Stravinsky’s timeless ‘Tale’ at new theater

By Guy D’Astolfo

The production utilizes seven instruments and four actors.

COLUMBIANA — “The Soldier’s Tale,” a piece of musical theater about making the right choices, will be performed next weekend at Main Street Theater. Based on a Russian folk tale, it was set to music by influential Russian composer Igor Stravinsky in 1918 and remains relevant today.

“It tells the story of a Faustian pact,” according to Jon Simsic, stage and music director of the production. “A homebound soldier trades his cherished violin for a book that contains the secrets to infinite wealth. But, as is the way of these things, his new possession brings him nothing but trouble and loss. This saga of making the right choices is as timely as ever.”

“The Soldier’s Tale” is performed with seven instruments and four actors. Simsic said he selected it for several reasons. “First, the score is, as all of Stravinsky’s music, a great challenge to conductor and performer alike,” he said. “It has been said that Stravinsky made rhythmic conceptualization and execution as important as melody and harmony.”

The story itself also attracted Simsic.

“The tale of an individual who consistently makes wrong choices, then seems to redeem himself only to then fall in the same rut again bears particular pertinence, given the climate of graft, selfishness, partisanship and general disregard for obvious truths that unfortunately stares at us all lately,” he said.

Simsic also said it represented “a great opportunity to collaborate with friends and colleagues on a project that I knew would challenge and gratify all, including the audience.”

A former moviehouse, Main Street Theater opened in May after undergoing extensive renovations. It programs a combination of film and live performances.

Last weekend, a musical revue entitled “Hooray for Hollywood” attracted more than 900 people for its three performances, according to Tammy Crismon, theater manager. It was the first live performance to he held at the venue.

Simsic pointed out that while “Hooray for Hollywood” was light-hearted entertainment with a broad appeal, “The Soldier’s Tale” is “a true work of art and musical genius. What’s more, the work is an intensely dramatic piece that challenges all in the epic theater tradition.”

A long-time force in the regional music and theater scene, Simsic is currently the artistic director of Youth Theater and Music at Salem Community Theatre; music director of the Salem Youth Chorus; music director of the Canton Children’s Chorus; and conductor for Valley Lyric Opera in Greenville, Pa. He is the chorus master and assistant conductor of the Youngstown Symphony and former conductor of music theater at Youngstown State University.

Simsic said Main Street Theater is very well-suited for Stravinsky.

“The hall’s Spartan realization is excellent for all chamber music,” he said. “The acoustics, which are slightly dry, lend themselves perfectly to Stravinsky’s intensely rhythmic, sometimes dense, sometimes dry textures. A more resonant acoustic would muddy and negate the sharp-edged, character of his music.”

The cast of “The Soldier’s Tale consists of Jason Budd, a professional opera singer who hail from Hubbard; Paula Ferguson, a theater professor at Westminster College who has performed extensively in local theater; and Josh Lewis and Melanie Williams, both of whom were most recently seen in Stage Left Players’ “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”

The musicians are Brendan Considine, violin, a member of the Youngstown Symphony and Warren Philharmonic; Alice Wong, clarinet, a music professor at YSU; Donald Byo, bassoon, a music professor at YSU; Chris Kummel, trumpet, a music professor at YSU and principal trumpet of the Youngstown Symphony and Warren Philharmonic; Randy Bibri, trombone, a YSU graduate and member of the River City Brass Band; Ole Latham, bass, of the Akron Symphony Orchestra; and Joseph Parlink, percussion, a retired music professor at YSU and member of the Youngstown Symphony and Warren Philharmonic.