Jazz on the Side

The latest play produced by the Black Box Series at The Villagers Theatre in Somerset takes on an autobiographical play examining the tragic wake left behind by a gifted but troubled musician.

By: Jim Boyle

"image"
Kris Longwell prepares his trusty trumpet for another jazz show with his rowdy group of musician-friends in Side Man, at The Villagers in Somerset Jan. 28 through Feb. 12.


   For every big band leader like Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Artie Shaw, there are hundreds of musicians like Gene Glimmer. A master trumpeter, he floats from ensemble to ensemble. When there’s an open gig, he is there, mixing into the background effortlessly with the rest of his colleagues. As a side man, Gene Glimmer is not a household name, but his talent is flawless. The rest of his life, however, is not.
   The Black Box Series at The Villagers Theatre in Somerset takes on Warren Leight’s Tony Award-winning Side Man Jan. 28 to Feb. 12. The autobiographical play examines the tragic wake left behind by a gifted but troubled musician. It’s a project that director Jonathan Wierzbicki has been looking forward to for quite some time.
   "I’ve been involved with the Black Box series for a number of years," he says. "I saw a production of the play in Chatham and loved it. The script is wonderful. I submitted it at the last meeting and it was picked for the next production."
   Mr. Wierzbicki will have his hands full balancing the show’s highs and lows, with the success of Gene’s family paralleled by the popularity of jazz, which waned with the dawn of Elvis Presley and rock ‘n’ roll. Narrated by Gene’s son, Clifford (Mike Oravec of Flemington), the story spans more than 30 years, beginning in 1953 when Mr. Glimmer (Kris Longwell of Franklin Park) and his raucous music buddies had a gig almost every night, and ending in 1985, the night before Clifford is to leave town and move to the West Coast, away from his absent father and mentally ill mother (Tracey Fama of South Bound Brook).
   "It’s a memory play about a young man and the destruction of his family," says Mr. Wierzbicki, a Flemington resident. "He has a lot of anger toward his father, who was really neglectful of the family, but he also has a lot of admiration for his work."
   The road is no place to raise a child, but Gene insists anyway, taking Clifford in and out of jazz clubs all over the country. Meanwhile, the marriage between Gene and Terry is in constant turmoil, with Clifford eventually becoming a peacemaker between the two. Originally from South Boston, Terry wanted the musician’s lifestyle too, but became a mother instead. Meanwhile, she was in a marriage with a man who loved his music more than anything else. As the jobs became scarce, he refused to earn a conventional 9-to-5 paycheck.
   "Terry suffers from alcoholism and a borderline personality," says Mr. Wierzbicki, who works full time as a family medical practitioner. "It’s a very dynamic character with a lot of difficult issues, but Tracey (Fama) is not afraid to take them on."
   The main focus of the story, however, is between Clifford and his father. As far as role models, Clifford had to look elsewhere than at a man who congratulates him for receiving his first unemployment check. He basically had to raise himself, and has now decided to move on with his life.
   "The Clifford character is very difficult," says Mr. Wierzbicki, originally from Hillsborough. "He ages from 10 to 29 years old, but Mike plays it so well that the timeline is not an issue. We were looking for someone with that kind of versatility."
   Mr. Wierzbicki also had a stroke of luck when casting for Gene Glimmer, signing up somebody familiar with the trumpet.
   "Kris also plays the trumpet, which is a great bonus," he says. "We didn’t try to look for musicians who can act, but actors that could play music. We needed somebody with a charisma to them, who had a laid-back detachedness to life. Kris fits that perfectly."
Side Man plays as part of the Black Box Series at The Villagers Theatre, 415
Demott Lane, Somerset, Jan. 28-Feb. 12. Performances: Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Feb. 6,
2 p.m. Tickets cost $12. For information, call (732) 873-2710. On the Web: www.villagerstheatre.com