Wall Street Fandango

Director Stephan Morrow Directs Brilliant, Uncon- ventional Shisgal Comedy

Wall Street Greek Film and Theatre Columnist Penelope Karageorge gets into the creative mind of Greek-American Director Stephan Morrow, as the two discuss famed Playwright Murray Shisgal's work, Wall Street Fandango.

(Photo left to right: Playwright Murray Shisgal, Director Stephan Morrow, Director Ulu Grosbard, actress Rose Gregorio, a Tony nominee)

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Wall Street Fandango

Can dynamic director Stephan Morrow succeed in bringing Wall Street Fandango, an absurdist tragic-comedy by Murray Shisgal, to the Broadway stage? In Fandango, two financial industry men – a super-successful, rule-breaking bon vivant and a plodding hedge-fund manager - forge a close friendship that leads ultimately to a reversal of fortunes. Fandango is timely, provocative, hilarious, and smart. It takes risks with performer duets, a "rap" solo, a ballet interlude, and breaking the fourth wall – performers addressing the audience directly.

We talked with Greek-American Morrow (originally Morros - changed by a grandfather) at The Cupcake, a coffee shop near The Actor's Studio. Loaded with opinions, Morrow could easily be at home in Europe's talking capital, Athens, a city for which he claims an affinity.

"Drop the N word from your vocabulary," Morrow insists, kicking off our conversation. "Networking is the N word. You have to develop collegiate relationships with people, with fellow artists, with colleagues. You're not selling shoes. Networking does not apply to the arts!" Morrow leans across the table, his face dark with concern.

Morrow segues from personality to personality as he talks. "I was very influenced by Elia Kazan. He really gave me a break when he mentored me into The Actor's Studio in the mid-eighties. I learned dramaturgy from Kazan. I learned structure from Kazan. He was the moderator in the unit, so I'm pretty astute about why a play does or doesn't play."

A long collaboration with Norman Mailer led to his staging Mailer's The Deer Park at the Actor's Studio. Playwright Shisgal saw the work, was impressed, and asked Morrow to direct Wall Street Fandango. Morrow hadn't known Shisgal, the author of the enormously successful Broadway hit Luv and co-author of the film Tootsie, despite the fact that they were both in the playwright/director unit at The Actors Studio. "I noticed this older man who would occasionally bring a lot of gravitas to his criticism. I was flattered when Murray offered me the play."

Morrow read the script with astonishment and delight. "I found it better and more literate than about ninety percent of what I'd seen on Broadway," Morrow recalls. "What I like most about it is that it's not TV writing on stage, which just bores the hell out of me. There's a difference. There's the voice of the playwright and there's an emotional action forward. Don't forget. Stage is part of ritual, and there's magic."

At three staged readings, audiences gave a major "thumbs up" to Wall Street Fandango, and 45 Bleecker committed to giving the play a run. But overnight and without warning, the theatre was forced to close, sending Fandango into production limbo.

But Morrow's not giving up on Wall Street Fandango. "I honestly believe it will make it to Broadway, and when it does, it will be a huge hit and play forever." Of course he would be delighted to meet with any Greek or other "angels" with a love of and instinct for good theatre!

Meanwhile The Theatre for the New City has commissioned him to direct a play by an L.A. writer, John Steppling, Dogmouth. "It's about hobos on trains, like Aryan nation guys – they're despicable but it's good writing. I always try to find the humor in the dramas I direct. If I see a production, and there's nothing to laugh about, I figure there's something wrong with it. Everything has humor in it. Hamlet has humor."

A veteran of the Off Off-Broadway arena, Morrow is dedicated to keeping modern classics alive, and founded The Great American Play Series. Morrow grew up in the Fort Hamilton section of Brooklyn. A graduate of the University of Buffalo, he began his theatre career at the Now Theatre Repertory Company in Buffalo.



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