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Way back in 1992, when Bay Street Theatre founders Emma Walton Hamilton, Steve Hamilton, Sybil Christopher and Murphy Davis were describing their ambitious vision for the new Sag Harbor venue, two of the theater’s earliest supporters, Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach, had already been working in theater and films, as individuals and as a couple, for more than 45 years.
Part of the founders’ plan was to establish a second stage where experimental and developmental theater pieces and workshops could be presented to augment the offerings on the theater’s main stage. And while the main stage space on Long Wharf found its stride with plays in the summer and concerts, cabaret, comedy and staged readings in the shoulder seasons, the second stage concept seemed easier to imagine than to institute, and the idea seemed to slip off the radar.
Fast forward to 2010, when, thanks to some key concessions from Actors Equity, the current management team at Bay Street has at long last successfully resuscitated the notion and is now ready to dedicate the theater’s second stage to—who else?—Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach, both of whom are still working.
On Saturday, May 1, Bay Street will host a star-studded evening of performances and tributes to honor the lives and careers of one of America’s most legendary theatrical couples, while at the same time dedicating the newly approved 99-seat theater within a theater, The Annie & Eli 2nd Stage.
The evening gets underway with a wine reception starting at 6:30 p.m. at the theater, to be followed at 7:30 p.m. by performances and appearances by many of the couple’s friends and colleagues, including playwrights, film stars and singers, among others. Famed actors Zoe Caldwell, Brian Murray, and Peter Riegert will perform live in scenes from celebrated works that originally featured Ms. Jackson and Mr. Wallach. The plays include “This Property Is Condemned,” the Tennessee Williams play in which the couple met in 1946; they married two years later. Other excerpts will be presented from “Major Barbara,” “Twice Around The Park” and “Luv.”
The evening will also include dedications from Lauren Bacall, Patricia Neal, Joe Pintauro, Murray Schisgal and Betsy von Furstenberg, who will all pay tribute to the couple live on the Bay Street stage. Interspersed throughout the live performances will be pre-recorded readings and messages from the likes of Barbara Cook, Harvey Keitel, Mike Nichols, Al Pacino, Kate Winslet and others. In addition, several of the couple’s students and family members will offer their own special messages.
Interviewed at the theater on Friday, Murphy Davis, one of Bay Street’s two artistic directors, outlined the evolution of the second stage that will be dedicated on Saturday.
“If we had our druthers, we would produce theater year-round,” Mr. Davis said.
That’s not practical, he said, using the main stage space, because of the higher costs associated with those productions, and the need for more ticket sales to help cover those costs. That’s where the second stage concept comes into play, because Equity allows for lower contractual fees for actors working in theaters that are limited to a maximum of 99 tickets per performance.
While Equity typically does not permit the creation of temporary second stages within existing larger theaters, Mr. Davis said the union was willing to work with Bay Street because the benefit of creating opportunities for more work for union actors, even in a smaller space at a lower rate of pay, was apparent.
Next fall, production manager Gary Hygom and his crews will block off the two extreme side sections of seats by the creation of a proscenium, and install panels to block off the seats behind the fourth row on the left and right sections that remain and behind the fifth row in the center section, yielding a few less than 99 seats for the entire theater.
Current plans call for the first workshop performance in the adjusted space to be a musical version of Lanford Wilson’s “Balm in Gilead,” bearing the new title, “Raindogs.” Meanwhile, Bay Street is planning to revisit its summer schedule of second stage productions at the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, with four weekends of performances in July and August.
When it came to naming the new space, Mr. Davis said the choice was instantaneous for him and Ms. Christopher, the other artistic director. “Whether performing or participating as audience members,” Mr. Davis said of Ms. Jackson and Mr. Wallach, “it is inspiring to see their appreciation of the art form and their craft.”
For tickets or more information about the May 1 event, visit www.baystreet.org, call 725-9500 or visit the theater on Long Wharf. For information about the “virtual brick” program for the Annie & Eli 2nd Stage, call Julie Fitzgerald at 725-0818, ext. 101.
on Apr 27, 2010