At full capacity, the Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre can seat more than 3,500 attendees. But numbers have been down by 25 to 30% since the pandemic. [Ed Smith Photography]
The Mountain Play has staged performances atop Mount Tamalpais for the past 110 years. It’s an incredible run.
Few community theater groups can boast such longevity. So what is it that accounts for such success? Perhaps it’s the talented performers and professional productions. Or it could be the secluded forest setting with breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean. Or maybe it’s the stunning Greek-style amphitheater. One suspects it’s all of the above.
Past year’s productions include the Broadway favorites —Fiddler on the Roof, Grease and Hairspray to name a few. The award-winning musical Kinky Boots, written by Harvey Fierstein with music by Cyndi Lauper, is scheduled for four performances in June.
The challenges of staging a musical production at anytime, anywhere are daunting. Toss in a mountaintop setting and the challenge ramps. Planning begins over a year in advance. The show is selected, rights obtained, the musical director and choreographer hired. Costumes are made. Props are built. There’s casting and rehearsals. And transportation for ticketholders to the semi-secluded amphitheater needs to be arranged. Then, on opening day, everything falls into place. As the orchestra strikes a chord, Broadway comes to the mountain. Audiences of all ages watch, mesmerized. And yet, after the cast takes its final bow and the applause fades, there’s little time for celebration. Preparations for the next season kick in.
…the challenges
There are formidable challenges that come with staging a musical. Behind the scenes at the Mountain Play there’s a full-time staff, 170 part-time employees and 300 volunteers to assist. The annual budget is $1.5 million. Monies come from an annual fundraising gala, grants and ticket sales.
In recent years, there have been different kinds of challenges. There’s climate change for one. “The weather on the mountain used to be reliable. Now we’ve gotten used to dealing with the unpredictable,” says Eileen Grady, Mountain Play’s executive director and artistic producer. “And there’s increased costs—and attendance. Since the pandemic, theatergoers have been slow to return.”
In the past, the amphitheater would be at capacity. For 2022’s production of Gypsy, it was 25% full, and the following year for Into the Woods that figure was 30%. Two-thirds of Mountain Play’s budget is derived from ticket sales. To control expenses and offset the effect of lower attendance, this year there will be four performances instead of six. The attendance drop off is not just a Mountain Play issue. It’s the same nationwide. Seems theatergoers have become accustomed to staying at home streaming or viewing Netflix from the couch. This has resulted in a pandemic of a different sort—loneliness, isolation and a lack of connection. United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murty, in a recent advisory, says that even prior to the pandemic approximately half of adults in the U.S. reported experiencing loneliness. Murty laid out a framework with recommendations to address the problem. One was for communities to invest in, and support, institutions that bring people together—i.e., the Mountain Play.
“We specifically selected Kinky Boots for this season,” Grady says. “It has wide audience appeal. The music of Cyndi Lauper is wonderful and it’s fun.”
“During the pandemic, many people found pleasure in nature,” Grady says. “Our mountain setting offers that special outdoor experience and so much more.”
…founded by hikers
It all began in 1912 when three hikers—Garnet Holme, a U.C. Berkeley drama coach and playwright; John C. Caitlin, a San Francisco lawyer; and Richard Festus “Dad” O’Rourke, destined to become Muir Woods National Monument’s first superintendent—made their way up Mount Tamalpais. As they approached the top, the trio came across a grassy knoll surrounded by oak, fir trees, madrone and redwoods. Holme recognized the site as the perfect place for an outdoor theater—and lost no time in making the hiker’s dream a reality. The following year he staged a production of the 15th-century biblical play “Abraham and Isaac,” along with scenes from Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” Attendance was about 1,200. Based on that success, the Mountain Play Association was formed. U.S Congressman William Kent, an ardent conservationist and friend of John Caitlin, joined its board of directors. Kent owned the theater site and, after three years of well-attended performances, donated the parcel to the association. In 1936 the theater became a part of the 6,300-acre Mount Tamalpais State Park.
In those early days, accessing the mountain theater was an adventure. Some hiked the steep 6-mile trail up from Mill Valley. Others came via the Mount Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railway. With 281 curves, it was deemed “the crookedest railroad in the world.” One innovative aspect of the railroad was its use of gravity cars. The open-air, engineless platforms with four high-backed benches accommodated 20 passengers. A locomotive, traveling in reverse, would drag the cars up the mountain. Sitting in front, a brakeman steered the gravity cars back down and around the treacherous curves. By the 1920s the automobile became the preferred means of transport. And in 1929, a wildfire damaged the tracks bringing an end to the “crookedest” railroad.
…on a slippery slope
Perched on a steep slope watching a performance left much to be desired. In 1925, the Mountain Play Association hired landscape architect Emerson Knight to devise a plan that would provide comfort for theatergoers while preserving the site’s natural beauty. During his travels in Greece, Knight had admired the symmetry and elegance of the country’s ancient amphitheaters. He envisaged something similar for Mount Tamalpais. The mountain site with its abundance of serpentine rock provided the perfect building blocks. After Knight completed his drawings, all that was left was implementation. As the saying goes—timing is everything. The country was in the midst of the Great Depression. In 1935, to revive the economy, President Franklin Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a program that provided jobs in public works and the arts for millions of unemployed Americans. A component of WPA, the Civilian Conservation Corps, was commissioned to build Knight’s amphitheater. The mountain resounded with the sound of cranes, hoist and other heavy equipment lifting gigantic boulders into place. In 1940, the stunning 3,750- seat amphitheater was completed, its symmetry of rock providing a timeless beauty to the site and a better experience for theatergoers. Elisabeth Ptak, in her book Marin’s Mountain Play, One Hundred Years of Theatre on Mount Tamalpais, quotes Al Pinther, an early association president, in an interview with the Oakland Tribune described the new amphitheater as “a conspicuous improvement since the days of maintaining one’s place on the naked hillside was that of bracing one’s heels on the back of the fellow sitting in the row ahead.”
This year’s production, Kinky Boots, first opened on Broadway in 2013. The show garnered 13 Tony Award nominations and six wins, including best musical. In her debut as a Broadway songwriter, Cyndi Lauper won a Tony for best score. The largely true story first came to the public’s attention in a 1999 BBC2 documentary series Trouble at the Top. That followed with the 2005 British film, Kinky Boots, starring Joel Edgerton and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
A shoe factory in a small town in the UK is the setting. The business has been owned by four generations of the Price family. Charlie Price inherits the factory when his father unexpectedly passes away. He discovers that the enterprise, passed over by new styles and cheaper prices, verges on bankruptcy. Determined to save the business and factory jobs, Charlie seeks a new market. He forms an unlikely alliance with drag queen and cabaret performer Lola to make flashy high-heeled boots.
The musical’s underlying theme revolves around two men from different backgrounds who discover they have much in common. Charlie Price and Lola both struggle to find their own identity with fathers who have other ideas. Lola’s father trained him to be a boxer, while Charlie’s dad thought him incapable of running the family’s business.
In the finale, the full cast takes center stage in a rousing, joyful, hand-clapping rendition of “Raise You Up/Just Be.” The show is fast paced, with tender moments, much humor and good fun.
… the director, the choreographer
Kinky Boots director and choreographer, Gary Stanford, Jr., is no stranger to the Mountain Play. He played Hud in the 2007 production of Hair. He attributes his love of music to his grandmother—a jazz singer who toured with Ella Fitzgerald—and to his mother who instilled her own love of music in Gary and his brother Kevin. The brothers would perform throughout the Bay Area at county fairs, nursing homes, wherever there was an audience. “Back then I was mainly a dancer. I learned dance from watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Donald O’Connor and Gene Kelly movies. “Singing in the Rain was one of my favorites,” Stanford says. “Kevin and I would perform to tunes like ‘Thank God I’m a Country Boy’ and ‘Candy Man.’ It was a lot of fun.” Stanford attended San Jose State University, paying his tuition by teaching music and performing. He graduated with a degree in computer science. In 2019 he retired from computer work to become a full-time musical director, choreographer and performer. “I found my experience in project management translated well to the skills required in directing musicals,” he says. Stanford is the wearer of many hats. He’s director of education at San Francisco’s 42nd Street Moon where he devises new programs, hires performers, and has budgeting responsibilities. He’s on the board of directors for Z-Space, Woodside Musical Theater, the Hillbarn Theater in Foster City and Mill Valley’s Throckmorton Theater.
“Kinky Boots has long been on my bucket list of shows I’ve wanted to direct,” Stanford says. “The music’s terrific. It’s storytelling at its best. It’s about inclusion, families, friendships, the relationship between fathers and sons, parents and kids. There’s tender moments and moments of joy.” Twenty-five actors will perform on the big outdoor stage. “The selection process was tough. Four to five actors auditioned for each part,” Stanford says. “We’ve ended up with an amazing cast. They’re the best of the best.”
…cast of characters
Actor, teaching artist and vocalist Gillian Eichenberger plays Nicola, Charlie Price’s girlfriend who wants him to forget the factory and move with her to London. Eichenberger is well known to Bay Area audiences. She’s performed with the Ross Valley Players, Sixth Street Playhouse, Novato Theater Company and Throckmorton Theatre. And this won’t be her first time at the amphitheater. She played Frenchy in the 2019 production of Grease. “I’m excited to be returning to Mountain Play and be playing Nicola,” she says. “She’s complex, driven and career focused. Normally I don’t get to play strong characters like that.” Eichenberger is a big fan of Cyndi Lauper. “I love Kinky Boots’ music. It’s very catchy and energetic,” she says. “Growing up, Lauper’s hit ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ was a favorite.” (Prior to the production of Kinky Boots in June, Eichenberger performed as Taylor Swift in the cover band Swiftly. The free show took place April 19 on the Ross Commons.)
Performing the role of Lola/Simon is the one-and-only Miss Jaye. She has ventured far from her Midwest roots. Credits include playing Pam in the off- Broadway production of Miss Step and more recently as the Cassie alternate/dance captain in A Chorus Line. Miss Jaye understudied as Lola four times before landing the starring role at the Oregon Cabaret Theater in Ashland last year. Based on Facebook comments by theatergoers, seems she was an overwhelming success —Lola stole the show…Phenomenal! Miss Jaye is SO fabulous!!!…Best Lola I’ve ever seen.
“Though Kinky Boots was written [more than] 10 years ago, it’s still relevant today,” Miss Jaye says. “It’s all about not being afraid to be yourself, and accepting other people who may be different.” In the show, Lola helps Charlie save the family business. “She discovers herself in the process and, in turn, changes the minds of every single person in the factory—which is pretty incredible,” Miss Jaye says. “I hope to show the human side of Lola. There’s so much more to her than flash and glitter.” In a particularly poignant scene, Lola sings, “Not My Father’s Son.” “That’s very personal for me,” Miss Jaye says. “I’m going through similar things with my own father.”
…behind the scenes
As the company’s executive director and artistic producer, Grady brings a love of music, a passion for the theater and organizational skills to the job. Her initial involvement with the theater group came as organizer of the 2008 annual fundraising gala. She became a full-time staff member in 2010. Grady has worked as a director, producer, musician and songwriter in most genres of music and theater. Her interest in the performing arts came early on. “When I was 5 years old, my mother took me to see the The Sound of Music,” she says. “I was enthralled sitting there listening to the von Trapp kids singing ‘Do-Re-Mi.’” A few years later she saw Julius Caesar at San Francisco’s A.C.T. Conservatory. “Actors with spears jumped off the stage. I thought that was really cool,” Grady says with a laugh.
…‘community theater at its best’
There is a dedicated group of regulars who return year after year. Lisa Hinman of Novato is one of those. She’s been attending musicals on the mountain for the past 10 years. “The productions are highly professional and entertaining. And some of the special effects are extraordinary,” she says. “During South Pacific two World War II aircraft flew overhead right on cue. And in The Sound of Music, I remember Maria standing off in the distance singing, ‘the hills are alive!’ That was a special moment.” Katherine Kopp, a Mount Tam hiker says, “I’ve been going to Mountain Play shows for 14 years. I usually stay at the historic Mountain Home Inn on top of the mountain and hike down.” Diane Heinge recalls a special moment in West Side Story, “At the end of the show one of the performers proposed to the actress playing Maria. She said yes!”
Eleven decades ago three hikers climbing Mount Tam came across a grassy knoll. From that secluded site, the Mountain Play evolved. And what a journey it has been. Productions evolved from the initial Abraham and Isaac and Shakespeare, to such modern classics as The Sound of Music, South Pacific and Fiddler on the Roof. This year Broadway comes to the mountain with the contemporary, award-winning musical Kinky Boots. There’s top talent and upbeat music. It’s community theater at its best.
