Image courtesy Firehouse Theatre
When actor, author and playwright Irene Ziegler developed a story revolving around uncertainty and fear, she shared it with the composer, musician and voiceover artist John Winn. The resulting collaboration is a musical about trauma and rising complications both familial and cultural — and it’s funny. “Safety” makes its world premiere at Firehouse Theatre on July 8 and continues through July 26.
Most theatergoers have likely seen Ziegler on stages and screens of all sizes. Among her acting credits are the troubled wife of Gary Oldman’s odious U.S. senator in “The Contender,” a luring cannibal in “The Walking Dead” and a community theater director in “Doom Patrol.” The Richmond resident has written novels and plays, and her short story collection, “Rules of the Lake,” was also adapted for the stage. For a while, she supplied a voice for the city’s buses, announcing stops and safety information to riders.
Ziegler is also a two-time fellow in Cadence theater company’s Pipeline New Works Program, which is led by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire and the New York-based writer and performer (and Richmond native) Clay McLeod Chapman. The workshopping and development program assisted her with drafting the script for “Safety.”
Just over three years ago, John Winn retired from 19 years of teaching music at St. Christopher’s School. The actor, jazz-influenced singer, saxophonist and clarinetist thought he would teach for another decade, “until I started Medicare, or do something else,” he says. But he credits his spouse, Susanna Klein, with urging him to leave education and allow his creative energy to lead him. Which it did, guiding him three doors down to friend and neighbor Ziegler.
Irene Ziegler and John Winn
Their collaboration began with a question from Winn: “Do you have any ideas for a musical?”
Upon hearing Ziegler’s idea, the theme of “Safety” appealed to Winn. The protagonist, Camille, is contending with surviving an assault while also caring for her aging mother, who is afflicted with dementia. New challenges arise when another individual begins to overstep boundaries in her life — but no spoilers.
“The three main characters have their crosses to bear in a nontheological way,” Winn explains, to which Ziegler adds, “In a fear-based world, what does it mean to be safe? We’re constantly bombarded with fearful things through the media and all of its offshoots. It’s a form of very effective persuasion.”
Among the major motifs are the recurring nature of trauma and the nation’s gun culture. For Ziegler, it was important to weave those themes into the storyline while avoiding becoming a political diatribe — a balance that is challenging to achieve. Ziegler observes, “Like many plays, this didn’t start out to be what it became.” Winn and Ziegler shared a mutual artistic approach to the challenges of the material, workshopping and discussing the finer plot points of the musical to hit on hard subject matter while also creating an engaging production that incorporates humor and even some levity.
The play underwent additional restructuring after a Pop-Up Premiere held at Firehouse in February; the series serves as a test run for preproduction works in front of a live audience. “We changed the ending about 10 times,” Ziegler recalls. “The first one was,” and the pair say almost simultaneously, “really dark.” Winn chuckles and says of that original ending, “I don’t think anybody really saw that one.”
The production features a seven-member ensemble including Grey Garrett as Camille, Nathan Whitmer as George, Jacqueline Jones as Margaret, Tyler Stevens as Randy, Zakiyyah Jackson as Vershay, William Vaughn as Crank and Nick Aliff as Boogeyman.
The completed product is a story that asks how we persevere in the face of fear. “The play combines humor with drama,” Winn says, “There’s a good dose of wonky romance, there’s magical realism in it, and pathos, and secrets.”
“Safety,” written by Irene Ziegler with music by John Winn, is onstage at Firehouse Theatre with pay-what-you-will previews July 8-9 and performances July 10-26. Tickets are $45.
