The curtain rises tomorrow night (Jan. 18) for Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s “Indecent” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel. The play features the music of Alexander Sovronsky, who in addition to writing the music, also serves as music director, performs on stage as Mayer Balsam and in the ensemble, and is a musician for the production.
The play chronicles the history of Jewish author Sholem Asch’s controversial Yiddish drama “God of Vengeance,” which made its Broadway debut in 1923 and included the first lesbian kiss in a Broadway play. It will be performed at Spencer Theatre at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is sponsored by Herb and Bonnie Buchbinder, Sandi and Ed Fried, Sosland Foundation, C. Stephen Metzler & Brian D. Willams Fund, Café Trio and Boulevard Brewing Co. Tickets are available at kcrep.org/show/indecent or by calling the KC Rep box office at 816-235-2700.
A 2013 article in Edge, notes that the “New York-based Sovronsky has rare working insight into the power and place of music in live theater, being both a composer and an actor. Indeed, he has an extensive resume on both counts, having served in multiple capacities on numerous productions.” Prior to the opening of “Indecent,” The Chronicle asked Sovronsky five questions about his career.
Q: Where did you receive your music training and when/how did you make the decision to compose for the theater?
Sovronsky: I started learning violin at age 3 with Tal & Jo Schifter on Long Island. They are the teachers at Long Island Suzuki Strings and they are still doing it 3-plus years later. They’re amazing. I always studied privately and also participated in school orchestras and things like that. When I got to college, I worked in a music store and had to learn a bunch of other instruments in order to help demo them for folks that wanted to buy them, so I picked up a few chords on mandolin, guitar, uke and some other things. Over time, I just continued learning and eventually I knew how to play most anything. I always loved theater so when I discovered Shakespeare in high school, I saw that there were musicians onstage in the shows and I was hooked. I started writing music for theater pretty soon after that, focusing mostly on classical plays.
Q: How has being raised as a “nice Jewish boy from Long Island” informed your perspective as an artist?
Sovronsky: Being raised Jewish on Long Island meant that I was exposed to lots of Jewish music in synagogue, at family events, concerts, etc. I always loved Jewish music and I remember being drawn to Itzhak Perlman’s film, “In the Fiddler’s House,” which chronicled his journey from being a classical musician to being involved in Klezmer music. I identified immensely with that, being a Jewish classical violinist. I loved the sounds of Klezmer and I wanted to make those sounds and play like those musicians. There’s both structure and room for a lot of improvisation. It’s Jewish jazz, and it’s always had a very special place in my musical soul. It’s an absolute honor to be able to let that part of my soul sing in writing and performing this production’s score.
Q: How does composing for theater differ from composing for film and do you have a preference?
Sovronsky: I’ve done a bit of film composing and I much prefer theater. As a performer myself (both an actor and musician), I prefer to create in the room with other artists. In theater, I can be there, in rehearsals, creating in the moment whereas with film, it’s all done in pieces. I always prefer to be in the room with other creative artists, banging our heads against the walls, trying to make it work.
Q: Talk a little about your training as an actor; was it a natural extension of your work as a composer and musical performer or did the acting come first?
Sovronsky: I studied as an actor very separately from being a musician/composer. Much of the work I do is solely as an actor, without any music or composition involved. I love being able to straddle both worlds. The music training definitely came first, but once I got bit with the acting bug in high school, I took it very seriously and pursued extensive training. I have my undergraduate degree in theater performance and theater direction and I have a master’s degree in classical acting.
Q: The play “God of Vengeance,” on which “Indecent” is based, was shunned and criticized for the more headline-grabbing themes of prostitution, lesbianism and the desecration of a Torah scroll, but it also looks at universally relatable themes such as teenage rebellion and the balance between a domineering father/practical mother. When you compose music for a play like this, how much do those themes influence how you go about doing your work?
Sovronsky: I don’t think about the themes of the play. That’s more for the audience to take away from our telling of the story. For me, it’s just going beat by beat and creating a musical and sonic landscape that the play can live in. It’s all about supporting the text so that the play always is moving forward, and making sure that the energy stays up and forward for the audience during transitions or scene breaks. It all relates back to my work as an actor doing Shakespeare — it’s all about the text. For me, the music is always about the text too. I’m always asking myself what I can do musically to be in the best service of this play.