For Two Broadway Stars, a Love Story Blossoms in a Honky-Tonk Bar
LOS ANGELES — During a rehearsal of “The Lonely Few” at the Geffen Playhouse, Lauren Patten, a Tony winner for her performance in “Jagged Little Pill,” was sharing a stage with Ciara Renée, whose Broadway credits include “Waitress” and “Frozen.” The performances were mesmerizing, and loud (drumsticks were broken; earplugs were provided), with Patten steam-rolling her way through a pair of headbangers about the joys of rock ’n’ roll and the desire to escape, and Renée filling the room with a heartbreaking ballad about unrequited love. “I would go see that band,” Zoe Sarnak, the show’s composer and lyricist, said during a break.
The setting was about as far from a Broadway stage as one could imagine: a small rehearsal space in the Westwood neighborhood.
And the actual performance space for the show, the Geffen’s Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, isn’t that much larger. The 114-seat theater has been reconfigured to resemble a dive bar in backwoods Kentucky, so audience members, sitting at tables and bar stools amid the players, will feel as if they’re at a neighborhood watering hole. “The minute you walk into the theater, you’re going to feel like you’re not at the Geffen,” said Ellenore Scott, who is sharing directing duties with Trip Cullman. “Performers will be walking right by you, or using your table, or doing an entire scene next to you.” For venues this size, Patten said, vocal adjustments need to be made.
You’re still playing to the guy in the back row, she said, but with a care for the audience member sitting a few feet away.
