The Old Globe's 'Ride': Surprisingly big business for a two-actor musical

“get on” Annie Londonderry tells the story of her epic journey as the first woman to cycle around the world. This ambitious musical, which opens Friday at S. the Old Globe in San Diego, features six characters, spans multiple years and crosses multiple countries, and all features just two actors. It is performed in

It may seem like an unexpected choice to stage a bio-musical set in the 19th century that travels around the world with just two performers. But when it comes to “The Ride,” as with a growing number of regional stage productions across the country, necessity is the mother of invention, already strained by the COVID-19 pandemic and facing tight budgets. For most theater companies, the main imperative is to sell more tickets and reduce costs.

Freya Catlin Smith, who co-produced “Ride'' with Jack Williams, told the Times: “We've always been determined that it has to be this way.'' “As a new writer, you want to contribute your work and your ideas, but at the same time you have to be cognizant of what producers want to risk. And the reality is that with fewer participants and lower costs, They will be much more likely to take risks.”

Musicals with small casts like this save money on actors' salaries, costumes, sets, make-up, etc., making it easier to recoup streamlined production costs compared to traditional lavish productions. It could be a business. “Hit musicals come in all sizes,” says theater historian and producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper. “And in general, you may be able to keep capital costs low for smaller musicals, many of which have been doing well for years with community theater and school performance licenses.”

Producers have prioritized these considerations since the pandemic shuttered theaters, as theaters face volatile attendance numbers and rising costs due to inflation. For example, “The Last Five Years” has remained “perennially popular” in the more than 20 years since Music Theater International licensed the Jason Robert Brown musical, but MTI's marketing According to director Jason Kokovinis, requests have increased significantly in 2021. “This show was a great safe option for theaters because it has a small cast and minimal set requirements.”

Ride screenwriter and lyricist Freya Catlin Smith, composer and lyricist Jack Williams, and director Sarah Meadows.

(Jim Cox)

The fact that Ride is a two-actor musical is actually a strategic expansion. Smith and Williams, who met as preteens and began writing musicals together after college, first conceived Ride as a solo show in 2019, as cycling through Londonderry was a largely solitary endeavor. But extensive research provided by her great-grandfather, author and journalist Peter Zeutlin, changed their storytelling needs.

“The more I learned about Annie, the more I realized that she's a very tricky, mischievous, flawed character. She has this interesting backstory and she spends a lot of time hiding by entertaining and distracting. I tried to do that,” Smith says of Londonderry, who is Jewish and Latvian. She is an immigrant living in Boston who got to ride her bike a few days before her departure, and she changed her last name because of her cycling sponsor. “She never spontaneously revealed other sides of herself, so it pushed her buttons and made her feel nervous about who she was and who she said she was. I needed someone to lean on.”

“Ride'' takes place in the boardroom of a major newspaper, where Londonderry, now an international sports star and feminist icon, has been announced as the next must-read columnist. During a presentation to unseen executives, Londonderry goes on a record-breaking journey with the help of Martha Smith, the paper's twisted (and fictitious) secretary, who plays a key figure in Londonderry's anecdotes. I vividly remembered what I had done. Men betting on her efforts, French customs, etc. An agent who befriends her, an interesting man who forces her to confront her past.

“Each character could have been played by a different actor, but by having Martha play all the characters and being able to say things to Annie herself that she can't say to herself, she experiences her own growth.” “I do,” Williams explains. “I think most producers can understand sacrificing the story. [cost-saving] There are reasons why we think this is the best vehicle to tell Annie's story. ”

Livi Marcus and Alex Finke in “Ride” at the Old Globe.

(Jim Cox)

In addition to the creative challenges, such works can be difficult to sell, undermining cost savings for producers. But running away from formality doesn't help, Tepper says. “Some audiences have a preconception about two-person musicals that it's not going to be as dynamic as it is in the evening, so sometimes the marketing tries to hide that a little bit.”

For the musical's U.S. debut, Ride's creative team presents a spectacle of whimsical bicycle sequences, intricate harmonies, rich orchestration, and fantastical changes of location that parallels the production's intimacy. I'm working on that.

“It's a two-actor musical, but it's so big that the money went elsewhere,” says director Sarah Meadows, who also directed the UK production. “But good theater is really based on the strength of the characters and their relationships. In a musical, the ensemble can kick up its legs and do some great dancing. [as they like]That's impressive, but will you leave feeling like you learned something? Will those characters remain in our hearts forever because they touched us so much?

“The most amazing thing about this show is the fact that these two women are portrayed in such detail and depth,” she continues. “And because we don't have to pay attention to big musical choreography or other things to do, we can really focus on these two characters and build a strong emotional connection with the audience.”

This two-actor musical also takes a lot of effort to stage. In the case of “Ride,” each performer leaves the stage for a total of only about one minute during the 90-minute production.

“He's very aware of the whole stage and solves problems in real time when things go wrong,” says Alex Finke, who plays Londonderry opposite Libby Marcus, who plays Martha. “You have to be consistent not only for yourself, but also for your scene partners, because their show depends on you in every way. Staying dependent on just one person is It's both rewarding and fulfilling at the same time.”

Alex Finke and Livi Marcus in “Ride” at the Old Globe.

(Jim Cox)

Smith and Williams are undoubtedly big fans of the artistic potential of this small-scale musical. The duo, which won the 2021 Adam Renson and Katie Lipson Chamber Music Award for works with five or fewer actors, are writing new musicals for two actors instead of just five. A four-actor musical about the self-taught mathematician Sophie Germain and Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women. But in their warm embrace they are never alone.

“Gutenberg!” Musical! “Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad, who broke out in “The Book of Mormon,'' reunited on Broadway last fall. Smart products and photography. However, “The reason the word of mouth was so strong was because “Everyone was in awe of Josh and Andrew playing thousands of characters without ever leaving the stage,” says producer Bea Carrozzini. “It felt like a premium Broadway experience, but at the same time it was completely different from anything else out there.”

The resulting box office record-breaking 20-week run, which ended in January, did more than just recoup the initial investment. According to producer Kristin Caskey, the film also sparked a revival of licensing applications for writers Scott Brown and Anthony King, despite the fact that “Gutenberg!” It was first developed about 20 years ago.

Two-actor musicals are still relatively rare, and only a few of them are. written for both roles that women play. But undisputed Broadway hits have a way of changing perceptions, and new shows like “Ride,” which runs through April 28, could help ensure Broadway's rise post-pandemic. It only helps.

“I think this is a testament to those two people,” says Aubrey Matalon, who plays both “Ride” roles. “And as a member of the audience, it's really exciting because, oh my god, these guys must be so talented to do something like this. We're witnessing great work.”