Welcome to Nuncrackers

Welcome to my first entry for the production of Nuncrackers. Here I will be documenting my point of view in bringing this show to stage, hopefully offering you a more in-depth view into what is required to create a musical production.

My name is Sean Harrington. I came to be involved with the Elite Theatre Company through my friendship with Tom Eubanks, ETC's Artistic Director. We met during the 2004 Ojai Art Center production of Little Shop of Horrors which Tom directed and in which I acted, technical directed, and provided a heaping helping of production support. I think the trials and tribulations of that show cemented our professional and personal relationship, and ushered me into the inner workings of ETC.

In the late spring of 2005, I got a call from Tom that started with the words, "I've got some good news and some bad news..." which, to me, from Tom, usually means a boatload of work is headed my way. The director who had been slated to handle Nuncrackers, ETC's winter 2005 show, had become unavailable. Tom and I had already discussed my working on another musical in spring of 2006, but he needed to have this position sewn up so that he wouldn't have to trust someone he didn't know with the pivotal holiday show, or, more than likely, so he wouldn't have to direct it himself. Either way, I was now directing a musical for the winter holidays.

I'd just finished Brighton Beach Memoirs, a show I loved, and which was well received at the New JCC at Milken where it was performed. The problem was that I was essentially the only person, other than the cast, working on the show. I directed, built the set, arranged for costumes, paid for the production, ran the lights and sound, and served as stage manager. The show was not well publicized by the JCC, nor was it supported well from a facilities standpoint. Everything that we did for the show had to be aggressively negotiated. Thank goodness my wife served as the producer, otherwise we would have been further back-burnered than we were.

ETC has always been a pleasant place to put on shows. The board of directors are very enthusiastic, and the calibre of people there was superb. I'd worked with Tom on the early 2005 production of Nevada Belle, and I knew most of the pitfalls in dealing with the space: two large pillars in the house, seating for just over 50, no crossover, greenroom, or dressing rooms. But all of these were known quantities before I'd even contemplated directing there.

The next hurdle was getting my brain around Nuncrackers and how I'd approach it given the constraints before me. I'd seen Nunsense produced, and I like the silliness of Dan Goggins' work in that show, but sequels always bugged me in theatre, and I was concerned that second helpings of an already schmaltzy show might not carry well.

Anyway, I'll get into these details in the next series of posts. Thanks again for joining us, and I hope you enjoy the insight presented here.


- Sean