THE STATE OF THE STAGE
Part 1: Overture
My first memory of a Schmeckfest musical came when I was 6 years old. It was 1983 and my dad, age 33 at the time, was directing “Oliver!” and working with Tom Graber on a scene in which Fagin accosts him for asking for more food. The director and title character were near the stage on the north side of the Pioneer Hall auditorium-turned-theater and my dad was telling Tom to make his body fall limp when Fagin, played by LeRoy Epp, grabs his arm and shakes him.
It’s the only thing about the 1983 musical I remember, but it obviously left an impression.
Four years later I was on stage as a boy living in the Russian village of Anatevka and singing in the chorus of “Fiddler on the Roof,” the 1987 production also under the direction of my dad that also featured LeRoy Epp as the lead, this time in the memorable role of Tevye, the conflicted milkman who responds to “progress” with a range of emotions that help make Fiddler one of the greatest musicals of all time.
Seven years after that, during my senior year at Freeman Academy, I delivered my first-ever line in the 1994 production of “Oklahoma!,” and eight years later I was cast in my first-ever lead — Jigger Craigin, the antagonist in the beautiful “Carousel” directed by Kris Carlson.
And eight years after that, I directed my first-ever Schmeckfest musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” alongside my good friend Will Ortman.
Today, the register shows four directorial engagements and 14 on-stage appearances, the latest of which came in “State Fair,” which was presented last week in conjunction with the 62nd Schmeckfest.
Not only did it bring back the glow of the stage lightning bug, but it reminded me how much fun theater is and how important the Schmeckfest musical strand is in this community’s collective tapestry.
Part 2: The First Act
To understand just how important this year’s production of “State Fair” was and is, it’s critical to have at least a basic understanding of the history of the Schmeckfest musical.
Evening entertainment at Schmeckfest was part of the deal from the very beginning — vinyl records were played and there was a talent show that first year of 1959 — but it wasn’t until 1967 that a larger production played to festival guests. “The Red Mill” marked the debut of the Schmeckfest stage production, and new ground was broken in 1972 when a more familiar story came to Freeman in the first presentation of “Fiddler on the Roof,” which had opened on Broadway just eight years earlier and had just been made into a motion picture.
For a community that had been accustomed primarily to Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, sacred oratorios and the East Freeman Band for its extra-curricular musical entertainment, “Fiddler on the Roof” was a major shift in the spectrum and met with some controversy because of its “bright lights” commercial success.
Still, the precedent was set.
Three familiar shows followed in the next four years — “Oklahoma!,” “The Sound of Music” and “Hello, Dolly!” — and the Schmeckfest musical train was officially rolling. And it wasn’t long before it took on a life of its own.
With every passing year, the Schmeckfest musical became bigger and bigger in terms of both physical scope, technological advancements and overall quality. In 1988, when H.M.S. Pinafore director Ken Oakley decided to move the orchestra from in front of the stage to the rear and had the bow of a ship built in its place, it felt like no ask was too outrageous.
And the following year, when John Koch made the first of what would be a record 11 Schmeckfest musical directorships, more ground was broken when he had two platform extensions built to the north and the south — and in front of — the Pioneer Hall stage proscenium. Those extensions, or a variation of them, would become standard issue from 1989 to present day.
While the vocal and acting chops were of highest quality from the get-go, it wasn’t until the 1990s that the entire Schmeckfest musical experience had improved beyond what was expected from typical community theater found elsewhere. Sets and costumes became more elaborate, sound and lighting was constantly being improved, and the shenanigans that had been commonplace on and off the Schmeckfest stage in those first two decades were on their way out.
All of it made for an overall better experience for the guests who would frequently comment that productions like “My Fair Lady” in 1993, “The Music Man” in 1996, “Annie” in 1998 and “The Secret Garden” in 2001 were as good as they had seen anywhere, and for many who came for Schmeckfest, the musical had become the highlight.
All of it was being carried on the shoulders of men, women and children from the Freeman community — from students and teachers to farmers and housewives, with a home-grown orchestra and tech team to boot. It truly was community theater, in every sense of the word, at its best.
But more recent years have not been without their challenges. By the time the 21st century rolled around it was becoming harder and harder to find community members willing to commit to the three-month-or-so rehearsal schedule required to prepare a show of this size, and some with close ties to the musical wondered how much longer these big productions, which required choruses of 20, 30 or 40 people, could continue.
There are any number of reasons that filling a cast and chorus had become increasingly difficult — additional responsibilities elsewhere (ie – work, church, school activities), changing priorities, and a shrinking overall population base — but that trend was likely driven by a combination of all of them.
Still, with each passing year, Schmeckfest returned, a cast and chorus was filled, the show went on as per tradition, and it was always just assumed that it would all happen again next year.
And it did.
Until it didn’t.
Part 3: Intermission
We all know the story — that in March of 2020 the novel coronavirus pandemic hit the world and shockingly altered our way of life. Nothing was normal anymore because nobody knew how to respond to the worst public health crisis since the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919, so most responded with an abundance of caution.
That included Schmeckfest — and by proxy, the Schmeckfest musical — which was among the multitude of casualties related to the Covid-19 threat, not just in 2020, but in 2021 and 2022, as well.
It was a three-year break that allowed for both discomfort and perspective.
While those on the inside say there were never serious conversations about putting an end to Schmeckfest, some who have long associated with the musical were quietly wondering if Covid-19 would be the death of the show — or at least the chorus-driven format that had fueled the culture starting three generations ago.
And it was a legitimate question.
Truth is, most of those who lived and breathed the Schmeckfest musical years ago have hung up their costumes, and a new group of would-be actors either:
Don’t have the appreciation for the tradition, or;
Don’t consider it a priority, and therefore aren’t willing to give the amount of time it takes to prepare the musical Schmeckfest guests have come to know and expect.
Given that — and with life moving in an alternative direction on the backside of Covid — even with Schmeckfest set to return, perhaps it would be easiest to say, “The Schmeckfest musical has run its course.”
I know at a least a couple of people who believed that it had.
But others believed otherwise.
And one of them was prepared to put the musical on her back and start the long uphill climb to show the world that we could once again reach the summit in a grand and glorious way.
Kris (Kaufman) Carlson was in kindergarten when she experienced her first Schmeckfest musical — the 1972 production of “Fiddler on the Roof.”
“I was entranced,” she told me. “I thought ‘Matchmaker’ was the coolest song ever written.”
Kris was part of the quintessential Schmeckfest musical family in those glory years, when everything felt fresh, exciting and full of possibility. Her dad, Gene, would become a frequent orchestra conductor beginning in the 1980s and her mom, Virginia, was the resident costume mistress for years. Taking part in the Schmeckfest musical, whether it was actively or passively, was just something the Kaufman family did. It’s no surprise, then, that Kris would become actively involved in the leadership of the show, whether it was with the program committee that oversaw the process or as a director starting with “My Fair Lady” in 1993.
With Gene and Virginia now gone and with both of her siblings, Kenton and Karin, living in Kansas, Kris is the only immediate member of her family left to actively represent at the Schmeckfest musical (although her own family, including husband Brad, share her passion). It makes sense, then, that questions about the future of the Schmeckfest musical, even before Covid hit, were vastly concerning to the Carlsons.
Are we just going to let this thing die? she would say to me during our occasional visits, when the topic of the musical’s future would come up. Certainly there is something we can do to keep this going.
Those were the kind of thoughts Kris harbored, especially in the throes of Covid, and like others who were actively involved, she greatly mourned the loss of “Matilda the Musical,” which was just 10 days away from opening night when Schmeckfest was canceled in 2020. The hope was always that “Matilda” would eventually see the light of day, but the show was bagged for good in 2022, when the festival was nixed for the third time.
Is this how it’s going to end? Kris thought.
The answer, of course, is no.
Part 4: The Second Act
Last fall, after she had agreed to represent the Schmeckfest musical on a steering committee tasked with looking at the future of the festival in place of the Freeman Academy Auxiliary that had been dissolved, Kris learned that others in leadership had just assumed that the musical would be part of Schmeckfest’s return in 2023.
It was a bittersweet realization.
While that was good news at face value, it left Kris with a major challenge — and deep anxiety. Ordinarily, a director, show and the rights required to present that show would have been secured well before October, and the assembly of a production team would have been long underway.
Instead, Kris and the program committee that had been in place since pre-Covid was starting from Ground Zero. So in the interest of time, Kris suggested she take a seat in the director’s chair — something she had been looking forward to doing anyway since the last time she directed a Schmeckfest musical — 2006’s “Cinderella.”
She even had a show in her back pocket — a lesser-known Rogers and Hammerstein musical called “State Fair.” Kris had directed a condensed version of the show with the Freeman Area Children’s Choir years before and thought then that it would be a great fit for the Schmeckfest stage. The story of one family and their trip to the 1946 Iowa State Fair was fun, family-friendly, Midwestern, nostalgic and perfectly in line with the big chorus numbers that had been presented at Schmeckfest starting in the 1970s — the ones she so dearly loved.
Yes, she thought, if the Schmeckfest musical was going to make a triumphant return after three years off, “State Fair” was the perfect choice.
Rights through the holding house, Concord Theatricals, were obtained the third week of October, but Kris had already gotten to work lining up a production team and recruiting locals for a number of key roles in the show.
“I felt like I was campaigning for office,” she said of the effort that included face-to-face meetings, phone calls and texts. Remember, big chorus shows had been harder and harder to fill in the 15-or-so years leading up to Covid, and “State Fair” was a big chorus show.
Still, Kris felt good once the buzz began, and with every “yes” that came her way, another drop of nervous sweat dried up.
“I’m getting good vibes,” she told me in a text early on, after I had told her that I’d be willing to help her in whatever way she needed. “I don’t know what the future of the whole shebang is, but at least for next year, I think people are ready to go. And to go old-school.”
They were.
By December Kris had a cast, and on Jan. 9, that cast assembled for its first read/sing-through in Music Hall. After three years away and still unresolved trepidation about what the long-term future of the Schmeckfest musical looked like, the band had gotten back together.
Part 5: The Third Act
I was one of those Kris reached out to in her effort to fill the cast. I had told her early on that I would help in any way she needed me, and that turned out to be playing a small role early in the show — the crooked Hoop-La Barker who swindles folks out of cash and comes face-to-face with a young man out for revenge after losing eight bucks to the barker the year before.
“I’m in,” I told her.
And so it was that I joined a cast of 35 others and a production team of nearly 100 in presenting “State Fair” over three nights last week — to a nearly sold-out crowd on Thursday, March 23, and then to a sold-out, enthusiastic house both nights of Schmeckfest on Friday and Saturday. It was a rush.
Because of my busy work/dad/husband schedule, I couldn’t commit to more than the single scene in which the Hoop-La Barker was featured, but it was more than enough to remind me just how special the Schmeckfest musical experience really is, and how we as a community have to figure out a way to keep this going.
I was delighted to be in the cast with the most veteran Schmeckfest actors who were at it again this year — Monte Waltner (45 shows), Sonja Waltner (22) and Janet Vargas (17).
I was tickled to share the experience with first timers that included Peter Tuff, who is the artistic operations director with the South Dakota Symphony and a welcomed new member of the Schmeckfest musical family;
Freeman Academy graduate Kenny Birkey and Parker School District staff member Cullen Mack, who are both stars on the rise;
And Margaret Reimler, a middle school student at Yankton and the daughter of Kathryn Reimler, who took her first active role in the Schmeckfest musical when I asked her to be my choreographer for “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” 13 years ago. (Kathryn was also the choreographer for “State Fair” and was on stage here for the first time as a tap-dancing pig.)
I was thrilled to share the stage with my first cousin Patrick Hofer and good friend Seth Loofbourrow, and I marveled at the quality produced by another good friend, set designer Michelle L. Hofer; and also a former schoolmate at Freeman Academy, Chris Glanzer, who has graciously been bringing his sound mastery to Schmeckfest every year since 1997.
I was energized by the quality of the chorus and the showstopper, “Ioway,” and I marveled at the best darn orchestra the musical has ever seen.
I grew nostalgic as I thought about the Pioneer Hall auditorium, which has been hosting the Schmeckfest stage production every year since “The Red Mill” and looks and feels exactly like I remember it when my dad directed “Oliver!” all those years ago.
And I felt blessed to again work under the leadership of Kris, the theater enthusiast who cast me in my first lead 21 years ago and is one of the biggest champions of the Schmeckfest musical I know.
But mostly I felt a deep sense of joy in making community theater with an entire production team that I would put up against anybody, and then sharing our collective creation with eager audiences ready to be entertained, just as they have been for more than half-a-century.
Think about it: “State Fair” was the 55th stage production to be presented as evening entertainment at Schmeckfest since 1967. Exponentially, how many people have been touched in one way or another by these productions?
Kris Carlson was. I was.
And we are among, not thousands, but tens of thousands of people we will never know, who have received this gift — a gift that has kept on giving.
But for how much longer?
Part 6: Finale
The paint hasn’t even dried on “State Fair” and I’m thinking a lot about what comes next. I’d love nothing more than to bottle up the energy exuded in Pioneer Hall during last week’s three performances so we can pour it all out again next year — and maybe that will happen.
Nobody is saying one way or another what the 2024 Schmeckfest will look like, because post-festival deliberations will have to take place first. By all accounts last week’s festival was a smash hit, with huge crowds filling nooks and crannies on the Freeman Academy campus, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Friday-Saturday format will get an automatic reboot next year. There may be more adjustments coming, and that might include what the evening entertainment looks like.
The fact is, Schmeckfest as a whole is facing some uncertainty because of challenges associated with the volunteer workforce, and the musical is not immune to that reality. As is the case with the festival in general, those involved with the stage production need to be open to change.
Yes, “State Fair” was an exceptional show that was exceptionally received, but is that sustainable year after year? Likely not. I think the days of big chorus show after big chorus show are over, and a new format for the annual tradition should be considered. While warhorses like “The Music Man” and “Pirates of Penzance” can and probably will return to the Schmeckfest stage at some point, lesser known and smaller musicals will have to be peppered in along the way. And I have long been a champion for concert versions of some of the biggest Broadway hits we’ll likely never stage here — shows like “Les Miserables,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Cats” and “Wicked.”
Would those go over as well as full-scale musicals? I have no idea. But as is the case with all of Schmeckfest, the mindset going forward shouldn’t be, “No, because …”
Rather, it should be, “Yes, but …”
Yes, we will continue to stage Schmeckfest musicals, but we need to alternate between big shows and smaller shows …
Yes, we will continue to stage Schmeckfest musicals, but need to look at a concert version of “Chess” …
Yes, we will continue to stage Schmeckfest musicals, but should consider something completely different, like “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” …
Yes, we will continue to stage Schmeckfest musicals, but we ought to change the way we go about auditioning/recruiting people for roles …
When the default answer is “yes,” and when you have people like Kris Carlson lobbying for the show behind the scenes, I really believe anything is possible, and that the Schmeckfest musical has a long life to come.
And maybe, one day, I’ll be blessed to see my own children and grandchildren grace the Schmeckfest stage together and we will all experience three generations of energy the likes of which I can’t even begin to imagine.
It’s happened before.
God willing, it will happen again.
