The People in the Picture
Encyclopedia
The People in the Picture is a musical with book and lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart
and music by Mike Stoller and Artie Butler. The musical is about a grandmother recalling her life in the Yiddish theater and the Holocaust.
at Studio 54
in a Roundabout Theatre Company
production on April 28, 2011 after previews starting on April 1, 2011. This limited engagement closed as scheduled on June 19, 2011. The musical is directed by Leonard Foglia
, with staging by Andy Blankenbuehler
, musical direction by Paul Gemignani
, sets by Riccardo Hernandez, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward
, orchestrations by Michael Starobin
and Doug Besterman
, lighting by James F. Ingalls and projection by Elaine J. McCarthy. The cast features Donna Murphy
(Bubbie/Raisel), Alexander Gemignani
(Moishe Rosenwald), Christopher Innvar (Chaim Bradovsky), Nicole Parker
(Red), Rachel Resheff (Jenny), Hal Robinson (Doovie Feldman/Rabbi Velvel), Lewis J. Stadlen
(Avram Krinsky), Joyce Van Patten
(Chayesel Fisher) and Chip Zien
(Yossie Pinsker).
, reviewing for The New York Times
, wrote that the musical "has all the elements of an emotional bulldozer on autopilot: a plucky Jewish theater group working defiantly in the shadow of Nazism; mothers and daughters longing to love but locked in conflict; a family secret—buried in the rubble of postwar Poland—that must be revealed if any of our main characters are to find (no, stop me, please don’t let me say that word) closure." The New York Post
reviewer wrote, "...it's not just the music that's subpar: The book is full of holes, and pulls at the heartstrings without earning its pathos."
The reviewer for Bloomberg wrote:
TheaterMania's reviewers said that the show "asks us to take a hard look at the suffering and the loss that resulted from this tragedy—and it moves us deeply in the process … The triumph of The People in the Picture is that the show insists upon—and earns—heroic stature for even small gestures of humanity."
Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press
wrote, "Dart, the playwright, gets full credit for conceiving of a cute way to have one generation talk to its descendants and has movingly captured an unconventional history lesson into a musical." Talkin' Broadway's reviewer called it "an unbelievably powerful look at the history we create and destroy, and the lives that are shattered or strengthened in our wakes … an achingly affecting antidote to the plethora of recent musicals, from this season and others, that throw everything at you except honesty."
2011 Drama Desk Award
s
2011 Outer Critics Circle Award
s
Act 2
Note: Lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart except as noted; ≠ music by Mike Stoller; ≈ music by Artie Butler; § music and lyrics by Mark Warshavsky.
Iris Rainer Dart
Iris Rainer Dart is an American author and playwright for television and the stage. Her most notable novel is Beaches, which was made into a 1988 film of the same name...
and music by Mike Stoller and Artie Butler. The musical is about a grandmother recalling her life in the Yiddish theater and the Holocaust.
Production
The People in the Picture premiered on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
in a Roundabout Theatre Company
Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in New York City.-History:The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist and Elizabeth Owens and now operates five theatres, all in Manhattan: the American Airlines Theatre ; Studio 54 ; the Stephen Sondheim Theatre The...
production on April 28, 2011 after previews starting on April 1, 2011. This limited engagement closed as scheduled on June 19, 2011. The musical is directed by Leonard Foglia
Leonard Foglia
Leonard Foglia is an American theatre director, librettist, and novelist.Foglia made his Broadway debut as the assistant director of The Heidi Chronicles in 1989...
, with staging by Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:...
, musical direction by Paul Gemignani
Paul Gemignani
Paul Gemignani is an award-winning American musical director with a career on Broadway and West End theatre spanning over thirty years.-Life and career:...
, sets by Riccardo Hernandez, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward
Ann Hould-Ward
Ann Hould-Ward is an American costume designer, primarily for the theatre and dance. She has designed the costumes for 19 Broadway productions . She won the 1994 Tony Award for Beauty and the Beast....
, orchestrations by Michael Starobin
Michael Starobin
Michael Starobin is an orchestrator, arranger, and Musical Director, primarily for the stage and television.-Career:The first Broadway musical that Starobin provided the orchestrations for was Sunday in the Park with George in 1984, for which he won the 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding...
and Doug Besterman
Doug Besterman
Douglas "Doug" Besterman is an American orchestrator, musical arranger and music producer. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards out of five total nominations and two Drama Desk Awards out of six total nominations, and was a 2009 Grammy Award nominee.- Career :Besterman found work in New York...
, lighting by James F. Ingalls and projection by Elaine J. McCarthy. The cast features Donna Murphy
Donna Murphy
Donna Murphy is an American stage, film, television actress and singer.Murphy has won two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles in Passion as Fosca and in The King and I as Anna Leonowens...
(Bubbie/Raisel), Alexander Gemignani
Alexander Gemignani
Alexander Cesare Gemignani is a Broadway actor and tenor. Gemignani was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey and is a graduate of the University of Michigan's Musical Theater Department...
(Moishe Rosenwald), Christopher Innvar (Chaim Bradovsky), Nicole Parker
Nicole Parker
Nicole Frances Parker is an Emmy Award-winning actress and singer best known for her work on Fox's sketch comedy show MADtv. In July 2009, she concluded her run as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked...
(Red), Rachel Resheff (Jenny), Hal Robinson (Doovie Feldman/Rabbi Velvel), Lewis J. Stadlen
Lewis J. Stadlen
Lewis J. Stadlen is an American stage and screen character actor.-Career:Born in Brooklyn, New York to voice actor Allen Swift, Stadlen studied acting with Sanford Meisner and Stella Adler...
(Avram Krinsky), Joyce Van Patten
Joyce Van Patten
Joyce Benignia Van Patten is an American stage, film and television actress.-Personal life:Van Patten was born in New York City, the daughter of Josephine Rose , an Italian American magazine advertising executive, and Richard Byron Van Patten, a Dutch American interior decorator.She is the younger...
(Chayesel Fisher) and Chip Zien
Chip Zien
Chip Zien is an American actor. He is best known for playing the lead role of the Baker in the original Broadway production of Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim...
(Yossie Pinsker).
Critical reception
Ben BrantleyBen Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
, reviewing for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, wrote that the musical "has all the elements of an emotional bulldozer on autopilot: a plucky Jewish theater group working defiantly in the shadow of Nazism; mothers and daughters longing to love but locked in conflict; a family secret—buried in the rubble of postwar Poland—that must be revealed if any of our main characters are to find (no, stop me, please don’t let me say that word) closure." The New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
reviewer wrote, "...it's not just the music that's subpar: The book is full of holes, and pulls at the heartstrings without earning its pathos."
The reviewer for Bloomberg wrote:
"In Donna Murphy, the creators have a shimmering star who can play a tender, doting grandma and yet evoke Lombard, that irresistible mix of winks and minx … Leonard Foglia’s hyperactive production is lovely, with set designer Riccardo Hernandez taking the title at face value and offering up lots of gilded frames to frame the action. James F. Ingalls’s lighting evokes an Old World glow in Warsaw, steelier light in Manhattan, and Ann Hould-Ward’s costumes also place us in those cities with subtle specificity. And the cast couldn’t be bettered. The standouts include Alexander Gemignani, Chip Zien and Lewis J. Stadlen as troupers, Parker as the mother and a young charmer, Rachel Resheff, as Jenny."
TheaterMania's reviewers said that the show "asks us to take a hard look at the suffering and the loss that resulted from this tragedy—and it moves us deeply in the process … The triumph of The People in the Picture is that the show insists upon—and earns—heroic stature for even small gestures of humanity."
Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
wrote, "Dart, the playwright, gets full credit for conceiving of a cute way to have one generation talk to its descendants and has movingly captured an unconventional history lesson into a musical." Talkin' Broadway's reviewer called it "an unbelievably powerful look at the history we create and destroy, and the lives that are shattered or strengthened in our wakes … an achingly affecting antidote to the plethora of recent musicals, from this season and others, that throw everything at you except honesty."
Awards and nominations
65th Tony Awards65th Tony Awards
The 65th Annual Tony Awards was held on June 12, 2011 to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2010–2011 season. They were held at the Beacon Theatre, ending a fourteen-year tradition of holding the ceremony at Radio City Music Hall. The Awards ceremony was broadcast live on CBS...
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical, Donna Murphy (nominated)
2011 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
s
- Outstanding Actress in a Musical, Donna Murphy (nominated)
- Outstanding Music, Mike Stoller and Artie Butler (nominated)
- Outstanding Book of a Musical, Iris Rainer Dart (nominated)
2011 Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
s
- Outstanding Actress In A Musical, Donna Murphy (nominated)
Musical numbers
Act 1- Bread and Theatre ≠ – Bubbie/Raisel, The Warsaw Gang and Company
- Matryoshka ≠ – Jenny and Bubbie
- Matryoshka Reprise ≠ - Red
- Shtetl Circuit - Pinsker and Krinsky
- Before We Lose the Light/The Dybbuk ≠ – Bubbie/Raisel, The Warsaw Gang and Company
- Remember Who You Are ≈ – Yossie Pinsker and Avram Krinsky
- Hollywood Girls ≠ – Chaim Bradovsky, Bubbie/Raisel and Company
- Remember Who You Are (Reprise) – Avram Krinsky, Yossie Pinsker, Bubbie/Raisel, Moishe Rosenwald, Chaim Bradovsky and Chayesel Fisher
- And God Laughs ≠ – Moishe Rosenwald, Bubbie/Raisel and Rabbi Velvel
- Oyfen Pripitchik § – Bubbie/Raisel and Dobrisch
- Red's Dilemma ≠ – Red
- For This ≠ – Red, Jenny, and Bubbie
- Oyfen Pripitchik (Reprise) – Jenny, Avram Krinsky, and Company
Act 2
- We Were Here ≈ – Bubbie/Raisel, Moishe Rosenwald, Chayesel Fisher, Avram Krinsky and Company
- Now and Then ≠ – Red
- Ich, Uch, Feh ≈ – Bubbie/Raisel and Company
- Selective Memory ≠ – Bubbie/Raisel
- Saying Goodbye ≈ – Bubbie/Raisel, Dobrisch, Red and Young Red
- Child of My Child ≠ – Bubbie
- Remember Who You Are (Reprise) ≈ – Bubbie
- Bread and Theatre (Reprise) ≠ – Bubbie/Raisel and The Warsaw Gang
- We Were Here (Reprise) ≈ – Bubbie/Raisel and The Warsaw Gang
Note: Lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart except as noted; ≠ music by Mike Stoller; ≈ music by Artie Butler; § music and lyrics by Mark Warshavsky.