In
the Wings*
OR... What
the Hell
are you doing in the
Waiting Room for Heaven?
A
new musical in development
by Deborah Henson-Conant. Looking
for a current performance?
Check Deborah's Tour Page
Most recent
workshop production:
Fri.
Oct. 23, 2009 • Seattle
features Deborah Henson-Conant with:
Clarice Fredrickson • Susi
Hsong • Meg Mann • Janelle Nadeau
• Genevieve Picard • Casey
Pinckney • Emily Rostykus • Mark Andersen
• Lynn Andersen.
Aubrey
Giles' has an After-life day-job in the
Waiting Room for Heaven, where she coaches
new Heavenly recruits for the Celestial
Choir with the help of her sidekick, Gabriel
and her singing, dancing, harp-slinging
Minions.
Turns
out, life was the ultimate reality game show
-- and the folks in this room are the ones
going on to the final round for the Celestial
Choir. That's the good news
The
bad news is, the final round is a doozy.
with a set of personal Celebrity Judges that's
each person's nightmare. But with Heaven's
new "No Soul Left Behind" policy,
every recruit gets a coach -- and that's
where Aubrey comes in.
Aubrey's
part cheerleader, part personal trainer and
part wheeler-dealer --- if anyone can get
you in, she can. But Aubrey has a secret.:
her life has never flashed before her eyes
-- and until it does, she can't progress
to the next level of the game. She's stuck
in the Waiting Room for Heaven. Until tonight
....
"In
the Wings" is part One-Woman show,
part musical. It previewed in 2008
at the Central Square Theater in Cambridge,
MA (under the name "What the Hell
are you doing in the Waiting Room for Heaven??").
The 2009/2010 revisions include a revised
script, new songs, and an expanded cast
of harp-slinging would-be Angels.
Photos
(in the banner above) are from the 2008 preview
production at the Central Square Theater
in Cambridge,
MA Graphics on this page are from various
versions of the show, and since both the
title and the script are changing, they may
differ from posters for the current version
of the show. |
VIDEO & AUDIO
CLIPS:
VIDEO
TRAILER for "IN THE WINGS"
This 3-and-a-half minute video
trailer – created by Lynn Andersen – uses
footage from the 2008
production of the One-Woman Show version
of "In
the Wings."
|
JUKEBOX
for "IN THE WINGS"
Click
left for a Jukebox. If it doesn't
work from your email version of this e-newsletter,
then click
here to see this e-newsletter on line,
and the link should work from there. |
QUOTES & REVIEWS
from the 2008 one-woman version of
"In the Wings" directed by Wesley
Savick, at the Central Square Theater in Cambridge,
MA (the show was then
titled "What
the Hell are you doing in the Waiting Room
for Heaven??)
THE BOSTON GLOBE: "...everything
from dreamy glissandos togutbucket blues on her
electric harp and singing up a storm....And Henson-Conant's
flamboyant stage look is just right for the role
of Aubrey Giles, a performance coach to recently
deceased hopefuls auditioning for the heavenly
choir.
She wears long braids with shiny ribbons mixed
in, a white minidress, golden cowboy boots. She's
a
little bit pearly gates, a little bit Barbarella.
Add in the rock-star-style grappling with her blue
electric harp, and she is definitely memorable."
THE BOSTON
HERALD: "Deborah Henson-Conant, also
known as the Hip Harpist, has a lot going for her:
She’s charismatic and fearless, with stage
presence to spare; she’s got a powerful singing
voice, and above all, she can play the harp like
nobody’s business. In this case, an electric
harp with blue flames licking up the frame, attached
to the athletic, punked-out Henson-Conant with an
elaborate harness...The Grammy nominee has Joan
Baez-style vocal chops. She can pretty much make
anything she wants come out of that harp - blues,
rock, folk, musical theater-style ditties - and
she does."
THE BOSTON
METRO: "...one of the quirkiest, most
delightful performance pieces this side of limbo
... Henson-Conant is also an engaging storyteller
with an off-beat optimism that leads her to ponder
oddities like why a dimple is good and a pimple
is bad. She has depth, inner-wisdom and the ability
to share her own demons...Be forewarned that if
you’re sitting up front, you could become
an integral part of [the] finish. It may not be
enough to get you into heaven, but you’ll
laugh so hard you won’t care.
OCT.
23, 2009 Seattle Workshop Production
(Images & comments courtesy
of the American Harp Society, Greater Seattle
Chapter's Newsletter, "Resonance")
Comments
from an observer of the Oct. 23, 2009
Seattle workshopping process:
"I
don't know how they did it, but seven local
harpists, a local organist and a song-and-dance
bell-ringer put on one heck of a show October
23. Oh, and Deborah Henson-Conant had a
role, too. Susi Hussong, Emily Rostykus,
Casey Pinckney, Clarice Frederickson, Genevieve
Picard, Meg Mann andCanadian Janelle Nadeau
were the harpist-choir members, tireless
Mark Andersen the organist and the show's
director/producer and everything else,
and equally hard working Lynn Andersen
the Man in Black dancer/bell ringer/radio
announcer.
"They
started rehearsing Monday night. I happened
to see a bit of Tuesday night's rehearsal,
and in the words of our younger set: “I
was, like, no way!” There were lever
problems, parts were being reassigned,
and Deborah was saying things like "OK,
I haven't figured out how we'll do this
next part..." with only two rehearsals
left! Omigosh.
"Then
I went to the Thursday night rehearsal
at the Daniels with husband Rick, whom
Mark had asked to work the spotlight. I
couldn't believe my eyes and ears! Music
both played and sung had been learned,
staging figured out, and there were even
costumes!
"By
Friday night it was still better, after
a final rehearsal that afternoon. All of
a sudden, there was A SHOW! Things flowed,
no one appeared to forget anything (or
if they did they covered it up), and all
had a rollicking good time. Harpists who
had been raised in the tradition of learning
every note on the page and playing it perfectly,
of having their part ready before the first
rehearsal, had learned to go with the flow,
and with Deborah it's a mighty strong current.
Her acting chops were on full force, and
her playing was beautifully mesmerizing,
as always. Afterwards she took questions
from the audience and fielded them with
grace, humor and gratitude, for they will
help her as she continues to shape the
show." (Joyce Rice / courtesy
of "Resonance" Newsletter)
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