"None of us is as good as all of us"
Ray Kroc’s* famous quote seems to perfectly apply to our company, especially in the early days of Grease, scheduled to premiere at the Mogador on 28 September. At first glance, it looked like a big challenge: transforming a touring show created in the Netherlands by a local team and an Australian director into a long run show with a French flavor at the Mogador.
Open mindedness is the key
‘It’s all about people and their state of mind,’ said Laurent Bentata, moments before we had a kick-off meeting in Paris that brought together the original team and the local creative talents. ‘We expect everyone to contribute to our main objective: bringing emotion and elements of surprise to our audiences.’ But at the end of the day, it became obvious that many elements could not be taken from the Dutch production because of cultural differences. ‘We are all experienced people,’ remarked Eric Lousteau Carrère. ‘Each of us has his or her own background. We don’t necessarily have the same definition of surprise. In fact, each of the protagonists probably holds a piece of the puzzle.’
As Confucius once said: if man has two ears and one mouth, he is to listen twice as much as he talks. Open mindedness starts with lots of listening and experience sharing. And you’d better agree on a common platform when you have to audition over 1,300 people in just over a month.
‘We had to act as one team,’ noted director Véronique Bandelier. ‘Especially as Martin [Martin Michel, the original director and choreographer] and his assistant Tim couldn’t be in Paris on a permanent basis. So we had a lot of initial talks that helped to develop mutual respect.’ Martin agreed, adding that ‘from my first meeting on, I felt like I was home, and it only took a couple of glasses of champagne and a great meal for Véronique, Dominique and I to become a team.’ And when Martin met Rabah Aliouane, the casting director for Grease who he worked with years ago on Tintin, the bond was even tighter.
Still, the challenges are considerable. First, there is the direction itself, as French audiences are probably more influenced by acting while the Dutch are more sensitive to music and dance.
Then there is the music, which has to be re-orchestrated because the production will feature an eight-member band. Says Dominique Trottein, the music director: ‘We don’t only have a live band; there are also musicians on stage who will be part of the show. The energy is different from the version Ad [van Dijk] worked out.’
In addition, the set must undergo a radical makeover before it can meet the unique requirements of the Mogador—while still allowing for a possible tour in the future.
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And also Arno Bremers and Corinne Pagé started to review costumes integrating our partnership with Schott NYC.
‘Let’s be smart’ could have been the motto for the show’s early beginnings, which combined hard work, cooperation, planning, and lots of fun as well when hopeful candidates improvised a real moment of comedy.
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The audition process ended as smoothly as it started, and the jury, including Albert Verlinde and Laurent Bentata, could proudly celebrate the success of the international partnership. Martin spoke for everyone when he enthusiastically concluded by saying : ‘I can’t wait for rehearsals!’
Neither can we!
@ Olivier Lazzarini
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