'Scoundrels' steal the stage at university
Taniah Tudor
Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: Lifestyles
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The University Theatre production of the musical is the first on any college campus, said Amy Herzberg, director of the musical and professor of drama. The Broadway production of the musical is still running, and the production rights are usually not made available until it is done. The drama department, however, was able to coax the owners to hand them over early, she said.
"I'm really excited for audiences to see this, because it's a really funny and sweet show and also a little dirty," Herzberg said.
The musical is based on the 1988 film about two men - one high-class con man named Lawrence Jameson, played by Michael Caine, and the low-class swindler Freddy Benson, played by Steve Martin, who decide the French Riviera is not big enough for the both of them and enter into a competition for the thieving rights of the territory.
Herzberg knew she was going to be directing a musical, and after hearing the music from "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" she decided it was the one to do, she said. The music and lyrics are by David Yazbek, an Emmy-winning American writer, musician, composer and lyricist.
"It delighted me every single time I listened to it," Herzberg said. "It's funny and smart."
Herzberg cast this show like she does every show, she said. After establishing singing ability, she looks for an actor's ability to catch the heart of the character, a capacity for self-revelation and the actor's method for playing, she said.
Herzberg feels the actors she cast are "extraordinarily talented and extra great to work with," she said.
James Goza will play the American character of Benson.
"I think this is one of those instances of typecasting," Goza said. "The character really fits a lot of who I am."
Goza took his inspiration from a security consultant and entertainer called "Matt the Knife" who used to be a professional grifter, he said. "Matt the Knife" sees grifting, his preferred term for performing a con, as an art form, Goza said.
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