THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 6, 1995 TAG: 9507060549
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
IN MANHATTAN, Jaymie Meyer has sung cabaret in all the best places, from the Russian Tea Room to Carnegie Hall.
Starting Friday, she portrays a club performer much like herself in the Cole Porter musical ``Can-Can.''
Of course, there are differences: The musical being staged at the Virginia Beach Pavilion is set in turn-of-the-century Paris. And the club run by Pistache, Meyer's character, performs the lewd and illegal can-can.
Pistache goes to great lengths to bribe the neighborhood gendarmes with dancers and dough. As she works at luring her prey, the sophisticated tunes and lyrics of Cole Porter provide their own charms.
Meyer's songs include ``I Love Paris,'' ``Allez-vous-en,'' ``C'est Magnifique'' and ``Can-Can.''
``I love all of these songs,'' Meyer said. ``But I am eagerly anticipating hearing the orchestra with `I Love Paris.' It's going to be so lush. Hopefully, it will just soar.''
Meyer is more than just a cabaret singer. She has a musical theater degree from Syracuse University, and has acted extensively in regional theater and in soap operas.
Performing at the Pavilion might be seen as a letdown after her solo performance in Carnegie Hall in 1992. But Meyer said she took on Pistache in the Commonwealth Musical Stage production because of the director and the orchestra.
Jeff Meredith, the company's producing director, ``is not only talented and a man of taste, but he's also fun and easy to work with,'' Meyer said.
Plus, ``it's not very often you get to perform with an orchestra outside of New York. I don't know of any regional theater that performs with full orchestra.'' CMS' shows are accompanied by the Virginia Beach Symphony Orchestra, led by David S. Kunkel.
While Meyer loves Porter's music, it's not her usual repertoire. For her cabaret act, she is especially drawn to ``new and unusual material by living composers,'' such as Portia Nelson, who was a cabaret star in the 1950s. Meyer is among several cabaret singers, including Margaret Whiting, featured on a CD of Nelson's music being released this summer by Columbia Records.
Singing in a club is different from performing in a musical, she said. In a club, ``you're essentially singing yourself.'' In theater, you're also concocting a character that is only partly drawn from yourself.
In both settings, ``hopefully you're connecting in a very intimate way from your heart to the hearts of the audience.''
Meyer connects with audiences as a member of Plays for Living, a nonprofit troupe that performs theater about social problems, including alcoholism, AIDS and aging.
The impact is significant and tangible, she said. ``I've found that with Plays for Living, people who might not want to face themselves, or a problem within their family, can watch a show. At its best, theater can be a catalyst for all sorts of issues.''
Meyer said she feels blessed to have such a wide-ranging career, and she has no problem swinging over to the escapist entertainment of ``Can-Can.'' Yet Meredith notes that ``Can-Can'' isn't as light as it seems: It was first staged in response to the censorships of the McCarthy era.
But most folks won't know that. They'll come for the fun and the tunes.
``Entertainment can't be dismissed as less important,'' Meyer stressed. ``Bringing joy is significant, too.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
RICHARD L. DUNSTON/Staff
Doug Blevins is Aristide and Jaymie Meyer is Pistache in ``Can Can''
at the Pavilion.
Graphic
TROUPE MAKES MAJOR STRIDES
COMMONWEALTH Musical Stage is now a full Equity company, a major
step for the troupe as it strives to raise its professional
standards.
Jeff Meredith, producing director for the 4-year-old theater,
negotiated a ``letter of agreement'' contract with Actors Equity
Association in March that expanded the company's casting options.
From its second season, the company had a ``guest artist''
contract with Actors Equity, which allowed as many as three Equity
performers per show.
The new contract ``allows us to hire as many union performers as
is necessary to achieve proper casting and artistic quality, but it
does not eliminate the possibility of including non-union regional
artists,'' Meredith said.
``It has always been my ultimate goal to move the company
forward, to improve the artistic quality of productions, and to
enhance its professional character.
``In order to do that, you have to have available to you all
possible casting choices. And Actors Equity Association, the union
for professional actors in America, of course contracts some of the
best and most seasoned performers in the country.''
The artistic challenges inherent in Stephen Sondheim's ``A Little
Night Music,'' CMS' spring show, prodded Meredith to negotiate the
new contract.
For ``Night Music,'' Meredith cast eight union performers.
``Can-Can'' only has one - Jaymie Meyer. ``In this instance, we
were able to find the talent we needed for this show in the region.
The idea is not to have work limited by union affiliation, but to
find as many options as possible. It's really the best of both
worlds.''
Teresa Annas
by CNB