Pirate Productions presents Starting Here, Starting Now

by Erik Abbott

For Allison Kingsbury, the big attraction to the Richard Malty, Jr, and David Shire musical revue, Starting Here, Starting Now, is “the songs.” The singer/dancer/actress is co-directing, choreographing and appearing in the show for Pirate Productions.

Remarking on how much she likes the “intimacy” of musical revues, Kingsbury related how she first encountered Starting Here, Starting Now, when her voice teacher in London introduced her to the songs. After that introduction, Kingsbury long nurtured a desire to do the show, finally taking the idea to Philip Dutton, who is co-directing with her.

Dutton was also charmed by the piece and the two of them agreed to work together on it. It opens at the Château de Bettembourg on June 11 for a four-performance run.

Showcase for strong voices and acting

Speaking of the collaboration between them, Kingsbury and Dutton explained that she is taking on most of the direction related to the acting and dancing while he is concentrating more on the singing and the general overview - “someone needs to be out front,” he said.

Both are veterans of Pirate shows, Kingsbury as a performer and director while Dutton has been musical director for many productions, a responsibility that is being handled this time by Mick Swithinbank.

The piece was originally conceived and produced as a showcase for three performers, but Kingsbury and Dutton have tripled the cast to nine. Kingsbury explained that this allows for a greater variety of voices and Dutton agreed. Every member of the cast, he added, has a solo and everyone sings in smaller numbers. It is, they emphasised, a show that requires both strong voices and strong acting and they are enthusiastic about the ensemble - many of whom will also be known to Pirate audiences.

Dutton says the piece is very entertaining, a piece of theatre with songs that are quite accessible, despite the musical challenges they present. Kingsbury believes there is “an innocence” to the piece, adding, however, that some of the lyrics are also “hysterical.”

Songs-as-stories in popular revue

Originally produced off-Broadway in 1976 under the title Theater Songs by Maltby and Shire, it enjoyed a run of over one hundred performances. It has remained popular and is often produced.

Malty and Shire attended Yale University together and it was there that they began collaborating. Some years later, having written a quite a few songs for shows that were unproduced or which closed in previews, they decided to collate some of them into the revue that became Starting Here, Starting Now.

The duo’s songs are known for being strongly are rooted in story, and this songs-as-stories approach forms the structure of the piece. Dutton and Kingsbury both emphasised that each song in the show is a story in and of itself, with Dutton adding that there is therefore "almost no dialogue - certainly no conventional dialogue."

Although Luxembourg audiences may not yet be familiar with the show, they may very well recognise some of the wonderfully rich music, as several prominent artists have recorded some of the songs. Most notably perhaps is Barbra Streisand’s 1966 cover of the title song. She has frequently sung it in concerts as well.

Maltby and Shire also collaborated on the revue Closer than Ever and the musical Baby. Their most recent collaboration, Waterfall, is slated for a 2016 Broadway production.

Starting Here, Starting Now is likely their most beloved work and Pirate's presentation offers Luxembourg audiences a chance to enjoy this charming modern classic.

When and where

Pirates Productions presents Starting Here, Starting Now at the Château de Bettembourg June 11, 12 and 13 at 8pm and June 14 at 3pm

Adults 18 euros, students 12 euros

For tickets email tickets@pirates.lu or phone 35 63 39