The Commune on The Common

Many thanks to Adam Odsess-Rubin for writing up this post, and to Sam Breslin Wright for the photos!!

"Welcome to Boston!” says Kate Buddeke, as the company of Paris Commune loses its place rehearsing a maniac can-can finale, with Michael Friedman on piano. The cast and crew arrived in Boston last week to begin rehearsals at ArtsEmerson. Buddeke plays La Bordas, a popular singer who performed at the Tuileries palace for the reign of the Commune in 1871. The mood of the room changes at the drop of a hat: one moment, Kate captivates the rehearsal room with her powerful raspy voice singing ‘The Cherries of Spring,’ and in another the cast will fall into laughter over Michael seguing into some music from the musical Annie. 

The cast in dance rehearsal in Brooklyn

Rehearsing in a large windowless room on the fourth floor of ArtsEmerson's Paramount Center, the cast and crew manage to entertain each other between running scenes. The other day, director Steve Cosson was working with Aysan Celik (read more about her HERE), who plays the Seamstress: a Parisian who moonlights as a prostitute. Fellow actress Nina Hellman off-handedly commented that the rehearsal room looked like the dance studio from the Natalie Portman movie Black Swan. Michael started to play some music from the movie on his piano and Steve took on the Vincent Cassel director role in talking to Aysan. Steve cried, “You can be the white seamstress, but I need to see the black one!” as the cast burst into laughter.

The cast in rehearsal in Boston

The first and only stop before Paris Commune’s run at the BAM Next Wave Festival in the new Fisher Space, ArtsEmerson and Boston have welcomed us with open arms. Most of the cast and crew are staying around the Boston Common, a landmark not far from where so many significant moments in the American revolution occurred. Mere minutes from the church where Paul Revere famously warned the colonists of the oncoming Red Coats, the city’s history lends fascinating layers to the play's text. Chronologically between the American Revolutionary War and the current Occupy movement, the Paris Commune lives in one of the most exhilarating and bloody chapters of the revolutionary history book, and we're looking forward to reflecting on all these themes with audiences in a few weeks.

The stage!

The cast on stage at ArtsEmerson

For tickets to the show at ArtsEmerson, click HERE!