by Aja Gabel 
Staff Writer

Tom Stoppard’s play "Every Good Boy Deserves Favor" is dubbed " A Play for Actors and Orchestra." Yet, this is no "Phantom of the Opera." In "EGBDF", as it is referred to, the orchestra is on stage with the actors the entire length of the play and is as big a part of the story as the characters themselves. 

In 1974, acclaimed composer and pianist Andre Previn approached equally acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard and together they elaborated on the original concept of writing a play for the stage that would feature a live symphony orchestra. The result was "EGBDF," a title that comes from the commonly used acronym for remembering the notes on a treble cleft music staff. 

The play contrasts two main characters, one man a political dissident and the other a mental patient, both put in the same Soviet insane asylum. The orchestra fits in as the mental patient’s hallucination–only he and the audience can see and hear it. Using both characters’ circumstances, the plot examines the attitudes of free will versus conformity and their relativity to previous situations in the former Soviet Union. 

"I think the orchestra serves as a metaphor for the enforced group-conformity," said Professor of Theater Gay Smith, director of the play. "The political aspect of this play is so intriguing to me." 

Smith compared the government oppression depicted in this play to various current situations in Russia, as well as the United States. 

"This play is important…because it’s almost as if we are recreating the Cold War mentality now."

The classical music played by the orchestra is composed solely by Andre Previn, best known for his opera version of "A Streetcar Named Desire", and is reminiscent of 20th century
composers Shostakovich and Porkofieff, two greatly oppressed Russian musicians.

The idea of producing "EGBDF" at Wesleyan was conceived two years ago when Wesleyan Orchestra conductor Angel Gil-Ordonez approached the theater department in hopes of
future collaborations.

"I think it is a unique opportunity for the orchestra to be involved with this experience. This is the kind of repertoire they won’t have the chance to do after graduation," Gil-Ordonez said.

Smith saw the play when it premiered in the 1980s and was taken by its original form. The concept of having a live orchestra on stage with actors in a non-musical play was uncharted
territory. 

"This genre was new to everyone as well as Tom Stoppard and Andre Previn, and to my knowledge it hasn’t been widely done since."

The experience has proved quite challenging for both the cast and the orchestra. For many, the rehearsal process has been very different from what they are used to. 

"I am awestruck watching them act while I’m playing," said Erica Sattin, ’03, principal cellist in the orchestra. "Their propensity to emote to the music I am generating is both ineffable and
stupefying."

"It definitely requires a different and somewhat difficult level of awareness," said Chuck O’Neil, ’02 who plays one of the two male leads. "Instead of responding to another actor, I have
to respond to the orchestra who speaks a language I don’t readily understand."

Stage manager and assistant director Dan Burson ’02 agrees. "Instead of just having a director as we ordinarily do, we have that and a musical director. It’s a whole new mesh of
personalities." Burson eagerly describes the orchestra as important as an additional character.

But most agree that while the collaboration is at times frustrating and difficult, the orchestra and the actors ultimately compliment each other by adding new dynamics and energies. 

"The process has been great, discovering the music, discovering the set. I think we’re on our way to making it a much more cohesive thing than when we began," adds O’Neil.

"Every Good Boy Deserves Favor" will run Thursday, April 26 through Sunday, April 29. April 26 is a free preview, followed by 8pm performances on April 27-28 and a 7pm performance
on Sunday, April 29.