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Tabard's new show has plenty of 'Time'

By Heather Zimmerman

There's nothing like an anniversary to call attention to the passage of time. And as Tabard Theatre Company marks lucky number seven this year, the company does have time on its mind--at least to judge from its latest production, Stop Time!, a show that celebrates all things time-related.

Stop Time! makes its world premiere Nov. 30-Dec. 15 at the Opera San José Rehearsal Hall, 2149 Paragon Drive, San Jose.

Stop Time! is the second of three original works that make up Tabard's seventh season. Rhythm and percussion, whether it's drumming, tapping or clapping, drive this musical revue, which highlights themes of time, from rhythms in music to the passage of minutes, hours and days.

Company founder and managing artistic director Cathy Spielberger Cassetta found the inspiration for Stop Time! in her experience as a tap-dancer. "I love tap. I was a tapper for years and years, and there just hasn't been a tap show," Cassetta says.

The show's name also has a musical origin. " 'Stop time' is a moment in music when the music stops and the rhythm continues--a drum solo, a tap solo," Cassetta says.

Tap-dancing does have a prominent role in Stop Time!, but the show also incorporates many other types of dancing, as well as vocal numbers, melding them into a kind of rhythm-based variety show. And in fact, though rhythm was the foundation, the show's concept grew to include time in every sense. "Think of all the permutations of time," Cassetta says. "Time certainly is a rhythm, but also it's a moment in life. Time is a sound we have in nature--the heartbeat, rain, that kind of thing,"

Working from an initial list of hundreds of songs that related to the overall theme of time, Cassetta and collaborators John Leslie, Diane Milo and Geri Carlson Sauls narrowed the choices down to 40-50 tunes that they all wanted to work with. And with Leslie as music director and the show's director, Milo as vocal director and Sauls as tap choreographer, the team shaped those selections into different numbers and medleys.

The show is not the only thing that Tabard has built from scratch for this production. In a partnership with Opera San José, Tabard will use the opera's rehearsal hall as a theater, as the opera is currently staging Werther at the California Theatre. Though it has stage lighting, the hall is not outfitted for a full performance. So, led by Cassetta's husband, Joe Cassetta, the company has been constructing a temporary theater within Opera San José's rehearsal hall. The company has built a stage and stage-wings, plus risers that will seat about 120 audience members. They will also add a concession area.

"It's so fabulous of Ms. Dalis and Opera San José to help us," Cassetta says of the opera's director Irene Dalis and the company, which is nearing its 25th year. "It's one generation helping another generation, one nonprofit that has a good solid history helping another nonprofit that has also been solid."

That new stage will definitely get a workout. While most musical revues focus on a particular era, Stop Time! extends the time theme to its structure, with songs presented in a chronological timeline of 20th-century music. The cast of six singers, six tap-dancers and nine musicians time-travels from ragtime to hip-hop, along the way, incorporating swing, pop, Motown and showtunes from such modern Broadway favorites as Rent and Hairspray. The extensive song list features "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "Night and Day," "Just in Time" and "Rhythm of Life," among many other selections. "They get to do the whole spectrum," Cassetta says of the performers.

Tap-dancer Carolyn DiLoreto, who at 11 years old is the show's youngest cast member, has a favorite number: The "Fascinating Rhythm" finale. "I like the energy," she says.

Tickets are $25 adults/$22 seniors/$15 adult students/$10 ages 17 and under. For more information, call 408.679.2330 or visit www.tabardtheatre.org.