When Manuel “Manny” Morales was 12 years old, a production of “Applause” at Easthampton High School left a lasting impression. Two decades later, he is directing his own version of the musical on an Easthampton stage. As a potential budget override threatens to eliminate theater programs from the city’s public schools, Morales views his show as a timely testament to the necessity of school arts education.
“I really want people to know that this entire project stemmed from a 12-year-old kid visiting a public school system, and then transforming that into this larger-than-life version of the show, and that’s just the power of public school theater,” Morales said. “That’s the power of theater itself. That’s the power of just letting a 12-year-old kid in the audience have their voice being shown on this grander stage.”
Easthampton Theater Company will present “Applause” at the Williston Northampton School theater in Easthampton. Matinee performances are scheduled for Sunday, June 7 and Sunday, June 14 at 2 p.m. Evening performances will run from Thursday, June 11 through Saturday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m.
“There’s a lot of great show-stopping numbers that might not be familiar to all, but once they start, you’re just moving. You can’t help yourself, and that’s wonderful,” said producer Eva Husson-Stockhamer. “This is one of the lesser-known musicals out there, but it is written by Charles Strouse, who did ‘Annie,’ so the music is very well put-together.”
The musical is based on the movie “All About Eve,” which in turn was based on the short story “The Wisdom of Eve” by Mary Orr. The story is about Margo Channing, a famous aging actress who mentors the scheming young actress Eve Harrington.
“She’s a tough cookie,” said Marge Patefield, who plays Margo. Patefield is trying to bring a likable quality to a character who can easily come across as harsh or abrasive. “She’s been on stage for years and years,” Patefield said. “She’s used to getting her own way, and she’s a diva, so you have to try to break it down so that the audience can see her vulnerability. … She’s a nice person, but you don’t always see that.”
While Morales loved the musical — noting it was the first show he had seen that wasn’t what he described as “your typical Disney stuff” — the standout of that production was one of its performers. Kristin Forget, who played Bonnie, missed significant time as a high school student while battling osteosarcoma. A few years later, while in remission, she returned to play Bonnie. Her triumphant return included performing one of the show’s title track, “Applause”: “Beautiful, soaring, magnificent, roaring / It’s better than pot, it’s better than booze / A shot of applause will stamp out the blues!”
The song, Morales said, is “just a love letter to, ‘Why do we do this? What is it for? It’s for the applause. It’s for that connection between actor and audience.’”
Forget passed away in 2006, but a piece of her performance remains on stage. In memory of the red top she wore during that formative production, Morales has woven the color into his own show as a recurring motif.
Morales has also carried that song through his own life since then. “I sang the song in my high school talent show. I put a song [from the show] in my college presentation. I hum it on my way to work,” he said. “It’s been stuck in my brain forever as this [example of], ‘This is what art is.’”
“This is so unique and universal among theater kids — having these formative experiences as young kids and then revisiting some of these shows that you saw as a kid and the effect that they had on you as a young developing brain,” said Michael Budnick, president of Easthampton Theater Company. “I was the same when I first started directing. I had to go back to these themes that really touched me when I was a kid.”
Ultimately, Morales feels the timing of this production with the override is as if “all the moons and planets just really aligned. I feel like we needed this particular show for this particular reason in this exact way.” To him, the staging serves as a testament to the importance of making public school theater possible. To honor that message, Morales will feature the story of the original high school production in his show’s program alongside a three-piece art installation for audiences to explore.
“When people walk in, they’re going to see what inspired the show … really letting them know this is from public school, from Easthampton, from one of your own, bringing it back to you in this grander, larger-than-life way,” Morales said.
Tickets to “Applause,” not including fees, are $25 for adults and $23 for students, seniors, military members and EBT/WIC cardholders at easthamptontheater.com.
