Steerage Song: Thousands are sailing

October 1st, 2013Written by: Ed Huyck Published by: City Pages

Simplicity can be its own reward.

Using no more than music and words drawn from the era, Theatre Latte Da's Steerage Song builds a full vision of the European immigrant experience to the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The show follows the journey millions of immigrants took in that era, from their homelands to across the Atlantic into Ellis Island, New York City, and the places beyond. Creators Peter Rothstein (director) and Dan Chouinard (music direction and arrangements) keep the storyline simple. Most of it is recollections and songs drawn from throughout the era, with a particular Russian Jewish family singled out.

It doesn't take much to work out who the youngest son of that family will become, but it's fitting as the songwriter in question will do much to unite different strains of music into something decidedly American.

The bulk of the show is made up of the songs, including Irish laments (the absolutely beautiful "The Shores of Amerikay"), wild dance tunes, and commentary on the experience they find in America, from "That Little German Band" to "Yes, We Have No Bananas" to a Yiddish version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

The texts, many drawn from contemporary news reports, shows that not much has changed in our discussions of immigration: fears about "lesser" folks coming and taking our jobs, crowding the cities, and spreading crime and disease abound. We also hear from those who understand and embrace the immigrants, and, of course, we hear from the travelers themselves in letters home and in songs they wrote.

The excellent company provides plenty of vocal talent, while also quickly crafting a myriad of characters. Bradley Greenwald anchors the production, providing musical and emotional highlights throughout, with the likes of Sasha Andreev, Erin Capello, and Natalie Nowytski providing strong moments as well.

John Clark Donahue's set elegantly evokes the ships that carried millions of people across the Atlantic, while also easily doubling as a New York City tenement, a hazy bar, and all of the places the characters started from on their journey to America.

IF YOU GO:

Steerage Song Through Oct. 20 The Lab Theater 700 N. First St., Minneapolis $35-$45 For more information and tickets, call 612.339.3003 or visit online.

'Steerage Song' review: Moving music and words tell immigrants' tales

September 29th, 2013Written by: Renee Valois Published by: Pioneer Press

There's a new show in town that takes us on a journey through the past with repercussions in the present. Because immigration reform is a hot-button topic, "Steerage Song" is timely, even though it covers the long-ago years of 1840-1924. In that golden age of immigration to America, as many as a million people arrived on our shores each year.

Created by Peter Rothstein and Dan Chouinard of Theater Latte Da, the production features dozens of immigrant songs -- in a tapestry of languages with English translations -- that capture the fears and hopes of the travelers. Songs are interspersed with spoken passages taken from a variety of sources, such as a speech by Calvin Coolidge and writings by Mother Cabrini (Patron Saint of Immigrants) and Robert Louis Stevenson.

There is no strong plot, but we follow a group of immigrants as they bid farewell to their homelands and families, make the difficult sea voyage, arrive in New York Harbor, pass through Ellis Island, adjust to life in the city's Lower East Side and try to find success in the New World.

The only named characters are Moses, portrayed by Bradley Greenwald, and his son, Israel, played by Alec Fisher. They anchor the thread of the play as it moves from Europe to North America, with help from the rest of the cast of nine. Israel's surprising true-life trajectory adds satisfying dimension to the story as it progresses.

We get a sense of how extraordinary it was for so many people to voyage so far with so little -- and it reminds us that our country is entirely a land of immigrants. This provides a sharper lens with which to view the question of immigration today. How open or closed should our borders be -- and what does that say about us as a people?

Director Peter Rothstein does a beautiful job of connecting the songs and evoking emotion, with graceful moments of synchronized candle lighting, a model boat slowly sailing across a wood plank, tidbits of Irish and Eastern European dance, and the cast freezing in midstride to give the spotlight to a single animated singer.

Music Director Dan Chouinard leads a talented band of musicians from the back of the stage. Laura MacKenzie's flutes and pipes are especially poignant on Celtic melodies. There are charming tunes and heartbreaking songs in foreign tongues, as well as familiar pieces such as "Yes, We Have No Bananas" and "Alexander's Ragtime Band"

Each well-voiced song is another thread in the tapestry, conveying a bit of the story. Taken as a whole, they create an eye-opening and ear-pleasing picture of the immigrant experience in its heyday.

What: "Steerage Song"

Where: Theater Latte Da, at the Lab Theater, 700 N. First St., Minneapolis

When: Through Oct. 20

Tickets: $35-81

Information: 612-339-3003; LatteDa.org

Capsule: A musical voyage that takes us to interesting places.

BWW Reviews: Theater Latte Da's STEERAGE SONG Beautifully Tells Immigrants Tales

September 30th, 2013Written by: Erin Nagel Published by: broadwayworld.com

Could you make the decision to bid farewell to your family and homeland with the prospect of a better life in the New World? Not knowing if or when you would see them again? That is the tough choice millions of immigrants to America faced from 1840-1924 during the golden age of immigration to America. Steerage Song created by Peter Rothstein and Dan Chouinard of Theater Latte Da gorgeously tells of the struggles European immigrants to America during this time faced.

Steerage Song doesn't have a firm plot or characters like a traditional musical. Instead the show is divided into eight parts...The Call, Bidding Farewell, The Voyage, A Sonnet in the Harbor, Ellis Island, The Lower East Side, By the People, For the People and The Golden Door Closes. There are also only two named characters Moses (Bradley Greenwald) and his son, Israel (Alec Fisher). They are the thread that weaves the story from Europe to North America. Israel's true life story adds an added dimension that leaves you satisfied as his story progresses. The rest of the cast of nine portray various immigrants and historical figures.

We get a sense of how difficult it was to leave all that was familiar and journey to an unknown land. As someone who has done extensive genealogy research and has been to Ellis Island and seen the names of my ancestors written into the immigration entry logs, this show was deeply touching. There is a line in the show that refers to the immigrants making the choice to not only change their life by going to America, but also the lives of their family for generations to come. This rings true for all of us. This is a show we can all connect with.

Director and co-creater Peter Rothstein did an amazing job weaving together the stories of not only the immigrants arriving in America, but with text from speeches and other historical content from Emma Lazarus, President Calvin Coolidge, Irving Berlin and Robert Louis Stevenson. Look at the special thanks section of the playbill and I can't imagine the amount of research that went into this production. This is truly a labor of love for both Peter Rothstein and Dan Chouinard.

The music is beyond beautiful. Dan Chouinard did an excellent job not only finding traditional and authentic songs that tell the story of each homeland, but also familiar tunes like Alexander's Ragtime Band. The cast sings in either accentEd English or the native language of the fifteen countries represented in the show. This is a natural fit for ensemble member Natalie Nowytski who sings in for than 40 languages. The closing number of act one, "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor" is a haunting reminder of the depths immigrants went to reach the shores of America.

A simple set designed by John Clark Donahue takes us from the homelands of Europe, to the steerage compartment of boats to Ellis Island and to the tenements of Manhattan's Lower East Side. The set can easily be a dock, the deck of a ship or the streets of Manhattan. The set coupled with Peter Rothstein's staging of coordinated candle lighting and the cast freezing mid stride so another member of the cast can have the stage all lead to the aesthetic enjoyment of the show.

Steerage Song is playing at The Lab Theater through October 20. For more information or to purchase tickets visit Theater Latte Da's website.

"Steerage Song" by Theater Latte Da at the Lab Theater

September 29, 2013Written by: Jill Published by: www.cherryandspoon.com

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

These words (by poet Emma Lazarus) were engraved on a plaque inside the Statue of Liberty in 1903, at the height of immigration to the United States. But soon that welcoming sentiment began to change, culminating in the passage of the National Origins Act in 1924, severely limiting immigration, especially from "undesirable" areas such as Southern and Eastern Europe. Steerage Song, a music-theater piece created by Peter Rothstein and Dan Chouinard, explores these historical themes of immigration through authentic music and text of the time. A semi-staged version of it was first presented two years ago. Much of the cast returns in this fully staged production, with slight changes to text and songs. The result is a truly beautiful expression of ideas at the very heart of America. The (perhaps not so) surprising thing is that the arguments being made against immigration today were also being made 100 years ago, making this piece not just a historical reflection but also extremely relevant to the present.

Peter (who also directs the piece) and Dan (music director) have collected dozens of songs from the American immigrant experience between 1840 and 1924, from various languages and cultures through Europe. They have tied the songs together using text from newspaper articles, speeches, and other historical documents, and constructed them into eight parts representing the journey of the immigrants: The Call; Bidding Farewell; The Voyage; A Sonnet in the Harbor; Ellis Island; The Lower East Side; By the People, For the People; and The Golden Door Closes. The nine ensemble members portray the mostly nameless immigrants as they leave their homelands and find a new life in America. The one character we follow throughout this journey is perhaps the most successful immigrant musician from this period, a 5-year-old Russian Jewish immigrant named Israel Beilin who became one of America's most beloved songwriters, Irving Berlin. Through his and others' stories we witness the courage of the millions of people who left everything behind to come to America and make a better life for themselves and their families, and in doing so made America richer too.

The fantastic nine-person cast includes six from the original production two years ago. All sing beautifully in various languages or accented English (my linguist friend was impressed with the use of language and dialect), as well as expressing the emotions of the characters. The ensemble includes: Sasha Andreev (always excellent), Erin Capello (with a voice like a dream), Dennis Curley (evoking tears with his sad Irish ballad), Megan Fischer (little Annie is all grown up and can hold her own among these talented professionals), Alec Fisher (another talented youngster who fits right in), Bradley Greenwald (one of my absolute favorites, any day I get to listen to him sing in German is a good day), Jennifer Grimm (with an emotional delivery of "Bring Me Your Tired, Your Poor," set to music by Irving Berlin), Jay Hornbacher (the talented veteran of the group), and Natalie Nowytski (a natural fit for this piece, she sings in over 40 languages and has studied Eastern European styles of singing). Multi-talented musician Dan Chouinard (I've seen him perform many times and he rarely uses sheet music at the piano) does a great job leading the five-piece band playing various instruments and creating the varied musical styles of the immigrants.

The Lab Theater is a great open space in which to create a world of imagination, put to great use by set designer John Clark Donahue. A stage has been built to resemble a ship, with a wooden plank floor, raised balcony in the back for the band, masts, a rope ladder, and bannisters on the sides. In the second act this ship transforms into the Lower East Side, with laundry hung between the masts and carts rolling up and down the street. Long poles are used as the railing of the ship or form lines at Ellis Island; planks serve as work spaces or lecterns. On either side of the stage are great racks of clothing, with hats, shawls, coats, scarves, and various other pieces that help define and differentiate the many characters in the piece (costume design by Jeffrey Stolz).

It's no secret that Theater Latte Da is my favorite theater company. Musical theater is my favorite art form, and Latte Da does it in an innovative and forward-thinking way. In fact, their tagline this year is "we don't do musical theater, we do theater musically." The thing that elevates Theater Latte Da above many other theaters in town is the impeccable attention to detail, on great display in Steerage Song. Every aspect of the production is of the highest quality: sets, costumes, sound design (actors are miked but in an unobtrusive way), casting, staging, the playbill, lighting, video projections, the use of props, and the talent level of the performers. Nothing is overlooked and it all adds up to a thoroughly enjoyable evening of theater. Playing now through October 20 at the Lab Theater.

Steerage Song by Theater Latté Da, performing at the Lab Theater

September 28th, 2013Written by: John Olive Published by: www.howwastheshow.com

What a grand adventure!

To pack your belongings into a few small suitcases and then, traveling alone or perhaps with your wife and children, to say good-bye – Permanently! Never to see them again! – to your friends and family in the old world. To take passage in the fetid steerage hold of a west-bound steamer, headed for a New World, not knowing what it might hold. Poverty? Unimagined opportunity? Death?

This is, one might easily argue, the essence of the American experience. We’ve never really lost that immigrant optimism. We believe fervently in transcendence, the idea that we can transform ourselves into something greater than what we are now. There is a fluidity to American life that doesn’t exist in other nations. Yes, of course, I know that we are bound by class, by race, by age, by economic status. But still: we believe that greener pastures are here. Somewhere. Perhaps just over that hill. We may not get there, but certainly our children will.

And still they come, from Latin America, from Africa, from Southeast Asia. We live in the land of immigrants.

This “immigrant essence” is celebrated, with great effectiveness, in Steerage Song (Theater Latté Da, performing in the Lab Theater). This musical follows a group of immigrants as they board a U.S.-bound steamer in Europe, travel across the vast ocean, to Ellis Island, settling in New York’s teeming Lower East Side (or, as it’s known today, la Loisaida). They are all Europeans and if your forebears arrived here chained into a slave ship, or in a tramp steamer from Hong Kong, you may have a different perspective. Still Steerage Song has something to say about American identity, something significant, and it applies no matter who our “crossing ancestors” were.

Besides, Steerage Song is filled with fabulous music and marvelous texts, performed expertly by lavishly talented actor/singers. It’s universally enjoyable.

There’s no plot to speak of. A few of the immigrants – e.g., the Irishman (Dennis Curley), the Jew (Bradley Greenwald) – do reappear. One of the travelers, played delightfully by young Alec Fisher, grows up to be the great Irving Berlin. But these are the exception; for the most part the people in Steerage Song are “uber-immigrants,” archetypes transmuting their stories into lovely music. The cast, to a person, thrills. They conduct themselves with restraint, grace, poise, relying on their presence and pure talent. Lovely.

Steerage Song is constructed entirely from “found material,” folk songs, Tin Pan Alley tunes. The kind of music our great-great grandparents might have played on the spinet piano in the parlor. I recognized a few – “Yes, We Have No Bananas,” “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “The Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere.” But mostly the music was a revelation. There are speeches taken from newspapers, rousing political speeches, memoirs. All this wealth is beautifully assembled by… someone. I imagine that director/Latté Da artistic director Peter Rothstein is the main person of interest. The show is gorgeously designed and the music (Dan Chouinard, music director) is exquisite.

Recommended.

Next up at Latté Da: All Is Calm, the theater’s annual, and effective, Christmas show, in the Pantages.

For more info about reviewer John Olive, please visit his website.

Immigration: Newcomers carry America’s secret

September 30th, 2013Written by: Peter Rothstein Published by: Star Tribune

Half of all Americans can trace their family history to someone who passed through Ellis Island. Other than our Native American citizens, each of us is an immigrant or descendant of immigrants.

My Irish and German ancestors came to this land of promise to escape poverty and injustice. They came to secure the American dream, if only for their children’s children. The immigrants in our communities today are coming for the exact same reasons.

I am not a politician or immigration attorney; I am a theater artist. For the past five years, musician and storyteller Dan Chouinard and I have been gathering European emigrant songs to unlock the role of music in the American immigrant experience. The result, “Steerage Song,” is running Sept. 25 through Oct. 20 at the Lab Theater in Minneapolis.

The political discourse hasn’t changed much in the past 100 years. While the countries of origin have evolved from Ireland and Italy to Somalia and Mexico, the dehumanizing language and vitriol remain the same.

Soon, our nation’s leaders will again debate immigration reform. Rather than address the immigration “problem,” it is time we reframed the discussion. John F. Kennedy wrote, “This was the secret of America: a nation of people with the fresh memory of the old country who dared to explore new frontiers …” The immigrants in our neighborhoods, schools, factories, restaurants and offices carry with them the secret of America. They are our explorers, builders and songwriters.

May we as citizens of this land of promise refresh our memories and address the topic of immigration with the same remarkable courage and radical optimism as our ancestors. May we work toward immigration reform that would do them proud.

In the words of the great American songwriter Israel Baline, an immigrant who took the name Irving Berlin — “God bless America, my home, sweet home.”

Theater Latté Da prepares new musical “Steerage Song”

Peter Rothstein and Dan Chouinard come together to musicalize Ellis Island. MN Daily By Joe Kellen September 26, 2013

Actor Sasha Andreev smiled as he sat in the lobby of the Lab Theater. “It’s kinda perfect,” he said.

When you first walk into the space, you look up. There’s only seating for about 200 people, but it’s enormous in height. The brick-walled theater is exactly what creator and director Peter Rothstein needs to tell the expansive story of “Steerage Song.”

“The theatricality of that is what’s fun about it. ... It’s an intimate space, so small things end up carrying a lot more meaning than they might in a big house,” said Rothstein, the artistic director of Theater Latté Da.

Focusing on the personal journeys of immigrants coming to the U.S., “Steerage Song” is a love letter to the diverse cultures that built the country. The musical contains songs performed in 17 different languages.

“These stories were deeply moving, so we wanted to figure out a way to focus on the music, in part, but create a vehicle that allowed us to honor these people,” co-creator and music director Dan Chouinard said.

Conceived in 2009, the show was originally supposed to highlight famous musicians that came through Ellis Island. Rothstein and Chouinard found the accounts of average immigrants to be more exciting after producing a version of the show in concert form in 2011 and studying documents from the early 1900s.

“They provided, literally, stacks of books. It’s helped ground us in the reality of this journey,” actor Jay Hornbacher said about Rothstein and Chouinard.

A lot of the text in “Steerage Song” was developed using newspapers and quotes from notable speeches. Since the pool of material was so large, Rothstein and Chouinard created a piece that doesn’t have a titular character. It’s focused on the ensemble, moving over a wide variety of stories and characters.

Hornbacher said the size and scope of the work makes performance challenging. “You don’t have time to develop a character. It has to be right there, right now without it becoming an archetype or a caricature,” he said.

The actors aren’t the only ones doing the heavy lifting, though.Chouinard built the score with folk tunes from 20 countries. The pit musicians use everything from accordions to banjos to give the music an authentic feel.

“A lot of times the song gives you enough that you don’t need to make big gestures or some huge emotional performance. If you just sing the song, it’s amazing the kind of power it can have,” Andreev said.

This simplicity is crucial to the style of the show — while developing the piece over the past few years, Rothstein has worked to make sure nothing is overblown. He said it keeps the work honest and avoids romanticizing these struggles. The musical waves an American flag but doesn’t pretend that immigrants didn’t face fierce discrimination.

For Hornbacher, this unsentimental portrayal of immigration is what makes “Steerage Song” relevant today. “A lot of the things that are said in this play that are negative about immigrants are things that I hear, practically on a daily basis,” he said.

What: “Steerage Song” When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, Sept. 28-Oct. 20 Where: The Lab Theater, 700 N. First St., Minneapolis Cost: $35-81