Boys From Syracuse813

What is a Jewel Box Production?

jewel box

  1. In both senses also called jewel case.
  2. A usually lined box or case for holding jewelry.
  3. A hinged plastic case designed to hold a compact disk and usually a printed insert or liner.

 

I was challenged a number of years ago to re-invent a production of MY FAIR LADY for a professional summer stock company using only ten actors (through double and triple casting of characters), to play all the parts. I have been fascinated by the idea of tackling large cast musicals and pairing them down to their more intimate, jewel box version. This does not mean that the production values change, after all—what does a jewel box contain but jewels. However, conceptually you can “do” more interesting staging with a reduced cast, and in the end I think “say” more to your audience, as you are honing in on the core relationships of the story without all the extra fluff that is sometimes added to what we call in the musical theatre world “the old war horse” (musicals that have been around for decades requiring large choruses to sing and dance big numbers). A Jewel Box production also allows the audience to witness actors playing a variety of roles in the same production, which is a challenge to the actors, the costume designer and the audience as well.

jewel box

a casket, a box for jewels

One of the conceptual ideas for all of my Jewel Box productions is the idea that the setting must be a versatile unit, capable of transforming into a variety of places while maintaining a feeling for the overall concept.

Musically, each production has had a unique style. My first jewel box production of MY FAIR LADY utilized one musician who programmed the entire score into a synthesizer. The second jewel box production was reimagined for piano and four strings (two violins, a cello, and a bass). CABARET had a small pit consisting of piano, percussion, trumpet and clarinet, with the actors filling in on other instrumentation as needed.

This far I have staged MY FAIR LADY (twice), THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE (twice), HELLO DOLLY, KISS ME, KATE and CABARET in Jewel Box fashion. All the productions have been extremely satisfying to the audience and have maintained the integrity of the original production. I have also used this “technique” in staging more full-scale productions such as THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, THE MUSIC MAN, OKLAHOMA!, THE RINK and FLORA, THE RED MENACE.