TANGO? Maybe Yes, Maybe No...

Just the facts- Tango Palace has had some problems... not the least of which is that 1 of the actors originally cast took a job at a much larger theatre and the other actor, his roommate, didn't want to do it if his roommate wasn't, and Adam found out 1/2 hour before the first read-through... at which point, he didn't feel it would be possible to have ready if he had to start the whole casting process over with 2 1/2 weeks until performance, and so he stepped into the character with the most lines and business, which he btw rocks at, and I took over directing.

Right away, I realized that I wouldn't be able to direct in the way you typically direct... for one thing, this was 2 1/2 weeks ago. I have not exactly been spending my free time researching Fornes OR Tango Palace... I think, and have been told, that I have really good instincts when it comes to script analysis and character subtext (Kurt Naebig, can you concur?)... however, historical research is NOT my strong suit... and Adam had been doing a lot of work, had created a vision; in essence he knew what he wanted this play to say.

At the read-through, I expressed my thoughts on this. I really feel that it is in the show's best interest to respect Adam's vision for what Irene was trying to say, as I just haven't had the time to make a fully informed decision on Irene's intent. I was very willing to call on him to help with my analysis of what the play was about, and try as much as possible to make it about these two beings. If I could help them get to the meat of what they are saying and what they mean to each other, we would be golden... right?

Fornes is known for being... complex... and the more we got into rehearsals, the more was unveiled. I honestly believe that one name that should be thrown into the ring of those influenced by her work is Julie Taymor... I wasn't kidding when I said that it's only 17 pages, but there is stage combat, sword play, more than one Tango, maskwork (Beetles- and I'm not talking about the group) that seems VERY removed from the rest of the script (but of course ISN'T, which is the some of the beauty of Fornes) and the character of Isadore embodies personas from Norma Desmond to Patton to Peter Pan, while maintaining a very human and fragile underbelly. And that is the easy one to dissect.

The character of Leopold, which Tom McGrath also rocks at btw, is subtle; aging in mentality from the birth to adulthood while appearing dressed in a 3-piece suit, knowing what he wants and needs, but not having the maturity and the experience to come to terms with it until the end.

To top it off, Tom, who has graciously stepped into the role of Leopold, opens another show the same weekend, and I am watching the kids because Tony is Lighting Designer and of course producing, and has to be at tech every night for the other 5 shows. So we rehearse in my living room from 9:15 to 11 p.m., after the kids are in bed. The conversation we had tonight about all this was done at my kitchen table while I was trying to feed dinner to two VERY cabin-fevered children.

We just had our "Final Dress" and it was spent learning fight choreography for the first time and how to Tango (not the specific choreography, just HOW to) for the first time. When we finished fight choreography and leapt pants-off into a marked run of the show, the Fight Choreographer and I discovered 3 more places that there should BE fight choreography as opposed to "I feel really comfortable with fights and with you slapping me  or throwing a punch." Our "preview" will be a working rehearsal and my actors WILL be holding scripts.

Sooooo, what do we do?

1) ALL of the shows have had their difficulties, and I think ALL of them have lost actors or had trouble casting, so what makes us so special?

2) This is Fornes' first play, running in rep with her LAST play, ( Letters from Cuba plug, plug with my producer hat on, although it's awkward to plug with my director hat on, since they run in rep with Tango and all this shit has hit the fan...) and it would be a HUGE shame if it didn't go up.

3) The way it stands right now, it is not safe to the actors to have an Opening on Thursday...

We could postpone opening Tango Palace for a week and only do Letters from Cuba this week--and invite anyone who sees this Thursday's show to come back free of charge; we could do a staged reading this week and open next week, and invite anyone who sees this Thursday's show to come back free of charge; we could pull it from the festival all together; we could decide to just push ahead and open it (although I'm not sure my actors would do it, at this point.)

We have a 4-hour rehearsal on Sunday and THEN "Preview" Sunday night, then a 4-hour rehearsal on Monday... a LOT could be ironed out in that time... I feel like this has the potential to be an incredible show... but safe for the actors to participate in by Thursday? Not sure about that one...

What would you do?