the examiner-june 4-14
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Film noir turned quality theater: ‘DoublesCrossed: The Ballad of Rodrigo’ See also events / Interview / Film Noir / Theater
June 4, 2014
Tucked away under New York City’s brightBroadway lights is a little slice of theatrical power.‘Doubles Crossed: The Ballad of Rodrigo,’ aFunny…Sheesh Productions project, offers a newlook at the stage through tones in cinematichistory. In a bold and creative endeavor, writer andproducer Jason S. Grossman, along with directorAmber Gallery, has completed the second play of
Jason S. Grossman
Jacqueline GurguiNY Film Examiner
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Doubles Crossed: The Ballad of Rodrigo
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his ‘Doubles Crossed’ film-noir adapted trilogy.
We follow former Dead Street Mob memberFreddie Tower (Gregory James Cohan) in apresent day, now returned to the big city posing ashis fallen brother and FBI director, Irving. Soon hebecomes caught in a vengeful scheme of Rodrigo(Matthew J. Nichols), also of Dead Street, on thebend to prove he’s the next hot shot now that hisdisapproving mob father is dead. ‘Blood on thePages,’ a fake script created by the mob in the
first installment to cover up a heist, is unearthed again, making matters worse. With the femme fataleTrina (Alison Parks) playing roles on both teams and good cop Flapjack (James Holden) workingtowards a peaceful resolution against the forces of deceit, ‘The Ballad of Rodrigo’ is both compellingand a thinker.
Transforming key elements of 40’s and 50’s noir cinema from screen to stage has proven possible onmore levels than one. Given the strength in writing, story continuity, and some especially skilled andcharismatic performers, “going to the movies” is like a live event. The intimate theater should not fool you;quality has little to do with size. You’ll leave having been in the presence of talent. Jason Grossman wasable to give insight into the process and motivation behind ‘Doubles Crossed: The Ballad of Rodrigo’during a nice chat:
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What inspired you to start diving into these cinematic noir themes for the stage? Have youalways had an interest in that genre?
I really do love film and especially the history of modern pop culture. I think the memory of the Americanpublic is portrayed and celebrated, but very shortsighted. Nostalgia seems to only go back maybe twentyyears. Specifically about these plays, the first one we did was ‘Doubles Crossed.’ I had a short piece thatwas a parody of the gangster films of the 30’s and I took the lingo and made my own- a parody with amodern twist. Then I wrote that play based on that piece, adding characters. Because of the Depressionaround the 30’s and 40’s, people were living vicariously through these criminals that were centralcharacters in film but of course got their comeuppance in the end. I figured as I did research and peopleresponded to the play, I wanted to use this noir genre that started in the early 40’s with the more gritty,downbeat, and cynical productions like ‘Double Indemnity.’ With central characters straddling the linebetween good and bad, I decided to take the characters that survived in the first of ‘Doubles Crossed’and make a more serious play that celebrates popular film noir, putting it in present times with new andold lingo that seemed to fit.
Yes, I notice the translations in the program, for instance ‘clipped’ referring to being shot.
It’s funny, the director Amber and the cast would ask me ‘Well, what does that mean?” and give me creditfor making up terms, but a lot of them existed. ‘Poly’ and ‘crimmie’ for instance, the language was veryclipped and there was this dry wit, so I took it one step further and took syllables out of some words
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because I liked the way it sounded. It makes it more fun to write and for the cast to perform.
Involving the phony script ‘Blood on the Pages,’ yet another scheme serving as a cover-up inthe first play, is very interesting. It takes the genre full circle in a way. Where did you get theidea? Will we get to see more of this in the final installment of the trilogy?
I enjoy things within things. In the movie ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ which is considered one of the greatest filmsof all time, it’s about the making of movies, the Talkies. I really liked the idea that these criminals in‘Doubles Crossed’ were creating not only a bogus scheme but they actually wanted to take it one stepfurther and concoct a script to add credibility. This was before I knew anything about ‘Argo’ where there’salso a bogus script, though through a different set of circumstances where they were trying to rescuepeople. The big henchman, the main assassin of Dead Street who got his comeuppance at the end ofthe first play, even though he only had a couple of days to write, he took it seriously. They even read acouple of pages of the script in the first play. I thought it would be interesting to continue that obsessivethread of serial killers and the mob telling about their exploits. The seed has already been planted in myhead that the next script will at least be titled, ‘Doubles Crossed: Blood on the Pages.’
From the time you finished the script to opening night, what was the time span?
It’s kind of muddy because we had been working on it a lot with re-writes. We would have a reading,because I like getting feedback from the actors, and then improve the script because I think it’s onlygoing to get better and tighter. I guess I felt it was completed about four months ago around February and
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then finalized before rehearsal with some adjustments. There were many different drafts.
How was it finding your cast? There are some excellent performances. The femme fatale Trina(Alison Parks), was very good, accent and all.
Luckily we had four people who reprised their roles from the first play. And they were very enthusiastic,which is so empowering and fantastic. We did have to recast Ramsey’s character, from the third act, andthere were a couple of parts where Amber wanted to cast people that we had worked with many timesbefore. There were only a few parts remaining, although very important ones like Rodrigo and Trina. Wehad trouble with her particular part; there were a couple audition rounds and callbacks but there wereelements that just were not there. We then just said we have to hold more auditions and with thatadditional day everyone really had their own spin on it. They had attitude and conflict and manipulationsand sarcasm. I remember it was like a happy problem. Then Greg James Cohan, who plays Freddie andreprised his role, brought in Alison Parks and I personally thought she was totally fantastic. I stood up, justher voice and everything. I’m absolutely thrilled with her work ethic and performance. And Matthew J.Nichols who plays Rodrigo, he had an audition and did a really good job, his own shade of his creepyand disturbing. He’s so great in the play.
Rodrigo is a complex character. What drives him the most do you think? Is it Money? Revenge?Love?
I imagine this guy whose father is this famous and successful big cheese in his own mob. He does not
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have a good relationship with his father who thought very little of his abilities and not capable of being inthe family business. On top of that you have Freddie’s character that’s essentially the opposite who’susurped in the family, basically treated as a son by the head of the mob. And of course Rodrigo’s fatherdies before he can prove anything to him so I think his ego wants to show the world that he’s the guy nextin line. The fact that he’s a criminal and his father was very rich, getting all of the spoils of that, creates apersonal thing that makes a big impact on Rodrigo. He wants to prove to everybody, including his dad,that they’re wrong.
Two are not like the other, and I think Flapjack and his mother Sally who runs the coffee shopare those characters. How did you shape the only characters that are still hinged to theirmorals?
Flapjack is almost too honest to be a cop and I think he believes in the best in people. They’re veryoptimistic people. In ‘Doubles Crossed,’ they’re friends throughout. She delivered awful muffins from hermuffin cart that only Flapjack would enjoy and I have them finding out through a series of circumstancesthat she is his mother. I wish I were more like them because the big city is a really unforgiving place andit’s important that those types of people are around. Sometimes I think they can’t survive because they’reso much nicer than everybody else. I fashion them from about ten people in my life that are verygenerous, positive, and caretaking no matter what and never complain about it. Cindy Keiter who playsSally, that’s just who she is, beloved and generous.
There is quite a lot of conning and scheming as we can expect, a lot of great details. Was it ever
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difficult to keep the story in line?
Yes! That wasn’t easy at all. I know exactly what you’re saying. I kept on saying to myself that the mantrais simplify. Since the audience is not going to be privy to all the drafts or my mind, it was a verycomplicating process doing that. We went through a lot of drafts and I’d have to account for anycontingency or problem needing fixing. I also did not want to underestimate the audience.
I enjoyed the minimalism of the set. The scene changes are swift so you can focus on the story.Was this an intentional choice?
I wish I could take all the credit for that. I’m so thrilled with the job that Amber Gallery, my wife, did and thedesign team that she got together. We decided on one main locale even though there are a lot ofdifferent places. It’s not possible to do it all. Working to keep it simple reminded me why I love thecollaborative process because people add their genius and vision in there. Aaron Gonzalez did theprojections, which are gorgeous. Jason Bolen did the set and I remember seeing an illustration of itthinking it would be great to have a stark black and white theme. We put everything together and itseems to put the play to life like a black and white film.
If you could pick one film in the noir repertoire that sticks with you to recommend to others,what would it be?
I love ‘Killer’s Kiss’ which was a short in 1955 and it’s always a little forgotten because of Stanley
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Kubrick’s other great films. For a more modern one, I absolutely loved ‘L.A. Confidential,’ probably oneof my top favorite films and also an inspiration. And Tarantino’s ‘True Romance’ that Tony Scott directedis great. It’s a non-stop entertaining and violent film at the very base of it and at the spine it’s a love story.That’s what I think ‘The Ballad of Rodrigo’ is, too.
For more information on ‘Doubles Crossed: The Ballad of Rodrigo’ visit:
www.Funnysheesh.comwww.balladofrodrigo.com.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FunnySheeshProductionsTwitter: @funnysheesh
The play runs through June 22 at Tada Theater (15 West 28th Street, New York, NY). Enjoy the show!
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