PhotosYoga With Samantha Barks, Backstage Toasts and French-Style Fun! Backstage Pics at Amélie"We form a trail of breadcrumbs, but what are they leading to?" So asks the story of Amélie. Maria-Christina Oliveras, currently appearing in Berkeley Rep's new musical adaptation of the beloved French film, attempts to answer that question in this exclusive backstage feature. She introduces the cast of characters who inhabit the Montmartre world and explores the breadcrumbs that each had dropped in the past, changing the trajectory of their lives and leading them to this current artistic endeavor. Welcome to Amélie!
By
Matthew Blank
September 23, 2015
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Maria-Christina Oliveras Takes Us On the Trail of "Breadcrumbs" to the New Musical Amélie, Starring Samantha Barks
Maria-Christina Oliveras Takes Us On the Trail of "Breadcrumbs" to the New Musical Amélie, Starring Samantha Barks
"We form a trail of breadcrumbs, but what are they leading to?" So asks the story of Amélie. Maria-Christina Oliveras, currently appearing in Berkeley Rep's new musical adaptation of the beloved French film, attempts to answer that question in this exclusive backstage feature. She introduces the cast of characters who inhabit the Montmartre world and explores the breadcrumbs that each had dropped in the past, changing the trajectory of their lives and leading them to this current artistic endeavor. Welcome to Amélie!
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Bonjour! Thrilled to be offering some tidbits and adventures from the magical world of our Montmartre and Berkeley, and a glimpse into some of the breadcrumbs that have brought us here….
Maria-Christina Oliveras
“We form a trail of breadcrumbs, but what are they leading to…” Allow me to start with a gnomenclature (sorry, couldn’t resist) of the Amélie family…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
This fine gnome (not to be confused with a smurf or a dwarf) watches over our green room and a bevy of snacks for those of us not "glutton"-free…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Alas, I digress…Meet the brilliant Savvy Crawford—our resident genius—she is the cast’s go-to acting coach, but sorry folks, she’s pulled a Hamilton and is booked through the next decade.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Here she is giving notes to Randy Blair as he signs in…
Don’t fret--If he can’t live up to Savvy’s exceptionally high standards, he’s also a fantastic writer—his production of Gigantic will be going up at the Vineyard Theater later this winter—check it out!
Maria-Christina Oliveras
And here is Tony Sheldon, spreading his dazzling love and light in our dressing room pre-show… he is originally from Down Under…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Maria-Christina Oliveras
We also have another import from across the Pond, specifically from the Isle of Man, Samantha Barks.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Now Samantha is beautiful and super talented and blah blah blah, but she gets the most props from me for being, on her own, the only person crazy enough to do 6:30 AM yoga with me…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Pre-show primping with Paul Whitty…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…whose birthday we just celebrated…we’ve had many birthdays this run, but the highlight…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
July 19th, 2015: Paul was unable to attend rehearsal in NYC. He was en route to Berkeley and landed just in the nick of time for the birth of his first born child, AMELIE MICHELE WHITTY, who has blessed us with her beautiful presence throughout this process…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…along with Lola, Paul’s canine…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
We have two back to back matinee-evening days—David Andino calibrates his energy with two cups of coffee (at least I think that’s what’s in there)…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
In any event, Andino is covered by one of our fabulous swings, Jacob Keith Watson.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Forward…Time to beat the face alongside these extraordinary women, gorgeous inside and out...
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…Alyse Alan Louis
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…Carla Duren
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…Alison Cimmet
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Side bar: Alison is the queen of banana grams, and throws the most killer game nights…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…Shannon O’Boyle
Maria-Christina Oliveras
The transformation begins with Angela on mic duty…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Trump, this hairpiece.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Meet the hair rat—a lady’s secret since the Victorian Era (though not Victoria’s).
Maria-Christina Oliveras
One rat…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
..and two tats later…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Meet Suzanne.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
We just had opening, so our dressing room is full of all sorts of balloons and flowers and gifts…including a huge dolphin balloon which may or may not absolutely terrify some in our cast…namely one with the initials, SB
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…we occasionally get visits from the wonderful Adam Chanler-Berat, stopping in tonight for a little pre-show nuzzle…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
..while Savvy warms up with our incomparable musical director, Kimberly Grigsby…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
who conducts these awesome rockstars, awaiting us backstage as…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Our stage manager extraordinaire, Bonnie Panson, calls “Places” and sends us into the hands of…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
This fine gentleman, Michael Suenkel…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…and our fantastic crew, whose set and costume changes are so magically executed…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
..including for this guy, John Hickock, our resident outdoors warrior—he sometimes clocks 4 hour bike rides on a show day!
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Side bar: Berkeley is an amazing cycling city, so many of us bought bikes and commuted to work together. BEWARE of tracks in San Francisco though…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Ding ding ding went the trolley, down down down went THIS GIRL! All good now, but I don’t recommend dislocations, particularly during tech.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Back on target, we meet the mysterious and debonair Perry Sherman…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
The Lovely Glass Man…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Shannon is shadowing me tonight not photobombing…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
A little break in the socialist snack room…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Waiting…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
I am one lucky girl!
Maria-Christina Oliveras
More snacks…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
The Ladies of the Café de 2 Moulins
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Randy stole my camera..
Maria-Christina Oliveras
And so did Sam?!?!?
Maria-Christina Oliveras
They will all require penance from Savvy…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
As will these clowns…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Tommy with his gun…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Want a Fanta? Don’t you want a? Or a Starbucks iced coffee?
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Apparently, David did, despite his pre-show fix, but they ran out…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
A good weave is hard to find…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Toggles and I discuss this, and also the possibility of a bathroom break...
Maria-Christina Oliveras
I visit the hydration station often…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Denied?!?
Maria-Christina Oliveras
The ever empathetic Tony feels deeply for me…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
But all discomfort is forgotten when you get to play onstage with this beauty…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Bonnie in the booth…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…Remnants of quick changes gone by…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…free from the hair rat!
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Post show sometimes includes talk backs...
Maria-Christina Oliveras
..discussions of our next communal juice cleanse…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…live music—the boys are recording on BUD MUSIC, an app that Perry developed himself! Get. It.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…revelry…”La vie est trop courte pour boire du mauvais vin.”
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…perhaps toasting the mystery/magic(?) of what has brought us all here…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Many of us were on each other’s trails way before Amélie. These beautiful people first met over 4 years ago on The Fortress of Solitude.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Chanler-Berat gets around though—he and I also did a brief stint in Crete with Zorba at City Center Encores before coming to Paris. I suppose I can’t talk: Craig who’s doing sound on this and I first met on Here Lies Love and…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…Alyse and I got Pretty Filthy with each other earlier this year with The Civilians, playing a range of porn personnel….
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…while Paul and Shannon met Once.
Maria-Christina Oliveras
However, this extraordinary artist and human being, Kimberly Grigsby, seems to have left the most breadcrumbs, leading many of us here. Kim’s musical hand with Alison started early in classes at Stage Door…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
…and she did Fortress of Solitude with Adam…and Fortress of Solitude and Brooklynite with Carla…
Maria-Christina Oliveras
… She and Paul bore their creative all in The Full Monty…she then had a Spring Awakening with Perry….
Maria-Christina Oliveras
and we had Here Lies Love…BREADCRUMBS!
Maria-Christina Oliveras
“When the booth goes bright, it’s what you can’t see, it is everything that brought you here.” So grateful to be here, and to share a brief glimpse into our world. Join us in Montmarte if you can!
Maria-Christina Oliveras
Merci and Mangez bien, riez souvent, aimez beaucoup. (Taken directly from google but indeed, “EAT WELL, LAUGH OFTEN, LOVE ABUNDANTLY.”)
Oliveras has appeared on Broadway in Machinal and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Other New York credits include Zorba and the world premieres of Here Lies Love, Pretty Filthy, And Miles To Go, Reading Under the Influence, The Really Big Once, Slavey and After. Film and television appearances include "The Humbling," "St. Vincent," "Time Out of Mind," "Manhattan Nocturne," “Nurse Jackie,” “Damages" and “Person of Interest.” Dedicated to developing new work, she is the recipient of the Charles Bowden Actor Award from New Dramatists.
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The new musical starring Samantha Barks (Eponine in the film adaptation of Les Misérables) plays an extended run through Oct. 18. The new musical officially opened Sept. 11. It is directed by Tony Award winner Pam MacKinnon (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?).
Barks is joined by David Andino (Blind Beggar/Garden Gnome), Randy Blair (Hipolito), Adam Chanler-Berat (Nino), Alison Cimmet (Amandine/Philomene), Savvy Crawford (Young Amélie), Carla Duren (Gina), John Hickok (Raphael/Bretodeaux), Alyse Alan Louis (Georgette), Shannon O’Boyle (Swing), Maria-Christina Oliveras (Suzanne), Tony Sheldon (Dufayel/Collignon), Perry Sherman (Lucien), Jacob Keith Watson (Swing) and Paul Whitty (Joseph).
Amélie is written by Craig Lucas (An American in Paris, Prelude to a Kiss) and features music by Daniel Messé with lyrics by Nathan Tysen (The Burnt Part Boys, Tuck Everlasting) and Messé.
Here's how Berkeley Rep bills the new musical: "Embark on a mesmerizing journey with inquisitive and charmingly shy Amélie as she turns the streets of Montmartre into a world of her own imagining, while secretly orchestrating moments of joy for those around her."
The show has scenic and costume design by David Zinn, lighting design by Jane Cox, sound design by Kai Harada, projection design by Peter Nigrini with music direction by Kimberly Grigsby and choreography by Sam Pinkleton.
For more information, call (510) 647-2949 or visit BerkeleyRep.org.
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