BENGALURU: At the peak of Hollywood glamour, when black and white film stars reigned in theatres across 1930s America, eight young people whose monotonous job is to usher movie-goers to their seats come up with a crazy plan – to grab their chance and perform their favourite movie tunes before the curtains go up on the film, A Night in the Ukraine. What follows is a story of chaos, laughter, and catchy songs bound to transport the audience to a different era. “It’s a rib-tickling musical comedy with something for the whole family,” says Maya Mascarenhas, the music director of the musical, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, set to be performed this week.
Directed by Arjun Sajnani, we will see veteran theatre artistes Ashok Mandanna, Darius Taraporevala, and Viveck Jayant Shah reprise their roles as the three Marx Brothers. The musical, returning to the stage after three decades, is presented by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Geetanjali Kirloskar. “What’s exciting is that it was so well received 30 years ago that it went all over the country. The original actors are as brilliant as they were when I saw them as young people,” says Mascarenhas.
The show will feature original songs from the show with a focus on piano and live singing. Recollecting her favourite musical moment, Mascarenhas shares, “There’s an interesting song in the first half, almost like a rap, called Doin’ the Production Code, and it tells you about the rules of Hollywood in those days – what you could and couldn’t do if you were making a movie. And it’s done with very precise beats, with a lot of movement to tap dancing!”
The production was a whirlwind affair put together in a month of intense rehearsals. City-based choreographer Lourd Vijay’s dance studio handled the choreography, preparing the cast for brand-new sequences. “We’re not taking from the original, because they were all trained dancers while we are working with singers and actors. Everything was developed from scratch and we used old Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Bob Fauci movies as references. Since the whole musical is a comedy, the idea is to complement the acting and the script. The audience needs to come in and have a good laugh,” explains Vijay.
(A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine will be staged at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Malleswaram, on Dec 11 and 12 at 7.30 pm. Tickets at Rs 499 onwards available on bookmyshow.com)