A Rockaway First: ‘The Value’

By Dan Guarino

From the moment audiences purchase their tickets for “The Value” at the Rockaway Theatre Company (RTC), they will become part of two big firsts. The comic-drama, written by Nicholas Dunn, will be celebrating its world premiere right here in Rockaway and will also be the first-ever original play produced at Rockaway’s own theatre company!

“The Value” opens at RTC’s John Gilleece Theater in Fort Tilden on Friday, May 23, and runs ‘til Sunday, June 8. Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at www.rockawaytheatrecompany.org.

The plot revolves around three petty thieves, laying low, confined within a rundown motel room. Through a fourth more shadowy character, McEvoy, they have just completed a bold art heist. It is only now that they are fully coming to grips with what it is they have stolen. The humor, shifting dynamics, tension and drama ratchets all up to a surprising ending.

Director of “The Value,” Frank Caiati, explains the play “strikes a unique balance, seamlessly blending laugh-out-loud comedy with moments of profound seriousness and heart-pounding drama. As the characters navigate their high-stakes situation, the show offers audiences an engaging exploration of the lengths people will go to for both ambition and justice.”

It also has the distinction of never having been staged before. Though it has had some readings, where actors read out the parts from the script, this production will be its first full world-premiere, complete with sets, props, costumes and even music. Future credits for the show will forever list RTC as the first place it was performed.

As such, there is no “blueprint” to go by. All the actors are creating these characters for the first time. On stage during rehearsals, the cast has been working hard not only on delivering their lines, but also on who their characters are, where they are coming from, how they interact with each other, how they talk and even how they move.

The cast features Jonathan Nathaniel Dingle-El, Jannicke Steadman, Angel Tavarez and Gil Ventura, each of whom have been seen in such RTC productions as “Rent,” “Footloose,” “The Miracle Worker” and “Spamalot.” “They are doing an incredible job of finding these characters and building them from the ground-up,” Caiati says. “As there is no comparable source-material or alternate productions to reference, it has been a lot of fun to not only get the ‘lay of the land’ of the material, but to chart the actual course from the start.”

Each scene they run through brings a first-time energy to it. Exploring as they go, Caiati calls out, “Play with it. Let’s see what works.”

Within this give and take between actors and director, the show begins to take form. While they try out different actions and line deliveries, he calls out to the cast, “If at any point you’re struck by inspiration, just do it!”

At one interaction, he asks, “Do you want to make it funnier? Or do you want to be more annoyed?” Even random events weave their way in, as when a character pulls a stage drawer, and the knob comes off. They all agree that it not only adds humor, but also pulls in the frustration and seediness of the surroundings.

Meanwhile the production team is working out costumes, where props need to go or be moved to fit the action. Even the full set has been designed and constructed to create a sense of closed in space.

The behind-the-scenes team includes Assistant Director Mia Melchiorri, Stage Manager Alison Goldman, Assistant Stage Manager Tessie Tokash, and composer Jack Tammaro. “My vision for the play,” Caiati notes, “is that it will be heavily underscored with music, another nod to its cinematic quality.” Tammaro, “an incredible musician in his own right, will be writing and producing music to weave through the story.”

As not only the director of “The Value,” but also as RTC’s Artistic Director, he notes the production is a thrilling prospect. Though RTC, now in its 28th season, is well-known for outstanding productions of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, this is the very first time a brand-new play has been done as part of their mainstage line up. The rest of the season includes the drama “August: Osage County” and musicals “Sweet Charity” and “Hair.”

“Generally, we try to stack our season with titles that have name recognition- so bringing something completely new like “The Value” to our audiences is a departure from our usual season line-up of plays and musicals you’ve already heard of,” Caiati explains. “Running a new work in our season and giving the full production value to which we give all our shows is a gamble we are confident in making, because the quality of the material speaks for itself.”

“The Value” was chosen from 400 unpublished plays submitted from across the country and even internationally, for review by RTC’s executive board. Ranging from “historical dramas to emotionally resonant works, and a smattering of comedies, the submissions included a surprising number of compelling pieces,” Caiati notes, including one promising farce with possibilities for the future.

“The Value” stood out from the start. “Its blend of powerful drama, sharp comedy, and poignant pathos, coupled with an unmistakable cinematic quality, resonated deeply with me,” he says. “The initial reading was a true ‘page turner’ which is not often the case in a playscript… Thanks to Nicholas Dunn, the playwright, ‘The Value’ roars on the page, which can only mean it will explode when given the full RTC treatment. The play’s eventual publication, because it is that good, will solidify its connection to this inaugural production at the RTC.”

“I would love to bring new works to the RTC more often, (however) finding the right play for the right time is a necessity.” With “The Value” he feels they caught “lightening in a bottle.”

“Great theatre speaks for itself, regardless of whether you’re familiar with it!” Caiti says.

The theatre company invites audiences to be a part of this world-premiere first, for Rockaway and for RTC.

 Photos by Dan Guarino.