Shari Wattling as Maria Rasputin. Photo Credit: Kristian Jones
“There’ll be puppets and pathos,
Terror and tap dance,
Drama and drag queens,
And ruinous romance,
When Maria Rasputin Presents…!”
[From "When Maria Rasputin Presents", by Joe Slabe]
It’s the end of January, which means it’s time for the world premiere of another original Canadian musical by Joe Slabe, Forte Musical Theatre Guild’s artistic director, composer, lyricist, playwright, musical director, and keyboard player. This year, it’s Maria Rasputin Presents, a show Forte describes as follows:
Russian History Meets Circus Spectacle!
Welcome to a circus like no other! Ring Mistress Maria Rasputin invites you to step under the big top where a carnival of characters will delight, excite, and enlight! Here you’ll find the crème de la crème of Russia’s royals—some skeptics, some schemers, some all-out believers—and, of course, the main attraction, Grigori Efimovich RASPUTIN!
Joe Slabe
As I mentioned when the show was announced, Maria Rasputin Presents is Joe Slabe’s take on the story of the Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin, from the perspective of his daughter Maria (Matryona) Rasputin. Joe says that when Boney M’s 1970′s dance hit Rasputin (as in Rah, Rah, Rasputin) came back in vogue in the 90′s, a colleague suggested that he do a musical about him, since obviously the character and story are still intriguing today, even though he was in fact just a “footnote in history, ” as Joe describes him.
“I had never heard of Rasputin’s daughter Maria before,” says Joe, “but in the course of my research, I found the books she wrote in response to those of Felix Yusupov, whose accounts are the ones on which the Rasputin myth are based - a pretty sketchy source, considering he was the one who assassinated him”. Joe says that although Rasputin and Yusupov are interesting enough (the latter apparently having a predilection for roaming the streets in women’s clothing, among other things), he decided to build the musical around Maria, since she was a fascinating and theatrical character in her own right, having escaped from Russia after the revolution to become a cabaret dancer and an animal trainer in the Ringling Brothers Circus. “She’s also someone whose credibility is arguably as dubious as that of Yusupov himself, which makes her even more interesting for me, ” he adds.
Joe says this is one of the biggest, most complex musicals he and Forte have done to date. “There’s a fair bit of action” he says, “with clowning, whips, circus tumbling, some key puppet scenes, and a few more circus tricks we’re still working on.” Joe’s original music covers a lot of ground as well, ranging in style from the turn of the 20th century to 1977 when Maria died, each musical number having a theme, like in a circus act.
Mark Bellamy
Maria Rasputin Presents involves what Joe describes as “an amazing team,” and certainly one that is well known to Calgary theatre-goers. It is directed by Mark Bellamy (former long-time artistic director of Vertigo Theatre – the last show he directed there was Sweeney Todd), and stars Shari Wattling as Maria, Scott Shpeley (recently seen in another Slabe-Bellamy collaboration, Alberta Theatre Project’s You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown) as Prince Dmitri, and several Sweeney Todd alumni: Daniel Mallett (Yusupov), Kevin Aichele (Rasputin), and Allison Lynch (Princess Irina). Toronto’s Clunk Puppet Lab designed and constructed the puppets used in the show.
So was Rasputin really the demonic, sexually licentious ” lover of the Russian Queen” – the puppet-master of the Czars who ultimately brought about their downfall? Joe says he’s come to his own conclusions about what really happened in the house of Romanov, but you’ll have to come to the show to find out what they are, or decide for yourself.
Click here to hear a recent interview between Kathleen Renne and Joe Slabe and Shari Wattling on CKUA.
Maria Rasputin Presents runs at the Joyce Doolittle Theatre (Pumphouse Theatre), Jan. 29–Feb. 9, 2013. Show times are Tuesdays–Saturdays at 8pm, with additional weekend matinees Feb. 2, 3, and 9 at 2:00 pm. No Monday shows. Jan. 29 & 30 are previews, and Thurs., Jan. 31 is Opening Night. Tickets are $25–$40 and each Tues night is a “Pay What You Can” performance. For ticket purchase and information call 403.263.0079 or visit www.fortemusical.ca.
The Calgary Musicals+ Meetup Group is going on “Pay-What-You-Can-Tuesday” January 29, if you’d care to join us.
