Boulevard Theatre Presents Milwaukee Debut of ‘I Never Sang for My Father’

×

Expand

Photo by Troy Freund Photography

Boulevard Theatre ‘I Never Sang for My Father’

Joan End and Matt Specht in Boulevard Theatre's ‘I Never Sang for My Father’

It’s a timeless story—every man has to kill his father!” said Boulevard Theatre’s artistic director, Mark Bucher. He was enthusiastically describing the subject of his next production, I Never Sang for My Father, which has nothing to do with patricide but explores how much we owe—or don’t owe—to our parents.

I Never Sang for My Father debuted on Broadway in 1968 but according to Bucher, Boulevard is giving the play its belated Milwaukee debut. The author, Robert Anderson, is best remembered for his 1953 play Tea and Sympathy, groundbreaking at that time for its reflection on difference and same-sex attraction. Tea and Sympathy was turned into a movie and Anderson occasionally penned screenplays, including the Steve McQueen gunboat epic The Sand Pebbles (1966).

Much like his programming from recent seasons, I Never Sang for My Fatherwas chosen because it’s an intelligent, relevant and seldom seen work from previous centuries. “It’s as well-crafted as this table,” said Bucher, pounding for emphasis on the wobbly counter of a local coffee house. “Well, better than this table! It’s brilliant in a low key, never flashy way. Robert Anderson wrote foractors. He’s very playable, very immediate, never wordy. He was an American Chekhov—and what’s Uncle Vanya about? Our inability to communicate.”

Another factor favoring I Never Sang for My Father was the ability to cast old and young actors in more or less equal number, including David Ferrie, Matt Specht, Joan End, Caitlin Kujawski Compton, Bob Balderson, Angelita Colin and Pat Sturgis. “Anderson dramatizes the challenges of aging out with our parents, of how to handle a parent who you want to love but don’t.”

I Never Sang for My Father will be an “elevated concert staging,” described by Bucher as “a full production but without costumes, sets or elaborate lighting. It’s naked acting. I insist that the actors memorize 93% of their lines.” They will have the script in front of them on music stands if they need to refer to it. Bucher has pursued this economical style of presentation for the past several seasons, relying solely on the actors to connect with the audience. “People tell me, ‘I didn’t miss the set! I forgot there wasn’t a set!”

Bucher deliberately booked I Never Sang for My Father for the holiday season. “What do people do at Thanksgiving—they get together with family. If you feel trapped in their house, bring them to this play and say, ‘That’s you, dad!’”

Boulevard Theatre will present I Never Sang for My Father at 6:30 p.m. November 25-26, 6:30 p.m. November 29 and 4 p.m. December 1 at Sugar Maple, 441 E. Lincoln Ave. Admission is pay what you can but all guests must reserve seats by emailing boulevardtickets@gmail.com.