Sondheim's assassins

[JimD]

I am playing in the pit orchestra for Sondheim's musical "Assassins" through August 9th (though I'll have a sub covering for me on 8/3 because of a previously booked gig.)

My part calls for mandolin (some fairly interesting passages) as well as acoustic and electric guitars and banjo.

There are not that many musicals that have mandolin so it's always exciting to stumble upon another.

Edit: I guess it helps to say where the performances are...

The Boston Center for the Arts on Tremont Street, Boston, MA.

[johnwalser]

Jim,

After five weeks of rehearsals, I just finished up playing my electric mandola for five performances of a melodrama this past two weekends. Monday night, after it was all over, I had a major stress attack and I am slowly recovering from all that fun. Looks like you will be working with professionals that actually follow the script and do not leave you guessing not only when to play, but which piece to play ( our group got the play out of sequence and then would pick up parts they missed ). I told them never again, but they keep telling me how wonderfully I played and I am a such a sucker for a little praise. They are already making plans for next summer. Have Fun!
John

[Martin Jonas]

That sounds like fun -- I saw that musical many years ago when a friend of mine was musical director for a student performance. I'm pretty sure there was no mandolin in his line-up though; the "orchestra" was seriously minimalist on that occassion (four or five-piece, if I remember right), which didn't spoil our enjoyment at all. It's a really interesting musical which gets a lot of mileage out of its off-beat concept!

Martin

[Bruce Clausen]

Good, Jim, sounds like they got the right guy. I've done runs of Oklahoma, Annie, Threepenny Opera, Showboat, Sondheim's "Company" and a few others over many years. Mostly it'll be guitar doubling tenor banjo (or vice versa). But for "Ragtime" the book had tenor banjo, classical guitar and mandolin. The music is certainly challenging, but unfortunately not all that pleasant to listen to. There's mandolin also in Fiddler on the Roof and Kiss Me Kate, I think, but I've never had a crack at those. Break a string!

BC

[SGraham]

Jim,
Sounds like fun! I got to play mandolin and banjo for a couple of runs of the musical "Tom Sawyer." I brought a bunch of fiddle tunes for the orchestra to play during intermission.

You've got quite a few instrument changes--almost a one-man band!

Steve

[Lee Callicutt]

There are not that many musicals that have mandolin so it's always exciting to stumble upon another.

I happened to see the traveling version of "Wicked" a few months ago and more than once heard the sound of a very tasteful mandolin part surfacing from the orchestra pit. I remember asking my wife if she thought anyone else noticed its refreshing and distinctive presence. As we exited by the pit, I went up and looked down and there were only a few musicians left. One was surrounded with electric and acoustic guitars and a mandolin. I yelled down, "who played the mandolin parts?" He silently went over and picked the mando up and waved it at me with a big grin on his face. I gave him a big thumb's up!

[JimD]

That sounds like fun -- I saw that musical many years ago when a friend of mine was musical director for a student performance. #I'm pretty sure there was no mandolin in his line-up though; the "orchestra" was seriously minimalist on that occassion (four or five-piece, if I remember right), which didn't spoil our enjoyment at all. #It's a really interesting musical which gets a lot of mileage out of its off-beat concept!

Martin

This ends up happening all too frequently. Student productions simply lack the budget to bring in musicians who can do all of the required doubling (which also affects the wind parts).

It really is a strange concept, though, isn't it?

[JimD]

You've got quite a few instrument changes--almost a one-man band!

Steve

The most interesting doubling gigs I have had (if I recall correctly -- I've done several dozen musicals and operas) were in:

--Three Penny Opera -- guitar, tenor banjo, Hawaiian guitar and bandoneon.

--Footloose -- electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin and harmonica

--a Paul Whiteman band tribute/revival (that has, at various times, included Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Concerto in F, and his early one-act opera, Blue Monday as well as '20s and '30s era jazz compositions) --6 string and tenor guitars, tenor banjo and uke in Bb --yes, a transposing uke part -- I still am baffled by the reasoning but I never complain when my paycheck includes doubling fees.

In the Whiteman revival concerts, the wind players are the kings of doubling, though. One player had over a dozen instruments in front of him (and next
to him, and behind...) -- clarinets in various transpositions (Bb, A, Eb, D, C), saxes including bass and sopranino, piccolo, oboe and contrabass sarrusophone. I may have missed a few.

Billy Novick (perhaps a familiar name to some) plays that gig as well and does saxes, clarinets, flutes, tin whistle, slide whistle...

Back to Assassins -- the wind player has more doublings than I do, here as well --clarinets in 2 or 3 different keys, flute, saxes and harmonica.

[SGraham]

Jim,
Wow, all that doubling calls for 150% concentration--not only to nail the passages but also so that you don't put a music-stand-shaped hole in your mando during a four-measure instrument change! Hats off to you.

Steve

[JimD]

Jim,
Wow, all that doubling calls for 150% concentration--not only to nail the passages but also so that you don't put a music-stand-shaped hole in your mando during a four-measure instrument change! Hats off to you.

Steve

I actually have a cello bow ding and a gouge from a trombone slide in one of my guitars.

Orchestra pits are not spacious. #

[lskit]

I saw a travelling Company perform Chicago this Spring and the orchestra included an excellent musician doubling on Mandolin and Banjo.

[JimD]

Two more weeks of this show.

If you're in the Boston area and interested to see it.

our run ends 8/9.

[mrmando]

I'd love to see another production of Assassins, but Boston's a long way.

I've done a couple of productions of Quilters and Cotton Patch Gospel. Everything I play is tuned in fifths, but it seems like I've managed to work in fiddle, viola, tenor guitar, and mandolin. Just saw a great production of Big River with some mando parts on a Martin 2-15. I remember seeing a production of The Spitfire Grill in D.C. where the guitarist was doubling on a very nice 1949 F12.