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Running time 2:30 - one intermission
A big show for kids - especially those old enough not to be spooked
 by a child catcher with a giant hook
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Storyline: Based on the novel by Ian Fleming and the 1968 movie starring Dick Van Dyke, the stage musical follows the adventures of a single parent, an inveterate inventor with two children, who obtains a junked race car, and using his inventiveness, creates a vehicle that can drive, float and fly. The Barron of the middle European country of Vulgaria covets the car and sends a pair of bumbling agents to steal it.

The car is, of course, the star of this show and here it doesn't disappoint. It may not be too special when stage fog substitutes for a rising tide and an inflatable collar surrounds the car. But when it comes time to fly, the effect is pretty magical. It elevates, its swoops, it revolves and it even takes its own bow at the curtain call. If you went to Phantom of the Opera and wondered why people thought the falling chandelier was an impressive effect, or if you found Miss Saigon's helicopter singularly unimpressive, you may still find this flying car effect extraordinary. It's not quite the equivalent of Mary Poppins' final flight, but it is a kick.

Roderick's re-staging of Adrian Noble's original work is a marked improvement. Noble hadn't seemed to be able to  say "no" to any idea or "enough" to any effect and, as a result, the competition for attention was wearying. There are still remnants of overkill, but not on such an outlandish scale. Perhaps it helped that he didn't have the budget to lavish on extraneous material. As it is, the set is full of whimsy, the costumes colorful, the lighting active and effective and the sound of the 12-member orchestra is strong in support of the Sherman brothers' pleasant score from the movie. New orchestrations use no strings - those effects are now synthesized - but the charts are bright, inventive and well performed.

Instead of a corral full of stars (Broadway had Raúl Esparsa, Erin Dilly, Philip Bosco, Mark Kudisch and Jan Maxwell) the tour has fresh talent who are working hard to make an impression. The inventive father is Steve Wilson who brings a nice gentle feel to the first act's charm song. He remains charming all evening long. Kelly McCormick looks and sounds fine as the candy heiress named Truly Scrumptious. The two children are played in rotation for the tour. At the opening night it was Zachary Carter Sayle and Aly Brier, both of whom pulled off their scenes quite nicely. Potomac Region theater goers will recognize George Dvorsky from Ace at Signature Theatre. Here he's the Baron of Vulgaria, and the candy magnate Lord Scrumptious, and he throws himself into the foolishness with vigor. He's teamed with Elizabeth Ward Land who can be quite funny as his Baroness, even though her routine in which she kills a servant when a gun she is cleaning discharges is quite questionable in a show intended for younger audiences. Its not her fault, however. It is in the script, who knows why?

Music and lyrics by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman. Originally adapted for the stage by Jeremy Sams and directed by Adrian Noble. Touring version re-adapted and directed by Ray Roderick. Choreographed by Joann M. Hunter. Musical direction by Lee Stametz. Orchestrations and dance arrangements of Chris Walker re-orchestrated with additional orchestrations and dance arrangements by John Baxindine.  Design: Anthony Ward's sets and costumes adapted with new set designs by Robert Bissinger, Charlie Morrison (lights) Lucas Corrubia, Jr. (sound). Principal cast: Aly Brier or Camille Mancuso, Scott Cote, Dick Decareau, George Dvorsky, Elizabeth Ward Land, Jeremy Lipton or Zachary Carter Sayle, Dirk Lumbard, Kelly McCormick, Ellie Mooney, Richard G. Rodgers, John Saunders, Oliver Wadsworth, Steve Wilson.

 
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Running time 2:10 - no intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for a marvelous revival of one of the great American musicals
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Storyline: Broadway gypsies - the singing/dancing members of the chorus - audition for a place on the chorus line of a new musical. A director puts each through not only a rigorous routine to demonstrate talents but an at times agonizing examination of personality and personal history in the search for the ultimate blend of characters.

A Chorus Line burst onto Broadway in 1975 in the midst of one of the many times that "The Great White Way" was being declared terminally anemic. It began as a project by Michael Bennett to interview members of the chorus of a number of Broadway musicals and try to make a show out of their stories. It was a smash at the tiny (and then not very well known) Public Theatre, and transferred to Broadway where it ran longer than any musical had ever run till then . . . 6,137 performances over nearly fifteen years. It made a star out of Donna McKechnie and a demi-god out of Michael Bennett - at least in the world of Broadway. (More detailed information on the creation of the show can be had in the marvelous book On The Line by Robert Viagas and two of the original dancers on the line, Baayork Lee and Thommie Walsh.)

This line has a passel of talent taking the spotlight at key moments. Clyde Alves can definitely "do that" as he proves with the song "I Can Do That." The man with the moves is Anthony Wayne, who, as Richie, just wants you to "Gimme the Ball." Mindy Dougherty sells "Dance: Ten, Looks: Three" (better known around the world by its refrain, "Tits and Ass"). Brandon Tyler is superb, both as lead dancer and as the calming influence in the often overlooked role of the assistant choreographer who teaches all the dancers the numbers. All work to the music of a great orchestra in the covered, blacked-out pit (Bennett didn't want the audience to even realize there was an orchestra down in the pit until the show's magic could take effect ... after all, this was supposed to be an audition and the accompaniment there would be would be just a piano).

Bob Avian, who was Michael Bennett's co-choreographer on the original production, recreates not just the staging of that legendary production but its heart. Somehow he managed to get a good deal of the magic back on a stage and now is touring it to stages around the nation. Bayork Lee, who was on that original line as Connie has re-staged the choreography here as she has in many productions over the years. It is a meticulous process, for each of the 26 dancers in the cast have to exhibit the traits of their characters as they go through the routines, each with tiny details such as a missed turn here or a great extension there that lets the audience see them not as an indistinguishable mob executing exercises in unison but as individuals yearning for a break. All night long, they accomplish this unique feat.

Conceived and originally choreographed and directed by Michael Bennett. Music by Marvin Hamlisch. Lyrics by Edward Kleban. Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante. Directed and originally co-choreographed by Bob Avian. Choreography re-staged by Baayork Lee. Music direction by John C. O'Neill. Music supervision by Patrick Vaccariello. Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, Bill Byers and Hershy Kay. Vocal arrangements by Don Pippin. Design: Robin Wagner (set) Theoni V. Aldredge (costumes) Tharon Musser's lighting design adapted by Natasha Katz, Acme Sound Partners (sound). Cast: Clyde Alves, Venny Carranza, Dena Digiacinto, Liza B. Domingo, Mindy Dougherty, Derek Hanson, Hollie Howard, Jordan Fife Hunt, Robyn Hurder, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Julie Kotarides, Sebastian La Cause, Jessica Latshaw, Shannon Lewis, Ian Liberto, Stephanie Martignetti, Sterling Master, Bethany Moor, Colt Prattes, Alex Ringler, Gabrielle Ruiz, Clifton Samuels, Kevin Santos, Brandon Tyler, Anthony Wayne, J.R. Whittington.

Running time 2:50 - one intermission:
t A Potomac Stages Pick for a powerful story set to a stirring score
Click here to read our review of the Original Cast Recording
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Storyline: Celie, a fourteen year old poor black girl in rural Georgia in the early years of the twentieth century, considered ugly and already pregnant twice, is married off to an abusive man who terrorizes all who come near him. He demands a submission amounting to servitude, sends her sister away and prohibits any contact. As the years pass, however, her inner strength helps her persevere and overcome all obstacles. She develops a sense of self worth, breaks free of her abusive "Mister," achieves success and is reunited with her sister and her children.

The story is one that many people already know from the novel, or the movie by Stephen Spielberg. Here it is told so clearly with characters so sharply defined that it catches your emotional commitment anyway. Most of the audience knows exactly what is coming at key points - especially the later half of the second act - but there are plenty of handkerchiefs dabbing at teary eyes and cheeks as Celie achieves her dreams. The score progresses through the decades of the story, reflecting the changing musical styles from early in the century, the roaring twenties, the depression wracked thirties and into the post-war forties.

At the center of the piece is the marvelous performance of Bayardelle, who plays Celie from an early age to nearly 60 with no noticeable assistance from makeup, just wig changes to help her grey. The show calls for a number of very strong performances from the supporting cast including that of Felicia P. Fields as a woman who won't let her husband beat her. Her "Hell No" is the highlight of the first act. Angela Robinson, who was the understudy for the glamorous flapper when the show opened and then went on to take the role full time later in the run, repeats her work as the love interest whose affection is the key to Celie's emergent sense of self worth. Rufus Bonds, Jr. takes on the role of the despicable "Mister" and delivers it with energy but somehow misses the depth of depravity that should make his descent into failure and his ultimate reform more touching. Two of the three ladies who originated the trio of chirping biddies that help move the story along are still twittering with syncopated humor. Kimberly Ann Harris and Virginia Ann Woodruff have been joined by delightful Lynette Dupree.

Broadway veteran designers create a satisfying on-stage atmosphere. John Lee Beatty's sets and Paul Tazewell's costumes are again well served by Brian MacDevitt's lighting. A full sounding orchestra delivers the orchestrations of the legendary Jonathan Tunick utilizing two keyboards. Keyboards haven't been the strength of Tunick's work in the past, but this time out there is a very good blend of electronically augmented sound and the acoustic instruments. The entire package is first rate.

Music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. Book by Marsha Norman. Directed by Gary Griffin. Choreographed by Donald Byrd. Musical direction by Sheilah Walker. Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick. Dance music arrangements by Daryl Waters with additional arrangements by Joseph Joubert and incidental music arrangements by Kevin Stites. Design: John Lee Beatty (set) Paul Tazewell (costumes) Charles G. LaPointe (hair) Brian MacDevitt (lights) Jon Weston (sound). Principal cast: Jeannette Bayardelle, Bridgette Bentley, Rufus Bonds, Jr., Alex de Castro, LaTrisa Coleman, Tiffany Daniels, Quentin Earl Darrington, Lesley Terrell Donald, Lynette DuPree, Felicia P. Fields, Rhett George, Kimberly Ann Harris, LaTonya Holmes, Trent Armand Kendall, Grasan Kingsberry, Keith Byron Kirk, Angela Robinson, Stephanie St. James, Adam Wade, Diamond White, Anthony Williams II, Virginia Ann Woodruff,

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March 25 - April 6, 2008
Camelot
Reviewed March 25 by Brad Hathaway

Running time 2:40 - one intermission
A disappointing recreation of a famous musical
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Storyline: The legend of King Arthur and the Round Table is set to glorious music with lively literate lyrics. Arthur loves his queen Guenevere and he loves Lancelot, the Knight he would like to have as a son. But his real passion is his dream of a new order where might is used only for right. Guenevere loves him, but falls for Lancelot. Lancelot loves Arthur as a father-figure, Guenevere as a woman and the concept of Arthur’s new brand of chivalry. These passions tear the court apart.

Camelot has been a problem for producers and directors ever since its legendarily disastrous out of town tryout in Toronto in 1960. What with Frederick Loewe suffering a heart attack in the final stages of composing the music, Alan Jay Lerner having to take over directing despite his own health problems when director Moss Hart suffered his own heart attack and other problems, the fact that the show ran four and a half hours on opening night didn't seem the only problem the production faced. Once it got to Broadway it still had difficulties due to the mismatch in tone between the first act which is predominantly a light romantic comedy, and the second which is a heavy romantic tragedy. Still, the score became so popular as a result of its original cast album and the vocal performances of stars Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet (not to mention the impact of a performance on the Ed Sullivan television show) that it ran over two years and entered the pantheon of famous musicals in part due to the Kennedy mystique after Jacqueline Kennedy was quoted saying the title song was her late husband's favorite bed-time listening.

Phillips' wavering, unsteady and unfocused performance is a surprise to those who saw his other stint as a king when he was nominated for a Tony Award for Broadway's best leading man in 1996's The King and I. There he was majestic. Here he is distracted. There he was emotionally complex and touching. Here he is simple and uninvolving. There he sang acceptably. Here his pitch wanders distractingly. What a shame, for it distracts from his co-stars' nice work. Rachel de Benedet sparkles early on in such numbers as "Simple Joys of Maidenhood" and "Lusty Month of May" and holds her own when things turn more serious in Act II. Bogart, as Potomac Region theatergoers know full well from his portrayal of this role under Molly Smith's direction at Arena Stage in 2003-04, makes an ideal Lancelot, bringing the physical appearance, impressive presence and full voice to the part. Again this time out, he inhabits the character fully and each moment on stage is well thought out and under complete control. He also benefits from the fact that the joust, which was staged as a dance with prancing chorus boys as "horses" in the Arena Stage version four years ago is now staged as an exciting sword fight.

At its core, Camelot rises or falls on the shoulders of its Arthur. For this legendary love triangle to capture the audience requires a young Arthur with the sexy charm of a teen heartthrob when first he meets his Guenevere, the charisma of a great leader when he first brings Lancelot into his circle of Knights, and the passion of a world statesman as a mature man faced with the torment of the conflict between his duty and his heart. Without charm and sexuality in Arthur, Guenevere's plight is a text book thing, not a heart tugging conflict. Without passionate commitment to a new view of chivalry in the King, Lancelot's loyalty seems misplaced. To be fair to Phillips, Arthur is no easy role. It is one that a Richard Burton or a Richard Harris could pull off through pure personal magnetism as well as the art of acting. No such magnetism and unfortunately little acting skill is on display this time out.

Music by Frederick Loewe. Book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based on the novel "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White. Additional materials by Michael A. M. Lerner. Directed by Glenn Casale. Choreography by Dan Mojica. Fight direction by Sean Boyd. Orchestration and musical direction by Craig Barna. Design: John Iacovelli (set) Marcy Froehlich (costumes) Tom Ruzika (lights) Julie Ferrin (sound) Craig Schwartz (photography). Cast: Rachel de Benedet, Matt Bogart, Lawrence Cummings, Chris Warren Gilbert, Melina Kalomas, Perry Ojeda, Lou Diamond Phillips, Vince Rimoldi, Juli Robbins, Jean Michelle Sayeg, Shannon Stoeke, Christian Whelan, John B. Williford, Time Winters, Vincent Zamora.

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Running time 2:15 - one intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for a not to be missed delight
2004 Tony Award for Best Musical
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Storyline: The residents of Avenue Q, a low rent area in an outer borough of New York, are young adults just out of college trying to find their purpose in life, make it in the world and connect with each other. The show is structured around an only slightly updated version of the traditional “boy meets girl, boy wins girl, boy looses girl, boy and girl get back together” story that has driven hundreds of musicals. It is decked out with a number of subplots involving the friendship between a gay man and his straight roommate, an interracial marriage, a “monster” who stays cooped up in his apartment surfing the net for porn, and the apartment house super, who was a television child star but is now a has-been.

As unique as this show is, and it is truly one of a kind, its roots are in the time-tested traditions of the Broadway musical, and therein lies the key to its success. Not just a string of clever songs and sketches, this plot driven evening has more in common with The Producers than the episodic kid’s show it emulates. It takes an incongruous concept to the extremes of silliness and fills it with a score featuring drop-dead funny lyrics set to music that is catchy and superbly appropriate for each individual moment. Then, just when you think it has reached the limit of absurdity, it introduces elements of schmaltz involving the relationships between characters about whom the audience has come to care. The concept works every time it is used by creators who know their craft, and here it is clear that songwriters Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who came up with the concept while studying this craft at the legendary BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, playwright Jeff Whitty, and director Jason Moore, each know theirs quite well indeed.

Most of the cast in the touring company have been in the Broadway or the Las Vegas companies of the show. Robert McClure is sharp as both the gay man who tries to avoid detection by singing about "My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada" and the newly arrived college grad who wonders "What Do You Do With A BA In English?" Kelli Sawyer brings a chipper persona to the teacher he asks out on a date ("What are you doing tonight?" "Grading term papers. But its kindergarten so they're short.") and a sultry touch to Lucy the Slut who promises to slip him her phone number when his date goes to the bathroom. Both are great at manipulating their puppets as well as selling their songs and scenes. Carla Renata is new at the impersonation of Gary Coleman that is more than a running gag, but she's got it nailed. Angela Ai is the better half of the team of the unemployed comic and his Japanese wife who objects to the term "Oriental" but prefers "Asian-American" in the song "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist." Her partner in that is a player with the notable name Cole Porter who is the one cast member who sometimes seems a bit bored with the proceedings. The cast-wide average for involvement, energy, enjoyment and straight out pizzazz is boosted, however, by the work of David Benoit as the gay Republican stockbroker's roommate, the monster who insists that "The Internet Is For Porn" and one of the bears who are the personification (or is that bearification?) of temptation.

Since all but three of the dozen main characters are puppets, puppet design is critical. These designs are by Rick Lyon, who also appeared in the original cast manipulating a number of his creation. They are cleverly derivative, affectionately mimicking the clean, clear characterization of the best of the late Jim Henson’s work for Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. Anna Louizos matches his whimsy in her set design with touches such as a forced perspective view of the top of the Empire State Building complete with wind to blow the hair of one puppet. Touches like this keep the show fresh all evening long.

Concept, music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. Book by Jeff Whitty. Directed by Jason Moore. Puppets conceived and designed by Rick Lyon. Choreographed by Ken Roberson. Musical direction by Andrew Graham. Music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Stephen Oremus. Incidental music by Gary Adler. Design: Anna Louizos (set) Mirena Rada (costumes) Howell Binkley (lights) Robert Lopez (animation)  Acme Sound Partners (sound).  Cast: Angela Ai, David Benoit, Minglie Chen, Robert McClure, Cole Porter, Carla Renata, Kelli Sawyer.

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Running Time 2:55 - one intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for a glorious revival of one of the great American musicals
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Storyline: The musical version of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion adds personal romance to the original’s love affair with the English Language as Henry Higgins, a dialectician who believes that the way a person speaks "absolutely classifies him," takes on the challenge of teaching Eliza Doolittle, a flower girl from Covent Garden, to speak well enough to be accepted as a princess at a court function. He (and she) succeeds. But in the process, he "grows accustomed to her face" and wants her in his world permanently, despite his protestations that he would "never let a woman in my life."

This show is legendary for the success of Lerner and Loewe's adaptation of a play many thought could not be made into a musical. No lesser talents than Rodgers and Hammerstein themselves had tried and abandoned the project. Hammerstein told Lerner "It can't be done." But, to paraphrase the second act opener "They Did It!" With respectful but absolutely necessary changes to the plot of the original, careful alterations of character traits and with the near-perfect placement of some superb songs with wonderfully literate lyrics set to gorgeous and superbly functional music, Shaw's creation became not just a good musical, it became a better play than its estimable source. "Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?" "I Could Have Danced All Night," "On The Street Where You Live" and "I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face" are some of the premiere romance songs to emerge from the golden age of the American musical. The sub-plot involving the flower girl’s father provided the opportunity for such classic music-hall style production numbers as "Get Me to the Church on Time" and "With A Little Bit of Luck" while the concentration on elocution, enunciation, pronunciation and all things linguistic gave them the chance to produce some of the finest patter songs since Gilbert and Sullivan with "Why Can’t the English (teach their children how to speak)?" "I’m An Ordinary Man" and "A Hymn to Him" which poses the time honored question "Why can’t a woman be more like a man?" Add to all this the terrific release of exuberant joy in "The Rain in Spain" and you have a score with more beauty, wit, depth and charm than a dozen more mundane musicals.

In the revival, director Trevor Nunn has taken more liberties than necessary, but the strength of the material survives most of the tinkering. In London the only design element that seemed to misfire was the choreography of Matthew Bourne who turned some of "With A Little Bit of Luck" into a scene from Stomp and has the aristocrats at Ascot gavotte-ing as if they were horses. Fergus Logan has faithfully recreated that choreography, weaknesses and all. Nunn used all of the technical advances in stagecraft of the last half century without seeming to show off simply because lights can be refocused remotely, projections can be made to move and massive set pieces can fly or slide more or less silently. Shaun Kerrison re-directs for the tour without missing a beat. Nunn's designer, Anthony Ward, produced stylized stage pictures that were all together appropriate and provided that sense of heft that makes this feel a very substantial show. Matt Kinley and Christine Rowland successfully adapted those designs for the tour. While the touring company's sets have been simplified just a tad (no opposing treadmills for the traveling stage), nothing seems cheap. Neither the cast nor the orchestra has been reduced for the tour.

British headliners have the principal roles and they are simply marvelous. Christopher Cazenove makes the misogynistic elocutionist completely consistent and thoroughly infuriating in his attitude toward Lisa O'Hare's loverly flower girl who blossoms into a lady. O'Hare carries off the transition with charm, intelligence and spirit. Tim Jerome is perhaps the best music hall comic of all we've seen handle the role of her father, the unique moralist who is proud of his position as a member of "the undeserving poor." Broadway veterans handle the marvelously crafted supporting roles including Justin Bohon who sings "On The Street Where You Live" most memorably and whose delighted laughter brightens the Ascot scene deliciously. Walter Charles is a fine, consistent Colonel Pickering whose bet with Higgins sets the story off on its delightful way. Of interest is the casting for the role of Mrs. Higgins, that grand dame who is the image of all that a gracious lady really should be. Here it is Sally Ann Howes, who died-in-the-wool theater buffs will find fascinating for she was the actress who took over the role of Eliza in the original Broadway production in 1958 so that Julie Andrews could open the London production at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the very same house where this revival was such a hit. Things do come full circle ... and Howes is as good in the smaller role as reports are that she was great in the lead nearly fifty years ago.

Music by Frederick Loewe. Lyrics and book by Alan Jay Lerner. Adapted from the play by George Bernard Shaw. Directed by Trevor Nunn. Redirected for the US tour by Shaun Kerrison. Choreography and musical staging by Matthew Bourne. Musical direction by James Lowe. Choreography restaged by Fergus Logan. Orchestrations by William David Brohn. Dance arrangements by Chris Walker. Design: Anthony Ward (original set and costumes) Matt Kinley (tour set associate) Christine Rowland (tour costume associate) David Hersey (lights) Oliver Fenwick and Rob Halliday (tour lighting design adaptation) Paul Groothuis (sound) Ed Clarke (tour sound associate). Principal cast: Justin Bohon, Christopher Cazenove, Walter Charles, Sally Ann Howes, Tim Jerome, Lisa O'Hare or Dana Delisa.

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Running time 1:30 - no intermission
Four women sing about aspects of "The Change"
Performances in the M&T Bank Pavilion
Reviewed August 2, 2007
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Storyline: Four women on a day in Bloomingdales share their menopausal experiences and other concerns of life for women "of a certain age" in skits and songs, most of which use melodies of well known pop songs of the baby-boomer generation with the lyrics altered to fit that generation's newer concerns. "Heat Wave" becomes "Hot Flash" and "It's A Sign Of The Times" becomes a litany of symptoms.

This good natured hour and a half collection of sketches and songs got its start in, of all places, Florida where it seemed perfectly positioned to pull in its intended audience. What is more, it has a title that is perfect for communicating to potential ticket buyers just what is being offered. The theme can only be stretched so far and not all the revised lyrics are all that clever. Still, six years after that Florida opening, productions have been mounted with success in Europe, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand not to mention the US from California to Connecticut. An Off-Broadway version ran for over three years. The show requires only one set (architecturally suggestive of Bloomies) and a band of keyboard, percussion and guitar.

The stock characters are played with energy, humor and a wink. There is Lisa Mack as the "Power Woman" whose transformation into Tina Turner is a highlight. Jennifer Timberlake is the star of a soap opera who fears her run as a daytime television actress may be coming to an end. Barbara Pinolini is the former hippie who can't quite recall the 60s but can sing about them with flair. Most fun is Monica Lijewski as an Iowa housewife on a New York shopping spree. Her effort to fit her ample frame into a flimsy see through teddy gets the audience howling as the show approaches its climax.

The show has taken up an open-ended residence in the M&T Bank Pavilion, a large meeting hall/ballroom facility within the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center which houses the Hippodrome. (We list it on our Hippodrome page because we don't have a page for the meeting hall/ballroom and it isn't likely that this will become a venue for many shows.) With a stage set up at one end and twelve rows of seats on risers at the other, tables have been set up in between. You can purchase tickets in the seats on the risers for $45 and arrive for the show or table seating with a buffet dinner starting 90 minutes before curtain for $65.

Book and Lyrics by Jeanie Linders. Directed by Michael Larsen based on the original direction of Kathryn Conte. Choreography created by Patty Bender and staged by Daria Lynne Melendez. Musical direction by Mike Devito. Score and arrangements by Alan Plado. Design: Bud Clark (set) Sue Hill (costumes and properties) Jen-Yves Tessier (lights) Jonathan Bobo (sound)  Danyela Marks (stage manager). Cast: Monica Lijewski, Lisa Mack, Barbara Pinolini, Jennifer Timberlake. 

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Running time 2:30 - one intermission
The non-equity tour of the recent Broadway musical
Price range $26 - $71
Click here to buy the Broadway Cast CD

Storyline: The lead singer in Simply Wed, a band specializing in playing wedding receptions in and around Ridgefield New Jersey, is stood up at the altar for his own wedding. A waitress who also works these gigs tries to cheer him up. She's engaged to be married and wants him to work her wedding reception. But they fall for each other and he has to find a way to keep her from making the mistake of marrying the wrong man so she'll be free to marry him.

The last time we heard a score by Sklar and Beguelin it was at Signature Theatre in Arlington with The Rhythm Club, a 1930s jazz- tinted musical drama set in Nazi Germany. This time it is a 1980s rock-tinted musical comedy. Anything in common? Yes: tunefulness, lyric inventiveness and a certain respect for the function of a show tune. The score here is a frolic through Broadway conventions - an up-tempo, goodtime piece of escapism. On Broadway, it relied on the pace of the cast under the director, the energy of the chorus under the choreographer and the whimsy of the designers. (Click here to read our review of the Broadway production.) The book is by Beguelin and Tim Herlihy, the "Saturday Night Live" writer/producer who wrote the script for the movie. Its "Saturday Night Live" sensibility shows through, especially in the use of semi-free standing bits like the "Dear John" letter song that the Wedding Singer's intended bride sings, or the rap that his horny grandmother spouts. The plot is carried farther here than in the movie (which ended with the wedding singer, his lady love, and her fiancé on the airplane headed to Las Vegas). Here, the couple-to-be actually make it to Vegas where the climax takes place in a wedding chapel populated by impersonators, not of Elvis but of Billy Idol, Tina Turner, Imelda Marcos and - yes - Ronald Reagan.

John Rando's inventive direction has been fairly well recreated here and Rob Ashford's sparklingly effective choreography is only semi-successfully re-staged while the witty visual design of Scott Pask which was such a highlight on Broadway has been reduced to merely serviceable, somewhat dull and occasionally ugly elements. Still, the material's Hairspray-type musical comedy sensibility comes to the fore most of the time and the tour is aided by a very strong pit band establishing strong rocking rhythms for the up-tempo numbers and clear, tuneful counterparts for the more sentimental numbers. The faux-Pachelbel for "A Note from Linda" was nicely done, indeed.

Merritt David Danes makes the part of the wedding singer his own, affecting just a touch of Bruce Springsteen in his demeanor. Erin Elizabeth Coors is just a bit pale beside him as the pert and wholesomely pretty waitress who falls for him. Mark Raumaker is suitably nasty as her soon to be jettisoned fiancé, who breaks into energetic dance to explain his greedy mantra "All About the Green." Both Sarah Peak and Justin Jutras do very good jobs as the secondary couple, the would-be bride's best friend and the side man in the Wedding Singer's band. Penny Larson mugs the little-old-grandma with a healthy sex drive routine for most of what it is worth.

Music by Matthew Sklar. Lyrics by Chad Beguelin. Book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy based on the screenplay by Tim Herlihy. John Rando's original direction recreated by Paul Stancato. Rob Ashford's original choreography recreated by Chris Bailey. Orchestrations by Irwin Fisch. Conducted by John Mezzio. Dance arrangements by David Chase. Design: Scott Pask (set) Gregory Gale (original costume design) Barry Lee Moe (hair and make-up) Brian MacDevitt (lights) Lucas J. Corrubia, Jr. (sound). Cast: Joel Abels, Carrie Cimma, Erin Elizabeth Coors, Kevin Faraci, Zach Frank, Merritt David Janes, Justin Jutras, Penny Larsen, John Jacob Lee, Kimberly Marable, Ciaran McCarthy, Rebecca Lynn Miller, Lindsay Moore, Sarah Peak, Mark Raumaker, Rebecca Riker, Jason Samuel, Marco Antonio Santiago.

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Running time 1:35 - no intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for a superb play
 with performances to match
Winner of the Ushers' Favorite Show Award for March
Price range $27 - $67
Click here to buy the script

John Patrick Shanley examines the essence of doubt in ninety minutes of intense and absolutely absorbing human drama. He certainly gets to his point right up front. The opening line of the play is "What do you do when you're not sure?" He never takes the easy way out and never gives the audience a chance to either, with no revelations, no certainties and no easy answers. When you leave the theater, you too will still have ringing in your ears the final line: "Oh, I have such doubts!" Indeed, you may find yourself debating long into the night whether the priest is guilty or innocent and whether the sister was right in her actions. There is no correct answer and there is no end of justification for either side of either question. What isn't debatable is the quality of the play or the quality of the performance. Both are superb.

Storyline: A Roman Catholic nun who runs a parish school suspects that the young parish priest has established an inappropriate relationship with one of the boys in the school, but she has no proof. How should she deal with the situation?

The storyline above doesn't tell you exactly what the "inappropriate relationship" might be - neither does the author. He's not setting up a concrete "whodunit" or even a "what's-he-done." Instead, to see what Shanley's intent is, look to the the subtitle: "A Parable." The moral dilemma facing Sister Aloysius is that she has doubts, not proof. She has duties and responsibilities too. The time is 1964. Today's revelations of pedophilia among clergy dating to that period make this a highly topical play but its approach to the central question is timeless. No wonder Shanley received both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for best play.

Shanley's script presents just four people as it lays out its conundrum. There's the sister herself. What a role! No simple stereotype of a set-in-her-ways, officious official. This nun is a widowed woman with a strength based on her discovery late in life of the certainty of the church, a certainty tempered by a lifetime of seeing how temporal things work. Cherry Jones' performance is every bit as strong and impressive as its reputation has led Potomac Region theatergoers to expect - she won a Tony in this role and it is a rare thing for a Tony winner to then travel with the play. Chris McGarry is new to the role of the priest, but he plays it with great intensity, charm, humor and dignity. Intensity and dignity are the adjectives to praise the performance of Caroline Stefanie Clay as well. She's simply marvelous in her one scene as the mother of the boy Sister Aloysius suspects is the priest's victim. Lisa Joyce is the young teacher in the school who surfaces the initial suspicions. She was a bit hard to understand at times and she stepped over a few of Jones' lines but her innocent reactions were right on.

John Lee Beatty's sets combine archways and utilitarian file cabinets in a construction that slides on and off smoothly and quickly so the fast paced play is never delayed by so much as a minute. Pat Collins' lighting gives each location and time a different feel. His' leafy, late afternoon shadows in the garden are fabulous. The entire package -- design, direction, acting and that marvelous script -- is first rate.

Written by John Patrick Shanley. Directed by Doug Hughes. Design: John Lee Beatty (set) Catherine Zuber (costumes) Pat Collins (lights) David Van Tieghem (original music and sound) Craig Schwartz (photography). Cast: Caroline Stefanie Clay, Cherry Jones, Lisa Joyce, Chris McGarry.

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Running time 2:35 - one intermission
The national touring company of a Broadway revival of the 1966 musical comedy
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Storyline: A dance-hall girl with a heart of gold always looks on the bright side of every situation and always believes she's about to have that big love that will let her live happily ever after. She finally does seem to find "Mr. Right" when they are stranded in an elevator, but this relationship falls apart as well. She's hurt but picks herself up one more time with the conviction that happiness is still just around the corner.

Neil Simon's script offers vintage musical comedy. Its blend of outrageous situations and understandable, if somewhat stereotyped characters, provides comedy routines similar to the sketches he used to write for the Sid Cesar's Your Show of Shows, emotionally touching moments of hope and romance and a host of spots for song and dance. The leads are given material with which the strongest can really shine and even smaller characters are treated to great musical material. For example, the almost negligible part of the operator of the dance hall is given a musical number of his own, "I Love To Cry at Weddings" (Richard Ruiz makes the most of his opportunity) and a one-scene character, Daddy Johann Sebastian Brubeck, gets a chance to sell "The Rhythm of Life." (David Glaspie does less with this than one suspects its composer and lyricist intended.)

Ringwald sings well, carries off the limited dancing required in this staging and throws herself into the project with commitment. She plays the part as a bit more downtrodden than did Applegate, seeming just a touch closer to desperation and a tad less hopeful, but she still shows the spunk and spirit required. Guy Adkins is particularly good as the man who may be "Mr. Right." His physical comedy in an elevator stuck between floors is funnier and his voice stronger than Denis O'Hare's performance on Broadway. Aaron Ramey, on the other hand, is fine but not as strong as his Broadway predecessor, Paul Schoeffler.

This is a bright and colorful production with a simple but striking visual impact due to Scott Pask's semi-abstract sets (the elevator scene is a small square elevator car half way up a curtain wall, the Ferris wheel set is a suspended two-seat car mounted between light-festooned poles.) William Ivey Long provides his usual vividly colored outfits. The new orchestrations by Don Sebesky sound quite full and bright as performed by a pit band of 14, all but three of whom are local hires. They will only get better as the two-week run progresses and they have had a chance to play these charts more times.

Music by Cy Coleman. Lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Book by Neil Simon. Directed by Scott Faris. Broadway revival directed by Walter Bobbie. Choreographed by Wayne Cilento. Musical Direction by Ross Scott Rawlings. Orchestrations by Don Sebesky. Additional musical and vocal arrangements by Michael Rafter. Additional dance arrangements by Jim Abbott. Design: Scott Pask (set) William Ivey Long (costumes) Bernie Ardia (hair and makeup) David Grill (lights) Peter Hylenski (sound) Andrew Eccles (photography) Deborah D. Raulerson (stage manager). Cast: Guy Adkins, Nova Bergeron, Jessica Leigh Brown, Ben Cameron, Colin Cunliffe, David Glaspie, Francesca Harper, Kathryn Mowat Murphy, Rhea Patterson, Adam Perry, Michelle Pruiett, Keven Quillon, Aaron Ramey, Molly Ringwald, Richard Ruiz, Laquet Sharnell, Tonya Wathen, Amanda Watkins.

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Running time 2:25  - one intermission
The 30^th anniversary touring company
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Storyline: In the depths of the depression of the 1930s, a Billionaire by the name of Warbucks sends his secretary to a New York City orphanage to select a lucky youngster to spend the Christmas holiday in his mansion. She comes back with "Little Orphan Annie" who charms everyone in the place - the staff and the billionaire. He decides to adopt her, but she still holds out hope that the parents who left her on the steps of the orphanage as an infant will fulfill their pledge to come back for her. Warbucks enlists the help of the FBI to track them down and offers a reward, which the mean mistress of the orphanage and her brother plot to collect. But no second rate crooks can outwit J Edgar Hoover, FDR, Daddy Warbucks and Annie!

Since the show was here eight months ago many of the flaws that were pointed out then remain. Alene Robertson, in the role of Miss Hannigan, has taken some feedback and is now funnier, but some of her scenes are still troubling given the target age of the audience. At one point a thin wicked looking knife is brought out to indicate that once their scam on Mr. Warbucks is complete, it will be easy to dispose of the little orphan girl. This could have been easily portrayed without the prop of the knife since it isn’t even mentioned as a method of execution, but the silent motion of slicing a finger across Miss Hannigan’s throat leaves little doubt to its purpose. It’s intimidating and unexpected in such an upbeat, optimistic show.

Marissa O’Donnell and Conrad John Schuck seem to have lost some of their chemistry together, though each still gives excellent solo performances. The evening is completely stolen though in every scene featuring six year old Anastasia Korbal, the new Molly, who is so perfectly cute and charming that it makes you happy just seeing her on stage. The sets by Ming Cho Lee also continue to amaze. Seeing the Hoover-ville set up under the freeway is impressive, and as mentioned in the Wolf Trap review, the snow globe effect on Christmas eve is stunning. Also appealing is the way the spotlight focuses on Kelly Ann Lambert, the female conductor in a profession normally filled by men. She is a dynamic presence in the pit and is now probably responsible for a number of little girls wanting to grow up with a baton in their hand that isn’t twirled on the sideline of a football game.

Even given its small problems, and the running length that puts some small children to sleep before its finish at 10:25 pm for an evening performance, this still remains an outstanding show by which to introduce children to the magic of musical theater. This is especially true in showing small girls that they can be independent free thinkers who have a profound impact on the world around them. There is still the startling contrast between the plight of orphans victimized by an uncaring system and the unemployed homeless residents of a "Hooverville" -- the song "We'd Like To Thank You (Herbert Hoover)" remains an angry protest -- on the one hand, and the fairy tale story of wealth, influence and optimism with its "spirit can overcome difficult situations" message on the other. However, It’s a feel good show that is big enough to fill the large space of the Hippodrome and still have enough room left over for small girls to have really big dreams.

Music by Charles Strouse. Lyrics by Martin Charnin. Book by Thomas Meehan. Directed by Martin Charnin. Original choreography by Peter Gennaro. New Choreography by Liza Gennaro. Musical Direction by Keith Levenson. Design: Ming Cho Lee (set) Theoni V. Aldredge (original costumes) Jimm Halliday (additional costumes) Bernie Ardia (hair) Ken Billington (lights) Peter Hylenski (sound) Chris Bennion (photography). Cast: Natalie Backman, Alan Baker, Amanda Balon, Elizabeth Broadhurst, Julie Cardia, Gabi Carrubbs, David Chernault, Jason Collins,, Kelly Linn Cosme, Antoinette DiPietropolo, Ashley Puckett Gonzales, Brian Michael Hoffman, Aaron Kaburick, Allen Kendall, Anastasia Korbal, Marissa O’Donnell, Brandi Panfili, Monica L. Patton, Katherine Pecevich, Liz Power, Alene Robertson, Conrad John Schuck, Lisa Tucker, Harry Turpin, Christopher Vettel, Casey Whyland, Scott Willis, Madison Zavitz, and Lola (Sandy the Dog).

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Running time 2:15 - one intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for an accurate re-creation
 of Broadway's current hit
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Storyline: A musical comedy loosely "ripped off" from the Monty Python movie adds one more item to the quest that Arthur, King of the Britons, and his hardy band of knights of the round table must tackle at the command of the Knights who say "Ni". (If you understood that, keep reading. If not, just go see the show and enjoy the energy, color and the over-the-top humor.) They must put on a show on Broadway, a street in a country that hasn't even been discovered yet!

The original touring cast was chosen for the ability to portray the same characters as the original Broadway cast that won the 2005 Tony award for Best Musical. The new additions to the touring company stick close to the original interpretations but bring some personalization to the roles that tilt it ever so slightly away from the better show seen at the National last year. This is still a fantastic production, and the new performers versions of their characters are not necessarily bad, they just result in very slight moments of awkwardness as they grow into their roles and timing. Pia Glenn remains a force of nature as The Lady of the Lake, especially funny wearing a dressing gown and singing “The Diva’s Lament” where she asks, “What ever happened to my part?” King Author’s faithful sidekick Patsy, played with a wry humor by Jeff Dumas, still has some of the best deadpan moments in the show.

The design team is a veritable who’s who of phenomenal Broadway talent. Featuring the direction of Mike Nichols, it goes without saying that the show moves along at a brisk pace. Nichols has won eight Tony Awards, an Oscar, and has received the Kennedy Center Honors award for his lifetime of work. Set design by Tony award winner Tim Hatley is a thing that must be seen to be believed. With a Show Portal weighing in at 2800 pounds, the Camelot Hanger at 6000 pounds, even the Feet of God (oh just trust me, that’s what they are) weigh 1700 pounds, this is a heavy show in every sense of the word. The production hires 50 local crew members at each venue just to load the show in and out of the theater. (It must be nice when you can afford to hire someone else to do all the heavy lifting). Even the orchestra is unique, featuring the Spama-horn, an instrument developed for and used only in Spamalot.

The namesake movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, was made for a meager budget of $400,000. Featuring chain-mail armor made of silver painted wool, a cardboard castle backdrop and coconuts instead of horses (yes, it was a lucky break that they were too broke to afford to use real horses), it is amazing that it has developed into a cult phenomenon and now this multimillion dollar musical extravaganza. There are few tickets left during this run, singles and limited view, but try to get out and see this fantastic show. And remember, “What happens in Camelot, STAYS in Camelot.”

Music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle. Book and lyrics by Eric Idle. Directed by Mike Nichols. Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw. Music direction by Ben Whiteley. Music arrangements by Glen Kelly. Vocal arrangements by Todd Ellison. Orchestrations by Larry Hochman. Design: Tim Hatley (sets and costumes) David Brian Brown (hair and wigs) Joseph A. Campayno (makeup) Gregory Meeh (special effects)  Hugh Vanstone (lights) Acme Sound Partners (sound) Joan Marcus (photography). Cast: Matt Allen, Jonathan Brody, Kevin Crewell, Jeff Dumas, Pia Glenn, Christopher Gurr, Erik Hayden,  Patrick Heusinger, Anthony Holds, Naomi Kakuk, Jamie Karen, Amy F. Karlein, Angelina Mullins, Robert Petkoff, Shobhan Santapaola,  Darryl Semira, Michael Siberry, Christopher Sutton, Paula Wise  and the voice of John Cleese.

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Running time 2:50 - one intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for a big, bold, musical spectacle
Click here to buy the CD

Storyline: Glinda, who would ever be known as “The Good Witch” and Elphaba, who would always be known as “The Wicked Witch of the West” as a result of the movie The Wizard of Oz, were in fact, college roommates in their youth. How that came to be, why Elphaba was green, what the Wizard’s reign was like and how other characters from that famous story/movie came to be a tin man, a lion and a scarecrow, is the basis for this musical extravaganza staged as only Broadway could present it.

Stephen Schwartz's score sounds very much like something we would expect from the composer/lyricist of Godspell and Pippin who collaborated on songs for the movies Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. They are folk-rock flavored show pieces with a tendency to lushness in the melody, pop influence in the rhythms and spirituality in the lyrics. All of this works well for this show. Wordplay with puns, repeated rhymes and multiplying meanings has always been a feature of Schwartz' work, and here he has the additional material of the unique vocabulary of Oz to spice up some of the songs -- he fits in words like “braverism,” “rejoycify” and “swankified.”  The numbers have the virtue of making effective scenes for the show, establishing story or character clearly and providing designers and cast members with opportunities to shine -- opportunities which are never wasted in this carefully constructed concoction.

The cast of the tour has changed since the Kennedy Center stop. Victoria Matlock is now the green Elphaba, a role she performs with energy, a good sense of dignity and a fine pop-rock-belting voice. Opposite her is Christina DeCicco as the white-clad, blond Glinda. She handles the mixture of the coloratura soprano demands of the score and the valley-girl comedy of the script nicely. Stepping into the role of the wizard is P.J. Benjamin who at time looks just a bit like Ed Wynn, but Wynn never sang a comedy song as well as Benjamin does. His rendition of "Wonderful" deserves its title.

The brightly colored world of Oz makes the transition to the Hippodrome stage fully intact in Eugene Lee's concept and is filled with the visage of Susan Hilferty's endlessly inventive, if sometimes downright silly, costume designs. (Madam Morrible's bustle gets a laugh, just as it is intended to do.) Special note should be made of both Kenneth Posner's bright color reinforcing lighting design and Tony Meola's all-encompassing sonic world. New music director Dominic Amendum maintains the quality of the musical performances, both of the pit orchestra with its three keyboards creating a pop-synth sound supported by heavily miked acoustic instruments, and of the cast with a large chorus also heavily miked.

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Book by Winnie Holzman based on the novel by Gregory Maguire. Directed by Joe Mantello. Musical staging by Wayne Cilento. Music Direction by Dominick Amendum. Design: Eugene Lee (set) Susan Hilferty (costumes) Tom Watson (hair and wigs)  Alex Lacamoire and Stephen Oremus (music arrangements) James Lynn Abbott (dance arrangements) William David Brohn (orchestrations) ZFX, Inc (flying effects) Kenneth Posner (lights) Elaine J. McCarthy (projections) Tony Meola (sound). Principal cast: Leslie Becker, P.J. Benjamin, Christina DeCicco, Tom Flynn, Clifton Hall, Deedee Magno Hall, Kyle Hill, Lori Holmes, Josh Lamon, Victoria Matlock, Paul Slade Smith, Barbara Tirrell. 

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Running time 2:30 – one intermission
A satisfying professional production
Click here to buy the CD

Storyline: A vaudeville of songs and skits, each of which adds to the narrative of a simple story about two women in prohibition-era Chicago who achieve celebrity from jail as they await trial on their separate murder charges. Their notoriety is ultimately eclipsed by even more spectacular crimes but they manage to break into show business when their sleazy lawyer gets them off by doing a little razzle-dazzle on the jury.

The star of the show in a role that seems it was created for her remains Michelle DeJean as Roxie. She embodies the role, filling it with energy, pizzazz, and a level of verve that invites the audience along with her for a great ride. She has only gotten better since her performance in the region last summer, and it is a joy to watch her on stage. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for her co-star, Terra C. MacLeod, in the role of Velma. This is a show that requires the two women be of equal talent and energy levels and this isn’t the case with this production. Seeming tired or perhaps under the weather, Ms MacLeod renders a by the numbers performance, from the start with the classic “All that Jazz” to the duo with Mama, or her finale duo with Ms DeJean, she performs well, but doesn’t allow the numbers to be the show stopping performances they were meant to be. She plays the hard bitten, cynical star role well, but as casts change on Broadway to keep shows fresh, this National Touring company could possibly benefit from a similar change.

During its time in Baltimore, the show has brought in Tony award winning Melba Moore in the role of Matron “Mama” Morton. This was a good choice character wise, as she is instantly recognizable in the role, but her power in the character’s signature songs does not quite match that of the normal star, Carol Woods, who while not as endearing as Ms Moore, is able to lift the songs into great moments. A surprise addition to the Baltimore cast is Christopher McDonald in the role of Billy Flynn. It was so much of a surprise that he was not even listed in the program on opening night and was announced just prior to the show’s start, sounding much like an understudy standing in. Fortunately the audience quickly recognized him as familiar (mostly from his hilarious performance in Adam Sandler’s “Happy Gilmore”), and by intermission the buzz was spreading through the audience as to his identity. He gives an enjoyable performance as Flynn, and the lawyer comes across with some of the slick oiliness that defined his character in Gilmore.

Mention should also be given to R. Bean who continues in the role of Mary Sunshine; an outstanding performance as always. The stage is simple with a few special effects throughout the show allowing the audience’s attention to remain on the actors. The dance company continues their energetic performances, and though they are thankfully in the relative comfort of the Hippodrome (last summer at Wolf Trap one member was replaced at intermission due to heat exhaustion) they still amaze with their fortitude to complete the 2.5 hour show. With over 10,000 performances worldwide and the huge success of the recent movie production, there are probably not many who haven’t experienced this powerful musical, but find someone who hasn’t, or some other excuse, and see it again to enjoy the moments you loved the first time.

Music by John Kander. Lyrics by Fred Ebb. Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. Directed by Walter Bobbie. Choreography by Ann Reinking in the style of Bob Fosse recreated by Gary Chryst. Supervising musical direction by Rob Fisher. Music direction by Vincent Fanuele. Orchestrations by Ralph Burns. Dance music arrangements by Peter Howard. Design: John Lee Beatty (set) Ken Billington (lights) William Ivey Long (costumes) Scott Lehrer (sound) Paul Kolnik (photography), Andrew Neal (stage manager). Cast: R. Bean, Nicole Bridgewater, David Bushman, Christophe Caballero, John Carroll, Stephenos Christou, Theresa Coombe, Kelly Crandall, Michelle DeJean, Ivy Fox, Mike Jackson, Kevin Neil McCready, Christopher McDonald, Terra C. MacLeod, Erich McMillan-McCall, Melba Moore, Jill Nicklaus, Roy Orbach, Jessica Perrizo.

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Running time 2:40 – with one intermission
A good night of laughter in the Hippodrome
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Storyline: A suave and sophisticated con man is the king of scams along the French Riviera when an interloper known as "The Jackal" threatens his turf. A rough-around-the-edges young operator approaches the dapper master and a competition ensues to see which can be the first to con a young American woman out of $50,000.

Given all of the similarities in the design team between the touring version and the Broadway production, the show comes with the usual pizzazz expected of a national touring company. There are girls in tight dresses and bright colorful costumes. Lots of dance, song, and some funny moments when the actors acknowledge they are on stage in a show. Clever use of a spinning dolly allows for rapid set changes and the props master must have his hands full keeping track of the countless pieces and parts that go into making the Riviera come to life. Still when the night is finished it is mostly relief as the show should have been finished three scenes sooner.

What failed to work on Broadway (see our review here) continues to fail to work on the road. The dance numbers are uninspired, save for one 10 second duo that seems completely out of place given the mediocrity of the remaining numbers. Individually the performances are good, especially those of the leads and their immediate support, but the whole never seems to gel into a finished product, leaving the audience with a lot of individual laughs and sight gags (the scene where the younger con becomes the retarded younger brother is enough to bring tears of laughter to the eyes) but never truly making it the show it could be.

There is a partial Monty, clever reference to The Full Monty for which composer/lyricist David Yazbek is better known. There are also some incidences of adult humor, adult situations, and quite a bit of innuendo, so younger children would probably best be left at home. Yazbek's score includes a different opening number for the tour than was used on Broadway. The version which was captured on the original Broadway cast recording opens with "Give Them What They Want." For the tour, Yazbeck restores a number he had written for the slot, "The Only Game in Town."

Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek. Book by Jeffrey Lane. Directed by Jack O'Brien. Choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. Orchestrations by Harold Wheeler. Vocal music arrangements by Ted Sperling and David Yazbek. Dance music arrangements by Zane Mark. Music direction by Ted Sperling. Conducted by Steven Bishop. Design: David Rockwell (set) Gregg Barnes (costumes) Kenneth Posner (lights) Acme Sound Partners (sound). Cast: Tom Hewitt, Timothy Gulan, Laura Marie Duncan, Hollis Resnik, Drew McVety, Jenifer Foote, and ensemble.

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Running time 1:35 - no intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for intelligent,
emotional drama
Reviewed at the Kennedy Center 10-05-2006
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Storyline: In a hot and humid, non air conditioned jury room in New York in the 1950s, an all male jury deliberates over the fate of a teenager accused of killing his father. At the start, they are split eleven for guilty and one lone juror raising reasonable doubts.

There are lots of whodunits and quite a few courtroom dramas, but a jury play is a rarity. That's a mystery since this, the most successful and most famous of the extremely unusual genre (go ahead, try to think of another one) is so successful it seems that it would have stimulated a flood of imitations. Maybe a lot of playwrights tried it since it looks like it should be so easy, only to find that its awfully hard to give life to a single-location and single topic argument. It began life on September 20, 1954 on CBS Television when Studio One telecast the play by Reginald Rose who had, himself, served on a manslaughter jury and based the teleplay on his own experience. It was later made into a movie with Henry Fonda as the juror with doubts.

A strong ensemble piece, the juror with doubts is the key, and in the hands of Richard Thomas, the chemistry works well. He's such an intelligent actor. His body and his face seem to reflect his thought process and he seems to think of his lines as he speaks them. With colleagues like the eleven others in the jury room, that process can be fascinating. The key is that Thomas doesn't hog the spotlight. Indeed, for much of the early going, he plays most of the time with his back to the audience addressing his fellow jurors. George Wendt is the best known of the other jurors - he's a fine jury foreman and his frustration over the unruly debate contrasts with his sense of the importance of the jury's duty to explore all factors. Most notable among the debating men are those most stridently anxious to convict, Randle Mell as the father whose problem with his own son flavors his interpretation of the crime, Julian Gamble as a big, loud bigot and Mark Morettini as the baseball fan who will go either way just as long as the verdict comes down in time for him to get to the game. There's lovely work from Jeffrey Hayenga as the least emotional weigher of the evidence, David Lively as the immigrant juror, Alan Mandell as the elderly one.

The single, highly naturalistic set creates the feel of confinement even as it stretches across the Eisenhower's broad stage with windows on the right shining late afternoon light into the drab room, a fan that isn't working and florescent light fixtures hanging over the long jury table. (Actually its two tables shoved together in a nice touch - obviously, this courthouse wasn't supplied with custom made tables for its jury rooms.) The audience enters to see the set on the stage, violating what should be a cardinal rule of theater: never dispense with a curtain. Not only does it rob the audience of that valuable moment when the world outside yields to the world on stage, it lets critics examine the space at close range and notice things like the Kleenex box with a design not yet adopted in the 1950s.

Written by Reginald Rose. Directed by Scott Ellis. Design: Allen Moyer (set) Michael Krass (costumes) Paul Palazzo (lights) Brian Ronan (sound) John Gromada (original music) Rick Sordelet (fight direction) Joan Marcus (photography) Paul J. Smith (stage manager). Cast: Charles Borland, Todd Cerveris, T. Scott Cunningham, Julian Gamble, Jeffrey Hayenga, David Lively, Randle Mell, Alan Mandell, Mark Morettini, Patrick New, Jim Saltouros, Richard Thomas, George Wendt, and the voice of Robert Prosky.

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Normal running time 1:40 - no intermission
A small musical touring as a big Broadway show
Contains material appropriate for teens and above
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Storyline: As six precocious school kids compete in a local high school gymnasium, songs and scenes reveal some of their inner thoughts, hopes and fears.

The story of the evolution of the show is by now a bit of a legend on Broadway. A tiny comedy troupe in Manhattan's lower east side was doing a small improvisational piece. One of the performers happened to be the nanny of playwright Wendy Wasserstein, who came to see the show, liked it, and passed the idea that it might make a good musical to William Finn, composer/lyricist of Falsettos, A New Brain and Elegies: A Song Cycle. He got involved and brought in James Lapine, director of Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Passion with Stephen Sondheim as well as Falsettos and  A New Brain with Finn. The resulting show with a cast of nine and a pit band of five opened in a 296-seat Off-Broadway theater and wowed audiences, winning the Lucille Lortel award for outstanding Off-Broadway musical of 2005. It transferred to Broadway's 684-seat, nearly theater-in-the-round, Circle in the Square Theater where it drew a slew of awards, including the Tony Award for Best Book for a Musical and it is still going after over a year. It is a show for adults, not one for kids, despite the cartoonish nature of the show's logo.

The touring version looks very much like the Broadway incarnation - a single set of a high school auditorium stage with a curtain at the back that opens to reveal various additional locations, slightly oversized costumes for the grown actors playing children, all just a bit more colorful than reality under bright lights. (There's no way to say if it also sounds like the Broadway version.) The cast includes two actors who impressed on this night. Miguel Cervantes, who was bright and strong all evening as the Boy Scout uniformed contestant, apparently did some quick improvisation to tie things together when an unscheduled intermission was taken in the middle of this one-act musical due to the technical problems. Another impressive moment for him was his big number, "My Unfortunate Erection," the title of which demonstrates the age group this show is intended to reach. Alan H. Green commanded attention as the "comfort counselor" who, as part of his community service requirement for parole, is available to help the losers cope with their elimination.

One gimmick that seemed to work this night was the show's use of recruits from the audience. Unlike some shows that draft unwilling participants during the performance, Spelling Bee asks for volunteers some half hour before the show, selects a few and gives them the benefit of some instruction on what they will do on stage. They then serve as additional contestants to make the bee seem more competitive than simply a six person contest. One of the features of the script is the collection of one-line introductions for each contestant each time he or she approaches the microphone to spell a word. These, and the definitions and sentences read by the "pronouncer" (James Kall, as the assistant principal returned after a five year absence, apparently as a result of some unspecified pedophiliac behavior) get most of the laughs of the evening.

Music and lyrics by William Finn. Book by Rachel Sheinkin. Conceived by Rebecca Feldman. Directed by James Lapine. Musical direction by Jodie Moore. Choreographed by Dan Knechtges. Orchestrations by Michael Starobin. Vocal arrangements by Carmel Dean. Design: Beowulf Boritt (set) Jennifer Caprio (costumes) Natasha Katz (lights) Dan Moses Schreier (sound) Joan Marcus (photography) Brian J. L'Ecuyer (stage manager). Cast: Kate Boren, Miguel Cervantes, Alan H. Green, James Kall, Eric Petersen, Jennifer Simard, Sarah Stiles, Lauren Worsham, Michael Zahler.

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Running time 2:35 - one intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for pure fun
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Storyline: 22 of Abba’s greatest hits are used to tell the story of a young girl on a Greek island who is getting married and wants her dad to give her away. The difficulty is that her single mom never said who her dad might be. From mom’s diary she determines it could have been any one of three of her mom’s former boy friends, none of whom she has ever met. So she invites all three to the wedding and tries to figure out which one should walk her down the aisle.

The cast of this touring version is fully up to the task of giving the audience a great time. Laurie Wells delves into the part of the free-spirited mom, who is dismayed to find the three men from her past show up for the wedding, with more attention to the dramatic aspect of the role than some of her predecessors. Lisa Mandel and Laura Ware are both a kick as her two best buddies from her younger days. The daughter is Carrie Manolakos, who carries off both her songs and the story very well. The gals have all the best numbers, but there are fine performances by the three men as well. Indeed, Sean Allan Krill is both quite appealing as the architect who really was the mother's long lost love, and in fine voice for some of the more challenging vocals. Ian Simpson and Milo Shandel do nice work as the other two potential dads.

It is all colorful, up-tempo and delightful with songs that will be familiar even to those who don’t think they remember who Abba was. (From 1974 to 1984 the Swedish pop group had an amazing string of hits ranging from "Dancing Queen" through "Thank You For The Music," both of which are featured in the show.) Half of the fun is figuring out how book writer Catherine Jones worked each of these well known songs into the story she created. Since the lyrics are instantly familiar to most of the audience, it is amusing to see how they fit the circumstances of the scene. Jones does this cleverly, and it is to her credit that she chose to place them in a traditional musical romantic comedy structure rather than go the easy route of staging a loosely connected string of songs in a disguised concert.

Nothing is taken too seriously in this clever and energetic show. The set, the costumes, the lighting and – most of all – the performances are all strong and stylish. The same design team that was responsible for the current hit at the Winter Garden on Broadway repeated their work for the tour. The show here looks and feels very much as it does 193 miles to the north. They may travel with fewer lights (the white Greek taverna seems a little less sun bleached) but there are still a full 300 light cues and who knows how many sound cues for the system that delivers a live-performance quality that captures the Abba sound. The band in the pit is the same composition as on Broadway: four (count ‘em, four) keyboards, two guitars, a bass, drums and percussion. They capture the Abba sound and the entire evening ends with the audience on its feet, bouncing to the music. So don’t even think of leaving to beat the traffic when the curtain calls begin. There’s a lot more show yet to come and plenty of good times yet to be enjoyed.

Music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (and some songs with Stig Anderson). Book by Catherine Johnson. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd. Choreography Anthony Van Laast. Music direction by Susan Draus. Musical supervision, additional material and arrangements by Martin Koch. Design: Mark Thompson (set and costumes) Howard Harrison (lights) Andrew Bruce & Bobby Aitken (sound) Joan Marcus (photography). Cast: Tiffani Barbour, Karla L. Beard, Corey Greenan, Chauncey Jenkins, Sean Allan Krill, Lisa Mandel, Carrie Manolakos, Robert Pendilla, Milo Shandel, Ian Simpson, Laura Ware, Laurie Wells, Brad Wills.

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Running time 1:35 - one intermission
A high quality musical entertainment for girls four to nine
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Storyline: The play-figure Barbie is at the center of a fantasy tale, playing a flower fairy who is different - she's the only fairy without wings. When the evil Laverna attempts to take over Fairytopia by spreading a fog that casts a spell robbing fairies of the ability to fly only a fairy without wings can save the day. She's aided by a large puffball and an even larger butterfly who flies her where she needs to go.

The cast is at the level of a national touring one-week troupe that bring today's crop of Broadway-style musicals to hosting houses across the country. Erin Elizabeth Coors makes a stately Barbie figure in her blond wig and wingless gown - wingless, that is, until the finale. She sings well and moves acceptably. Most importantly, she makes a connection with the girls in the audience. Half a dozen supporting cast members play characters such as "The Enchantress" and a mermman - the male version of a mermaid - complete with shaking tale and a puppet turtle singing doo-wop backup. Christopher Brady and Stephanie Linn standout as a team handling the vaudevillish comic side-kick chores as Fungus 1 and Fungus 2 (just two fungi, they intone) while Stacie Bono makes the most of the broadly drawn evil Laverna.

The real standout is a performer who is no stranger to Potomac Region audiences. Felicia Curry opens and closes the show with her full-throated  voice as one of the "seven protectoresses" of Fairytopia. Curry most recently wowed local audiences in MetroStage's Two Queens, One Castle after her notable work at Toby's Dinner Theatre in, among others, Footloose and Aida for which she was nominated for a Helen Hayes award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Resident Musical.

With colorful backdrop sets designed by James Kronzer (three-time Helen Hayes Award designer - and that's just this year!), wittily colorful insect and fairy costumes including gorgeous gowns by Gregg Barnes who has just been nominated for a Tony Award for The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway, and lighting design by Chris Lee who was nominated for a Helen Hayes award for Urinetown at Schaeffer's Signature, the visual impact of the show was in good hands. The simple but satisfying score is by Canadian composer Robbie Roth and Susan DiLallo. DiLallo is the recipient of the Ed Kleban Award. The pre-recorded backing for the vocalists is under the direction of Patrick Vaccariello who has worked with Schaeffer at Signature (Over & Over) as well as the Kennedy Center (Passion) and who was music director for The Boy From Oz among other shows on Broadway. With creative talents like this, its no wonder that the quality of this show is head and shoulders above many others intended for youngsters.

Music by Robbie Roth. Lyrics by Susan DiLallo and Robbie Roth. Book by Susan DiLallo. Directed by Eric Schaeffer. Choreographed by Christopher d'Amboise. Music direction by Patrick Vaccariello. Aerial system by ZFX. Design: James Kronzer (set) Gregg Barnes (costumes) Chris Lee (lights) Kai Harada (sound) Joan Marcus (photography). Cast: Stacie Bono, Christopher Brady, Erin Elizabeth Coors, Felicia Curry, Rebecca Larkin, Stephanie Linn, Jonathan Scott Meza, Emily Tello.

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Storyline: A big Broadway-style musical based on Louisa May Alcott's novel of four sisters in Civil War era New England. Told through the eyes of Jo, the sister who wants to be a writer, are the stories of the sisters, their mother, their neighbors and the people Jo meets when she moves to the big city to try to make it as a writer.

Sutton Foster, who made her mark as the gutsy, spunky girl from a small mid-western town trying to make it in the big city in Thoroughly Modern Millie created the role of Jo, the gutsy, spunky girl from a medium sized New England town. The role seemed tailored for her, but she isn't touring with the show. Instead, the program lists Kate Fisher in the role and then Susan Spencer "at certain performances." Spencer handled it for opening night at the Hippodrome, and did a thoroughly satisfying job. Headlining is Maureen McGovern in the role of the mother which she originated on Broadway. She brings a warm, wholesome feel to the evening and captures the audience's attention for her emotional numbers. Robert Stattel repeats his Broadway stint as the next door neighbor and Andrew Varela, who was the Broadway standby for the professor attracted to Jo, takes on the role as his own for the tour. He does a nice job of it, especially in the love duet "Small Umbrella in the Rain."

The book clearly and efficiently tells the portions of the novel's plot that have been retained for the show. The choices of moments to musicalize seem effective, but not all the songs are strong enough for their slots. There is a clever show-within-a-show number with its intriguing double voicing, but it is the opening number of the first act and seems a confusing beginning. "Our Finest Dreams" is a fine relationship-establishing number. "Off to Massachusetts" a nice specialty number. What is more, there is magic when McGovern sings "Here Alone." But so many of the others are too obvious attempts to follow predictable formulas: the Act I ending anthem "Astonishing" sounds very much like a song from Wicked, "I'd Be Delighted" seems like a Sound of Music moment, and "Days of Plenty" gives McGovern a "You'll Never Walk Alone"-type big finish of her own.

Contributing greatly to the substantial feeling of the evening is the fact that the touring version is nearly identical to the Broadway visual design. Derek McLane's stage-flanking scaffold and his forced-perspective backdrop of the roof over the attic to which Jo withdraws to write are first rate, and Catherine Zuber's period costumes carry you back to an ideal of middle class respectability in the 1860s. Kim Sharnberg's orchestrations, played by a pit orchestra of twelve, sound lush and full, completing the feeling of substance. Despite prominent credit going to the choreographer, there simply isn't much call for dancing in this show.

Music by Jason Howland. Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein. Book by Allan Knee. Directed by Susan H. Schulman. Choreographed by Michael Lichtefeld. Music direction by Douglas Coates. Orchestrations by Kim Scharnberg. Vocal arrangements by Lance Horne. Design: Derek McLane (set) Catherine Zuber (costumes) Bernie Ardia (wigs and hair) Kenneth Posner (lights) Peter Hylenski (sound). Cast: Renée Brna, Kate Fisher or Susan Spencer, Louisa Flaningam, Gwen Hollander, Autumn Hurlbert, Maureen McGovern, Michael Minarik, Stephen Patterson, Robert Stattel, Andrew Varela.

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Reviewed January 10
Running time 2:35 - one intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for a major musical spectacular
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Storyline: On a starry night in a junk-filled empty lot, the neighborhood cats gather for their special night, the night of the Jellicle Ball when the most senior among them, Old Deuteronomy, will pick the one cat who will go to “the heavyside layer” to be reborn anew. A series of dances, songs and skits present the personalities of a number of cats including Grizabella the glamour cat, Gus the theater cat and Mr. Mistoffelees the conjuring cat. In a spectacle filled finale, the chosen cat rises heavenward in a cloud of mist.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s first outing without his then-partner, lyricist Tim Rice, is a musical fantasy based on the feline-themed poems that T. S. Eliot wrote for children. With Eliot’s often witty lyrics and Lloyd Webber’s highly melodic music, director Trevor Nunn, Choreographer Gillian Lynne and designer John Napier took the audience on a visit to the world of cats. It became one of the most successful musicals of all time and held the record as the longest running musical in Broadway history until just the night before this performance when The Phantom of the Opera - also by Andrew Lloyd Webber - took over the title at 7,486 performances on Broadway.

Cats has become an institution. It is no longer really just a show, if it ever was just a show. It began life -- twenty-five years ago, if you can believe it! -- as an attempt to create another world. The world of cats. It wasn’t meant as a musical play. It was meant as a musical experience somewhere between dance extravaganza, grand opera, musical comedy and amusement park exhibit. It didn’t have a “book” in the traditional sense, although it won the Tony for best book for a musical, one of seven Tonys it won in 1983. It didn’t have a story. Instead, it had a series of loosely related events held together by a theme and a concept. Above all, it had style, energy, inventiveness and audacity. All of those qualities have been retained over the years and this touring version has them in large measure.

The original work of Nunn and Lynne have been adapted by Richard Stafford for this tour. This young company dances marvelously, sings acceptably and disposes itself in the evocative cat-like movements that make Gillian Lynne’s choreography so much more than mere dances. The costumes and makeup are nearly as effective at creating the image as well. It doesn’t matter much that, instead of a set as previous tours had that was so massive it flowed over the lip of the stage and wrapped around the balcony, this version is limited to the confines of the Hippodrome’s wide proscenium arch. It doesn’t matter much that the back drop is less impressive (when the cats cast a shadow over the moon, something is amiss). It doesn't even matter much that there are twenty instead of twenty-five cats cavorting on stage or that the body mikes crackle and fail at times. But it does matter that, instead of an orchestra of 23 in the pit, this version has a combo using keyboards which completely fails to match the lush sound that Lloyd Webber and his co-orchestrator David Cullen achieved in the original.

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on “Old Possum’s Book Of Practical Cats” by T.S. Eliot.  Original direction by Trevor Nunn. Original Associate Director and Choreographer Gillian Lynne.  Original set and costumes by John Napier. Original lighting design by David Hersey. For the tour: Directed and Choreographed by Richard Stafford. Associate Director/Choreographer Suzanne Viverito. Musical direction by Logan Medland. Design: Raymond Huessy (set adaptation)  Rick Belzer (lighting adaptation) Mark Norfolk and Gaston Briski (sound) Joan Marcus (photography). Named cast: Cesar Abreu, Darla Cardwell, Chelsea Cicci, Zachary Leigh Denison, Ryan Patrick Farrell, Nathan Garland, Derek Hanson, Jeremy Hays, Katherine Warner Johnson, Susan Lewis, Drew Little, Sarah Kay Marchetti, Emily Padgett, Philip Peterson, Alex Ringler, Josephine Rose Roberts, Esther Stilwell, Brandon Tyler, Jessica Vaccaro, Bruce Warren.

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Reviewed December 20
Running time 2:45 - one intermission
A bright, colorful, tuneful musical comedy
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Storyline: A super-sized high school girl breaks down barriers based on color and girth in Baltimore in 1962 as she leads the effort to get the after-school television dance program -- with its all slender, all white teenage dancers gyrating to the latest rock and roll records -- to abandon its limitation of just one “negro day” a month. In the process she becomes the hit of the show, wins the love of the most popular boy and starts a national movement.

A triumph of knowledgeable professionalism, all the elements of this show were calculated to accomplish their functions but they all combined into something that doesn’t feel at all contrived. Building on the structure of John Waters’ cult-hit film, Meehan and O’Donnell wisely constructed a script which is gently humorous rather than going for the laugh-till-it-hurts approach of The Producers. The brand new score reminds some of Bye Bye Birdie’s mix of top ten pop songs and traditional show music. The songs move the story along efficiently while getting and then keeping the audience in a very good mood.

Settle maintains the high energy level throughout the show that has been its hallmark ever since the role earned Marissa Jaret Winokur her Tony Award. She's bright, she's chipper, she's funny and she sings and dances with a sense of joyous abandon. Much less involved and involving is Dougherty, in drag in the role of her mother. (The movie on which the show is based starred cross-dressing Devine, and the originator of the role in this musical was Harvey Fierstein.) Only when Dougherty teams up with Jim J. Bullock for the soft shoe charm song “Timeless to Me” does the performance take off. Many of the other principals work very hard to match Settle's energy level and some are really impressive such as Alan Mingo, Jr. and Caissie Levy.

Director Jack O’Brien reunites with choreographer Jerry Mitchell with whom he gave The Full Monty such clarity of storytelling, to again keep the narrative moving smoothly with a sense of momentum. Mitchell even managed to throw in some basketball imagery like he had in Monty, but with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, turns it into dodgeball. David Rockwell’s scenic design is witty, colorful and very functional and Harold Wheeler’s original orchestrations have been reduced somewhat but still achieve a 50s & 60s sound. That sound, however, is often conveyed at a volume level that leaves no room for dynamic range - the quiet moments are loud and the loud moments are loud.

Book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan. Music by Marc Shaiman. Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman. Directed by Jack O’Brien. Music Direction by Jim Vukovich. Choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. Design: David Rockwell (set) William Ivey Long (costumes) Paul Huntley (wigs) Kenneth Posner (lights) Marc Shaiman (arrangements) Harold Wheeler (orchestrations) Steve C. Kennedy (sound)  Kimberly  Fisk (production stage manager). Named cast: Jane Blass, Karen Burthwright, Jim J. Bullock, Brian Crawford, Charlotte Crossley, Steven Cutts, Amanda DeFreitas, J. P. Dougherty, Kenneth-Michael Glass, Susan Henley, Amy Hillner, Jesse Johnson, Melissa Larsen, Caissie Levy, Sylvia MacCalla, Tara Macri, Leslie McDonel, Paul McQuillan, Alan Mingo, Jr., Naturi Naughton,  Hayley Podschun, John Salvatore, Keala Settle, Aaron Tveit, Daren Voros, Renata Renee Wilson, Jeremy Woodard, Dashaun Young. 

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Reviewed November 15
Running time 1:40 - no intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for a heart-tugging, life affirming mix of humor and sadness
Price range $24 - $64
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Storyline: A successful writer re-establishes contact with his old college professor years after graduation because he sees him on television talking about being stricken with "Lou Gehrig's Disease," Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The writer visits the professor every Tuesday throughout the progress of the disease and learns valuable lessons about living from his dying professor.

The book, subtitled "an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson," detailed fourteen Tuesdays that sports writer Mitch Albom spent with Brandies University sociology professor Morrie Schwartz. The play telescopes that into fewer parcels in order to avoid seeming disjointed, and aptly edits the nearly 200 pages of wisdom into a workable single evening of theater. The decision to present it all in one act was wise because there isn't a good place in the story to break for intermission. The progress of the disease may seem a bit accelerated but the reestablishment and enrichment of the relationship between the professor and his student rings true.

Veteran actor Harold Gould avoids the trap of making this old gentleman too endearing too quickly. Yes, he has a number of  nice opening moments as he demonstrates various dances (waltz, fox trot, etc. which are practically indistinguishable from one another) and his shtick with talking with his mouth full is charming in its way. Still, either he or his director Michael Montel knows that too sweet too soon can poison the heady brew of charm and dignity in the face of disability and death. Once the disease progresses to disabling stages, Gould does his best work. As he looses the use of his limbs and, thus, any use of posture to communicate attitude, his voice and his facial expressions are his major tools. And, he knows how to use them. Younger actor Dominic Fumusa has slightly less success with his role, but then the show isn't called Tuesday's with Mitch for a very good reason. The focus stays where it should be throughout the evening.

Most of the action is played out on Michael Anania's simple but nicely detailed set of Morrie's study. There are also sequences before a nice backdrop of the campus at Brandies and in a stark bedroom. Only the sound design, or its execution, failed to match the success of the rest of the package. There is a distinct echo when the actors voices are heard acoustically an instant after their amplified voices reached your ears. Then, too, Gould's voice was given too much substance late in the show when the progress of the disease would have made his voice weak and thin. None of this, however, keeps the show itself and the two impressive performances from reaching and touching the heart.

Written by Mitch Albom and Jeffrey Hatcher based on Albom's book. Directed by Michael Montel. Design: Michael Anania (set) Ellis Tillman (costumes) Brian D. Nason (lights) Steve Shapiro (sound) George Shaivone (photography) Warren Crane (stage manager). Cast: Harold Gould, Dominic Fumusa.

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Reviewed October 25
Running time 2:20 - one intermission
A high quality, serious production of the pop-opera
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Storyline: Eva Duarte, born poor and illegitimate in the hinterlands of Argentina, rose to be the first lady of her country by hooking her star to the career of Juan Peron. Her European tour in the 1940s and the activities of her charitable foundation, as well as the emotional impact on the entire country of her death at the age of 33 are chronicled in a pop opera.

Prince and Fuller treat the pop-opera as opera, taking every element seriously - even the humor. When Lloyd Webber writes an intentionally second-rate tango song for the second-rate tango singer who "had the distinction of being the first man to be of use to Eva Duarte" ("On This Night of A Thousand Stars,") they give it a staging that has him singing not to the audience out front but to a supposed audience in the wings. When Rice turns out inventive rhymes on fashion setters of the time, the costumes meet the need, although Rice misses by a year when he has Evita singing "They need to adore me / So Christian Dior Me" in a scene set in 1946, the year before Dior's first fashion collection. As an opera, it is sung through with no dialogue. As with any good opera, it tells its story with clarity. Prince's original staging treated it as a series of scenes adding up to a unified whole, and Fuller faithfully recreates it, including his own very impressive dance steps - just watch the army officers and upper class klatch in "Peron's Latest Flame" so accurately and enthusiastically performed here.

Kathy Voytko may not be a match for some of her legendary predecessors in the title role, and she seems a bit uncomfortable in the early scenes when she is supposed to be in her mid teens, but her performance gets stronger and stronger as the evening progresses and her Evita not only ages but takes on assurance as a national and even international celebrity. By the time of "Rainbow High" she has the role firmly in hand. Philip Hernandez is in full voice as Juan Peron and Keith Byron Kirk is a forceful narrator in the role originally just "Che" but clearly Che Guevera in Prince's concept. He slinks, slithers and struts with panache and sings with gusto. A short but impressive performance comes from Heidi Dean as Peron's mistress who is dismissed to sing "Another Suitcase in Another Hall." The big number, of course, is "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" - the anthem that became a major hit even if - or because -  Rice changed the title to its current rather confusing phrase which makes little sense in the context of the show.

Tim O'Brien's original set and costume design has been faithfully replicated by James Fouchard. Even the show curtain, which isn't the same mural as the original, is in the same style. The show uses projections of movies and still photographs from Eva Peron's short life that was lived so much in front of cameras. The use of the originals, rather than any attempt to recreate them with the show's cast, put a premium on the costumes to capture the fashions of the time. It works, as does the impressively accurate performance of the orchestra. There's no credit for re-orchestrations, and many of the touches of Lloyd Webber's notable originals are still effective and work well with the amplified sound of the show.

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Tim Rice. Directed and choreographed by Larry Fuller based on the original staging by Harold Prince. Musical direction by Elaine Davidson. Scenery adapted by James Fouchard from the original design by Tim O'Brien. Costume designs by Tim O'Brien. Lighting Design by Richard Winkler. Sound design by Duncan Robert Edwards. Principal Cast: Heidi Dean,  Philip Hernandez, Keith Byron Kirk, Andrew Ragone, Kathy Voytko.

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Reviewed June 4
Running time 2:50 - one intermission
Price range $26 - $76
t A Potomac Stages Pick as a one-of-a-kind visual feast
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Directed by Julie Taymor. Music and Lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice. Additional music and lyrics by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, Hans Zimmer and Tsidii Le Loka. Book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi. Adapted from the Screenplay by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton. Choreographed by Garth Fagan. Music direction by David Kreppel. Design: Richard Hudson (set) Julie Taymor (costumes) Julie Taymor and Michael Curry (masks and puppets) Michael Ward (hair and makeup) Donald Holder (lights) Steve C. Kennedy (sound) Robert Elhai and David Metzger (orchestrations) Joan Marcus (photography). Principal cast: James Brown-Orleans, Lendsay O'Neil Brown or Christian A. Phenix Warner, Kyla Cherry or Nadia Danielle Ross, Dan Donohue, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, S. J. Hannah, Ben Lipitz, Adrienne Muller, Phindile, John Plumpis, Mark Cameron Pow, Wayne Pyle, LaShanda Reese-Fletcher, Thomas Corey Robinson.

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Reviewed April 19
Running time 2:15 - one intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for an energetic cast
and ever-growing plant 
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Storyline: When he cuts his finger, Seymour, a nerdish young man working in the derelict “Skid Row Florist,” discovers that a Venus Flytrap-like plant responds to human blood. Soon the plant has grown to amazing proportions, gathering publicity for the shop and bringing fame and fortune to the shop owner and the young man, but he has to come up with more and more blood (and entire bodies as well) as the plant gets bigger and begins to demand “Feed Me!” He starts with the boyfriend of the girl who works in the shop -- a sadistic dentist. But then needs to find victims that don’t seem to be quite such logical candidates for being turned into plant food. 

Howard Ashman's book takes the kernels of truth in Charles B. Griffith's corny script for the original movie, and builds an effective and efficient musical comedy/romance show around it. It captures the underlying themes of poverty and hopelessness in the undergrowth of society and the impact of sudden hope, respect and love. But, just as in the score with his lyrics and Menken's music, the book is never anything less than inventive, enjoyable fun with its mix of musical whimsy and substance in a 1960's rock-influenced sound. The traveling band of five (two keyboards with a three-member rhythm section) is energetic and comes through quite clearly via a sound system that emphasizes volume over clarity or directional fidelity. At times it is difficult to determine just where voices are coming from or even which character is singing. Too bad they couldn't have retained the original Broadway sound designer for the tour.

Jonathan Rayson is marvelous all night long in the central role of the nebbish Seymour. His comedy is clear, his singing sincere and he creates real connections with Tari Kelly as the self-image challenged skid row girl, Ray DeMattis as the flower shop owner and, most impressively, with the plant itself, which is a full character in the show. Kelly really sells both her big solo, "Somewhere That's Green" and her big duet, "Suddenly Seymour," making her performance quite satisfying. Perhaps best, at least in the better scenes he has in the first act, is DeMattis who makes every moment on the stage work and joins Rayson for a rousing "Musnchik and Son." The demented dentist (and a host of other roles), is handled with something less than the full gusto it (they) require by James Moye, best known to Potomac Region theatergoers from his work as "File" in Signature's 110 In The Shade. A trio of young ladies serve as the rock-‘n-roll equivalent of a Greek chorus opening the show with its first blast of good humored energy and returning to provide a booster shot every time it seems to be in danger of loosing a beat.

Of  course, it is the work of the puppet design team from The Jim Henson Company, headed by designer Martin P. Robinson, that gets the most attention. As the plant gets bigger and bigger -- going from a small hand held potted plant to a veritable jungle taking over the entire shop -- it gets to be more and more fun. If you've heard about the eye-popping effect in which the plant springs out beyond the proscenium and over the heads of those in the front of the orchestra section on Broadway, forget about it. The mechanics of that effect didn't make the tour. Forget also about solid background sets. Scott Pask's skid row has been reduced to flimsy frames and wind rippled drapes. But the changes don't really reduce the enjoyment factor of the show as the plant effects that do tour are great fun and the look of Pask's originals is well captured by the drape painters.

Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman. Music by Alan Menken. Based on the film by Roger Corman, screenplay by Charles Griffith. Directed by Jerry Zaks. Choreographed by Kathleen Marshall. Music direction by Brent-Alan Huffman. Original vocal arrangements by Robert Billig. New arrangements by Michael Kosarin. Orchestrations by Danny Troob. Design: Scott Pask (set) William Ivey Long (costumes) Robert-Charles Vallance (wigs and hair) Angelina Avallone (makeup) The Jim Henson Company and Martin P. Robinson (puppets) Donald Holder (lights) Domonic Sack and Carl Casella (sound) Craig Schwartz (photography). Cast: Ray DeMattis, LaTonya Holmes, Tari Kelly, Michael Latini, Michael James Leslie, Paul McGinnis, James Moye, Marc Petrosino, Jonathan Rayson, Amina S. Robinson, Yasmeen Sulieman.

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Reviewed February 22
Running time: 1:35 - no intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for warm,
 affectionate magic and gentle humor

Storyline: It is March 9, 1996. 100 year-old George Burns, having died hours before, finds himself before the same God he had portrayed in three movies. God wants him to audition for admission to that unique heaven wherein he will be reunited with his beloved Gracie, the woman who was his vaudeville, movie, radio and television partner, his wife, the mother of their children and the focus of his life. His “audition” is the story of his life.   

The subtitle of the play, “the life, laughter and love of George Burns,” is about as descriptive as it can be. Biography, yes. But lots of laughs – deep belly laughs, all built around a gentle affection for its subjects and a genuine love of language - and lots of love, for the real subject of the monologue is his good fortune at meeting Gracie Allen, his sense of wonder at their partnership and the depth of the sense of loss at her death.

The success of Gorshin’s magic is such that, when the evening is over, the audience is applauding not Frank Gorshin but George Burns, believing for the moment that he is there up on that stage and that the applause will reach his ears and warm his heart. It comes as something of a shock when you notice that Gorshin has dropped the mannerisms and posture that made him George Burns. No change in makeup or wig or costume, just a change in persona. But all of a sudden, it is Frank Gorshin up there for a brief bow.

Photos and film clips are displayed giving a sample of the unique Burns and Allen brand of “illogical logic” as well as a glimpse at the second most important relationship in Burns’ life, his long friendship with Jack Benny. There are selections from the best of the Burns and Allen material, some from their radio show which was a major hit for twenty years before they went on to master television with an eight year run. Didi Conn provides the voice of Gracie for these recreations as well as for the lovely final tag. Her voice comes through a sound system which, while acceptable for these voice-overs, threatens to overwhelm a few of the scenes underscored with music. The traveling version of John Lee Beatty's fine proscenium-within-a-proscenium works very well as the entire production is played down front so that, even in this large theater, a sense of intimacy is established.

Written by Rupert Holmes. Directed by John Tillinger. Design: John Lee Beatty (set) Howard Werner (lights) Kevin Lacy (sound) Howard Werner and Peter Nigrini (multimedia) Tina M. Newhouser (production stage manager). Cast: Frank Gorshin.  

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Reviewed January 20
Running time 2:00 - one intermission
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Storyline: In the Connecticut estate of her family, Hepburn maintains the tradition of stopping at five for tea and conversation, only this time the audience is the guest. The first act shows the movie star in 1938, having been branded "box office poison" after a string of flops. She's intent on landing the role of Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind but finds The Philadelphia Story instead. The second act comes forty five years later as she looks back on her life after her Oscar winning performance in On Golden Pond.

Matthew Lombardo wrote this bio-play specifically for Mulgrew, best known of course for her years as Captain Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager. She bears a striking resemblance to Hepburn in her prime, a resemblance which is enhanced by Jess Goldstein's costumes which not only emulate Hepburn's trademark slacks but highlight her image at the two stages of life portrayed. The show played briefly at the Hartford Stage in Hepburn's native Connecticut and then played off-Broadway where Mulgrew was nominated for both an Outer Critics Circle and a Lucille Lortel Award for her performance.

The play makes only passing use of the conceit of having tea with Hepburn. Yes, she's addressing the audience as her guests, and yes, she sips occasionally from a tea cup (filled from a tea pot in the first act and augmented from a bottle of scotch in the second) but the tea set stays put while she roams the stage, delivering memories from different places and in different postures. Among the most affecting of the memories, and the most impressive moment of acting, involves the death by suicide of her brother as a teenager.

The Hippodrome is a very large house and a solo-performer show can seem swallowed up by it. This production doesn't require an intimate space by any means (Hepburn wasn't an intimate personality) but the placement of Tony Straiges' set so far back from the lip of the stage, flanked by black curtains because it can't stretch across the entire proscenium opening, simply highlights the lack of immediacy. With another solo show, Say Goodnight Gracie, scheduled into the hall next month, one would hope that the tour team of that show would consider moving whatever set they travel with as far forward on the stage as possible.

Written by Matthew Lombardo. Directed by John Tillinger. Design: Tony Straiges (set) Jess Goldstein (costumes) Paul Huntley (wigs) Kevin Adams (lights) John Gromada (sound). Cast: Kate Mulgrew.

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Reviewed December 20
Running time 2:35 - one intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for matching or exceeding the Broadway standard
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Storyline: "Rent is about a community celebrating life in the face of death and AIDS at the turn of the century." So said Jonathan Larson who wrote this story of squatters in a New York East Village garret on Christmas Eve, using some of the dramatic structure of Puccini’s opera La Bohème.

Music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson. Original concept and additional lyrics by Billy Aronson. Directed by Michael Greif. Choreography by Marlies Yearby. Musical arrangements by Steve Skinner. Musical Direction by David Pepin. Music supervision and additional arrangements by Tim Weil. Design: Paul Clay (set) Angela Wendt (costumes) Blake Burba (lights) Steve C. Kennedy (sound). Cast: Aswad, Ava, Tallia Brinson, LaDonna Burns, Danny Calvert, Mario Ferrell, Adreinne Fishe, Christina Hernandez, Marcus Paul James, Lindsey Lake, Andy Meeks, Dan Rosenbaum, Damien Deshaun Smith, Jonathan Tisevich, Aaron Tveit.

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Reviewed December 14
Running time 2:35 - one intermission
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Storyline: Charles Dickens' story of the Christmas eve when mean and miserly Ebenezer Scrooge learns the true meaning of Christmas is the basis for this musical. The ghost of Scrooge's former partner, Jacob Marley, sends him the Ghost of Christmas Past to show him the error of his ways, the Ghost of Christmas Present to show him the opportunity to change and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come to show him the consequences of failing to change.

Richard Chamberlain has parlayed his fame from starring on the small screen to a satisfying career on the stage. He has learned the craft of live performance and not a few tricks of the trade.  He has starred in a well received revival of My Fair Lady with Melissa Errico, The Sound of Music on Broadway opposite Laura Benanti, and the famous failure, Breakfast at Tiffany's co-starring Mary Tyler Moore, which was cancelled on the eve of its opening night. Some of the tricks he learned come in handy here as he compensates for his inability to sustain a big note to cap a number and uses his seemingly inexhaustible supply of facial expressions to punctuate the many patter songs that set up his comically ultra-mean persona as Scrooge. He is highly successful in avoiding scaring the youngest in the audience by establishing an informal line of communication with them, taking them into his confidence with glances, asides and even a sly wink or two that say's "this is all make-believe, so lets all just have fun."

Director Bob Tomson takes the broadest possible approach to every scene, sacrificing any hope of subtlety in order to avoid a moment's let down. With no place to go but down, Tomson keeps everything going full throttle. This presents a problem when he runs out of material. The three Ghosts of Christmas are a case in point.  The Ghost of Christmas Past, played nicely by Roberta Duchak, is an intriguing character from Scrooge's own past who has a lovely song "Love While You Can." Then the Ghost of Christmas Present is played with energy and verve by Larry Adams but he has less storyline and only part of a song ("I Like Life"). By the time they get to the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come all they have is a silent stick-figure on stilts with nothing really to do and not a note to sing. Perhaps that is why they finally put the reformed Scrooge in a Santa suit as the show simply runs out of good ideas.

Leslie Bricusse's score has some marvelous numbers but others that seem to stretch too far to find a song. "Its Not My Fault" is based on Scrooge asserting the strange premise that his choices in life aren't his own fault, and another song posits that "happiness is whatever you want it to be." But "Christmas Children" is a lovely ballad for Todd Gross as Bob Cratchit, "December 25th" a rollicking high point led by Adam Kozlowski as a fabulous Fessiwig, and everyone gets caught up in the spirit with the final refrain of "Thank You Very Much."

Book, music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. Directed by Bob Tomson. Choreographed by Lisa Kent. Music direction by Edward G. Robinson. Design: Paul Farnsworth (set and costumes) Paul Kieve (illusions) Nick Richings (lights) Mick Potter (sound). Cast: Larry Adams, Karla L. Beard, Lauren Bishop, Jane Blass, Scott Calcagno, Jennifer Chada, Richard Chamberlain, Roberta Duchak, Michael Ehlers, Todd Gross, George Keating, Peter Kevoian, Adam Kozlowski, Mick LaRocca, Regina Leslie, David New, Liz Pazik, Ben Ratskoff, Rebecka Reeve, Abigail Sparrow, Amy Sparrow, Stephen Wallem, Jonathan Weir, Audrey Yeck, Peter James Zielinski. 

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Reviewed November 2
Running time 2:30 - one intermission
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Storyline: Retaining the basic story of the famous movie, the Broadway musical tells of a young woman who comes to New York at the height of the flapper era determined to follow Vogue’s advice to the modern woman – marry money. In the process, she stumbles into a "white slavery" racket that kidnaps unattached young women who come to New York to break into show business and ships them off to China to become street walkers. Naturally, she breaks up the criminal activity while finding true love.

The best of the touring cast is Darcie Roberts who gets more out of the physical comedy of the title role than the Tony-Award winning Sutton Foster did while belting the big numbers and tapping away with aplomb, and John Ganun whose take on the comic role of Millie's boss echoes the hilarious work of Marc Kudisch. Roberts acrobatic comic bit in which she gets tangled up under her typing desk earned a round of applause, not just lots of laughs. Ganun's booming "I'm In Love With Someone" duet with Millie's best friend works like a charm. Millie’s true love interest is nicely played but not quite as well sung by Bryan McElroy as it has been with others. Stephanie Pope sells her two big blues numbers as a wealthy club singer and handles her non-singing chores well too. The big disappointment in the cast is Pamela Hamill whose faux-Chinese villain shtick is delivered without charm or humor. 

The score very properly and effectively lifts material from the original movie and adds some nice new material. There are ten new songs. Some of the show’s best musical moments come from music composed by James Van Heusen (the title song), Jay Thompson ("Jimmy"), Peter Il’ych Tchaikovsky ("The Nuttycracker Suite"), Sir Arthur Sullivan ("The Speed Test") and Victor Herbert ("I’m Falling in Love with Someone"). There’s even a little Offenbach in the orchestra. The songs that were written by Jeanine Tesori and Dick Scanlan specifically for the musical are nice and one is even a standout – "Forget About the Boy."

The book that Scanlan cobbled together with screenplay writer Richard Morris has its problems, but the book isn’t the real reason for doing this show, and when it really counts, it delivers. The tour’s sets aren’t as brightly colored or art deco-ish as the Broadway version. They seem a tad flimsy, but the set for the sky scrapper ledge on which Millie and her beaux cavort is nicely done (only in musical comedy would breaking into a soft shoe on a sky scrapper’s ledge seem not only sensible but inevitable) and the drop-down screen for the translation of ... well, lets not give away all the gags!

Music by Jeanine Tesori and others. Book by Richard Morris and Dick Scanlan. Lyrics by Dick Scanlan and others. Directed by Michael Mayer. Choreography by Rob Ashford. Orchestrations by Doug Besterman and Ralph Burns. Dance arrangements by David Chase. Music direction by Eric Stern. Design: David Gallo (set) Martin Pakledinaz (costumes) Donald Holder (lights) Jon Weston (sound). Cast: John Ganun, Pamela Hamill, Daniel May, Bryan McElroy,  Stephanie Pope, Darcy Robert, Janelle A. Robinson, Anne Warren, Emir Younzon.

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Reviewed August 13
Running time 2:45 - one intermission
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Storyline: The Paris Opera House is sold to new managers who are ignorant of the existence of a troubled soul who haunts the house, a gruesomely deformed man who hides in its basement and whose love of beauty prompts him to hide behind a mask, assume the identity "The Opera Ghost," and attempt to seduce a young ingénue while making her a star. The resistance of the new management leads to disasters (including the famous falling chandelier), and the ingénue's love for a young opera patron drives the "Ghost" mad.

Harold Prince's direction and Maria Björnson's frequently magical design emphasized all the strengths of Andrew Lloyd Webber's work with lyricist Charles Hart and co-book writer Richard Stilgoe in a masterful set of theatrical effects that also minimized the weaknesses. Most of this, along with Andrew Bridges' nearly Victorian feeling lighting effects that use shadow just as much as light, has been retained for this tour. Most of the massive scenic effects are here although the roof of the opera house no longer overlooks such a glorious skyline. The crowd effects still work even with a smaller crowd - the cast now amounts to a hefty 35 as compared with a heftier 42 on Broadway. The most noticeable changes come in Act I's ballet with its corps de ballet of 6 instead of 9 and the opening of Act II as a smaller crowd sings "Masquerade" on the steps of the Opera House. The orchestra in the pit is not the 29 musicians heard on Broadway, it is a 14 member group with three synthesizers. Despite a fine sound system delivering well mixed vocals through the Hippodrome's excellent new sound system, the orchestra comes across at times- especially during the entre'acte - as if it is a flat, old and perhaps mono recording played through speakers hidden behind and muffled by the ornate proscenium that travels with the show.

This production's Phantom is Gary Mauer, who not only brings a fine full voice and a fine physical presence to the part, he has the acting skills to make the monster a sympathetic character, getting the audience to feel his emotional pain, the depth of his need for affection and his devotion to beauty. Rebecca Pitcher has been that beauty on Broadway as well as on the road, and she delivers a satisfying performance both vocally and dramatically. The always difficult part of the young opera patron, Raul (which was so well played on Broadway by Mauer at one point), is in the hands of Tim Martin Gleason who Potomac Region theatergoers may recall from his co-starring role in Signature Theatre's world premiere of The Rhythm Club. He sings nicely but can't quite make his character's leadership of the anti-Opera Ghost plot seem natural. Both Opera Stars - Kim Stengel and Jimmy Smagula, are very strong in their roles, as are David Cryer and D.C. Anderson as the new owners of the Paris Opera. The most memorable of the supporting characters is always Madame Giry, the ballet mistress, played here with marvelous presence by Patti Davidson-Gorbea.

All this talent and skill serves to emphasize the considerable strengths of Lloyd Webber's accomplishment - a score with lush highlights such as "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," "The Point of No Return" and, of course, "The Music of the Night." Musically, this is a marvelous score and Charles Hart's lyrics sometimes raise to the occasion with its paean the power of beautiful music. But Hart's lyrics frequently sound like he stopped polishing way to early, leaving imprecisions of grammar and awkward rhymes. (Is it Hart or Lloyd Webber who must accept responsibility for the use of "opera" as a two syllable word in some phrases and a three syllable one in others?)  When you start noticing things like that, however, it is usually after the curtain has gone down. Then you start asking things like "Just what was the Phantom doing on the wall of the cemetery, and what were those sparkers that his cane shot at Raoul? And, really, did anyone ever in the fifteen year run of the show actually think the famous chandelier was falling down over their heads?" Don't ask - just enjoy.

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Charles Hart. Additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Book by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the novel by Gaston Leroux. Directed by Harold Prince. Musical staging and choreography by Gillian Lynne. Music direction by Glenn Langdon. Design: Maria Björnson (set and costumes) Andrew Bridge (lights) Martin Levan (sound) Joan Marcus (photography). Principal cast : D. C. Anderson, David Cryer, Patti Davidson-Gorbea, Tim Martin Gleason, Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher, Jimmy Smagula, Elizabeth Southard, Kim Stengel, Kate Wray.

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Reviewed April 13
Running time 3 hours
t A Potomac Stages Pick for a sprawling story well told through a marvelous score

Storyline: The central plot of Victor Hugo’s massive novel of France between 1815 and 1832 has been streamlined to cover the story of a prisoner set free after serving time for stealing a loaf of bread. He assumes a new identity, raises to wealth and position and takes on the role of guardian for the young daughter of one of his employees. She grows into a young woman and falls in love with a student involved in the revolution who, with her guardian’s secret help, survives the slaughter of the revolutionaries on the barricades.

By Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg with Jean-Marc Natel contributing to the original French text and additional material by James Fenton. Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg. Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. Directed and adapted by Trevor Nunn and John Caird. Current music direction by Lawrence Goldberg. Design: John Napier (set) Andreane Neofitou (costumes) David Hersey (lights) Andrew Bruce/Autograph (sound) Peter Van Dyke (stage manager). Cast: Cindy Benson, Daniel Bogart, Charlie Brady, Pierce Peter Brandt, Matt Clemens, Ma-Anne Dionisio, Tonya Dixon, Kip Driver, David Michael Felty, Steve Gannon, Charles Hagerty, Amanda Huddleston, Robert Hunt, Nadine Jacobson or Erika Kiyomi Johnson, Randal Keith, James Chip Leonard, David McDonald, Christopher Mark Peterson, Branden Steinagle or Daniel Wright, Michael St. John, Stephen Tewksbury, Ryan Williams, Josh Young.

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Reviewed February 11
Running time 2 hours 50 minutes

As the Broadway production has demonstrated, this show can only be as great as the pair of actors playing Max Bialistok and Leo Bloom. The production that supports them must be first rate and the supporting cast must be good but the limiting factor is the leads – with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick at the helm, the show was fabulous for a year and a complete sell out. Without them, it dropped into the run of the mill box office ranges. When they came back, tickets again became hard to get. But box office isn’t the only place where the star power and talent of the leads makes a difference. It makes every difference on the stage. With lesser talents, this show can only be good, not great. This very competent recreation of every bit, movement, nuance and aside is good but it never reaches the sublime heights that its reputation would have you expect.

Storyline: This is the Broadway musical based on Mel Brook’s classic comedy film about a Broadway producer who teams up with his nebbish accountant to produce a flop in order to pocket the investments of little old ladies in a show that has no profit. They seek out the worst script, director and cast. But their “Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolph and Eva at Berchtesgaden” is a surprise hit, exposing their fraud.

Bob Amaral and Andy Taylor handle the leading roles. They work very hard and do very competent jobs with demanding assignments. Amaral’s producer sings with a clarity of diction that allows everyone in the house to catch every one of the gags Mel Brooks set to music. His big second act number, “Betrayed,” in which he recaps the entire show in just about three and a half minutes is a display of pure energy and will power, especially as his voice begins to give out by this point in the show. Taylor is slightly less a replication of the original than is Amaral, making the accountant who comes to believe “there is more to me than there is to me” a bit more his own creation.

The principal supporting cast is very strong indeed and some are practically indistinguishable from the celebrated performers who created their roles. Ida Leigh Curtis does just what Cady Huffman did as the Swedish blond bombshell who follows the dictum “if you’ve got it, flaunt it.” Stuart Marland captures all the over-the-top gaiety that earned Gary Beach his Tony as the flamboyant “worst director in the world,” while Bill Nolte has all the energy and heft in the hotsy-totsy-nazi role of the author of the worst play in the world that Brad Oscar developed to a fine art. Only Rich Affannato breaks away from the mold of the predecessor to any real extent as the director’s “common law assistant.” 

With chorus girls emerging from file drawers and little old ladies tapping with their walkers, Choreographer/Director Susan Stroman has constructed an entire first act that doesn’t have a single moment that looses focus. The second act has an the even bigger big production number, the famous “Springtime for Hitler,” into which she throws more ingenious bits than that entire first act. Then she sets up the pure schmaltz of the climax with a sure touch. Many of the bits have become legendary and, of course, many in the audience may have seen the show in New York and may already know what is coming. Comedy is always best the first time you see it but even if you know the storm troopers will now form a swastika visible in the mirror suspended from the back wall, you can sit and admire that purity of the moment.

Written by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan based on the movie by Mel Brooks. Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks. Directed and Choreographed by Susan Stroman. Design: Robin Wagner (set) William Ivey Long (costumes) Paul Huntley (wigs and hair) Peter Kaczorowski (lights) Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound) Doug Besterman (orchestrations) Steven Tyler (conductor/musical director) Paul Kolnik (photographer) Gary Mickelson (stage manager). Cast: Rich Affannato, Bob Amaral, John Boag, Ida Leigh Curtis, David Edwards, Victor Hawks, Stuart Marland, Janelle DeMarzo, Denise Nolin, Bill Nolte, Tory Ross, Andy Taylor.