#64 - PlayME - La Casati

Musical Stage Company's - Reframed Series

Book by Erin Shields

Music and Lyrics by Bryce Kulak

Featuring: 

Andrew Scanlon, Kaylee Harwood, Eliza-Jane Scott

Orchestra:

Tara Litvack, Alex Grant, Tara Davidson

Musical Direction by: Tara Litvack

Context:

Luisa, Marchesa Casati (b. 1881 – d. 1957) was one of the most infamous personalities of the first half of the 20th century. A wealthy Italian aristocrat with the sensibility of an audacious performance artist, La Casati commissioned portraits of herself by the most avant-garde artists of her time. In most of her portraits, she is wearing outrageous costumes and has seemingly provoked each artist to his/her most extreme artistic expression. By contrast, Augustus John’s painting appears stripped of artifice and presents the viewer with a direct, vulnerable and unadorned portrayal of La Casati. This was the starting point for our collaboration.

Synopsis:

Painter Augustus John discovers his friend and one-time lover, Luisa Marchesa Casati hiding out in her crumbling Venetian palace. His attempts to get her to come to terms with her imminent bankruptcy are hijacked by La Casati’s desperate need to avoid reality. He makes the mistake of comparing her to any other vain aristocrat commissioning portraits of herself. Enraged, La Casati lists the many reasons she abhors the tasteless upper class. To draw John into the memory of a happier time, La Casati summons her younger self (Luisa) at the party where she and John first met. John takes the bait and relives their first meeting. La Casati then transports them to later that same evening when Luisa arrives at John’s apartment demanding to be painted. Armed with a valise of eccentric costumes, Luisa commands John to choose the version of her he’d like to paint. He convinces her to drop all artifice in favour of a simple and honest portrayal. Together, they struggle to paint the portrait. After watching this reenactment, La Casati begins to come to terms with her circumstances.

Erin Shields - Playwright

Erin Shields is a Montreal based playwright and actor. She won the 2011 Governor General’s Award for her play If We Were Birds, which premiered at Tarragon Theatre. Erin’s other Tarragon premieres include The Millennial Malcontent and Soliciting Temptation. Erin’s version of Ibsen’s The Lady from the Sea was part of The Shaw Festival’s 2015 season and her adaptation of Paradise Lost will premiere at the Stratford Festival this summer.

Bryce Kulak - Composer

Bryce Kulak is a Toronto-based actor, singer, pianist, and composer; award-winning projects include stage works Nami Namersson, Bears, and La Casati, and the movie-musical The Man That Got Away, in which Bryce also starred. The film won the only monied prize for shorts at the Berlin International Film Festival and went on to screen and win awards at festivals worldwide. As a performer, Bryce has been seen across Canada for 25 years, including productions at Mirvish (The Lord of the Rings), Marquis Entertainment (2 Pianos 4 Hands), Theatre Aquarius (Billy Bishop Goes to War), The Citadel (Oliver!, The Music Man), and Theatre Calgary (Camelot). Bryce co-created and tours with Tom Allen’s chamber-musicals Bohemians in Brooklyn, The Judgment of Paris, From Weimar to Vaudeville, and The Missing Pages. Most recently he was pianist, composer, and music consultant for the English world premiere of To The Light at Alberta Theatre Projects, and for A Christmas Carol at Western Canada Theatre. As a young composer, Bryce was mentored by John Estacio. He made his debut as a singer-songwriter with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and has sung with the orchestra of the Banff Centre and the Kingston Symphony Orchestra. Bryce has played a series of sold-out cabarets at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre; highlights are on their podcast. His albums Welcome, Tin Can Telephone, and The Man That Got Away are on iTunes. brycekulak.com

Painting: Augustus John (English 1878-1961). The Marchesa Casati, (detail) 1919. Oil on canvas, 96.5 x 68.6 cm. Purchase, 1934. Copyright 2016 Art Gallery of Ontario.