By Ron Evans
Warning: Article contains foul (but correct) language and threats of violence with a beer coaster.
It’s August once again, and that means…HOT AUGUST NIGHTS at Numerica PAC! I’ll be honest. It’s the only thing I truly love about late summer. All else makes me shake my fist out the winda. But for two spicy weeks, my fist can take a break. Ahem.
This year is unique in that longtime director (and HAN founder) Jaime Donegan has (for the first time in 12 seasons) stepped back from the director role. And while that news was shocking for many of us, we were quickly assuaged upon learning that HAN veteran Christina Capehart would be taking the directorial reins for this year’s musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
Based on the classic 1988 comedy starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine, the musical hit Broadway in 2004. It’s not happenstance that Capehart’s HAN directorial debut is Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. More on that in a bit.
I sat down at my usual corner office at Hellbent Taproom with Capehart and actors Adam (Christopher) Eagle (The First) playing Freddy Benson, John Merritt playing Lawrence Jameson and Sarah Melissa Daniels playing Christine Colgate. Also joining us, eventually… producer and costume designer, Jaime Donegan (you didn’t think he’d REALLY be completely hands off did you?) to chat about this new production.
Ron: So, Christina, tell me about Donegan reaching out to you about directing this year’s Hot August Nights?
Christina: I was shocked he wanted me to do it. I really felt like I was entering some sort of alternate universe because I couldn’t imagine a world where Jaime was not directing a Hot August Nights show and he was asking me to step in for him to take a break. So once that initial shock left I felt like it was absolutely the right thing to do and I felt ready to take on the challenge. I felt like this was something that I could bring to life and I would do justice to, so while it’s extremely scary and extremely hard to wrap my head around that this is all happening, I feel extraordinarily blessed that Jaime trusts me. We’re going to put on an amazing show that will absolutely capture the spirit of Hot August Nights and I can’t wait to bring it to life in the valley. I’m fully directing it from my brain – but my brain is very much shaped from having worked with Jaime Donegan.
Ron: Have you directed before?
Christina: Yes, I’ve directed and produced a burlesque variety show in Florida. I was assistant director of a really great musical there as well called Spring Awakening. And I was actually set to direct this show in Florida but…COVID put the kibosh on that.
Ron: You already had plans to direct Dirty Rotten Scoundrels?
Christina: Yep, I had wanted to put on this production for years. I love this show. And the universe aligned in a way that I get to make it happen in the best capacity possible.
Ron: What was your first Hot August Nights show?
Christina: Hands On A Hardbody in 2019. And since then I’ve done Pippin, Kinky Boots and Rock Of Ages. I was actually brought here (from Florida) before Hands On A Hardbody to do an original show called EDM Antigone, which was a cool, dark wave version of the story of Antigone. Don Fox, who works very closely with Jaime, was part of that production, and when Hands On A Hardbody came around — Don kind of peer pressured Jaime into putting me in the cast. I had never met Jaime up until that point. So Wenatchee just keeps pulling me back one way or another.
Ron: Sarah, what was your first Hot August Nights production?
Sarah: Kinky Boots (2021). And when I auditioned, I actually said that I’d only accept one role, and I think, in true Jaime fashion, he just ignored that and offered me a different role. Which was fantastic, because Kinky Boots was just so magical. I got to dance, and the cast was really interesting and fascinating, and the show was really impactful. So yeah, that was my first and I did Rock of Ages last year as well.
Ron: Prior to Kinky Boots, what was your theatrical experience?
Sarah: I have most of a vocal performance degree from WSU, and I’ve done a lot of vocal things, but they were very opera-centric, and I just don’t think I belong in an opera environment. So I became very disillusioned with performing because I didn’t know where I fit in in that space. I had done a couple community shows, and I had music directed. And right before Kinky Boots, I did my first in four years, which was Grease.
Ron: You’re one of those chameleon actors, because every time I’ve seen you I’m like…oh she’s good. Wait, she was in that OTHER show. It took a bit because you can change your look and you have an eclectic range.
Sarah: Thank you, eclectic is nice!
Ron: John, you have been in too many productions for me to even count. Do you have any idea how many?
John: Well are we going back to junior high? That’s when I started getting involved in theater. Overall I’d say…60 or 70 shows.
Adam: Jesus!
Ron: Wow. Are you from here?
John: No, I grew up in Granada Hills, California. Did musicals all through school. Went into the military for a while. Got out of that and joined a barbershop quartet. And we traveled all over the country.
Ron: A touring…barbershop quartet?
John: Well. not really touring. We would do a lot of these contests all over the place and we’d get booked to play across the country. They’d fly us out to perform.
Adam: So…touring.
TABLE LAUGHS
John: I guess so, I hadn’t really thought of it like that. But we moved here in 1995 and I then joined another quartet. In 2000 I joined the Music Theatre of Wenatchee and I’ve been there ever since.
Ron: What was your first production with them?
John: Hmmm…oh! It was 1940’s Radio Hour.
Ron: Well, Adam…a long time staple in the local theater scene. At least at one point. Then you disappeared for a while. Was that a conscious decision or did you just lose a lot of auditions?
Adam: I didn’t wanna do it. I thought…well, the last thing people need right now is to hear from a middle-aged white guy.
Ron: Pssh. That’s never stopped us before.
Adam Eagle as Freddy Benson and Sarah Melissa Daniels playing Christine Colgate
Adam: But Cynthia Brown pulled me in and encouraged me to get back involved. And I had never seen a Hot August Nights show. Most of the shows I have done were with the Press Room Theatre.
Ron: Oh, I miss that place. We just lost the mighty Milo Klanke, he put SO much work into that theater. It was a neat place. Well, let’s talk about auditions. When and where did those happen?
Christina: (IN DRAMATIC NARRATOR VOICE) It was a cold, wintery January night. There was construction going on at the PAC — the lighting was TERRIBLE in the lobby…
Ron: They made you do it in the lobby?
Christina: (STILL IN DRAMATIC MODE) No. But I went out and saw them all in the lobby so it was not a great first impression.
TABLE LAUGHS
Christina: But we had so many people come out. And we had more men show up than women, which is very atypical for a musical. And then I made them all dance after they sang. That was fun for me.
Ron: Well that’s something to mention too, you aren’t just directing, you’re also the choreographer.
Christina: That’s right. I’ve danced for 20 plus years. I’ve choreographed for over 12…
JAIME DONEGAN “SNEAKS INTO THE GROUP”
Ron: Oh, Jesus.
Jaime: No, you don’t have to call me that anymore.
Ron: Sorry, Christina you were saying…
Christina: Yeah, for the last few years I’ve mostly been focused on pole dance — which is another passion of mine. But I have choreographed everything under the sun. And there are a lot of really fun dance moments for the audience to see. I’m really excited about it. And I feel like the cast really likes doing it too.
Ron: This is not only the first time that Jaime Donegan (who sadly couldn’t make it to the interview)...
Jaime: Fuck off.
Ron: Not is it the first time Jaime isn’t directing…but, is it also the first time you have a fully local cast?
Jaime: Not the first but, but it’s the first time in a long time.
Ron: Was that by design, or is that just how it worked out?
Jaime: We were hoping to cast it all locally this year. And it worked out great.
Christina: Yeah, Jaime and I talked about that a lot. We both felt really strongly that there’s just an immense amount of talent in this town, and it made sense to have this be a local production. It’s been really exciting to see the cast come together. There were absolutely no problems casting this show here.
Ron: You mentioned you wanted to direct Dirty Rotten Scoundrels when you were in Florida…what drew you to this production?
Christina: Well I was in a production of the musical around 15 years ago and I fell in love with it then. I hadn’t even seen the movie at that point, so the musical was always my first reference of the story.
ADAM LIFTS A COASTER IN A THREATENING MANNER
Ron: Don’t you throw that!
Adam: I just have a question but I didn’t wanna interrupt.
Ron: Hence the interruption.
Adam: Did you like the movie though?
Christina: Yes!
Adam: You liked the movie even though you started with the musical?
Christina: Yes, you can like two things.
TABLE LAUGHS
Adam: So it wasn’t a thing where… “well this isn’t like the book…”
Christina: No, I approach them as two different things — and they are. When Jaime reached out to me to direct something this year, I was like…I have a show. Now, this is not at all the show that I had put together in Florida, this has been very different so that’s been fun to work through. It’s a special show where we can all just get together and have fun, which there isn’t a lot of these days.
Jaime: It’s a big change from Rock Of Ages which was super deep…super meaningful. A real mindbender.
Ron: I still feel like it’s deeper than you give it credit for Jaime Donegan. There’s a lot to get outta Rock Of Ages.
Christina: (MORE DRAMATIC VOICE WORK) What does it mean to…pour some…SUGAR on me?
Ron: Right! And is it ME, or is it the royal me? Wait…is there a royal me?
TABLE SILENCE
Ron: Anyway…you mentioned this version of Scoundrels is different from the one you’d originally conceived. Talk more about that. What changed it?
Christina: I think that doing Hot August Nights changed it. Working with Jaime…he’s really great at flipping things on their heads…and I think that bug has kind of infected me. Thinking about the show through a Hot August Nights lens — it can’t just be the show put on as it’s written in the book. The stage is more interesting, the way we interact with the crowd is different. And we are just a bunch of freaks having a really good time.
Ron: So Jaime, we got Christina’s take on you reaching out about directing…what’s your side of the story here? Why are you taking this August off?
Jaime: Cuz I’m tired.
Ron: Interview over then, er…
Jaime: No, ok. Look, this is our 12th year and I felt after 11 shows in a row I wanted a summer that was a bit more free for me. And I wanted to take a break and give attention to some of the other irons I have on the fire. You know, we no sooner finish a show and then we have to start plotting what the next one will be. And I do have some ideas for next year. And I will be bringing (choreographer) Bethany (Christine Elkin) back as well.
But one thing I wanna say – when Christina agreed to direct and we were just starting to talk about things she was like…I want this to be one big freak show. And that’s what she got with this cast. This amazing little freak show.
Christina: The chemistry is palpable.
Adam: I’ve done maybe…30-35 shows. One thing I really appreciate with Christina — the freedom. She really lets you find your own way with things, and that makes it SO much fun.
REST OF THE TABLE AGREES
Adam: And her eye for comedic movement onstage is just fantastic.
Jaime: I’d never seen Adam in anything before, and then I saw his audition and I was like…who is this guy?
Christina: Oh, we should talk about Adam’s audition.
TABLE LAUGHS ALL TOO KNOWINGLY
Christina: I hear a voice go…I’m doing a costume change… I thought, ok. Weird choice.
Adam: Can I just step in and say that I thought there would just be the director and the costume designer onstage. Maybe the producer.
Christina: I would also just like to step in and say that even if that were true the story still stands. That would have been worse had it just been me. So…out comes this man in nothing but a towel. NOTHING. No socks. Just bare feet on the stage. Soul and nipples bared. And he sings a song from what musical, Ron?
Ron: Ummmmm….
Christina: Oh, is it Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins? You’d be correct! And we were enthralled. I just wanted to see what this person does. It was so odd and perverse, it was amazing.
Ron: That’s Adam Eagle. Odd and perverse.
Adam: I had JUST pitched the PAC the idea of Wenatchee Live! (a local variety show that slayed back in June) – they hadn’t signed off on it yet. And here I had just stepped out on stage, topless, in front of basically the entire Numerica PAC power structure.
Christina: And that’s how you get parts here in Wenatchee.
Get your tix while you can!