Most romantic comedies follow the same predictable format: Two people meet, fall in love, part ways, then reunite. End of story.
But “Enter the Guardsman” is not the usual rom-com.
“This is one of the few shows that actually opens in the middle of a relationship and ends in the middle of a relationship, of the same relationship,” composer Craig Bohmler said.
The show takes the stage of the Wheeler Opera House on Friday evening as part of the Aspen Fringe Festival’s 15th annual Junefest, a two-day celebration of performing arts. Bohmler will also serve as musical director of the show, about an actor who masquerades as the “guardsman” in an effort to seduce his own wife, an actress, and catch her in the betrayal.
“This is our story of the backstage life, we're honoring it,” Bohmler said during a break in rehearsal last week. “It's a comedy too, and it's about how you keep your marriage alive in the long run.”
The musical is based on a play, almost a century old, called “The Guardsman,” by Ferenc Molnár. And two classical actors helped shape it: Marion Adler wrote the lyrics and Scott Wentworth wrote the book for the musical, which debuted in 1997.
David Ledingham, who stars in the show and runs the Aspen Fringe Festival, says that dramatic background shines through in the piece.
“They have a certain access to great stories, you know, Shakespeare was the master,” Ledingham said during the joint interview with Bohmler. “And then the music is absolutely amazing. And it's just — it's really funny. It's incredibly deep. It's romantic. It's really honest.”
The show certainly has a Shakespearean flair, with disguises, mistaken identities, and dramatic — if sometimes confused — romancers.
But this weekend, the focus isn’t on the Bard but on Bohmler, the composer.
Friday is a concert version of “Enter the Guardsman,” with a cast of local talent and a few transplants. (Several performers, including Ledingham, are alumni of Aspen’s famed Crystal Palace dinner theater; Ledingham founded the Fringe Festival after the Crystal palace closed in 2008.)
And on Saturday, the festival will showcase an array of other Bohmler work: songs from different musicals, a dance piece set to one of his compositions, a clip from a “making-of” documentary about Bohmler’s Western opera, “Riders of the Purple Sage.”
“I love to be able to bring that eclectic offering to our Aspen audiences,” Ledingham said.”
It’s a similar format to last year’s festival, which put the spotlight on playwright Simon Stephens.
“We're back doing this deep dive into one artists’ body of work, and it's really satisfying for us as performers,” Ledingham said. “And I think it will be for the audience as well, and I'm sure it is for Craig.”
Bohmler has a lot of accolades already to his name.
“Enter the Guardsman” won the International Musical of the Year competition in 1996, and was nominated for an Olivier Award for “Best New Musical” two years later. Another one of his musicals, “Gunmetal Blues,” has been produced hundreds of times; a filmmaker’s documentary about his opera “Riders of the Purple Sage” racked up regional Emmys.
In a phone call earlier this month, Ledingham explained that “fringe” doesn’t have to mean “unknown.”
“We strive to bring stuff that's really kind of on the fringe, but that doesn't mean it's not successful,” Ledingham said in the phone interview. “It's very successful.”
And while the Fringe Festival has dug into pricklier political themes in the past, Ledingham says this year is focused on a celebration of the art.
The format is designed to be immersive, and interactive: Bohmler will be at the productions to answer questions and introduce pieces.
Think of it as a crash course in literature — but the author is sitting right next to you while you read.
“It's kind of like reading a whole bunch of books from one author,” Ledingham said on the phone. “You know, you get more of a feel of the artistry of that author and their style, and they can be very eclectic, you know. It's different choices. … but that's kind of what we do.”
Individual tickets and two-day passes for the Aspen Fringe Festival are available through the Wheeler Box Office and aspenshowtix.com.
