Madison Hit Musical 'Walmartopia' Stocks Shelves For Labor Day Off-Broadway Debut
Posted: 8:54 pm CDT August 28, 2007Updated: 9:05 pm CDT August 28, 2007
Photo Courtesy Of O&M Co.
Walmartopia, The Musical! creators Catherine Capellaro and Andrew Rohn with their family and smiling cast. More Details
By Suzanne Smelcer
Madison Magazine
Special To Channel 3000Wouldn't it just perk up your day if the blue-smocked greeters and clerks of the big-box retail store Wal-Mart rose up against their bouncing smiley face oppressors, demanded better work practices and suddenly burst into satiric show tune song in the middle of their shift?It was only a matter of time before someone would pitch in a campy dance routine as part of the commentary in the great Wal-Mart debate.The price-ticketing gun first began to smoke at The Bartell Theatre, where Walmartopia delighted the progressive minds of Madison in a sold-out, attendance-breaking run. Husband and wife creative team Andrew Rohn and Catherine Capellaro (he writes the music and lyrics, she the scripts) eventually steered their little play that could to the New York International Fringe Festival last August. It was so well received that they are now transcending this "musical on a mission" to a much bigger stage, both literally and figuratively, when Walmartopia premieres off-Broadway in September at The Minetta Lane Theatre in New York.We recently caught up with Rohn and Capellaro, who have moved to the Big Apple with their twin 8-year-old sons and one frolicsome yellow Lab pup, to find out how they -- and their play -- have adapted.Madison Magazine: The two of you have been called "playwright-activists." How important is it to bring a sociopolitical element to your work?
R/C: It's completely central to what we do. That, and getting laughs, is the driving force of our shows.MM: What personal experiences have you had with Wal-Mart that made you decide it deserved an irreverent chaff?
R/C: We avoid Wal-Mart, so we don't have much personal experience. But we've experienced sprawl, and dying downtowns, and low-wage jobs, and not having health insurance. And we've read about the sex discrimination and surveillance and union busting at Wal-Mart. Plus, Wal-Mart is the world's largest corporation; it really is taking over the world. So, there's so much good material for satire. The show is about unfettered capitalism in general, beyond just Wal-Mart.MM: Can you talk about the significance of opening the play on September 3rd?
R/C: We decided Labor Day would be the perfect day to open Walmartopia. Wal-Mart is the ultimate anti-labor company. It has zero tolerance for unions -- they shut down a store in Canada after the employees voted for a union. The company's "union-prevention" strategy is notorious.MM: A new second act plot device catapults the Walmartopia setting into the future "United States of Wal-Mart." The state of Vermont, representing the last bastion for the American dream, is battling against a take-over by the rest of the Walton-ized world. What is it like in the year 2036?
R/C: It's an endless uniform sprawl, with smiley faces everywhere. The populace is pacified by an unlimited supply of consumer goods. Wal-Mart controls everything: the government, the military, the arts. Bentonville, Arkansas (real-life headquarters of Wal-Mart) is the capital of the United States of Wal-Mart, and the only resistance to Wal-Mart's domination is the breakaway republic of Vermont, which seceded to keep Wal-Mart out.It's still "Mom vs. Mart." Vermont, in the future, is the only place Wal-Mart hasn't taken over, and (lead character) Vicki and her daughter try to stop Wal-Mart's war.MM: How else has the play changed since leaving Mifflin Street for off-Broadway?
R/C: The show retains its campy charm, but it's tighter and sharper than previous versions. We did a lot more development of the second half of the show. Vicki's daughter, Maia, used to appear only in one scene; now she's a major character. There are lots of new songs and fewer characters.MM: Is the Vicki Latrell character based on anyone in particular, say a customer service clerk from Stoughton? Tell me about her.
R/C: She grew out of our reading of Selling Women Short by Liza Featherstone. We were moved by accounts of women who really believed in the culture of Wal-Mart; they believed their opinion mattered to management. Many of these women grew to become disillusioned and angry after years of banging up against Wal-Mart's glass ceiling. We think Vicki is a little like Betty Dukes, whose name is at the top of the sex-discrimination lawsuit. She's still working as a greeter at Wal-Mart. Vicki is also a parent, like us, so her character reflects some of our own joys and frustrations.MM: How much creative control are you retaining in the New York production? How have your roles changed?
R/C: We have a lot of creative control. Our director, music director and choreographer are wonderful, very open to suggestions. They also have amazing ideas of their own. We are so lucky to have found collaborators who all put the best interests of the show above their own egos. If there wasn't some friction and disagreement, it wouldn’t be good, but it's been incredible to link up with people with such experience and vision.Since coming to New York, we've divided duties more cleanly into Catherine (book) and Andrew (music). Obviously, we both have opinions about everything, but it's helpful to have the labor divided more cleanly.MM: There are no actual Wal-Mart stores in New York City. How might this affect the audience reaction; can they relate the same as small town U.S.A.?
R/C: Because the show is about more than just the corporation, we believe audiences are going to "get it," even if they don't experience Wal-Mart as a day-to-day reality. And Wal-Mart will have stores here; it's just a matter of time. Everyone understands what Wal-Mart represents; it's in the news constantly. What New Yorkers may not understand is that many rural people (Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, etc.) have no choice but to shop at Wal-Mart; it's the only store around, because it's killed everything else.MM: Tell me about the singing, disembodied floating head of late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton?
R/C: His head is being kept alive so he can give guidance to Wal-Mart's board of directors. I would bet there have been disembodied heads onstage in New York before, but probably not Sam Walton's. The head was the last straw for one Fringe reviewer -- he walked out.MM: Which moment in the play is funniest for you?
R/C: There are too many to name. Here's one that always got the biggest response in Madison: Vicki has talked back to the board of directors and they are angrily throwing her out. One of them mentions that she is from Wisconsin, and another jumps up (the inimitable Jake Jacobson), red-faced, beard bristling, and growls "That's a BLUE STATE!!!" We always had to hold for laughing and applause at that point.MM: Is there a grand show-stopping number?
R/C: This show is full of dancing, huge vocal harmonies, costumes and wigs. There's a number with dancing smiley faces, another with identically dressed executives spinning and rolling around in chairs, a disco pageant number called "A Woman's Place," and more delightful surprises.MM: What do you want people to come away with or do after seeing it?
R/C: We want them totally spent from laughing. We want them to root for Vicki and Maia, who have the courage to stand up to the corporate behemoth. We want them to support local, small businesses, farmers, and community theater and art. We hope they'll also reflect on how we drive and consume too much. It would be great if everyone worked less and spent more time with their family and friends.MM: What is a typical day like in the Rohn-Capellaro house?
R/C: We have twin 8-year-old boys, so there are Legos everywhere and drawings of battle scenes. We have an energetic yellow Lab who keeps our blood pressure down. We like to cook (though it's been harder in New York) and sit down together for meals. We love hosting parties and dinners. It's fairly chaotic -- we have to get out of the house to get much writing done. Andrew will put on headphones and play his keyboard to escape.MM: Will you return to Madison? What’s next for you?
R/C: Yes, we'll come back in September after the show opens, and we're looking forward to it. We want to do theater and music for our living, which means hustling on many fronts at once. Hopefully Walmartopia will be a success and move on to a tour.We have tons of ideas for shows we want to write -- one of our favorite is a musical based on the battle in Dover, Pa., when creationists on the school board had stickers put on the biology textbooks saying evolution was just a theory, and the town fought back and won.We want to do shows in Madison and keep coming back to New York when we get the opportunity, and cultivate connections in Chicago, too. We can't wait to get our disco band V05 and our family band, the Madgadders, playing again. We miss the farmers' market, the Willy Street Co-op, and all our family and friends, although New York has been very, very good to us.Walmartopia, The Musical! will play at The Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane, New York City. Preview performances start August 21; Opening Night performance Monday, September 3rd at 7p. Tickets available at ticketmaster.com or by calling (212) 307-4100.
Madison Magazine
Special To Channel 3000Wouldn't it just perk up your day if the blue-smocked greeters and clerks of the big-box retail store Wal-Mart rose up against their bouncing smiley face oppressors, demanded better work practices and suddenly burst into satiric show tune song in the middle of their shift?It was only a matter of time before someone would pitch in a campy dance routine as part of the commentary in the great Wal-Mart debate.The price-ticketing gun first began to smoke at The Bartell Theatre, where Walmartopia delighted the progressive minds of Madison in a sold-out, attendance-breaking run. Husband and wife creative team Andrew Rohn and Catherine Capellaro (he writes the music and lyrics, she the scripts) eventually steered their little play that could to the New York International Fringe Festival last August. It was so well received that they are now transcending this "musical on a mission" to a much bigger stage, both literally and figuratively, when Walmartopia premieres off-Broadway in September at The Minetta Lane Theatre in New York.We recently caught up with Rohn and Capellaro, who have moved to the Big Apple with their twin 8-year-old sons and one frolicsome yellow Lab pup, to find out how they -- and their play -- have adapted.Madison Magazine: The two of you have been called "playwright-activists." How important is it to bring a sociopolitical element to your work?
R/C: It's completely central to what we do. That, and getting laughs, is the driving force of our shows.MM: What personal experiences have you had with Wal-Mart that made you decide it deserved an irreverent chaff?
R/C: We avoid Wal-Mart, so we don't have much personal experience. But we've experienced sprawl, and dying downtowns, and low-wage jobs, and not having health insurance. And we've read about the sex discrimination and surveillance and union busting at Wal-Mart. Plus, Wal-Mart is the world's largest corporation; it really is taking over the world. So, there's so much good material for satire. The show is about unfettered capitalism in general, beyond just Wal-Mart.MM: Can you talk about the significance of opening the play on September 3rd?
R/C: We decided Labor Day would be the perfect day to open Walmartopia. Wal-Mart is the ultimate anti-labor company. It has zero tolerance for unions -- they shut down a store in Canada after the employees voted for a union. The company's "union-prevention" strategy is notorious.MM: A new second act plot device catapults the Walmartopia setting into the future "United States of Wal-Mart." The state of Vermont, representing the last bastion for the American dream, is battling against a take-over by the rest of the Walton-ized world. What is it like in the year 2036?
R/C: It's an endless uniform sprawl, with smiley faces everywhere. The populace is pacified by an unlimited supply of consumer goods. Wal-Mart controls everything: the government, the military, the arts. Bentonville, Arkansas (real-life headquarters of Wal-Mart) is the capital of the United States of Wal-Mart, and the only resistance to Wal-Mart's domination is the breakaway republic of Vermont, which seceded to keep Wal-Mart out.It's still "Mom vs. Mart." Vermont, in the future, is the only place Wal-Mart hasn't taken over, and (lead character) Vicki and her daughter try to stop Wal-Mart's war.MM: How else has the play changed since leaving Mifflin Street for off-Broadway?
R/C: The show retains its campy charm, but it's tighter and sharper than previous versions. We did a lot more development of the second half of the show. Vicki's daughter, Maia, used to appear only in one scene; now she's a major character. There are lots of new songs and fewer characters.MM: Is the Vicki Latrell character based on anyone in particular, say a customer service clerk from Stoughton? Tell me about her.
R/C: She grew out of our reading of Selling Women Short by Liza Featherstone. We were moved by accounts of women who really believed in the culture of Wal-Mart; they believed their opinion mattered to management. Many of these women grew to become disillusioned and angry after years of banging up against Wal-Mart's glass ceiling. We think Vicki is a little like Betty Dukes, whose name is at the top of the sex-discrimination lawsuit. She's still working as a greeter at Wal-Mart. Vicki is also a parent, like us, so her character reflects some of our own joys and frustrations.MM: How much creative control are you retaining in the New York production? How have your roles changed?
R/C: We have a lot of creative control. Our director, music director and choreographer are wonderful, very open to suggestions. They also have amazing ideas of their own. We are so lucky to have found collaborators who all put the best interests of the show above their own egos. If there wasn't some friction and disagreement, it wouldn’t be good, but it's been incredible to link up with people with such experience and vision.Since coming to New York, we've divided duties more cleanly into Catherine (book) and Andrew (music). Obviously, we both have opinions about everything, but it's helpful to have the labor divided more cleanly.MM: There are no actual Wal-Mart stores in New York City. How might this affect the audience reaction; can they relate the same as small town U.S.A.?
R/C: Because the show is about more than just the corporation, we believe audiences are going to "get it," even if they don't experience Wal-Mart as a day-to-day reality. And Wal-Mart will have stores here; it's just a matter of time. Everyone understands what Wal-Mart represents; it's in the news constantly. What New Yorkers may not understand is that many rural people (Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, etc.) have no choice but to shop at Wal-Mart; it's the only store around, because it's killed everything else.MM: Tell me about the singing, disembodied floating head of late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton?
R/C: His head is being kept alive so he can give guidance to Wal-Mart's board of directors. I would bet there have been disembodied heads onstage in New York before, but probably not Sam Walton's. The head was the last straw for one Fringe reviewer -- he walked out.MM: Which moment in the play is funniest for you?
R/C: There are too many to name. Here's one that always got the biggest response in Madison: Vicki has talked back to the board of directors and they are angrily throwing her out. One of them mentions that she is from Wisconsin, and another jumps up (the inimitable Jake Jacobson), red-faced, beard bristling, and growls "That's a BLUE STATE!!!" We always had to hold for laughing and applause at that point.MM: Is there a grand show-stopping number?
R/C: This show is full of dancing, huge vocal harmonies, costumes and wigs. There's a number with dancing smiley faces, another with identically dressed executives spinning and rolling around in chairs, a disco pageant number called "A Woman's Place," and more delightful surprises.MM: What do you want people to come away with or do after seeing it?
R/C: We want them totally spent from laughing. We want them to root for Vicki and Maia, who have the courage to stand up to the corporate behemoth. We want them to support local, small businesses, farmers, and community theater and art. We hope they'll also reflect on how we drive and consume too much. It would be great if everyone worked less and spent more time with their family and friends.MM: What is a typical day like in the Rohn-Capellaro house?
R/C: We have twin 8-year-old boys, so there are Legos everywhere and drawings of battle scenes. We have an energetic yellow Lab who keeps our blood pressure down. We like to cook (though it's been harder in New York) and sit down together for meals. We love hosting parties and dinners. It's fairly chaotic -- we have to get out of the house to get much writing done. Andrew will put on headphones and play his keyboard to escape.MM: Will you return to Madison? What’s next for you?
R/C: Yes, we'll come back in September after the show opens, and we're looking forward to it. We want to do theater and music for our living, which means hustling on many fronts at once. Hopefully Walmartopia will be a success and move on to a tour.We have tons of ideas for shows we want to write -- one of our favorite is a musical based on the battle in Dover, Pa., when creationists on the school board had stickers put on the biology textbooks saying evolution was just a theory, and the town fought back and won.We want to do shows in Madison and keep coming back to New York when we get the opportunity, and cultivate connections in Chicago, too. We can't wait to get our disco band V05 and our family band, the Madgadders, playing again. We miss the farmers' market, the Willy Street Co-op, and all our family and friends, although New York has been very, very good to us.Walmartopia, The Musical! will play at The Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane, New York City. Preview performances start August 21; Opening Night performance Monday, September 3rd at 7p. Tickets available at ticketmaster.com or by calling (212) 307-4100.
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