There's No Business like Show Business

Here’s what you need to know to go see Wildwood Summer Theatre’s production of the 1990 Tony-award winning musical City of Angels. There are two worlds -- the glam world of 1940s Hollywood, and the world of film noir. The two are tied together by a newbie screenwriter writing a play (stage right) and the play unfolding (stage left) scene by scene, sometimes sentence by sentence banged out on his typewriter. The playwriting occurs in color, the play-by-play in shades of black and white.

Wildwood Summer Theatre (WST) is an independent, nonprofit, youth-run theater company. It was founded in 1965 by students from and every year since then has drawn young people to Bethesda, from their high schools, their colleges, their day jobs, to entertain audiences with shows like Cabaret, Merrily We Roll Along and A Chorus Line. Some still live in this area; others who were raised here come back for the summer. All company members are 14-25 years old and they’re all volunteers—cast, crew, orchestra, staff and board of directors. This year’s company is 65 people strong.

City of Angels (with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by David Zippel and book by Larry Gelbart) is one of their most ambitious productions, with dual roles for most actors, costumes and props and essentially two sets.  

“I think every year we attempt to outdo ourselves," said director Pam Freedy.

While male leads Alex Garretson (as screenwriter Stine), Mason Catharini (as P.I. Stone) and Andrew Dahreddine (as a movie mogul on both sides of the stage, Buddy Fidler and Irwin S. Irving) perform ably, it’s Kristina Friedgen who really knocks it out of the park vocally (and comedically), as Donna, Fidler’s secretary in the studio, and Oolie, gal Friday at Stone Investigations in the film. And Roxie Maisel, playing Stone’s femme fatale client Alaura Kingsley and Fidler’s wife, actress Carla Haywood, really comes to life when she sings.

Hollywood starlets, con men, captains of industry, secretaries, all are in fabulous period costumes -- from heeled Mary Janes to dapper tuxes, hair coiffed just so, and for everyone, hats—fedoras, evening hats, suit hats.

During dress rehearsal, Patch spoke to the multi-talented Mattia D’Affuso, who plays Hollywood crooner Jimmy Powers as well as serving on this year’s board of directors and as publicist. As we spoke he would periodically step away mid-sentence to run onstage for a song with the jazzy Angel City Four quartet, just feet from several actors practicing with a fight choreographer.  The show went into rehearsal, D’Affuso’s said, June 1, and simultaneously there were weeks of fundraisers, from restaurant nights to car washes. There are also silent auctions during all of the shows, but most of the money to fund the company comes from ticket sales.

Matt Eisenberg, conductor and music director of the 15-member pit orchestra, said about half of the musicians are returning, along with some friends and family. Notices go out to all the area band teachers and drama teachers every year, “so we see who shows up.” 

Most of the shows chosen by WST are big Broadway productions. As Eisenberg puts it, “It always comes down to what are people going to want to do and what are people going to want to see.” The real world meeting the reel world makes this show a people-pleaser.

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City of Angels run continues July 29-30 at 7:30 p.m., July 31 1:30 p.m. and August 5-6 at 7:30 p.m. at 4301 East-West Highway, Bethesda, Md. Adults $17, students and seniors (with valid ID) $10.  Tickets can be purchased at the door (cash or checks only), or online at brownpapertickets.com.  Groups: contact the box office at tickets@wst.org or 240-583-0978.