Here’s an understatement: Champaign-Urbana is not lacking in theatre.
There are several theatre outlets in the C-U area, each of them offering a slightly different experience. For some (including those who live on campus), the only game in town is Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and its snazzy blend of technological know-how and rigorous acting training. For others, the boisterous Broadway translations of CUTC or the edgier, headier immediacy of the Station might be just right. Of course there’s also the solid, frequently surprising middle ground of Parkland College Theatre. And that’s not all! We’re still leaving out the Armory Free Theatre, as well as a multitude of student productions happening all the time.
And just up the road a piece, nestled in the small community of Rantoul, is yet another option: Rantoul Theatre Group. For 17 seasons now, the folks of RTG have produced a season of (usually) family-oriented entertainment put forth by an all-volunteer roster of actors, designers, and directors.
This holiday season (opening this week, in fact), RTG will present Babes in Toyland under the direction of Garth Gersten. I spoke with Mr. Gersten over the busy Thanksgiving break, and here’s what he had to say about his show.
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Smile Politely: For the uninitiated, could you give me a quick synopsis of the play?
Garth Gersten: Babes in Toyland is a family holiday classic. The RTG version is based on the original Victor Herbert 1903 operetta and the 1961 Disney film version which featured Annette Funicello. It is a simple story: the villainous Barnaby wants to marry Mistress Mary (Quite Contrary), but Mary loves Barnaby’s nephew Allan. Barnaby schemes with two henchmen, Roderigo & Gonzorgo (played by Laurel & Hardy in a 1930s film version) to do away with Allan and claim Allan’s inheritance. Barnaby also holds the mortgage on the Widow Piper’s house, which is home to many familiar Mother Goose Land characters and promises to forget the mortgage if Mary will marry him. Instead, Mary runs off to Toyland where she meets the Master Toymaker and his elves. She is followed by Allan, Baranaby and the Mother Goose Land characters. The secret of Toyland is revealed and, well, most everyone lives happily every after. We are presenting the show as a musical melodrama with lots and lots of jokes geared for young and old.
SP: There are lots of Christmas-themed shows out there to choose from; what made Babes in Toyland the right show for RTG this year?
Gersten: Although it’s considered a “classic,” many people may not actually have seen a production of Babes in Toyland. This version is accessible and offers lots of stage time for younger actors; so, it is a great choice for a community theatre to give actors opportunities they might not otherwise have. We have a cast of 22 — aged 6 to “decline to state!” Every actor gets a moment to shine. My older daughter was in a production in Raleigh North Carolina which proved very popular, and I felt it would translate well to Central Illinois. This is quite the area production — with actors from Tolono, Savoy, Urbana, Champaign, Rantoul, and Fisher! We also are having two school shows for Rantoul School District, which may be those students’ first foray into live theatre. Babes in Toyland is a perfect gateway show as the songs are catchy and peppy, the humor broad, and the running time of the show very manageable! It’s just a fun show. Hopefully, it will encourage students and parents to be more active with theatre — either as actors, crew, or patrons. I would love to make this show a perennial — a theatre tradition for families the way The Nutcracker is a dance tradition.
SP: What have you found the most difficult about directing community theatre? And then, of course, what has been the most rewarding?
Gersten: Directing community theatre — especially with a cast consisting mainly of younger actors — is challenging. The biggest hurdle is limited rehearsal time and availability of actors at rehearsals. The actors are all volunteers (as am I). The younger actors have school work and the older actors have jobs. I try to be accommodating, but I told the younger actors — and their parents — that the young actors would be out of the show if their academic performance declined during the rehearsal time. It was not unusual to have delays in rehearsal, so an actor could finish a math problem, complete writing a paragraph, or read a school assignment! Younger kids are funny because I like to change things up in rehearsal, trying to find what works best. But, I would get comments like, “But we did it different last time!” They also remember how things were staged better than I remember (without notes)! And parents would be amazed to learn that my biggest criticism of young actors is that they need to be louder. Parents probably didn’t realize their children could be so soft-spoken. Still, it is rewarding to see a cast of strangers come together and bond. The smiles on faces as scenes come together are quite rewarding. Also, I really like it when the actors say they like something I’ve staged — and I choose to believe them! The most rewarding thing, though, is when an audience has a great time with the show. I still have people come up to me and tell me how much they enjoyed the production of Legally Blonde I directed for CUTC in 2012.
SP: How did you get involved with Rantoul Theatre Group? What else might local theatre patrons have seen that you’ve done?
Gersten: I first was connected with Rantoul Theatre Group after we moved to Champaign. My older daughter was cast as Templeton in a production of Charlotte’s Web. Schedules prevented her from appearing in other RTG shows, but we would attend and support the theater and people we knew in their shows. After Legally Blonde, Larry Smith (a longstanding RTG member and organizer) asked me to consider directing a show for RTG. I declined a few times, but I had wanted to do Babes in Toyland for a while, so when the time was right and I felt I could do the show right, I proposed it. The Board was very receptive to my proposal, and here we are. I also directed Humpty Dumpty Is Missing for Bright Lights Theatre — a show with 34 child actors — and co-directed Sweet Charity for CUTC.
SP: Is there anything else about the production you’d like our readers to know?
Gersten: The biggest hurdle this show faces is convincing people in Champaign-Urbana that Rantoul is not far. Because it isn’t! From my house in southwestern Champaign, it takes me 20 minutes to get to the theater. It can take me that long to get to the Station Theatre from my house. If you love theatre and you want to see very talented people having fun, then it is well worth the short trip.
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Babes in Toyland will run December 5-21 at Grissom Hall, located at 914 Arends Boulevard in Rantoul. Evening shows begin at 7:30 p.m., and there will be three matinees at 2:00 p.m. For more information (or to make a reservation), call 217-892-1121 or check out RTG’s facebook page.