Marco Polo Project

PETER WALSH/TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL Stephen Tobias, executive director of the Saint John Theatre Company, displays some of the drawings for the stage and costume designs for the upcoming Marco Polo musical.

Marco Polo musical: big production and big budget

APRIL CUNNINGHAM
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
SEPT 16/10

    It was about 15 years ago when a script for a musical about the Marco Polo first landed on Stephen Tobias's desk.
   Little did he know it would eventually become the biggest theatrical event ever staged in New Brunswick.
   At the time, Tobias thought something about the script was off, but he couldn't pinpoint the problem. Written by Saint John native Mark Blagrave, the script was shelved.
   Years later, someone pitched the idea of a Marco Polo musical at a Saint John 225 meeting, in preparation for the city's anniversary celebrations.
   Tobias, the executive director of the Saint John Theatre Company, dug out the old script and read it again, this time with the eyes of more experience.
   "I saw some ideas that could make it a more workable script for us;' he said.
   And before long, the idea for the mammoth project - that would involve more than 200 performers and a massive ship replica - was born.
   To make the musical come to life will be no light task, and the organizers know it.
   "It's extremely complex, and that complexity is enhanced because of the number of partners involved" Tobias said.
   On Oct. 23, actors from the Saint John Theatre Company and musicians from the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra as well as the Saint John High School Concert Choir, will take the stage in Harbour Station. The project launches today with a reception at the Marco Polo Cruise Ship Terminal at 1 p.m.
   Never has such a large production been undertaken by the theatre company, Tobias said.
   
   "We knew it would be hard when we took it on - we didn't walk into this oblivious to the challenges;' he said. "But if it was easy, everyone would do it all the time."
    The company will have only have two days to set up all the lighting, sound and the set before the first audience of 4,000 takes in the first matinee show, though most of it will be prefabricated off-site.
   "The lighting and sound and experienced technicians that can design and operate that equipment - that's expensive. There's just no other way to do it," he said.
   It's one of the reasons why the musical also has the biggest budget - at $350,000 - the theatre company has ever had, by far. "Right now it's just a little nervewracking;' Tobias said, adding there will likely be many sleepless nights leading up to the big show. "I think the excitement will come afterwards when we pulled it off."
   The play follows the story of people whose lives are tied to the Marco Polo ship, from its construction and launch at Marsh Creek, to its record-breaking trip from Liverpool, England to Melbourne, Australia, to its final resting place off Prince Edward Island.
   The set will feature a massive rep lica of the Marco Polo, which will be trucked to Harbour Station, and large projection screens in the shape of the ship's sails.
   "When you look at the sheer numbers of performers, the size of the venue, the scope - how many times do you get to do a show where you have a 25-ton ship as the backdrop?" he said.
   "Just the idea of either as a performer or an audience member to be in a room experiencing the work of theatre in an audience of that size is something in this part of the world (that) just doesn't happen," he said.
   Because of the project's size, the theatre company and the orchestra have enlisted the help of Beth Richardson, who owns an event-planning company, Pretzel Productions.
   "There's a lot of moving pieces on a project this large;' she said. The actors, musicians and technical people all work in their own silos until just a few days before the performance.
   Meanwhile, Richard Kidd, the composer, has transposed his score for the youth orchestra as well as the actors, a chorus and the choir.
   Richardson has to ensure the composer and conductor work together to bring the music to life, she said.
   "It's a bit of a scheduling nightmare."
   Especially when you consider the youth orchestra has members all over the province.
   But Richardson said she knew what she was in for.
   "I think we all realized it was a massive undertaking just because of the sheer numbers involved - and the material itself. There's a play to learn, a musical score to learn, vocal pieces to learn.
   "We all kind of thought, `Wow, this is really big. But we have the talent and the capacity to do it."

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