Interview: Mead Winters of BENT at Nutley Little Theatre

Nutley Little Theatre closes out it's 89th Season with BENT, written by Martin Sherman and Directed by Mead Winters.

In 1934 Berlin on the eve of The Night of the Long Knives, Max, a grifter and his lover, Rudy spend a night of debauchery with an SS trooper. After soldiers burst into their apartment, Max and Rudy become desperate and go on the run.  Max and Rudy flee Berlin and seek out the assistance from Max’s Uncle Freddie for help, which he reluctantly provides. Freddie “helps” him by telling Max how to live, as he does, practicing homosexuality on the side and forgoing his lover, Rudy.  Unable to do so, Max and Rudy continue to flee until…

Attempting their escape amidst tragedy, Max encounters Horst, another homosexual prisoner as they are transported to the death camp in Dachau. Max and Horst hope to survive with each other for comfort and courage.  Only time will tell. Will their love survive? Will they survive? Can true love transform, even in HELL!

I had the pleasure of interviewing the Director, Mead Winters.

Please tell us about yourself. 

A recently retired bilingual education elementary school teacher from Passaic School District in New Jersey, I have always had a love for the theater as I graduated from Drew University with a Theatre Arts and Spanish Language double major.

I have lived in Nutley, NJ for 30 years and have enjoyed the theater, travelling, bowling, and teaching.  Since Covid, I became more actively involved with Nutley Little Theatre, Apricot Sky Productions in Montclair,  Dragonfly Multicultural Arts Center in Plainfield, and Old Library Theatre in Fair Lawn.  I currently serve on Nutley Little Theatre's Board of Directors as Secretary.  In addition, I have been President of my bowling league for the past 14 years.

Please tell us about your involvement in theater.

My original interest in the theater was as an actor where I have portrayed a variety of roles in MY BIG GAY ITALIAN WEDDING, PERFECT ARRANGEMENT, CERTIFIABLY YOURS, and most recently in FORGIVENESS at Dragonfly Multicultural Arts Center.  However, my strong desire to direct came when I was teaching in Passaic.  I started in 1993 and a decade later, I completed my run as the director of musicals at my elementary school where I worked with close to 100 students in each each show.  After a short break, I decided to branch out into the community theater where I was tapped to direct Nutley Little Theatre's Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre back in 2020 in collaboration with the Franklin Steakhouse.  Once we were able to go back to live theatre (nearly 2 years later), I was scheduled to direct GEMINI at NLT.  I followed that up with GOD OF CARNAGE later that year, and have been asked to direct BENT.   During these past 2 years, I also directed several one act shows at various theaters in northern New Jersey.

My dedication to the arts awarded me with 2 Perry nominations for both GEMINI and GOD OF CARNAGE as Best Director and Best Productions. Several of my actors also received Perry nominations for their roles in these productions.

What inspired you to direct this piece?

It was over 40 years ago that I saw a production of BENT on Broadway starring Richard Gere.  I was so enthralled by the production that it has never left my mind and I always think back to the show and how its concepts of characters struggling for survival while trying to maintain hope living during one of the darkest times in history could have made such an impact.  "In 1934, Nazi Germany,decadent Max Berger is living with his boyfriend, Rudy Hennings while he frequents nightclubs and drags home one-night stands.  The play opens on the first morning after the start of the Night of the Long Knives in which Hitler purged his SA staff, including Ernst Rohm, who was gay and protected other homosexuals. Unfortunately, Max's latest conquest is an SA.  The Gestapo arrives and murder the soldier.  Max and Rudy begin their journey to flee the dark days of Berlin." As you can tell by the synopsis, the play was seems disturbing, yet it is beautifully written with Martin Sherman's words. The themes and nature of the play enabled me to process how the human spirit and adversity of the characters in the production left me struggling with the historical aspects of Germany's Night of the Long Knives.  

Move forward to 2023 when I considered scripts to submit for productions.  I knew this would be a hard sell, but given my past directorial works which have kept in line with heavy dramas, I decided to present BENT as a play that needs to be told today.  I was so grateful when Nutley Little Theatre decided to take a chance on this "outside the box" of traditional shows, and presented me with a slot to direct it.  

The play is not so much of a violent and controversial show as it is about how humans are treated in the darkest of times.  BENT is a story about how a man who looked for love in all the wrong places finally found it amidst the horrors of a concentration camp.  

My vision of this show is focused more on the human nature, love (both gratuitous and real), hope, struggles to survive, appearances v. reality, and how we look at these characters and can identify with them as everyday ordinary people we may know or be aware of in our lives.  While you see and hear the evil of those days past, I want to focus on the relationships between these characters and the beauty, innocence, and desire to be loved by another even when the time may not permit that to be.  We see how the play shifts from the beginning - representing freedom and movement in a world filled with people, action, and color to the ending where imprisonment and movement from one rock pile to another.  These contrasts are what makes BENT so relevant today.  Don't let the violence, language, and cruelty of humanity deter you from seeing what is one of the most powerful shows done with such depth and meaning.  I hope positive messages in BENT will live in your hearts and minds for years to come. 

Please tell us a little bit about your cast and crew. 

Upon holding auditions in March, I had no idea what to expect with this show.  I had received many comments about how excited people were to see that I was directing BENT, a play that is not done enough.

My auditions were extremely successful with close to 30 of the best male actors I could ever ask for.  

Everyone who auditioned was so passionate and desired to be given a part in the show, no matter what size the role was.  While I ended up with my cast of 10, I felt devastated that I had to decline so many talented actors from taking part in a show they had strong feelings of which to be a part.

The cast and crew I have been working with have been amazing.  Each and every one brings with them a plethora of talent.  They have researched the history of the story's plot, they have defined their characters, they bring about so much life to these characters that fit right into my vision.  When asked to try something different, they do so with pride and understanding of what I want this show to be.  We work together so well, and everyone is given the opportunity to share his / her views, emotions, and input.  This has truly been a collaborative piece with every actor and stage manager contributing to our overall final outcome. 

To me, this is an ALL STAR cast with such energy, passion, and determination to bring to the audiences one of the most chilling and emotional show filled with humor, tragedy, love, and humanity.  Yet I hope that the messages, emotions, visions, and characters will give the audiences something to remember for months, if not years to come.

What do you want your audiences to take away from this show?

The one thing I would like my audiences to take away from BENT is that although it has a reputation of being controversial and disturbing, the actual story between these characters are real  and could be any one of us, our family, friends, neighbors, coworkers. With all the humor and laughter, the fighting and disagreeing, the struggles from within oneself and the struggles on the outside (environment and people), the hope of survival, and the love we hope to find within ourselves and with others,  BENT should be a show which relieves us from the the pain and suffering we witness throughout the show as we see all the good within these characters and how they try to overcome their struggles to survive. This story is as relevant today as it was in the 1930's (when the show took place) and the 1970's / 1980's (when the show was written and produced on Broadway).

Any upcoming projects you will be working on after this? (Directing, acting, etc., if you don't know what projects are next, that is fine!! I can leave this question out.)

I am planning to take off the summer after spending nearly a year preparing and prepping for BENT.  I will be returning in the fall with Apricot Sky Productions in Montclair to direct at their one act festival.

Anything additional you would like to add?

I would like to thank Nutley Little Theatre for taking a risk and going outside the box of the traditional shows by letting me direct and bring to life this production of BENT.  I am proud to have been involved in the production and I would like to say how proud and honored I am of the entire cast  and crew from the set designer to the costumer to the stage crew who all put their immense time, efforts, heart, and soul into being a part of this production and bring this chilling and emotional show to the stage to share with our  audiences!

Photo credit: Erin Sabat

CAST:

MAX - Brandon Conti 

HORST - Nick Westemeyer 

RUDY - Zachary Conner 

WOLF - Gabe Michelson 

GRETA - Aaron Drill 

UNCLE FREDDIE - Patrick Horan 

CAPTAIN - Nat Gennace 

OFFICER - John Fraissinet 

GUARD/ENSEMBLE - Tom Murtagh 

CIGARETTE GIRL/DACHAU PRISONER - Miranda Montalvo

NIGHTCLUB PATRON/DACHAU PRISONER - Marisa Dolkart  

CREW:

Director: Mead Winters

Stage Manager: Erin Sabat  

Stage Crew: Mike Dancho, Donna Fraissinet,  Marisa Dolkart and Miranda Montalvo 

Set Designer: Jim Brown 

Set, Light, Sound Designer & Operator - Jim Brown

Intimacy Coordinator: Laura Anthony

Stage Fighting - Laura Anthony

Music Director - Patrick Horan

Special Effects - L.A. Mars

Costumes & Props - Julia Sharpe & Beatriz Esteban-Messina

Stage & Poster Art - Stephen Crooks

Assistant to Construction - Joe Thayer

Publicity - Gina Sarno

NLT is located at 47 Erie Place, Nutley, NJ. 

Performances are June 14th-June 29th.

Tickets are on sale now at: https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/82080

**This show is not suitable for children. 

**This show contains strong language, depictions of homophobia, violence, explicit sexual acts, depictions of the Holocaust, herbal cigarette smoking, and gun shot sound effects. 

Please note, the theater is not handicap accessible. 

No outside food or drink will be permitted inside the theater. 

Parking: 

There is a small parking lot with a few spots right outside the theater. Our traffic volunteers will hold those spots open for elderly, or pregnant patrons. Otherwise, there is parking on either side of Brookfield Ave or in the parking lot at the school across the street. Parking is not permitted on Erie Place. 

About NLT: 

Born in the great Depression, when economic conditions encouraged interest in community activities, Nutley Little Theatre has continued to be a vital community organization for over 88 years, and with continued support, it will continue to bring live theatre to the Northern New Jersey area for decades to come.

For more information, please visit NutleyLittleTheatre.com and follow us on Instagram and Facebook. 

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