‘Gaspar!’ to sail into the Palladium next week
That scurvy buccaneer Jose Gaspar, the scourge of the eastern Gulf, is the centerpiece of one of the largest annual celebrations in Tampa Bay – for days on end it’s pirate this, and pirate that.
The man himself never existed, but was the product of some chamber of commerce pitchperson’s imagination at the dawn of the 20th century. Marketers on the ball never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Playwright William Leavengood and composer Constantine Grame have taken the ball and run with it, creating Gaspar! The Musical, a musical comedy based loosely – very loosely – on the “legend” of the man known alternately as Gasparilla.
Running Jan 4-7 at the Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg, Gaspar! introduces the cutthroat king in the early 1800s, at the same time the curtain rises on 21st century politician Joe Wright. They both happen to be sailing the high seas.
“They each fall off their ships,” explains Leavengood, “and when they’re pulled out of the water, they’re on each other’s ships – and in each other’s times. And everyone on board thinks they’re still the same person. They believe that Jose Gaspar is Joe Wright, and vice versa.”
Talk about trading places. “It’s like The Prince and the Pauper, but through different time periods, as opposed to just two people mistaken for each other in the same time,” adds Grame.
Gaspar and Wright can’t seem to convince their crews – played by the same actors on each side, for maximum effect – who they really are. So, reluctantly at first, each tries to adapt.
And that’s where the humor comes in.
There’s piratical swordfighting, political backstabbing, drinking and debauchery, love scenes, lessons learned and lots of laughs (Leavengood calls it a “swashbuckling romp”).
The cast of 13 is headed by Rick Bronson as Gaspar and Cameron Kubly as Wright. “It’s a fantastic cast,” Leavengood enthuses. “They’re such talented comedians and wonderful singers.”
The cast of “Gaspar! The Musical”: A pause during rehearsal at thestudio@620. The full production runs Jan. 4-7 at the Palladium Theater. Photo provided.
Including reprises, there are 26 songs in Gaspar! Musical director Grame, a pianist who’ll lead the eight-piece band, composed the music. Leavengood, who wrote and is directing the show, penned the lyrics.
Leavengood’s locally-produced plays have included The Azure Sky in Oz, The Sister-Mothers of Gulfport, Crossing the Bay, Webb’s City: The Musical and, with Grame, the musical comedy Drilled!
Numerous others have been staged in New York City.
“Musicals,” he laughs, “are way more fun. I have just loved writing lyrics again. I used to write lyrics in college – and I love writing songs with Constantine. So this has just been a blast.”
Gaspar! has been gestating for nearly five years. The pandemic put the original vision on hold; it was presented as a staged reading in early 2022.
The script was fine-tuned all the way through, as were the songs. “The way we would collaborate is usually very organic,” explains Grame. “Bill obviously created the story, and the overall structure of the show, although we would discuss that as well. We’d decide ‘There needs to be this song,’ and we’d agree on the basic title of the song, and what kind of music it would probably need to be.
“Probably seventy-five percent of the time, I’d go ahead and create music that I thought made sense for that song. Bill would write words to that. Or he might email me and say ‘Hey, I’m sending you some lyrics – see what you think of that.’”
Among the main objectives: Keep it moving, and keep it funny.
“What ends up happening is we have some very interesting songs, melodically and rhyme scheme-wise,” Leavengood says. “Because he just kind of let me go, and then he figured out, musically, how to make my rhyme scheme work. They’re odd rhyme schemes.”
Grame: “And sometimes I would send Bill what I knew to be a complex musical structure, knowing that he would come up with inventive lyrics for it.”
There are rousing songs, declarative songs, love songs, songs of longing and bright, shiny showstoppers. All of the things one expects to find in musical theater. “We’ve honored a lot of those, and then there are some places I think we’ve developed the concept in a different direction,” Grame offers. “I think the show will fulfill people’s expectations of what a good musical should be.”
Leavengood: “I think we both feel very confident with this show. I love the music, and the cast is having a blast with the script.”
He stresses that there are only four performances. “I think the show is going to be wonderful, and my fear is that people will hear about it and then hear ‘But it closed last week.’”
Tickets for all performances are available here. The Palladium is at 253 5th Avenue N., St. Petersburg.
