On Stage: Performing Arts at Our Oneonta Campuses by Rachel Frick Cardelle

‘Novecento’ Opens Friday at SUNY Oneonta

Alessandro Baricco wrote “Novecento” in 1994 as a one-person show, which was adapted into a movie in 1998, “The Legend of 1900,” starring Tim Roth. In 2024, SUNY Oneonta’s Kiara Pipino has broken the original monologue up into six parts, and asked Oneonta local musician Tim Iverson to create a musical score. The production of “Novecento” directed by Pipino, with a run-time of an hour and 20 minutes, starts its run this week. The play centers on a renowned pianist, Novecento, born onboard the Virginia, an ocean liner that moves between the Americas and Europe. Novecento lives his life onboard the Virginia until it is destroyed.

I found the rehearsal engaging: a dance between six actors telling one story as they passed bits and parts to one another in one fluid motion to the next. It is so engaging as a cast of six, I cannot imagine it as a one-person show! And, when I sat in, they hadn’t yet incorporated Iverson’s musical score, so I am eager to go back and watch with that addition, especially the part where the lead character has a music battle with Jelly Roll Morton.

After rehearsal, the cast and crew members gathered and talked to me about their thoughts on the play, a conversation that also has me eager to go back and rewatch the play, for they each brought new perspectives and ideas to it and I want to rewatch it with those perspectives adding to the color of the show.

When the play’s storyteller, Tim Tooney, first meets Novecento, he has come on board to play his trumpet. Through a series of incidents during a wicked storm at sea, Tooney learns that the legendary brilliance of Novecento’s piano play he had heard about, and begun to doubt, is true. The two become close friends. When one day Tooney questions Novecento, asking him why he hasn’t left the ship, Tooney tells us that he does so only after plucking up his courage and shivers in fear as he asks. It was about this shiver of fear that I asked students, wondering why Tooney was scared, despite Novecento being an easy-going, gentle piano player.

Ashley Stockman answered by beginning with a question, “Tell me this, if Hercules were real would you shiver with fear if you met him? So, learning that a legend that you’ve heard of is alive—because that’s the thing, Novecento is a legend who has never gotten off the ocean in however many years he has been alive—learning that’s true would be a little scary to anyone and now, he’s right in front of you.” This was an answer that others in the room thought an interesting take.

Stephanie Lynne had a slightly different perspective, one that could be equally as true. “I thought it was that deep down he knew this friendship he was creating wasn’t going to end well, and he knew that it was probably going to end in heartbreak.”

At one point early in the play, the captain has decided it is time for Novecento to be sent ashore to live a more conventional life as a child. But while they search from bow to stern, they cannot find Novecento anywhere and fear he fell or jumped off the ship. Once back out to sea, though, Novecento reappears, so I asked the group to speculate on where they thought he was during the search.

Alex suggested he had moved around, knowing the ship and areas that would be searched better than anyone. Ashley thought he was in the kitchen, which brought magical realism into the picture, for one of the distinguishing features of this ship is that it had no kitchen. Ethan Cardinal said, “I thought he was either hiding in the piano or he camouflaged himself in the third class with the immigrants which he, himself, is. He doesn’t fit in with the first class folks, but with the immigrants no one would look at him.”

Seamus Daly thinks, “…this play is going to strike a chord with anyone with first-generation immigrants in the family, like their parents or grandparents, because at the end of the day it is a story about immigration, finding yourself in this country and how scary that journey can be. My mom and dad are both immigrants, so hearing this story about a boat bringing so many immigrants, even Novecento who has this skill at piano, it is so interesting to think about that process and how it relates to my family and history.”

Kara Durkin suggested that anyone who likes hearing about legends and creepypastas would like this play. So, of course, I had to show my age and ask what in the Sam Heck is a “creepypasta”? The group explained that it is like urban legend horror stories, and came from the term “copypasta.” (At which point I was not going to share the depth of my ignorance by asking what in the SH is copypasta. A quick Google search later told me ‘copypasta’ comes from ‘copy and paste’ and refers to bits of text that have been copied and pasted multiple times across the Internet. So now you know. The things you learn in a theater setting!)

Stephanie assured me musicians and music lovers will enjoy the play. When Stephanie told her parents she plays Jelly Roll, her dad started playing Jelly Roll for her on Facetime, which she couldn’t really hear, she said, but she appreciated his enthusiasm.

The group also reflected on the message of the play. They all had interesting takes on it, that seemed to come down to the idea that life is immense, and in choosing not to expand your horizons, not to accept change, there are consequences which include not being able to grow. A lesson they all seemed to have embraced.

The question I put to the group that got the widest range of answers was: If, like Novecento, they were to spend 32 years of their lives in a space as limited as a ship, what space would they choose?

The scale of places grew from Stephanie, who said she’d choose her bed at home, to Nicole Canfield, who said she’d choose her dorm, to Ashley, who said he’d choose a log cabin by a river with his girlfriend, and to Arlee Peterson, who said Hawaii due to the lack of cold weather, the presence of family and good Chinese food.

Alex Dinardi gave an answer that should have been obvious to those of us in the room, but wasn’t, saying, “Honestly, I would choose a theater, because it gets changed a lot over time. Seats get changed, sets get changed, it’s just really a nice place because it never stays static, it’s always changing, so I would never get too upset staying in that one place because it’s always going to be different.”

Then there was Brian Gershowitz, who gave an answer many faculty and administrators (especially in the admissions office) at the college would love: SUNY Oneonta. But he grinned and said, just kidding. “If I had to pick somewhere to be for 32 years, I don’t think I would. I don’t think I could stay someplace for 32 years, I think I’d go CRAY-zee. I’ve got to keep moving, that’s where I’m at.”

If you want to be entertained by local student, faculty, and community talent, and walk away asking yourself how you have defined the limits of your world, consider coming to one of the showings of “Novecento” this week. From reading and watching the play, I realize that at this stage of my life, I find some comfort in the idea of a more confined world. Maybe a world bigger than just my bed, but certainly a cabin by a river with my husband sounds attractive. And, if I find myself starting to go cray-zee—and knowing that my husband, like Brian, is someone who has to keep moving—I’ll just get my husband to build a theater beside the cabin and invite Kiara and her cast and crew to come over. That should keep life interesting for a long time. I just hope that there is good Chinese food available through Uber dash at this cabin.

“Novecento,” directed by Kiara Pipino and performed by SUNY Oneonta students, shows in the evenings at 7:30 p.m. September 27-28 and October 2-3, with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. on September 29. All performances take place at the Hamblin Theater on the SUNY Oneonta campus and are free with a SUNY Oneonta student ID or $5.00 general admission. Reserve tickets at https://oneonta.universitytickets.com/ or purchase on-site.

Next up, “Proof,” a student-directed play at SUNY Oneonta with shows starting October 24.

Rachel Frick Cardelle covers performing arts at SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College.