Historical realism takes the stage

Bringing a snapshot of history to life on the stage is never an easy task. There are countless details that must be addressed to create a world both actors and audiences can get lost in.

For the final production of the 2014-2015 season, the Arvada Center called upon all its powers to bring working-class Dublin to life in Terrence McNally’s “A Man of No Importance.”

The regional premiere of show comes to the center, located at 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., from April 28 through May 17. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1 p.m. Wednesdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

“Everyone here is such a professional that they’re able to get so much detail and realism to everything they do,” said director and Arvada Center artistic producer Rod A. Lansberry.

“A Man of No Importance” follows bus driver and aspiring actor Alfie Byrne (Kevin Loreque) through 1964 Dublin as he attempts to perform Oscar Wilde’s “Salome” with his amateur theater troupe in a local church hall.

While Alfie sees the stage as a chance to take people out of their workaday lives, his show selection riles up the church leaders. It’s the connections Alfie has made with his passengers that help him figure out where he belongs.

The show features Colorado’s own Irish-folk band Colcannon performing music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens.

To give the show the historical accuracy required to bring the time and place to life, Lansberry traveled to Dublin to look around and see how he could capture the same atmosphere on stage.

“I spent three days in Dublin, and got out of the city and into more of the blue-collar areas,” he said.

The design team members do their own research, examining photos and other historical data, to incorporate into their work. Costume designer Sally Anne Burke said there is a lot of collaboration with Lansberry and other members of the design team as the show develops.

“Rod never casts bodies just because we have costumes with a particular fit,” she said. “We push ideas back and forth, but in the end, it’s about making things work for everyone.”

Burke is creating a coordinated look for the show from clothes from the era that she’s found, Lansberry said.

The props in “A Man of No Importance” are all very mechanical, and that has been one of the main challenges for props mistress Meghan Markiewicz.

“We need to make something that looks like Guinness, since it has that signature look, and so I had to learn about beer engines,” she said. “There’s also a ticket machine we’ll be using in the production.”

Scenic designer Brian Mallgrave made use of Lansberry’s photos from Dublin in his set work.

“This set is all about textures, and I wanted everything to look very real. These people are workers, so everything has a utilitarian feel,” Mallgrave said. “Everything we’re doing is from scratch, and it’s all these worlds coming together to create one unified world.”

Everyone involved is tapping into the characters and setting to connect with the audience.

“There are many elements of the working class in the show. They bring a lot of family and heart,” Mallgrave said.

For more information, call 720-898-7200 or visit www.arvadacenter.org.

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