Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: An Interview With Director, Meg Fischer Venuti

I have been a BIG fan of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels since I first heard the soundtrack – the music is so wonderful! The movie’s always been a favorite of mine and when I saw DRS on Broadway, that just solidified my love of this show. The plot is very clever and the humor ranges from slapstick to witty banter.

There have been several challenges in staging this show in a black box theatre. There are a variety of locations, each one more opulent than the last, and communicating that in a minimalist way has really taken some creativity! There is also very little storage in the theatre and a tiny backstage area, so keeping the furniture and props minimal has been a real factor in decision making. The show is also not built for a heavily involved ensemble, so it’s been a lot of fun finding places to feature our ensemble members and expand the staging. We’re featuring a lot of different forms of dance in this piece including standard ballroom, samba, country clogging, and Broadway jazz. Staging choreography in a 3/4 thrust like Second Stage is always an exciting challenge and is made even more interesting with so many forms of dance.

Directing the teen summer show is very special to me for several reasons. The limited casting creates a real sense of ownership and responsibility amongst the actors and that translates into a really impressive work ethic. I have always loved working with teens – I taught high school full time for seven years before I came to PYT. There’s something really wonderful about this age group because they are capable of so much and not yet so experienced that they aren’t willing to learn. We are really able to get down to it with the text, discuss character and physicality, motivation, and really work with subtlety and style in a way that is difficult in a larger cast. We are able to achieve so much and really stretch as artists and collaborators – I love it!

The musical follows the plot of the film pretty closely. There are differences that DRS super fans will notice, but the major points are the same.

 

Any shout outs to your artistic team or cast you’d like to make?

I am so lucky on this production to be working once more with Caitlyn and Char DeRouin, my AD/SM and Costume Designer. Caitlyn and I have done 11 shows together now and we have such a great working relationship. We are also on staff together here at PYT and it’s always such a joy to have her on my team! She’s a brilliant Stage Manager and contributes so much to the show as both SM and as Assistant Director. Char and I worked together on my very first Mainstage show Willy Wonka (2010) and became fast friends and artistic collaborators. Since then, we’ve worked on 9 shows together and I always feel so lucky to have her on the artistic team!

Our vocal direction has been expertly handled by Lori Beth Switzer who is back to PYT after her last show with us: Cinderella. She’s tackled this very challenging music with a deft hand and a wonderful sense of fun. It’s been wonderful to have her onboard! We’ve also got a beautiful set designed by Lynn Grant that has really allowed us to use our space well and given us the versatility to communicate many different locations.

 

The cast has been a real joy to work with! Everyone has brought amazing positivity, support, and a real sense of ensemble to this project. Everyone shows up to rehearsal ready to work and discover new things about their characters (and they have quite a few of them!). It’s really quite a recipe for an excellent show!

This show really has it all: humor, big Broadway dance numbers, touching moments, intrigue – something for everyone! But it is definitely PG rated. This is a more adult show, with more adult material, but we’ve taken some of the suggested changes to mediate language and content. It’s still got its teeth, but it is not quite as dirty and rotten as the original.

Tickets for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels for July 18-21 are on sale now at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street.  Also, read our Press Releases in Broadway World and Silicon Valley Voice

By Barbie Koch

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