By Rob Hartmann
Mother Jones and the
Children’s Crusade, with book, music and lyrics by Cheryl E. Kemeny, is
currently in rehearsal for its run as part of the New York Musical Theatre
Festival. The show focuses on turn of the century labor activist Mary Harris
“Mother” Jones, as she leads a march of mill children from Philadelphia to the
home of President Theodore Roosevelt in New York, protesting child labor
conditions — young children were routinely injured while they worked in mines
and mills for starvation wages.
The NYMF production stars Lynne Wintersteller, perhaps best
known for her iconic performance in Maltby & Shire’s Closer Than Ever; the cast also features two-time Tony nominee
Robin de Jesus.
I spoke with Benjamin Edward Simpson, an actor who stepped
into the role of producer to bring Mother
Jones to New York, and also with director Michelle Tattenbaum (who directed
Nobody Loves You at Second Stage and
the Old Globe.)
ROB HARTMANN: Ben
— I understand that you were actually in
this show when you were a kid?
BEN SIMPSON: It’s
kind of a crazy story how it all started. So the author, Cheryl Kemeny, runs a
not for profit children’s performing arts center in Norwalk Connecticut, the
Crystal Theatre. So, growing up, instead of doing Annie or Bye Bye Birdie, you’re
doing one of these original musicals that she writes. And they’re written for a
cast of sixty so everyone has a part. So this show was one of the shows I just
signed up for as a kid. Robin de Jesus was in it as a kid as well.
These days, I’m primarily an actor — I was in between shows
and I just kept thinking about this show, and how it’s really relevant to
what’s going on in the world today.
MICHELLE TATTENBAUM: That
was one of the things about the script that I really responded to — this
feeling of utter timeliness. I think the Gilded Age is on everyone’s mind right
now, and I think that is very telling. To have the chance to tell a story from
that era — well really, it’s a plea for trying to change things for the better.
That we can’t just sit by. That, to me, is the universal message that needs to
be heard right now.
I feel this incredible sense of fatalism about how things
are right now, in terms of income inequality, in terms of the ways in which our
society is completely unsupportive of families. The indignities of that are
everywhere and daily — trying to operate in a world where you need to have both
parents in a family working full time, or otherwise you can’t afford to have a
safe and comfortable life. And yet at every turn the culture is not set up to
support that.
BS: I always thought
Mother Jones was Cheryl’s best
material — I’ve grown up loving big Broadway musicals like Ragtime and Parade, and I
thought that this show had that kind of epic story. It’s a star vehicle, but it
also has the kids — they’re the heart of this story. I would tell anyone to
come see it, whether you’re ten or seventy five.
MT: It was
originally written to be performed by kids — but, while I think it’s still
quite suitable for a family audience, it’s not a “kid’s show.” We’re not
approaching it in that way. We’re approaching it with a greater level of
complexity and sophistication. Obviously, people can bring their kids — there
are four kids in it — but we’re not approaching it in a “family theater” kind
of way.
RH: And you have
Lynne Wintersteller as Mother Jones.
BS: Lynne
Wintersteller is so amazing. She’s gone through this script and score so
thoroughly, finding all the dimensions of the character. The truth of the
matter is that Mother Jones wasn’t always likeable. Cheryl has tried to stay
true to that, really showing all her flaws. Lynne sounds amazing — she’s so
game for anything. What’s exciting is, she’s really inspiring some of the
changes we’ve made. We’re tailoring it to her — she is our Mother Jones.
MT: Cheryl is
incredibly open — she’s a very smart writer. She’s written a lot of shows, so
she’s not precious about any of it. She brings a lot of experience and maturity
to the table. She’s a pragmatist.
BS: Cheryl’s been
staring at this piece for years and years. And I’ve been attached to it for so
long that I thought it was really important to have Michelle, who could be
fresh set of eyes on the show. On the first day, she gave us all a little
history lesson about the world of this show. Like, “I’m wearing this new pair
of pants — these were made in some factory by some person who has a story – and
that’s the story we’re telling.” All her detailed research and her excitement
for the piece — she’s just so invested, it gets everyone excited.
MT: I talked
about individualism, and how deeply ingrained this idea is — that everything
that happens to you is based on your worth as an individual. And if you work
hard enough, and if you’re a worthy enough person, then you will get ahead. And
nothing has anything to do with the societal structures we’re operating in or
the water we’re swimming in or the air we’re breathing in, it’s all your
personal worth. I talked about that, and laissez faire economics and social Darwinism
(laughs.) Those are my three things.
And I wanted to talk about Calvinism, because I feel it really goes all the way
back to the Calvinistic attitudes of the Puritan and the other folks who
founded this country — that sort of judgment — “you deserve what you got” —it feels so pervasive, and we don’t even
talk about it.
RH: How are
rehearsals going?
BS: We’re just
taking it day by day. Cheryl never had this dream to be a big Broadway composer
or anything — we were actually talking about this in the car. She used to
perform, and traveled the world with her sister, singing. And she found this
calling, you know, teaching and composing — and she never cared about the glitz
and glamor. But now that we’re getting a taste of working with Lynne
Wintersteller and Michelle and people who are challenging her creatively, I
think it’s just incredibly exciting. And the piece is only getting stronger and
stronger.
RH: And you’ve
got Robin de Jesus in the cast.
BS: We’re really
good friends — he’s just the sweetest guy. He’s at a point in his career where
he just goes from job to job to job, but he really made sure that he could
clear his schedule to do this. For him to turn down these big movie auditions
and these big readings and workshops that he could easily have been doing — that’s such a big thing. He said, it’s not
about the money, it’s not about the credit, it’s about honoring the woman that
gave him his start. I mean, Cheryl got him the audition for Camp, where his career took off. So it’s
like coming full circle for him, and for me.
Mother Jones and the
Children’s Crusade. www.motherjonesmusical.com
Book, music & lyrics by Cheryl E. Kemeny. Directed by
Michelle Tattenbaum. Music direction by Micah Young. Choreography by Clare
Cook. Produced by Benjamin Simpson and The Crystal Theatre, Inc.
Featuring Lynne Wintersteller, Frenie Acoba, Tessa Grady, Robin de Jesus, Lizzie Klemperer, Lulu Lloyd, Zachary
Mackiewicz, Robert Mammana, Johnny Marx, Grace Matwijec, Marissa Miller, and
Kevin Reed.
For tickets, www.nymf.org.
Performances at PTC Performance Space, 555 W. 42nd St. Thursday, July 17 at 8:00 pm; Saturday, July 19 at 1:00 pm; Sunday, July 20 at 12:00 pm; Monday, July 21 at 1:00 pm; Thursday, July 24 at 9:00 pm.
