City Theatre films singer Jill Sobule’s tale of middle-school angst
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Middle school is a tough gig — just ask singer/songwriter Jill Sobule.
She poured her experiences into a musical called “F*ck7thGrade” that was presented in its initial form in Pittsburgh at City Theatre Company’s 2018 Momentum Festival of New Plays.
Now, City Theatre will premiere a concert film of the musical, available for on-demand streaming beginning on Monday.
Sobule is best known for the 1995 single “I Kissed a Girl” — not the Katy Perry hit with the same name — and for “Supermodel,” from the soundtrack of the 1995 film “Clueless.”
Her website describes her songs as “at once deeply personal and socially conscious, seriously funny and derisively tragic.”
About “F*ck7thGrade,” she said, “Freud had it wrong. It’s not the few first days, months or years that mess you up for life — it’s 7th grade. Everyone I know (not a scientific study, mind you) is in agreement.
“It has haunted, and still haunts in some part, how I see the world and everything I do in it,” she said. “Instead of, say, therapy, I thought why not do a musical. It’s much more enjoyable and still cheaper.”
The world premiere production was slated as the final show of City Theatre’s 2019-20 season when the pandemic halted live performances. The City Theatre team then created an outdoor, drive-in venue at Hazelwood Green in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood, and filmed the concert version of the show over three nights in front of an invited audience.
Against all odds
The project started three years ago when City Theatre associate artistic director Clare Drobot met Sobule in New York and teamed her with playwright Liza Birkenmeier, who wrote the book for the show.
After adding Obie Award-winning director Lisa Peterson and music director Julie Wolf to the creative team, the show was further developed at the Colorado New Play Festival in Steamboat Springs and at Actor’s Express in Atlanta, supported by the National New Play Network.
In addition to Sobule in the starring role, the film features musicians Kristen Henderson, founder of the band Antigone Rising; Wolf, who has worked with Indigo Girls, Ani DiFranco, Carly Simon and others; and Pittsburgh-based actor and musician Sarah Siplak.
“Against all odds, we came together to create a rock ’n roll concert odyssey in the midst of a pandemic,” Drobot said. “After three years in development, it was beyond inspiring to see the ingenuity, perseverance and dedication from the artists, creative team, City staff and production crew who made the drive-in concerts possible.”
In consultation with Allegheny Health Network, City Theatre developed a comprehensive “creative bubble” plan covering all aspects of the process, from travel and housing to performances. This plan was one of the first developed by any theater in the nation, according to a release.
City Theatre Board President Alex Condron, and his wife, Tonja, are the film’s production sponsors. The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, Heinz Endowments and Richard King Mellon Foundation also provided support.
Tickets go on sale Monday and are “pick-your-price,” starting at $15 per household. Ticket-holders are invited to a virtual premier watch party at 7:30 p.m. that evening.
Those who had tickets for “F*ck7thGrade” as part of the 2019-20 season will automatically receive access to the digital production.
Details: 412-431-2489 or citytheatrecompany.org