Coronado Resident Takes Center Stage

When you say the word ‘Respect,’ it conjures all kinds of images and associations. But if you SPELL the word, only one thing comes to mind: Aretha.

That demand for esteem and equality is at the heart of “Respect: A Musical Journey of Women,” which is playing at the Lyceum Theatre in San Diego through June.

At the center of the musical action is the Narrator, played by well-known, multi-talented musical theater performer (and frequent director) , who grew up in Coronado, where she still lives.

The show's evolution: The show is the brainchild of Columbia University professor Dorothy Marcic, a former Fulbright scholar and delegate to the U.N. Economic and Social Development Summit.

It all began in 1999, when she was asked to make a presentation at a conference about the equality of men and women. She had recently begun using music in her management lectures, and she realized that the history of women in the 20th century was chronicled in Top 40 pop songs, from George Gershwin’s “Someone to Watch Over Me” to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”

She found that, as the role of women changed, the music shifted, and they influenced each other. She chose 50 songs, and through them, told her story – about her own family and about women in general, moving, as she’s said, “from co-dependence to independence.”

That shift, from being the property of men to being the president of corporations, is on view in the character's names: One, played by , is known as the Dependent Ingenue, while another, played by Nancy Snow Carr, is called the Young Adult Cynic.

She wrote a book about the connections, “Respect: Women and Popular Music,” and from there, it was a short hop to musical theater.

At first she performed the piece herself, as a one-woman show. Then she set it free. Since 2004, it’s been performed all over the U.S. and in Australia.

Now “Respect” is making its San Diego debut, under the direction of Sarah Shahinian, who was the assistant director for the Philadelphia production and the last national tour. Everyone involved in the local production (except the four-piece all-male band, under the musical direction of Cris O’Bryon) is female.

Two of the other performers, like Scarritt, have strong ties to Coronado.

The Narrator: Scarritt loved Coronado as a child and chose to raise her child here.

“It’s a great place to raise a kid,” Scarritt says of her own upbringing, and her daughter’s. “It has a small-town feel, where people really care about their children and everyone knew each other. Years ago, we never locked the door.”

Besides being a charismatic performer (last seen at the Lyceum in “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” and “The Threepenny Opera,” among many other productions at theaters around the county), Scarritt has trained almost all the young musical talent in town, through her Leigh Scarritt Productions.

In “Respect,” the petite powerhouse explains, “I play the playwright. I’m a college professor and I tell her story, about how the music inspired her, and helped her understand her family, and the broader history of women. The songs go back to 1900, and all the way up to Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful,” which I get to sing in the second act.

“It’s brilliant how the show links the history with the music,” Scarritt continues. “And also tells a personal story.”

Though these are iconic songs (one of Scarritt’s favorite moments is when she gets to belt out Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart”), she says “these fantastic performers are singing in tribute, not trying to impersonate.”  

Scarritt’s most emotional moment in the show is singing Martina McBride’s heart-wrenching 2003 ballad, “In My Daughter’s Eyes,” which will of course make her think of her own daughter, Tiffany Jane, who was just named Blues Singer of the Year at the L.A. Music Awards.

“I weep every single time she sings that,” says castmate Kelsey Venter, who along with another of “Respect's” high-octane singers, recently performed at .

The Dependent Ingenue: Venter grew up in La Mesa, just down the street from San Diego State University, where she majored in theater, after attending Maryland Avenue School, La Mesa Middle School and Helix High. 

Venter’s parents still live in the house where she grew up. After college, she moved to San Francisco, to train in classical theater at the prestigious American Conservatory Theatre.

“My first love is musical theater,” she says, “but I think it sometimes gets a bad rap. People consider it ‘fluffy,’ and say that ‘serious’ actors don’t do it. I wanted to become a ‘serious actor’ and still do musical theater!”

After six years in the Bay Area, she returned last year to play the female lead in the two-person drama, “Trying” at Lamb’s Players Theatre. Then she was cast as the ingénue, Miss Sarah Brown, in the Lamb’s production of the beloved musical classic, which she says is ”one of the shows that made me want to be an actor.”

In “Respect,” Venter especially loves singing “It Must Be Him” (first recorded by Vicki Carr in 1967) and “As Long As He Needs Me,” from the musical “Oliver.”

A few years back, when she was 18, one of her first professional jobs was in the ‘60s girls’ musical, “Beehive,” in which she appeared with fellow “Respect” performer, Lisa H. Payton.

“I guess I just can’t stop singing about women!,” she says with a chuckle. Like all the performers in this show, she can’t stop talking about her castmates. They have truly bonded, and are in awe of each other’s talent. 

The Young Adult Cynic: Carr, who has lived in La Mesa since 2008, feels the same. She moved here from Missouri, where she and her husband, gifted actor/singer Geno Carr, taught at Stevens College.

A native of North Carolina who got her start on the national tours of “Phantom of the Opera” and “The Buddy Holly Story,” Carr came to San Diego to attend SDSU, which has the country’s only Master of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre.

The couple chose to live in La Mesa, to be close to campus.

“We love it,” says Carr. “We love being able to walk to the village.” Their favorite La Mesa restaurant is Gingham (“Southern comfort food!”), and Nancy is partial to the boutique, Wildlfowers.

The couple spent a Semester at Sea, traveling the world and teaching theater on board, and they can’t wait to do it again. Recently, they appeared together in Lamb’s Players productions of and “The Music Man.” And now, she has “Respect.”

“My favorite moments are singing the 1902 song, ‘Bill Bailey’ and the 1940 Rodgers and Hart classic, ‘Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,’ from ‘Pal Joey.’ The part that warms my heart is the Whitney Houston song, “The Greatest Love of All,’ which we do in beautiful three-part harmony.

“It’s the whole story behind the show,” she continued. “We find our strength within, and here are these women supporting me. It’s a wonderful moment. I hope the audience feels it, and sees that it’s not an act for us. We really do love and support each other.”

The Take-away: “In the end,” says Scarritt, “the show’s message is ‘Take responsibility for your own happiness. Be all you can be. See what women before you have done. It’s all about empowerment.

“And don’t think the show is for women only,” Scarritt continues. The promotional materials say the show is ‘For Girls (& Guys) Who Just Wanna Have Fun.’  It’s for men who love women and women who love their female friends.”       

The Details: “RESPECT: A Musical Journey of Women” continues through June 24 at the Lyceum Theatre in Horton Plaza, San Diego.

Performances are Wednesday at 7 p.m., Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets ($42-$57) are available at www.lyceumevents.org/; 619-544-1000