Lakeland Ledger - MAXWELL article
© Lakeland Ledger
Fresh from a stage in Tampa, a new rock musical is headed for New York City --
with a cast and crew that includes people from Polk County.
It's a brief engagement, only two days at a trendy Brooklyn nightclub, but
the show apparently is getting some buzz. "I've heard things about William Morris
Agency representatives and a producer who came down to see the show," said "MAXWELL"
director R.M. "ranney" Lawrence, a native of Winter Haven.
David Jenkins, the show's star, says only that "several" producers are looking
it over. Jenkins also is a co-founder of Jobsite Theater, the Tampa theater
company that is producing "Maxwell."
"MAXWELL" is the tale of a genius who develops marvelous mathematical machines
that end man's need to work, starve or suffer. It seems to be nirvana, and Maxwell
gets caught up in his own power and glory -- until a disillusioned and bored public rebels.
The show ends on the resonant notion that: "So many times in life/What we need is
inches/But we're too distracted to grab it."
Holcom is another member of the show's Polk County contingent. He and set designer
Brian Smallheer hail from Lakeland, and graduated from the Harrison Center for the
Visual and Performing Arts, Smallheer in 1994, Holcom a year later. Michael McGreevy,
who plays Maxwell's father, Gerhard, and the Maxwell machine, lived in Winter Haven
and Lake Wales while attending Polk Community College.
It's interesting, Lawrence said, how well Polk County is represented throughout the
Tampa Bay performing arts scene. He credits the Harrison school and PCC, especially
teacher George Randolph.
"It's a small campus, but the standards he expected and type of material made available
to us . . . it was amazing," Lawrence said.
"MAXWELL" closed Sunday in Tampa after nine shows on a stage at the Tampa Bay Performing
Arts Center. Several were sell-outs.
Beyond the energized music, audiences get a kick out of the various jabs "MAXWELL"
takes at pop culture, Lawrence said, "There's a Jerry Springer scene. Then we switch
over to Larry King. It's a scream," he said.
After a week of additional rehearsal, the show heads north, for performances Feb. 1 and 2
at the Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn, the borough Popp now calls home. Lawrence said
the cast and crew will stay with Jobsite alumni in the city -- many of whom are also
Polk County natives.
For Lawrence, 33, the trip is a return to old stomping grounds. He made a name for
himself as a comic in New York City before returning to Tampa.
For Holcom, 24, it'll be a first visit to the bright lights, big city. "It's a bit
exciting, going up there as an actor," he said, adding that it also feels "kind of strange."
New York won't be the final curtain for "Maxwell." David Jenkins said Jobsite recently
accepted an offer to perform the show at the Orlando International Fringe Festival in March.
Beyond that, Jenkins said, the future is anyone's guess.
Michael Gordon can be reached at michael.gordon@theledger .com or 863-802-7513.
New York Play Has Polk Actors, Crew
BY MICHAEL GORDON
published January 25, 2002
The story and driving score, which ranges from hard rock to gospel to country pop,
was written by Joe Popp. "From the mind of the Pope of Punk of Tampa Bay," joked
Christopher Holcom, who plays Maxwell's mentor, real-life physics genius Stephen Hawking.
"Joe's music is just tops," said Lawrence, who is directing his first show for Jobsite
Theater. In fact, it's the first time in Jobsite's four years that someone not on its
staff has directed a show.