Alternative theater rocks and/or rolls

By Sam Fran Scavuzzo
Collegian Editor
April 4, 2007

I do enjoy the glitz and glamor of a theater or musical production on the main stage. Seeing a show or concert at the Forrest, Academy of Music, Electric Factory or Tweeter Center naturally has its perks. The talent level is higher, the names are bigger and, often, the performance is more entertaining. However, for me, I’d rather enjoy a good underground show at a local venue before seeing the stalwarts on the flashing marquees.

Growing up in South Jersey, I got used to watching bands play in people’s basements, VFW halls and local churches. My weekend would often begin with my friends and me performing or viewing a concert at one of those locations. The intimacy of watching a band set up, tune, screw around and start to play did it for me. Many friendships emerged through lending guitars or singing backup with local musicians’ songs.

One venue that stuck out the most was a place in Mullica Hill, N.J. called the Grange. Built during the 19th century, the renovated barn was known for its birthday parties and bar mitzvahs. When I was in high school, however, bands would rent it out and jam on hay lofts. Knowing a band like the Prize Fight, Boxing at Sunset or the S.N.A.F.U.’s was playing on the same ground as Bessies from days gone by gave me one of those tingly feelings deep inside.

I suppose renovated barns churn my butter. Hatboro, Pa.’s community playgroup, The Village Players, have a 186-seat renovated 19th century dairy barn that always inspired theatrical genius among its actors. In its hallowed halls I’ve seen several productions, as my uncle Frannie is a board member. Running around the catwalks, playing in the prop room with my sisters or watching family members star in productions are some of my childhood memories. With bigger playhouses, situations like this would be harder to come by. The mystique of the old building has stuck with me and given me a love for the theater.

As recently as Spring Break, a local theater caught my fancy: the Hedgerow Theatre in Rose Valley, Pa. (near Media). The theater, this time a gristmill turned borough hall, staged a production of the play A Hotel on Marvin Gardens, based upon the board game Monopoly. Written in the mid-1990s, the play did its tour on Broadway and across the national theater scene. However, the production I saw had the author of the play directing. I don’t know if it was because of the family nature of the theater (one of the board members was cast as the lead, with her husband as set director) or what, but there is a different feeling to a play knowing the author is intimately involved with the production—look at the Masque’s Maverick One Acts.

So, when this summer rolls around, I’ll be sure to check out some neat-o mosquito venues. Whether taking in a show at the Pitman Summer Recreational Theatre, the basement of an antiques store at EmJay’s Café or Troika’s improv comedy contest at a dive bar in South Philly, I’ll appreciate the uniqueness of my surroundings, not to mention the savings to my wallet.

scavuzzos1@lasalle.edu