As the lights come up on the stage, the audience turns to the center, where a casino dancer, played by Robyn Conner, emerges from stage right in a feathered black and red corset. In a cabaret-esque scene, the music to “Speaking French” begins playing as she whisks the lead actors into a romantic and satirical musical number during the fast-paced musical comedy “Lucky Stiff.”
By Beyond August Productions, “Lucky Stiff” follows the life of Harry Witherspoon (Jason Lucio), an English shoe salesman. Following his interactions with Annabel Glick (Shannon Embry) and Rita la Porta (Jill Klopp Turner), the musical follows Witherspoon’s journey, taking his deceased uncle to Monte Carlo. The musical played at The Rosette Theater on 40th Street from June 16-29.
“I love musicals,” said Embry, actress and co-founder of Beyond August Productions. “(Director and actress Conner) and I both really liked it, and it’s been amazing (with) the audition process, because there’s a crossover in the musical theater talent pool in Austin, but there’s also a lot of new people we’ve been able to meet in the process too.”
Rehearsals began in May, starting with music. Actors would come together to practice songs before learning their lines and choreography. Once they learned their lines, the actors met and began their dress rehearsals the week before opening night.
“There are so many different facets to a musical than there are in traditional straight play,” Lucio said. “You’re oftentimes working with choreography, you’re working with music (and acting), but putting all of these elements together is a lot of fun. When they all work together in a great way, it’s a great payoff, not only for the actor, but also for the audience and anyone watching it.”
Set up as a black box stage, The Rosette allows for an intimate setting. Four of the actors held multiple parts and often broke the fourth wall throughout the musical to keep the audience engaged. For example, Spencer Lail, who played the bellhop, also played the role of a fish that flopped and made comments about being hooked to the audience.
“‘Lucky Stiff’ is a special musical because it can be in this intimate space,” Embry said. “It doesn’t need to have huge numbers and intricate scene changes. It’s silly and fast-paced. Even if we had a really big space, we couldn’t be pulling off scene changes of that magnitude in a way that wouldn’t be disruptive to the audience.”
The play featured actors of all ages. “Lucky Stiff” based its cast around middle-aged actors, as most of the characters are near that age range. With UT graduates Lucio and Embry, retired teacher Conner and several college students, the cast used their diverse backgrounds to make the play as comedic and light-hearted as possible.
“The actors came in and they had (a) great grasp of their character,” Conner said. “The most important thing a director can do is put the actors in the best possible place for them to do what they do best.”
