebring with music and lyrics by David Forman in collaboration with Rob Hyman, Johnny Gale, Rick Chertoff, Eric Bazilian, Lou Bellofatto, Sebring and the divine Bette Midler. The performance this Saturday, December 19 is at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door. Kaatsbaan International Dance Center is located at 120 Broadway in Tivoli. For further information contact Timothy Hess at (845) 757-5106.