INTERVIEW: Charting the excesses of the Baroque in ‘Barococo,’ now at 59E59
Photo: Barococo stars, from left, Mark Jaster, Sabrina Selma Mandell, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, Alex Vernon and Gwen Grastorf. Photo courtesy of Richard Termine / Provided by Matt Ross PR with permission.
Happenstance Theater has set up shop at 59E59 Theaters in Midtown Manhattan with their unique theatrical experience called Barococo. In the 65-minute piece, audience members are whisked back to the Baroque times of the 18th century to enjoy some parlor games, pantomime and low-brow comedy. Theatergoers should be expect wigs, ornamentation and panniers, according to press notes. Performances run through March 6 at 59E59’s Theater B.
The casts consists of Gwen Grastorf, Caleb Jaster, Mark Jaster, Sabrina Selma Mandell, Sarah Olmsted Thomas and Alex Vernon. Mark and Sabrina serve triple duty, not only as Happenstance’s co-artistic directors and actors on stage, but also directors of this frivolity.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with the two directors. Their Happenstance Theater was founded in 2006, and in the intervening years they have found success producing and touring performer-created theater. Their home base is Washington, D.C. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
How would you describe the show to someone looking to buy a ticket?
Barococo is a portrait of oblivious privilege on the brink of extinction, featuring a group of European aristocrats in apparent confinement with the French Revolution at their door. This timely reflection on history is a physical comedy dive into the late Baroque. One percent pomposity is punctured with a balance of laughs and poignancy.
How did the show get developed? What made you focus on the excesses from this time period?
We wanted to explore the high subtle manners of the period, the stratified structure of social status and ornate baroque gestural style, and we felt that its oblivious privilege had contemporary resonance. We came across a recently discovered and published trove of “Last Letters” written by confined aristocrats condemned to the guillotine during the French Revolution’s reign of terror: letters expressing last wishes and thoughts that were never delivered. Their story offered a situational premise.
Is there contemporary relevance?
There is currently a huge chasm between the wealthiest 1 percent of the population and everyone else. During the pandemic, the billionaire class thrived without having to risk anything, while essential workers had to risk their lives to survive. Audiences have also remarked on identifying the characters with their own pandemic isolation, sometimes in small groups, the fear of what was outside and a haunting and lingering uncertainty.
How did COVID-19 impact the performances and development of the piece?
The production was supposed to load in to 59E59 Theaters on March 15, 2020. We had rehearsed, rented space to stay, the van was loaded, and the company was poised to drive up to NYC from DC. We were monitoring developments, and then on March 13, when Broadway shut down, it all came to an abrupt halt. The content was not changed for this rescheduled run, but it acquired new associations.
What’s it like to have roles both on stage and behind the scenes?
It’s all we know. We have always done everything, so it just feels normal to us. It is a lot of work and requires an immense investment of time and love, but it is our lives. So we do it with full commitment. We feel like a Commedia dell’Arte troupe, digging deep while keeping it simple.
Do you feel that physical comedy is still strong (your show is evidence that it is), or a dying art form?
Physical comedy will always exist. As long as there is movement, there are patterns, and there is rupture. One, two, three.
What’s it like working at 59E59?
It’s fantastic. They fully support us by providing infrastructure and promotion and wonderful personnel and yet allow us our autonomy.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Happenstance Theater’s Barococo plays through March 6 at 59E59’s Theater B in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
