WILMINGTON, Del.--Former amateur steeplechase jockey and a familiar face in the field of the Cheshire Foxhounds, Buddy Martin is the Executive and Artistic Director of the Delaware Theater Company, currently showing a fascinating musical, Other World, which had its World Premiere March 4.
Bikatipus, in the background, is one of the fantastical creatures in Other WorldWith executives from the Shubert and Neiderlander Organizations, the largest and second largest theater owners in New York as well as representatives from Jujamcyn expected to attend the show during the weekend of March 12 and the following Wednesday,writer Hunter Bell and the cast are hoping the show will eventually appear on Broadway.
"We need one of the theater owners to say we'll give you a theater as soon as one is available," said Martin.
Recent newspaper reviews were all good,
While Other World has seven shows a week and will run at the Delaware Theater through March 20, the show is still holding rehearsals and making changes and improvements almost daily,
Other World is an innovative play about a group of gamers, two of which are actually pulled through a portal into the game itself.
Martin said that people who were not familiar with gaming didn't understand what was going on for the first 10 or 15 minutes of the show and they're working on correcting that.
But despite some patron's confusion in the beginning, their consensus was they really enjoyed the play, which has, along with a good story line, fantastic costumes, dancing and choreography.
MARTIN'S career as a horseman began as a competitor in jumper shows.
Buddy Martin"When I thought I'd like to ride in races, I was riding with Paddy Neilson, and he told me the best way to learn to ride at speed with other horses was to fox hunt," said Martin, who has been hunting regularly with Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Foxhounds for the past 32 years.
"I try to hunt twice a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays," said Martin,, who lives in West Grove, Pa.
Martin competed as an amateur steeplechase jockey from 1990 to 2002, competing mostly in the Delaware Valley but also competing in Maryland and Virginia.
"One year,I was the Leading Owner, Trainer, Rider at Winterthur and won the trip to Switzerland," said Martin. "In 1998, my horse Aicheson Lane that I also rode was the Delaware Champion.
"My undergraduate and graduate degrees were in theater, I taught for six years, ad then I quit teaching to direct shows. There wasn't any theater here than. I directed five shows in New York and got $1,000 per show.
"Then I was an investment banker for seven years. I built a couple of companies that went public. I sold the last company in 2008, and the next day I was directing a show in the theater in Ambler.
About nine years ago, I was asked to help get the Delaware Theater on its feet, and I've been there ever since," said Martin.
The Delaware Theater Company is a not-for-profit with a board of directors that Martin serves on.
Martin said the directors were hopeful that one show he'd directed, Wynn Dixie, would be presented on Broadway after the pandemic ends.
Dragon, shown in rehearsal, with the lead, Jamen Nanthakumar as Sri, in the foreground"This show, Other World, has commercial value," said Martin."The problem with this show is messaging. It takes a while for people who aren't gamers to understand the show."
"One person said to me that she didn't understand what was going on for the first 15 minutes, and she wondered if she'd stay for the whole show, but that once she understood what was going on, she was so glad she'd stayed."
Gamers who play video games don't actually know each other, they just know each other by their gamer names.
Other World opens with almost all of the cast onstage, typing on imaginary computers.
One idea to help people understand what's happening is to have a video of the game shown in the back of the stage.
"This theater has always been a safe space for diversity," said Martin. "Recently, all theaters agreed to be inclusive. The writers of this show wanted diversity."
Dragon, again shown in a rehearsalOne of the actors is a girl in an automated wheelchair, another has a prosthetic leg, another has two prosthetic legs, and the male lead, Jamen Nanthakumar, is of Indian descent.
"This is a story that believes in coming together for the powers of good," said the creative team.
When the two games are sucked into the game, they are faced with fantastic "other world" creatures that are determined to keep them from reaching and finishing off the evil master of Other World.
The costumes and choreography are indeed fantastic, including a huge dragon that takes up most of the stage.
Call 302-594-1100 for tickets, and, hopefully, having read this, you will understand the show and enjoy it from the very beginning.
If you enjoy theater, particularly innovative theater, go to Other World.
