BARE: A Pop Opera Takes Edginess Up a Notch at White Plains Performing Arts Center

 

By Paige Leskin: 

It may be considered as simply a local musical by many, but BARE: A Pop Opera means far more to the people in it than just a source of entertainment.

BARE doesn’t play it safe. It doesn’t settle on the topics that people feel comfortable discussing and thinking about on an everyday basis.

That’s the central reason why Jeremy Quinn and Stephen Ferri chose it as their musical in their annual collaboration between the White Plains Performing Arts Center (WPPAC) and the Harrison Summer Theatre.

“The reason I’m in theater is to find a voice, make social change through it,” Quinn said. As the Director of BARE and the Producing Artistic Director at WPPAC, Quinn expressed his reasons for choosing this particular production in today’s society.

“It’s socially relevant,” he said. “I dig it.”

The theme of BARE revolves around a group of high school seniors at a Catholic boarding school, who must deal with graduating and leaving the world they know. They have to deal with their feelings about their religion and what it has taught them.

The musical diverges into subplots between the various students, including a secret romance between two boys, Peter and Jason, and how they struggle with public acceptance.

“It teaches people to think differently, question the thoughts they might have,” Quinn said. As he explained how he finds importance in a progressive way of teaching, it was easy to see the passion he held behind his words.

Quinn talked at length about how “antiquated thought” needed to be replaced by a modern view of exposing children early on to today’s culture and society. “You can start to see the positive effects with proper education, instead of sheltering children from the scariness of the world,” he said.

This partnership of Quinn and Ferri, now in its fifth year, has been known for its picks of edgy musicals. Two years ago, the group performed Spring Awakening, which was met with great reception by the community. “[BARE] is Spring Awakening 2.0, I’d say,” said Ferri.

Ferri, who takes on the Musical Direction of the musical, started the Harrison Summer Theatre after he graduated college. He approached Quinn with the idea of co-producing, and Quinn readily accepted.

Ferri was also the one to bring up the idea of presenting BARE. He was, of course, drawn to the music first. “It has a pop-rock score,” he said. “The music is brilliant.”

With the amount of work Ferri has done, and the poise he possesses while playing the piano and directing the singing, he seems he would be a man of older age. However, Ferri is only 22 years old.

He is admired by all of those around him. Adam Welsh, who plays the priest in BARE, expressed his respect for the younger man. “He sees something in the music that we don’t see,” he said.

Ferri was recently responsible for organizing a philanthropic effort for Newtown, Connecticut, to raise money for the town after the fatal elementary school shooting that took place in September 2012. Ferri orchestrated a group of Broadway actors and actresses to come together and sing.

“Stephen’s a man of many hats,” Welsh said. “Everyone in this town knows his name.”

Walsh, along with Paulette Oliva, who plays one of the student’s mothers in the musical, are the two sole adults in the production. They took as much away from the younger performers and they did from Ferri.

“It’s inspiring to be in this atmosphere with kids,” Oliva said. “The level of talent in terms of singing is amazing.

The cast consists mostly of college students, from both the Westchester and New York City area. Some have worked together before, and others are new to the WPPAC stage.

Despite all this, there is a closeness that can only be produced by weeks of rehearsal and understanding. As they practiced, Quinn kept the cast members on the same level as himself, asking how they each wanted to portray their characters, using different tones in their voices and subtle body language.

With so much attention to detail, it is evident that all involved take their production seriously, that they all care for it to turn out the best for the audience in the end.

“It’s what I love,” Quinn stated, simply.