Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, presented by Musical Theatre West, plays Thur.-Fri., 8 pm; Sat., 2 & 8 pm; Sun., 2 & 7 pm; through Feb. 14. Tickets: $30-$80. Carpenter Performing Arts Center, California State University, Long Beach. 562.856.1999, ext. 4 or musical.org.

F*cking Men, presented by Celebration Theatre in association with Calvin Remsberg, continues Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 3 pm; through Feb. 21. Tickets: $30. Celebration Theatre, 7051B Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; 323.957.1884 or celebrationtheatre.com.

In the mid-20th century, Southern California was rife with joyful noise and jubilant dancing from its network of Civic Light Operas from the Inland Empire’s San Bernardino to the Beaches of the South Bay. Enormous sets and trunks of costumes passed back and forth between these fraternally tied entities as the biggest shows of Broadway were recreated by local impresarios. Some even originated major musicals that would end up on Broadway, including Los Angeles CLO originals Song of Norway (1944), Kismet (1953) and Peter Pan (1954).

As theatre in the last third of the century moved away from the CLO model into the growing regional theatre movements, the legendary organizations began to lose economic strength and many closed their doors. But a few extremely strong companies and producers have kept the concept afloat by keeping up with the times. Among these is Musical Theatre West whose modest beginning in 1952 was as the Whittier Civic Light Opera. The company grew, gained and maintained leadership in the Civic Light Opera World, taking residence in the 1970s at La Mirada Theatre and now in the magnificent Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach.

Since 1963 performer/producer Paul Garman has been involved in nearly every production of Musical Theatre West and as President of the Board and now Executive Director has helped the company’s continued growth in audiences and critical acclaim. His continual outreach to talent captured Steven Glaudini, who spent five years helming Performance Riverside where he developed artistic relationships which would later come to fruition in his new position as MTW’s new Artistic Director.

One of Glaudini’s most successful endeavors at Riverside was a restaging of Stephen

Calvin Remsberg

Sondheim’s blockbuster Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, in a production that calibrated its original Grand Guignol massiveness, rather than the smaller versions that became fashionable after the studio version on Broadway. Now at MTW, Glaudini aims to repeat the success with a remounting of Sweeney Todd in a new production, boasting Riverside’s stars Norman Large as Sweeney and Debbie Prutsman as Mrs. Lovett. Though it is not a recreation of that production, it happily has Calvin Remsberg, the same director who has been involved with Sweeney Todd from its first national tour. It is Remsberg’s fourth time to direct the musical.

Remsberg’s youth was spent planning for an opera career but the world of musical theatre accosted him and never let go. He had the good fortune of starting his opera career with Washington Opera and WolfTrap before a school chum dragged him onto Broadway. Remsberg recalls, “I had the good fortune to go to school with Glenn Close and she really leaned all over me to come to New York where she arranged for my audition for the role of the Beadle. She was dating Len Cariou [the original Sweeney]. It was one of those magical things when you walk in and can almost tell within five minutes that you are going to get it.”

Although the originator of the Beadle was Jack Eric Williams, a friend of Remsberg, that actor was not up to a lengthy national tour, so the role went to Remsberg. “Jack weighted about 785 pounds and didn’t feel he could travel. So that is how I sort of slipped in there. It was pretty much the Broadway cast with the exception of three of us.”

As exciting and life changing as it was, it was also quite frightening for a young performer to be thrust among theatre royalty. “It was intimidating at first of course. I remember the first reading was on stage at the Palace Theatre. I sat down in front row next to Angela Lansbury because she was lovely and said, ‘Come sit by me darling.’ I looked out at the table in front of me and there was Hal Prince and Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler and Paul Gemignani. I felt I was looking at the Mount Rushmore of musical theatre. Though it was very intimidating, it was also a show that had so deeply affected me when I saw it on Broadway I was amazed to be in the company. It was an astounding time in my life. It is still a big show among actors. They love Sweeney because it is such rich material.”

Remsberg as the Beadle

Since his time as the Beadle in national tours and on the DVD production of Sweeney Todd, Remsberg has become one of the premiere interpreters of the play for theatre companies, including a production for Reprise starring Kelsey Grammar. “It is one of those fabulous pieces when you get an opportunity to do it on a large scale like this one at Musical Theatre West you just have to take it. It is not often done that way now. Since I learned it from its creators I feel I know it from the inside out. I would have to say I am a little bit of a purist in that way. I like to believe I know what it is. I am doing the show I know.”

Though Remsberg is primarily known as a director of large scale shows, he is also interested in developing work for smaller venues. He tells us, “I am simply attracted to good writing. I love to go from large stuff to the small. I don’t get to do enough small stuff; I get asked to do large stuff all the time. I can and I have a good eye for it and am very good at moving large masses of people around.  When I get a chance to work on a very good script I always jump at it.”

And jump he did when he first learned about a play called F*cking Men by Joe DiPietro. Remsberg recalls, “I read about it in a little article in Playbill and immediately called Joe and asked him about it. He said it had only been done in London and I kind of did it as an acting exercise. I asked for the rights then took a month to put it together. I contacted Celebration. They were on board and we jumped on it.

“Not only did I direct it but I co-produced it and put up some money.” There is movement to move the production to New York but Remsberg is a bit nervous to say too much. “We are talking.  It has reopened at the Celebration and will continue until Feb. 21. I am talking to producers and we have a press agent. I have a number of New York friends and contacts and I am trying to convince them they need to look at this. It is a gold mine. It is a cheap show to produce with a small cast and it does quite well at the box office.”

While Remsberg is awaiting the fate of F*cking Men he is moving forward. After Sweeney, there are a number of smaller projects, most notable a revue of Stephen Sondheim music with famous New York cabaret artist, composer and musical director Christopher Marlowe.

Remsberg says plainly, “Chris is the pre-eminent cabaret accompanist from New York. We are crafting a new Sondheim revue we hope to premiere in Palm Springs then we’ll see where it goes from there. We’re going to take on his songs about love.”

One great additional perk of planning a show in Palm Springs is that Remsberg is flirting with the idea of retirement. Though show biz folk don’t ever really retire, the idea is attractive to him. He swears he is almost ready. “I think about it all the time! I could do it!” But meanwhile he continues his constant pattern of work on stage and television. His ambition is to continue reveling in smaller theatrics. “There are some wonderful pieces I would love to get my hands on and do Los Angeles premieres of. I love Grey Gardens and A Catered Affair. There are a few things I call ‘niche projects’ that didn’t find a large audience in New York but are brilliant artistically. I would love to get my hands on them and try to do them. I know I’d have to produce them. I have discovered if you want to make things happen you have to start them yourself.”

Feature image of Prutsman and Large by Alysa Brennan

Article by Tom Provenzano