The 'Gorey' makings of a hit
Jobsite Theatre gets an enthusiastic reception for the humorous combination of music and the macabre it's bringing to the small stage.
By Marty Clear
Published October 18, 2007
The 'Gorey' details
Gorey Stories, tonight through Nov. 11 at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Shimberg Playhouse. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday. $24.50 plus service charge. (813) 229-7827 or www.tbpac.org.
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The Broadway run of Gorey Stories tied the all-time record, one that can never be broken: It closed the same day it opened.
But that was 29 years ago, and since then the odd little play has found ample success in smaller, more bohemian theaters across the country.
"The show has a checkered past," said David Jenkins, who is directing the Jobsite Theatre production of Gorey Stories that opens this weekend at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. "It closed after one show on Broadway. But a lot of companies around the country that seem to be similar to ours have been doing it, and it always seems to do well."
The play revolves around a social gathering in the parlor of Lady Celia. The guests take turns relating tales written by Edward Gorey.
There's a good chance that name doesn't ring a bell, but it's likely that you're at least passingly familiar with Gorey's work. He was an American writer and illustrator, most widely known for the Gothic animation that serves as the opening for the PBS series Mystery. He also wrote and illustrated scores of macabre and slyly humorous stories and poems.
The Broadway production was problematic, Jenkins said. It was billed as "an entertainment with music," and it was very music-heavy. Most of the songs, he said, were just covering elaborate set changes. Besides, a big Broadway theater just isn't suited for this kind of show.
More intimate venues have had enthusiastic responses from critics and audiences. The Jobsite production which pares the music to six songs, performed with an onstage band already looks to be a hit. Even before opening night, Jobsite extended the run because of high demand.
It's a good time for Jobsite to have a hit.
The company was forced to close its last production, Hurly Burly, about halfway through its run when one of its lead actors was arrested on drug charges. The actor, Ryan McCarthy, is out on bail.
"We've never had to close a show before, and the only show we've ever canceled was because of a hurricane," Jenkins said. "We lost about $4,000, which for us in not an insignificant sum."
(Jobsite's total box office gross last season was about $103,000.)
Jobsite has recouped most of that money. Its biggest annual fundraiser, Jobsite Rocks, was scheduled for the weeks just after the closing of Hurly Burly. It's basically a party, but this year Jobsite added a silent auction, with artwork, and a couple of other attractions and raised an additional $3,965, virtually equal to the amount lost by the premature closing.
"The company is not in danger of going broke," Jenkins said. "This situation is two or three months old now, and it's already pretty much a dead issue."
Marty Clear is a freelance writer in Tampa who specializes in performing arts. He can be reached at mclear@tampabay.rr.com.