There's was plenty of buzz Friday, March 13 on South Andrews Avenue. Artists and patrons of the arts in Fort Lauderdale, invited guests and press, got a glimpse of a new performing arts space. The Vanguard, located at 1501 S. Andrews Ave., is in what was formerly a church when the building was first built in 1939.
Dubbed a "sanctuary for the arts" as a nod to the building’s history and an indicator of the venue’s mission, founder of the new The Vanguard, Nicole Stodard, wants the performing arts space to be a creative refuge for artists and arts lovers. She hopes that the unique setting will be a fresh beacon of hope for the arts, particularly theater (her Thinking Cap Theater, which she founded in 2010, will be the resident theater group at The Vanguard), in Broward County.
"For too long Broward has been viewed as the inferior county in between two artistically richer counties, Miami Dade and Palm Beach,” says Stodard. "I am passionate about helping to change that perception. There is great work being done in our county, and The Vanguard will strive to draw attention to this work by providing it a home."
Thinking Cap Theater's Always . . . Patsy Cline is a wise choice for the new Vanguard space.
The set inside the main hall evokes a vintage recording studio — large records with the DECCA logo hang on the back wall. In the middle of the stage set back a bit is an entrance way that recalls Houston's Esquire Ballroom, and to the right, is a vintage kitchen, complete with pastel colored appliances. Ted Swindley's 1988 musical about the friendship between Patsy Cline and a fan, Louise Seger, is lifted from Ellis Nassour's biography,Honky Tonky Angel.
Swindley created a two-hander around the story of the pen pals, chronicling a friendship that begins at the Esquire Ballroom in 1961.The story is slight, but the music is sturdy, more than two dozen songs that Cline made famous.
Ann Marie Olson, a local actress nominated in this year's Carbonell Awards for her role in Slow Burn Theater company's production of Parade, is Patsy Cline. The yang to her Patsy's yin is Sally Bondi as Houston divorcee, Louise, a Schlitz swigging, cigarette smoking fan who is a dedicated groupie by any standards.
Olson's portrayal of Patsy musically is spot on – carefully matching the country singer's phrasing, tonality and technique. Where Cline made a mark was as a crossover star way before Taylor Swift hit the pop charts. Cline's delivery mixed country and jukebox pop and Olson ensures that the musicality finds this groove. Olson also portrays the emotions embedded in Cline's songs, which mostly deal with difficult relationships and broken hearts.
While the actress has her hands full with the musical demands of performing 27 songs almost back to back in the show, where she misses the bulls eye to create a perfectly rounded performance is in the warmth and connectivity that is alluded to in the script via Louise's monologues. The two became pen pals after Cline's performance in Houston in 1961 and shared stories through hand-written letters of marriage, children, divorce, The real Seger talked openly about how Cline would call her at 1 a.m. frequently to discuss their lives.
Olson's Cline seems to lack a certain intimacy required in order to make the bonding of the BFFs believable between the two. The fault of this, too, lies in Swindley's approach to Cline, which doesn't allow much room for insight into the singer's complicated life. There's almost an illusion that Cline may be appearing as more memory than reality to Louise, and if this is the intention of production, it isn't clearly realized.
Yet, all that matters little when Olson as Cline has heartbreak in her voice in the stand out in the first act, "I Fall To Pieces" and the second act's "Crazy" and "If You've Got Leavin' on Your Mind."
Bondi's divorced, single-mom Louise is a firecracker — who finds solace in Cline's music. She takes the character that Swindley has created as caricature to the hilt and makes the best of it.
Louise becomes Patsy's impromptu manager during her night at the Esquire Ballroom, and Bondi's imitation of the tobacco-spitting nightclub owner is just one of the highlight moments in this portrayal. There's also moments where Seger is conducting the band, a true moment from the Ballroom meeting where Cline asks Seger to make sure the drummer didn't rush. Seger knowing every beat of Cline's songs complied.
Bondi keeps the beat. She's absolutely engaging as the "groupie" who harasses a radio deejay to play her favorite singer's songs, then shows up at his studio with Patsy in tow after she's wrangled the singer to stay the night at her house.
Director Nicole Stodard uses the space to the advantage of the audience, moving the actresses around the room. At one point as Cline sings a torch song, she has Olson move away from center stage into the audience. It's a moment that achieves a wonderful theatrical experience for the audience that creates a connection between her actors and the audience.
The band, dubbed the Bodacious Bobcats: Dave O'Brien's lonesome steel guitar and Katy Sharf's barn-dance fiddle, plus Nick Trotogott's back beat drums, is led by Andy Gilbert, musical director, on keyboards, and they are an exceptional treat.
Eric Nelson's cozy lighting design, Alyiece Moretto's knack at utilizing the space perfectly in the vintage scenic design, Stodard's country-fied costumes, and the hard work of Calypso Hernandez (sound board), Sabrina Lynn Gore (stage management and light board), run crew Leah Barsanti and dresser Nicole Navarro, all comes together to create the necessary atmosphere,
What's as delightful as watching the goings on onstage is taking in what happens in the audience as Patsy's songbook is sung along by fans who grew up with her music.
There's joy in the hall of the Sanctuary for the Arts.
The Vanguard will function as a venue as well as a producing entity in its own right. In addition to Vanguard productions, programming will include work by Thinking Cap Theater, along with work by other local and other practitioners. Stodard plans on hosting other companies to produce dance events; film screenings; stand up comedy; art installations; and live music.
Always...Patsy Cline will run from March 13th through March 29th at The Vanguard. Tickets are $35, and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased on line at www.vanguardarts.org or by phone at 813-220-1546. Performances are on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 pm, and on Sundays at 5 pm. There is an 8 pm performance on Wednesday, March 25. The Vanguard is located at 1501 S. Andrews Avenue in Ft. Lauderdale (33316).
