Terry Shapiro
Creator, director and choreographer Marion J. Caffey says 3 Mo' Divas, his current show at the Stage Theater of the Denver Performing Arts Complex, is a family-oriented concert-style production that spans all generations.
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Marion J. Caffey would ultimately like you to mention his name in the same breath as Cameron Mackintosh and other producing impresarios who have shepherded big-name musicals to Broadway. For now, he doesn't mind being mentioned in a second-tier way: He still conceives and produces musicals, but he's selling them on the strength of concept rather than star power. Caffey's latest effort, 3 Mo' Divas, opens today in the Stage Theatre of the Denver Performing Arts Complex. It follows on the heels of other successful shows he has conceived, choreographed and directed: Blackbirds of Broadway, Cookin' at the Cookery: The Music and Times of Alberta Hunter and 3 Mo' Tenors. Rocky writer Mike Pearson caught up with Caffey last week as he fine-tuned Divas - a revue spanning two centuries of music. The show will be taped for PBS during its Denver run.
What can people expect of 3 Mo' Divas?
It's meant to be pure entertainment. The unprecedented part is that we've taken three classically- trained opera singers and they sing nine styles of music. There's nobody else singing nine different styles of music out of two vocal cords. I call them the most versatile voices on the planet. They'll sing opera, jazz, blues, Broadway, gospel, soul, R&B, disco and spiritual. We cross 233 years of music, dating back to the 1700s. One of the arias is the oldest song (O Del Mio Dolce Ardor from 1770).
Who is this show for?
If you don't like music, this is not the show for you. I've made it a very family-friendly show, so you can bring an 8-year-old, a 28-year-old and an 88-year-old, and the music spans all those generations.
This is basically a concert. How do you compete for people's time?
It's a very difficult thing ... I never do a show where you don't come away with a little more than just being entertained. I always make people think, but it's nothing that's going to bring you down. The one thing we have proven is that when people leave the theater they've had one heck of a time. When you're competing against Jersey Boys and Wicked and The Lion King, it's a tough row to hoe, as my mom would say.
Can you talk a little about the cast?
The first requirement is to have serious classical training ... When we have auditions most people can't get past the aria. Otherwise, I could really be making money just using Aretha (Franklin), Gladys (Knight) and Patti LaBelle as the divas. But they can't sing the classical, and then the classical divas can't sing the other styles. What these (three women in the cast) bring is extraordinary.
Growing up in Florida, where did your love of theater come from?
We always had music in the house. The first music I can remember is those 78s they used to play with that big needle. (My parents) always took us to plays and to concerts. I grew up on The Dells, The Dramatics, The Temptations, Aretha and Gladys, and I would be like the only black person walking around a bluegrass festival. I just loved sounds. When I started putting 3 Mo' Tenors together, I finally understood why my musical taste was so eclectic.
Are there any differences in audiences as you travel the country?
Sure, whether they feel they have permission to participate. For instance, Caucasians have less propensity to participate in the evening and for African-Americans and Africans, call and response is easier. The greatest audience for this show is a mixed audience, because the black people come in and they give the white people permission to have fun. I don't want anybody sitting back with their hands folded quietly. We love it when people speak back to the show. If you want to cry, cry. If you want to laugh, laugh. If you want to sing along, sing along. To watch 800 people do that every night is, for me ... wow."
pearsonm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2592
Three Mo' Divas
* When and where: 6:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, through May 29; 6:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday, 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 27-June 29. Space Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets.
* Information: 303-893-4100
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