Twice as Nice: Interview with a Director
Chmel’s musicals ranked among best local performances for two consecutive years

By Jess Decina

A little more than a year ago, Dr. Patrick Chmel and his team of aspiring actors stunned the Rider community with their production of the rock musical Hair. Last fall, Chmel and company brought the comedic farce Urinetown to Rider’s stage.

And for the past two years in a row, both shows have made “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” an annual listing of 12 must-see shows in The Princeton Packet’s Time Off section. The list, compiled by critic Stuart Duncan, covers the top 12 theatrical productions in New Jersey. According to Duncan, college shows rarely make this list.

In light of these recent accomplishments, Chmel talked about his experiences, his reactions and why having two successful shows is twice as nice.

Q: How long have you been directing plays at Rider?

A: Since the spring of 1979, when I did Pippin with Tharyle Prather as my set designer and Miriam Mills as my light designer. Both are presently on the faculty and continue to do great work.

Q: What do you like best about directing and theater?

A: So many things. I love watching the amazing growth of young actors in only a four-year time span. They come in like the proverbial deer in headlights and graduate as confident, young professionals ready to take on the world. I love the energy, the passion that it takes to get the job done. To me, live theater is a high wire act. To this day, it still scares the hell out of me.

Q: How did you find out about Hair making the list, and what was your reaction?

A: I had an indication Hair would get on the list last year when the critic e-mailed me the day after he saw the show to praise the actors’ work. That sort of thing just isn’t done, so I guessed he might put it on his list. We’d been on the Packet’s list in the past, but it’d been quite awhile.

Q: What was your reaction when Urinetown made the list?

A: I wasn’t surprised about Hair but I was when Urinetown made the list, because twice in a row is extraordinary. Obviously I was delighted, because the kids deserved it, as did everyone involved — Crystal Moore, the choreographer; Tharyle Prather, the designer; my assistants [junior] Michele Danna and [sophomore] Nicole Lorenzetti and especially Jerry Rife, musical director. I’d like to add that last year we had a full season of exceptional productions. Miriam Mills’ production of The Servant of Two Masters was brilliant and could just as well have been on this list. It’s all in the timing and how the critic feels at any given moment.

Q: Do you have any expectations for next year?

A: It’s not a competition, and that’s not the sort of thing we have in mind at all. We just do our shows and serve our students and our audiences. How the critics respond to it is really secondary.

Q: What elements made Hair and Urinetown successful shows?

A: The talent and total passion of the kids on stage. Night after night, they left it all on the stage.