Two Dunmoreans will be among the featured performers in a tribute to The Beatles to be held on Saturday, May 18, at 3 and 6 p.m. at the ShakesSpace at the Marketplace at Steamtown. Entitled “Help,” the event will benefit the 13th season of the Scranton Shakespeare Festival and feature both local and New York talent.
Among the Dunmoreans appearing will be Brian McGurl and Joe McGurl. Spencer Shotto of Dunmore is technical director.
Other area talent includes Erin Malloy, Kelly Jean Graham, Madelyn Casey, LaToya Martin, Michael Bradshaw Flynn, Sarah Pugliese, and Molly Cerep, and others to be announced.
This concert follows last year’s successful tribute “Sunday with Sondheim.”
General admission tickets are $40, and patron tickets are $60 including a cocktail hour with special hors d’oeuvres, and priority seating. Tickets are available at scrantonshakes.com/tickets
Joe McGurl of Dunmore has taken the helm as director of the upcoming Panto Production of Jack and the Beanstalk to be presented for two weekends in December by the Scranton Shakespeare Festival at ShakesSpace at the Marketplace at Steamtown.
Joe’s SSF credits are long, including Othello (Iago,) Love Labour’s Lost (Boyet,) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theseus,) Richard III (Lord Rivers/Brackenbury,) Troilus & Cressida (Thersites,) Much Ado ABout Nothing (Don Jon,) Twelfth Night (Sir Toby,) Pirates of Penzance (Major General,) and Damn Yankees (Applegate.)
“I’ve been involved with the festival since its inception 13 years ago, and have loved performing on stage every summer, “Joe says. “But this is my first time directing for SSF!
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve really been wanting to stretch my legs more on the production side of the stage and to bring the tools and experience I’ve gained throughout the years into the directorial world for SSF. It’s been an exciting opportunity to step into this different role.”
Joe’s parents, Brian and Dawn McGurl, are both very active with the Festival. Joe, an award-winning author and actor with 15+ years of professional theater experience, both in the Scranton area and various Off-Broadway productions in New York City, is a graduate of Dunmore High School and the University of Scranton.
Asked what exactly is Panto, Joe explains,“Panto or pantomime is a tradition in British theater usually performed around the Christmas holiday season. And while we, as Americans, traditionally think of pantomime as synonymous with miming, a panto is the furthest thing from a silent performance. Pantos are filled with music, dancing, slapstick comedy, actors in drag, and tons of silly gags where the audience is encouraged to participate.”
He points out that Panto stories, which are designed for both adults and children, traditionally are sendups of classic fairy or folk tales with a modern twist and packed with local references and topical humor tailored for the audience and region it’s being performed in.
“Our panto, or Scranto as we like to call it, is catered towards children and families to enjoy, notes McGurl. “However, there are plenty of jokes and humor that will be just for the adults in the room. There really is something for everyone in this show and we can guarantee a fun trip to the theater for all audience members as we continue to establish this new holiday tradition here in Scranton. Last year’s version of Snow White and the Seven Scrantonians was really a hit with those attending.”
Panto is different from anything in the States. “I think what sets panto apart from what we typically see being performed in America is that the audience is really encouraged to be as much a part of the show as the actors. We want people to boo when the villain comes on stage and cheer for our heroes and to dance in their seats and sing along out loud, Joe points out. “I believe the Scranton audience shares many similarities with the British style of humor that is being presented here. It’s very irreverent, self-deprecating, and not afraid to criticize the “nobility” or upper class. In many ways, it’s a show for the working class people which we don’t always get to see around here.”
While the main-stage summer SSF program is thrilled to be able to work with actors from all across the globe, the organization is very proud that the cast of Jack and the Beanstalk is comprised completely of local actors.
“It was really important to myself and the production team to utilize the great wealth of talent we have in this area and present a holiday show for NEPA, by NEPA,” Joe discloses. “We have SSF veterans like Conor McGuigan and Kelly Jean Graham, as well some newer faces to the organization.”
The full cast list includes Conor McGuigan as Dame Hildegard Trotter; Maddie Casey in the title role of Jack Trotter; Nick Grevera as Barry Trotter; Kelly Jean Graham as the Fairy Beanie; Jimmy Williams as Lord Dilly Dally; Isabella Snyder as Daisy Dally; Ryan Repeckie as Winnie the Moo, and members of the SSF Youth Ensemble.
Asked whether he prefers comedy or drama, Joe answers, “Maybe this is a cop-out answer, but I really can’t choose, I truly love doing both for very different reasons! Most of my background is in comedy and improvisation, so I think that will always be my first love and what I gravitate towards.
“Comedies allow you to act in a fun way that we don’t typically get to do in everyday life and there are few things that are as rewarding as a performer than getting that big laugh out of an audience.”
That being said, Joe adds, “I love digging deep into dramatic works. I feel at my most ‘actory’ when I get to play a character different than myself and get to attempt to translate all of the complex emotions we, as humans, have in a believable and very real way for the audience to connect with.”
Finally, what can Jack and the Beanstalk teach or show the audience?
“It depends on the adaptation, but I think that Jack and the Beanstalk is congruous to the struggle between the poor and working class vs the elite. There’s a big giant that lives in a castle in the sky and he’s stealing all of the food and wealth from the people that live at the bottom,” Joe points out.
“That’s something that might feel relatable to so many people today–there being a class of people that are virtually untouchable who continually profit off of the hard work of those below them, says the director. “But also, this is a holiday show for families that is not taking itself seriously, so really what you’re really going to be seeing is a lot of goofiness and singing along to fun songs to get Scranton in a fun holiday spirit!”
As the Scranton Shakespeare Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary year this summer, two Dunmoreans have been an integral part of the professional company from the beginning.
Camille Reinecke appeared in Scranton Shakes’ very first production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2011, and Joe McGurl joined the ensemble the following year for A Comedy of Errors.
Both are graduates of Dunmore High School and the University of Scranton where they met Michael Bradshaw Flynn, a member of the University Players who went on the found the Shakespeare festival.
Camille Reinecke, who holds a degree in counseling and human services and a minor in theater, is director of the Youth Theater Program at the Scranton Cultural Center.
“I feel like theater and counseling go hand-in-hand,” she explains. “In counseling, you are working to understand people, and in theater you are working from the inside out to build your character.”
Camille Reinecki is shown in A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Camille appeared in the very first show presented by Scranton Shakespeare Festival in 2011. She played Moth, a fairy, in that show, and will play Francis Flute, a mechanical, in the newest staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is particular enjoying the experience of working with director Simone Daniels of New York City, who is a Scranton native.
“Simone is incredible to work with,” she explains. “She has a very clear vision of what she wants, but she also allows each actor room to explore their character. It’s a great dynamic.”
Camille still recalls the excitement surrounding that inaugural play which was staged at Nay Aug Park.
“It was a beautiful experience and we felt so committed to serving the community by presenting free professional theater. Revisiting the play this year reminds me very much of that first year,” she continues. “Scranton Shakes remains deeply dedicated to the concept of free theater so that absolutely anybody can attend.”
She has many fond memories of her SSF tenure, which includes comedies, drama, and musicals. “We did a show called The Tavern that was a favorite experience,” she recalls. “I loved that dark, stormy melodrama.”
Her favorite role, however, was as the courtesan in A Comedy of Errors. Her other Shakespearean roles were in Macbeth and Measure for Measure.
“I love being part of a Shakespearean ensemble,” she says. “I know some audiences are afraid it will be too difficult to understand, but our responsibility as a cast is to make each play clear and accessible, and I think SSF does that very well.”
Joe McGurl, who majored in broadcast communications, has found the experience of presenting free theater to the community deeply gratifying.
Joe McGurl is shown in a ScrantonShakes original production of A Tale for Winter.
“It feels like a privilege to be able to give back to the community that has supported me as an artist from my days in high school and college to the present,” Joe explains. “There are people who have seen every show I’ve ever done.
“It is such a gift to be able to present free quality theater to everybody, especially those who cannot afford to go to Broadway or to take their families to a show.”
Through the years, McGurl has played Sir Toby in Twelfth Night; Applegate in Damn Yankees, and Don John in Much Ado About Nothing, among others. This season they are appearing as Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and as the gravedigger/ ensemble in Hamlet.
Joe’s two favorite experiences with SSF thus far have been As You Like It and Richard III, both directed by Emma Went, who they describe as an “actor’s director.”
“Emma provided such a lovely bonding experience during As You Like It, and everyone in the cast felt very connected,” Joe notes. “It was at a point where I really needed that.”
Joe portrayed Lord Rivers and Brackenberry in Richard III, which received a great audience reception as the only history play presented thus far by Scranton Shakes.
“The audience really connected with the history and weight of Richard III,” McGurl recalls.
A playwright, Joe’s original play, Relationships, was presented a few years ago at the Scranton Fringe Festival, and received the Best Local Author Award from Electric City.
McGurl has also appeared Off-Broadway in two shows that began their run at the Scranton festival—Two Gentlemen of Verona and Commedia Rapunzel.
Joe very much admires his friend from college, Michael Bradshaw Flynn, founder of SSF, and says the two support each other. Looking forward to this hallmark season, Joe says, “I’m glad he’s brought me along for the ride.”
“It’s been a hard year, but theater is coming back!” Joe promises.
