Dancing off the canvas: Old Deerfield Productions stages world premiere of musical ‘Still Life With Toe Shoes'

By SOLMAAZ YAZDIHA Bulletin Contributing Writer

Published on July 18, 2008

A painting has the power to freeze a moment in time, to mirror the viewer in a new light, and in the case of Degas' works, to inspire a new musical, uprooting the raw truth beneath the frill and elegance of youthful ballerinas.

Old Deerfield Productions presents the world premiere of "Still Life With Toe Shoes," with music by Marisa Michelson and lyrics by Joshua H. Cohen, opening July 25 in the Dance Studio at Deerfield Academy.

"Still Life" tells the tale of six ballet dancers, uncertain and vulnerable in the tangles of youth, capturing what it really means for these young females to come of age. When a renowned male painter enters the scene to observe the girls, he opens their eyes to much more than just their dancing, shining light on moments as private as whispered secrets.

"We were trying to put together a song cycle that would illuminate the women behind the paintings," Michelson said. "We wanted to explore what was happening behind a pose, or a pretty face, or a moment just like Degas was - not just painting ballerinas in their perfection, but at all times."

"I'm so drawn to it because it is such an intelligent rendering," said Linda McInerny, the show's producer and director. "It grasps the complexities of youth, while being widely accessible and melodic. All the intricacies of what it means to grow up as a young woman come to a head."

"Theater is off the page," Michelson said. "It is created as it happens, while the audience is watching, so they play an intimate role in that creation. The audience and actors are the whole of the piece. I know they'll feel that they're part of something new with these young women."

Taking center stage, New York's Rachel Brown performs alongside local dancers Hallie Haas, Julie Suriano, Rebecca Flinker, Evie Nolan, and Amelia Morgan-Rothchild as the six young ballerinas, with Ben Clark acting as the sharp-eyed painter.

"The performance location has an exquisite open space with big mirrors and dance bars," McInerny said. "You're going to feel like you're intimately tucked into a dance studio with these beautiful young women. The characters will remind you of your daughters or of yourself when you were younger. I hope it will be a shared connective experience for parents and their children."

Michelson may remind many of someone they once knew as well. An Amherst native, Michelson was cast years ago in Old Deerfield's production of "Rashomon." After receiving a B.F.A. in drama from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and completing a 2006/2007 fellowship in India, where she composed music and studied Hindustani singing, the award-winning composer got in touch with McInerny and proposed the project.

"Over time [Cohen and I] developed these rich characters that started to weave together and tell a story," Michelson said. "Working now with Linda and all the girls is so thrilling. It's really an organic collaborative process we're creating together. We're finding the movements and moments as we rehearse together. We're showing what it means to create gestures and to fill space and sound, what it means to be a young woman. I hope that all shines through."

"It's a beautiful example of the way art can speak about our human condition," McInerny said. "It's something never seen before. The audience will be singing songs as they leave the studio."