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FERNANDO VALLEY STATE COLLEGE
THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT
- THE S~ffiLL OF THE CROWD
A thesis production of a musical play
by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley.
An abstract submitted in partial satisfaction
of the requirements for the degree of Master
of Arts in
Drama
by
Leslie Wieder
June, 1969
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The
San Fernando Valley State
June,
College
1969
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Abstract
1. Analysis of the Script
2
2., Analysis of Aesthetic
and Physical Problems
3
3. Statement of Goals and
Objectives
5
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ABSTRACT
THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT
--- THE SI'-1ELL OF THE CROWD
A thesis production of a musical play
staged and directed
by
Leslie Wieder
Master of Arts in Drama
June·, 1969
Every two years the drama department of San Fernando
Valley State College presents a musical production.
In
keeping with this tradition THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT
--THE SI'-1ELL OF THE CROWD by Leslie Bric·usse and Anthony
Newley was the 1969 selection and was produced in May for
12 performances, staged and directed by Leslie Wieder as a
Ma:ster'·s: thesis production.
The production was carefuJlly planned, cast,. and
rehearsed for a period of eight weeks.
The following
account represents;: (I) an analysis of the script, (2) an
analysis of the aesthetic and physical problems· encountere£l
in the course of production and (3) a statement of the
goals and objectives as seen by the director.
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(1) Analysis of the Script
THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT - THE SMELL OF THE CROWD
is a musical entertainment about the game of life touching
on a number of themes: religion, hunger, work, love,
success, revenge, and freedom -all part of "playing the
game."
The game is played between tvJO in.di viduals: Cocky,,
the everyman underdog with the spirit of a born fighter,
and Sir, who has the soul of a man high in the Establishment, or privilege-d class even if his grandeur is shabby
and seedy.
Sir gives the orders and changes the rules of
the game at will and Cocky reluctantly accepts' them.
Throughout the play Sir is assisted by The Kid, a
young tom-boy who looks up to him as a girl would look up
to her own father.,
She' accommodates him throughout,
listening to his every word, catering to his every need,
feeding his belly as well as his ego.
She does all this
until the realization, after a series of events:, that what
Sir is saying and doing is no longer acceptable to her.
The Kid is a symbol for today's youth.
She listens to
what Sir, the adult, has to say but eventually does not
take his advice as always being right.
For like today's
youth, The Kid recognizes that past attitudes are not
always relevant.
She sees the faults in Sir long before he
recognizes them in himself.
In the end, she leaves him to
find her own way of life ••• a life with her own set of
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rules and values.
The Kid's departure is actually touched off by the
arrival of the Black Man.
He arrives on the scene and
both Sir and Cocky have someone they can unite together
in treating with lofty superiorty.
But, the Black plays.
the game successfully and quickly shows Cocky and The Kid
that success in today's world is gained by playing the
game according to one's Qlill set of rules and standards.
Eventually the newcomer goes brightly and independently on
his way leaving the scene with the game changed in Cocky's
favor and giving The Kid something new to think about.
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Overcome with the sudden realization that he too can
be a winner, Cocky quickly misuses his new freedom and
power by falling into the trap of too much too soon.
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However, he soon comes to unders,tand that in order to
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survive in today's world people must work together equally.1.
to succeed.
(2) .Analysis of Aesthetic and Physical P_roblems:
It is impossible to reproduce on the printed page
the exact result of any theatrical production.
The
finished product only exists each time it is performed and
each new performance is different from the last.
The only
remaining elements any artistic production has is in the
minds and memories of the audience.
Mere words cannot
reproduce the music and spectacle that comes from viewing
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THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT - THE SMELL OF THE CROWD.
They may describe it, but the aesthetic feeling can never
be realized.
Like the past it can be remembered, but can
never be experienced or seen again.
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THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT - THE SMELL OF THE CROWD
is a series of brilliantly imagined songs, sketches and
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dances based on a single theme ••• the plight of the underdog'
at the hands of the top dog, and the assurance that the
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underdog
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someday have his way.
The production was presented as a fantasy appropriate·
to the metaphysical nature of the script.
It was my
intention not to take the script as a profound statement
about
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life 11 but as a tragic-comic allegory on playing the
game of life.
To meet this approach the stage was designed as; a
series of levels, platforms, and abstract
ladder~.
In the
center of this setting was a large circular game boatrd on
which a series of concentric positions were painted. To
enhance' this se-tting a lighting design consisting of
multiple colored patterns was
employed~
Changing cyclorama!
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lights were used to highlight the action, rainbow lights
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were- utilized at the beginning of the play to set the mood
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of fantasy, and special spot lights highlighted the game
board each time a game was played.
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~--
--:::o:: ~f ::-::chins, the poor children of the
world, danced, scurried and sang as they hovered over
the action set below them, watching the game of life go
on in all its comical and absurd details.
The major characters, Cocky, Sir, The Kid, The Black
Nan, and the Girl, were presented realistically in order
to contrast with the fantasy setting..
Yet their costumes
and make-up were exaggerated in an attempt to contrast the
two worlds of reality and absurdity that have somehow
become interwoven in our lives.
(3) Statement of Goals and Objectives
It was my objective to present THE ROAR OF THE
GREASEPAINT -THE SMELL OF THE CROWD as a production that
would not only be entertaining but one that would clarify
the allegory about the game of life.
I believe this
objective was accomplished by staging of the physical
action.
All the action revolved around the game board thus
keeping it as the central focal point.
With this idea I
hoped to show that everyone is involved in the 11 game 11 • • •
the game of life, not a special one played by specific
individuals, but one played by everybody for everything.
Another objective was to shmif that the
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game 11 was
ever-present, always the center of the action, always
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coming into one's life each time one seeks to better
himself ••• each time one strives for another goal.
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The game is a
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real 11 part of Sir's and Cocky's lives.
But, when it becomes too real one sees the problems and
difficulties of being controlled, unequally, by past
attitudes and not played equally for present values.
In
the final analysis my ultimate goal was to show that this·
game must not be controlled only by one individual, but
must be shared by all ••• and all in this instance being
everyman, and everyman in this particular situation being
Cocky.
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If the audience understood that the "game of life
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has to be an equal opportunity for all men, of all nations,
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at all times, then one aspect of my objective was achieved.
If the audience received an evening's worth of entertainment in addition, then yet another aspect vms fulfilled.
And,if some new knowledge into the human condition,
symbolized by the "game of life 11 , 1vas imparted to the
audience my objectives were fully achieved.
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