Hippodrome Theatre
- ARCHIVE
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January 6 – 18, 2009
Chitty Chitty
Bang Bang
Reviewed January 1 by
Brad Hathaway |
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
Click here to buy the CD |
The most eager to be loved musical to hit Broadway in many a day is now
touring the country, complete with its big star ... the car. On Broadway,
the show threw everything it could at the audience, never pausing for a
moment or even a breath. With a sound effect, a visual gimmick, a pratfall,
a pack of live dogs scampering across the stage, a pair of comics climbing
out of the orchestra pit or an unnecessary exclamation shoe-horned between
every line, speech or song, it become wearying for many of the adults in the
audience even before intermission. Credit Ray Roderick who adapted the
script of the Broadway version for this tour, and who directs with a
somewhat (but not completely) calmer hand. His most important contribution
was the change to the second act when the younger children began to be
scared with the plotline about the Child Catcher. This touring version tones
that fear factor down which is a good thing. Through it all, the children in
the age group ranging from about ten to fifteen lap up the special effects
and enjoy the energy of the piece.
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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December 2 – 14, 2008
A Chorus Line
Reviewed December 2 by
Brad Hathaway |
Running time 2:10 - no intermission
t
A Potomac Stages Pick for a
marvelous revival of one of the great American musicals
Click here to buy the CD |
Michael Bennett's ultimate tribute to the Broadway musical -- an intimate
look at the competitors for a spot in the final audition for a new musical
-- requires more talent than spectacle, and the cast assembled for this national tour of the loving revival that Bob Avian
mounted on Broadway in 2006 has talent to spare. It is a good thing,
for the show demands a unique combination of skill, dedication,
determination and attention to detail. Practically everyone is on stage
almost all show long with three notable exceptions. One is when Gabrielle
Ruiz gets some solo face time to reminisce about feeling "Nothing" in drama
class. Then there is the moment when Robyn Hurder gets an empty stage to fill all by herself in the
legendary dance before the mirrored back wall. She takes full advantage of
the moment in the spotlight and delivers a fabulous "The Music and the
Mirror." An empty stage is the place for the most impressive "song" in
the show - the unsung monologue of personal revelation delivered here with
all appropriate angst by Kevin Santos. For the rest of the show there is no set to hide behind as all the dancers
stay "on the line" while one after another steps forward to respond to the
inordinate demand of the director to bear their souls for his consideration.
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.
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April 29 - May 18, 2008
The Color
Purple
Reviewed
April 29 by
Brad Hathaway |
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
Click here to buy the CD |
Alice Walker's sprawling novel of the journey of
one poor black girl who finds her sense of self worth despite all the
elements that seem to be against her makes a fine, touching musical which is
being given a stirring presentation in this national tour. Many of the same
performers who made the show work so well on Broadway make this Equity tour
satisfying including Jeanette Bayardelle, who was the understudy for the
lead role of Celie when the show debuted and then went on to headline after
the original star, LaChanze completed her contract, and Felicia P. Fields
who was nominated for a Tony Award for her work in her Broadway debut as the
girl with unbreakable spirit, Sofia. It features a very theatrical score by song writers who
were
making their own Broadway debuts as well. The tour retains the hefty stage design
and large cast and an orchestra in the pit only slightly smaller than the
original. In an age when so many new musicals are built on
existing songs and come and go so quickly (Lennon,
All Shook Up,
Good Vibrations - to name just a few) it is refreshing to hear a
score that was built from scratch specifically to tell this one story, and
tells it in a distinctive style.
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
Click here to buy the CD |
There are delights to be had in this national touring production, but that
is not the same thing as the production being a delight. The fine individual
pieces – most notably the famous score itself and the performances of Matt
Bogart as Lancelot du Lac, Rachel de Benedet as Guenevere and Time Winters, first
as Merlin and then King Pellinore - are defeated by the lackluster
performance of Lou Diamond Phillips as King Arthur, and the strange failure
of director Glenn Casale to imbue the production with any sense of heft. It
is too bad, for Bogart and Benedet set high standards when they take the
stage, and so many of Lerner and Loewe's songs are justifiably well known for
their melodic strength and both the loveliness and sprightliness of the
lyrics. McCoy Rigby Entertainment assembles the team from their best known
project, Cathy Rigby's Peter Pan, for this tour. In addition to
Casale as director, the musical supervisor, the conductor, and the set,
lights, sound, properties and wig designers all worked on Peter Pan.
Their design work here is acceptable, but the direction slender and the
sound of the orchestra unfortunately thin. Interestingly, the only major
design credit not from the Peter Pan team is Marcy Froehlich, whose
sumptuous costumes are the freshest visual element in the show.
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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December 11 - 23, 2007
Avenue Q
Reviewed by
Brad Hathaway |
Running time 2:15 - one
intermission
t A Potomac
Stages Pick for a not to be missed delight
2004 Tony Award for Best Musical
Click here to buy the CD |
NOTE: The National
Touring Company of Avenue Q played the two weeks before the Baltimore
engagement at Washington's National Theatre where we reviewed the show on
November 27. Reprinted here is that review:
A big parental advisory - parents, you
are advised to leave the kids home and head right off to the National. A
similar advisory for adults without kids. You are also advised to head right
off to the National where the national touring company of the Broadway
delight is taking up a woefully short residence before it moves north to
Baltimore's Hippodrome for another two weeks. This engaging adult take-off
of television's champion kids' show views the world through the eyes of adorable-looking puppets facing
challenges that would never have occurred to Big Bird. It is great fun. A bright, chipper and engaging musical comedy ...
with the emphasis on comedy. It has a very high laughs per minute ratio. The set for
Avenue Q
may start out looking like Sesame Street, but there are greater differences
than the fact that the puppeteers are visible rather than being hidden
behind trash cans or front stoops. There are songs and sketches in the
manner of educational television’s trademark children’s show, but the
subjects here range everywhere from coping with unemployment to how loud a
couple may be while having sex in an apartment with thin walls. The ads make a point that the show includes “full
puppet nudity,” and there are anatomical aspects of these cuties, but it
hardly counts when all of the puppets are waist-up hand puppets. Still,
their gyrations above and under the covers leave little to the imagination
and the laughs are as hearty as they are mature.
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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November 6 - 18, 2007
My Fair Lady
Reviewed by
Brad Hathaway |
Running Time 2:55 - one intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for
a glorious revival of one of the great American
musicals
Click here to buy the CD |
Widely known as one of the best constructed
musicals of all time, Alan Jay Lerner and Fritz Lowe turned George Bernard
Shaw’s comedy into a thing of beauty. Scenes flow into songs, songs flow
into scenes, the story proceeds from concept to conflict effortlessly and
the pace shifts just often enough to avoid boredom. It is the pinnacle of
the structure of romantic musical comedy of the 1950s, and while the art
form has advanced since then, and tastes have changed, it remains an
enormously entertaining package. In 2001 the National Theatre of Great
Britain joined forces with Cameron Mackintosh to produce a revival directed
by Trevor Nunn which was such a success it transferred from the National
Theatre's house on the South Bank of the Thames to the legendary Theatre
Royal Drury Lane, where, in our review of September 2002, we called it "one
enchanting evening of charm, wit, melody, comedy and romance featuring one
of the truly great scores of all time." That production has now been
replicated for an American tour with a new cast. In this new traveling
version, it retains many of the strengths and is a pure delight.
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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June 27 - November 4, 2007
Menopause The
Musical
Reviewed by
Brad Hathaway |
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
Click here to buy the CD |
Specifically tailored for an audience of women who can identify with the
cast of four stock characters dealing with menopause and all that goes with
it, this spirited romp picks up on and then amplifies the energy of its
audience out for a fun night of laugher and self-recognition. At the
performance we attended, about 95% of the audience was female and the age
ranged from upper middle to higher. (Who would dare quantify that with
numbers?) The cast seems to be sparked by the audience reaction, arriving on
stage expecting to deliver a good time but receiving an extra boost when the
women in the audience react with a mixture of recognition and enjoyment.
Topics such as hot flashes, bladder control, body image and frequency of
intimacy seem to engender a certain bond between the performers and the
audience - at least the distaff side of the audience. The men can only adopt
a good natured attitude and go along for the ride.
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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September 11 - 23, 2007
The Wedding Singer
Reviewed by
Brad Hathaway |
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 |
The musical based on the Adam Sandler movie with a score by Matthew Sklar
and Chad Beguelin comes to Baltimore in a slender representation of the
Broadway original in a production somewhat involved in controversy. Actors'
Equity Association, the union of actors and stagehands, believes that only
an Equity cast should be used for a first post-Broadway tour, but NETworks
Presentations LLC has assembled a non-Equity cast for the tour. We aren't
opposed to non-Equity productions. Audiences
are free to determine their position on the issue, but it doesn't help that
the program being handed out erroneously includes the notice that this is an
Equity Cast. It isn't. You might be able to guess that from the
performances. It isn't that they aren't talented performers working very
hard to put over the show. It is that their
performances feel a bit stretched to their
limit with skills just a bit less honed by experience than their Equity
counterparts. The lack of attention to detail in recreating the original set
and lighting design and the parade of ill-fitting and unpressed costumes
adds to the non-Broadway feel of this "Broadway Across America" offering.
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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May 1 -
13, 2007
Doubt
Reviewed by
Brad Hathaway |
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 |
NOTE: Cherry Jones, who was originally scheduled to leave the tour of Doubt
before its engagement at the Hippodrome, has extended her contract and is
staying with the company through this stop on the run. Potomac Stages
reviewed this production with this cast, including the incandescent
performance of Ms. Jones, at the National Theatre in Washington less than
two months ago. Here, in its entirety, is that review:
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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April
10 - 22, 2007
Sweet Charity
Reviewed by
Brad Hathaway |
Running time 2:35 - one intermission
The national touring company of a Broadway revival of the 1966 musical
comedy
Click here to buy the CD |
This charmer of a show
requires a hard working charmer as a star. With the
efficiency and humor of Neil Simon's original script, the wit and positive
outlook of Dorothy Fields' original lyrics and the joyous and upbeat sound
of Cy Coleman's original music, Sweet Charity was a great candidate
for revival if a star with the talent to pull it off could be found. Christina Applegate
was found for a second Broadway revival which ran for eight months in 2005.
Director Walter Bobbie mounted an evening with enough great moments to make
you glad you saw it. Taking the show on the road is Molly Ringwald who is a
bit less chipper as the dance hall girl with an absolutely indomitable
spirit, but she, too, leads a production that gives the audience a good time.
Scott Faris came in to adapt Bobbie's direction for the tour and he retains
most of the strengths of the 2005 revival.
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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March 20 – March 25, 2007
Annie
Reviewed by
William Bryan |
Running time 2:25 - one
intermission
The 30th anniversary touring company
Click here to buy the CD
|
For those who did not want to tempt the fates of a hot summer night at
Wolf Trap’s
Filene Center last summer, the 30th anniversary touring
production of Annie returns to the Potomac Region for one short week
at the Hippodrome in Baltimore. Make no mistake about it, while everyone can
recognize “Tomorrow” in the first 8 notes, this is still a show that
resonates best with little girls and this performance is no exception, with
daughters filling the theater (which thoughtfully provided booster seats for
the smaller children) as far as the eye could see. Some youngsters were
clutching little red dolls, some were already wearing the tour t-shirts
(just as often this means the mothers, not the daughters), but all of them
were ready to relive once more the magic of this over the top big number
production. With lavish sets, a great orchestra, and suitable performances,
this tour will make a whole new generations of fans. One woman said, “Every
little girl wants to be Annie.” When asked “What, be an orphan who lives a
‘Hard Knock Life’ but has a lucky break?” she replied, “No, to be the star
of the show!” When boiled down to its essentials, this is a musical vehicle
designed especially for one lucky little girl.
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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-March 6 – March 18, 2007
Spamalot
Reviewed by
William Bryan |
Running time 2:15 - one
intermission
t A Potomac
Stages Pick for an accurate re-creation
of Broadway's current hit
Click here to buy the CD |
'Tis the season. No not that one. That one was in December. This season is
the Big Broadway Musical Season! From
Carnival! at Kennedy Center,
and Cats at the Warner, to this show,
returning to almost another sold out performance at the Hippodrome in
Baltimore. Just here last June-July at the
National,
Broadway Across America returns Spamalot once more to the Potomac
Region. The show remains much the same as its previous visit, but there are
seven new faces in the cast, including a new Lancelot, Galahad, and Sir
Robin, the three stooges of this farcical show. The addition of all the new
faces does have the show just a little bit off of its game timing wise, but
it remains a wonderful evening of laughter, showing how much fun it can be
to make fun of musical theater. Lavish costumes, huge sets (Including a very
expensive forest. Don’t worry. They tell you it is.) and great comedy from
the mind of Monty Python's Eric Idle, make for a great evening of theater for
those who need a break from the “classics” or for those you want to
introduce to the joys of this American art form.
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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January 24 - February 18,
2007
Wicked
Reviewed by
Brad Hathaway |
Running time 2:50 - one
intermission
t
A Potomac Stages Pick for a big, bold, musical spectacle
Click here to buy the CD |
Once again, the national touring company of this musical "prequel" to The
Wizard of Oz is a near sell out even before the start of an all-too
short stay in the Potomac Region. In Washington, its 25 performance stop at
the Kennedy Center last year took just seven hours to sell out. Here in
Baltimore, the 31 performance stop has repeated the success. Clearly, the
show's reputation as a big, bold, beautiful and thoroughly impressive
stage-filling show preceded it. Just like on Broadway, set designer Eugene
Lee has packed the stage with a fantastical set of twirling gears, cables
and platforms, director Joe Mantello has assembled a fabulous cast and
Winnie Holzman has found a way to tell most of the story from Gregory
Maguire’s fantasy novel of what transpired in Oz before Dorothy was blown
there by the cyclone. As with most fabulously successful musicals, the show
features a score that is full of musical delights.
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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January 2 – January 7,
2007
Chicago
Reviewed by
William Bryan |
Running time 2:30 –
one intermission
A satisfying professional production
Click here to buy the CD
|
The Hippodrome continues its Broadway Across America series with this fine
rendition of Kander and Ebb’s Chicago. Ever a rousing musical, with some
of the most well known songs in the industry, it is hard to not enjoy a
professional production of this show. The three lead characters, Velma the
fading star turned murderess, Roxie the young aspiring killer, and Billy
Flynn, the flamboyant lawyer who defends them both, are the definition of
star career defining Broadway musical roles. With dance choreography by Ann Reinking
in the style of the phenomenal Bob Fosse, and star power from Tony award
winners and surprise guest stars, this production is as enjoyable as ever.
It should be noted that this is the same production that was at Wolf Trap
this past summer and features many of the same cast members and many of the
same successes and small failures of that performance
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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Nov 28 – Dec 3, 2006
Dirty
Rotten Scoundrels
Reviewed by
William Bryan |
Running time 2:40 – with one
intermission
A good night of laughter in the Hippodrome
Click here to buy the CD |
Having concluded its
Broadway run, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels visits Baltimore as the second
leg of its national tour. With the exact same crew as on Broadway but with a
new cast, the show arrives at the Hippodrome for a shortened one week run
that results in a fuller house each night than might have otherwise
occurred. This works well for the musical, since laughter is contagious, and
there are truly some very funny moments that help pull the audience through
the long production. Based on the fairly successful 1988 movie of the same
name, the show loses some of its grandeur when taken from the silver screen
to the stage. There are some memorable numbers, most notably “Great Big
Stuff,” pulled off over the top by Timothy Gulan as Freddy, the con man in
training. The interaction between the supporting roles of Andre, a cop on
the take played by Drew McVety, and Muriel, a socialite played by Hollis
Resnik, who falls for the cop when her prince is unavailable, is priceless.
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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October 24 - November 5,
2006
Twelve Angry Men |
Running time 1:35 - no intermission
t
A Potomac Stages Pick for intelligent,
emotional drama
Reviewed at the Kennedy Center 10-05-2006
Click here to buy the script |
Richard Thomas leads the cast in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of
a drama set in a jury room which plays here at the Kennedy Center until it
moves to the Hippodrome in Baltimore for an
additional two weeks (October 24 - November 5). Just as it has been since it
first appeared as a television drama in the days when live plays were a
weekly staple on the few channels available in the 1950s, it is a taught
verbal battle of wills that is both captivating and thought provoking. It
can capture an audience's attention over its hour and a half duration even
without the fine performances it gets here. With them, it is a powerful
experience. Director Scott Ellis, who was born in Georgetown and grew up in
Fairfax, somehow imbues the entire project with a New York feel that matches
the script's stated locale. He guides the twelve actors who play the jurors
in search of the line over which an actor cannot go without unbalancing the
feeling or interrupting the flow of the piece. Each gets right up to that
line, but no one goes over it. As a result, each performance delivers its
punch in concert with the others and that makes for grand theater.
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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September 19 - October 1, 2006
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee |
Normal running time 1:40 - no
intermission
A small musical touring as a big Broadway show
Contains material appropriate for teens and above
Click here to buy the CD |
It is difficult to assess a musical when the performances are designed for a
fully amplified production but the sound system is giving everyone fits.
However, on the basis of what was on display at the press performance of the new
touring production of the surprisingly successful Broadway incarnation of a
small Off-Broadway musical, the material here simply can't be stretched this
far. It first wowed audiences in a less-than-300-seat house and is now
expected to impress nearly 3,000 at a time in a big, beautiful but cavernous
hall. Off-Broadway, the show played in a house of fifteen rows of twenty
seats with no balcony. Here there are 33 rows downstairs and another
21 rows upstairs, each with about 50 seats. The tiny show simply can't stand
expansion by a factor of ten. At least that is the impression given on the
night the sound board's computer crashed - something that cripples today's
high-tech performances. The cast made a game effort to improvise around the
difficulties, but neither their performances nor the arrangements of the
musical accompaniment could be changed to make the strengths of the piece come
across the all-too-distant footlights with any sense of charm or emotion. It
didn't help matters much that understudy Dana Steingold had to take over for
Sarah Stiles as one of the contestants just a few scenes into the evening
when Stiles' cough got out of control. Steingold did a fine job stepping in,
however.
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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August 29 - September 10,
2006
Mamma Mia! |
Running
time 2:35 - one intermission
t A Potomac Stages Pick for pure fun
Click here to buy the CD |
First, audiences in London had a good time at this musical featuring the
songs of Abba. Then audiences in
Toronto and Los Angeles had a good time at
this bright and lively show. Later, audiences on Broadway started clapping
and rocking to the show, making it a hot ticket. Twice in the past two
years, audiences at the National Theater had a great time during the run of
the national tour. Now, its back in the region and audiences are eating
it up at the Hippodrome in Baltimore. The show still delivers just the fun
time it promises. The touring company is fully Broadway quality
from the actors/singers/dancers to the band in the pit. The set has been streamlined a little (no
elevated ramp for the final stroll into the moonlit happily ever after) but
the show still travels with so many computer controlled lights that you wish
you had stock in the Vari-Lite Corporation, and a sound system that rocks
the house, especially in the eight minute choreographed, orchestrated and
costumed curtain call that has the audience up, waving and swaying.
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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May 31 - June 4, 2006
Barbie Live in Fairytopia |
Running time 1:35 - one intermission
A high quality musical entertainment for girls four to nine
Click here to buy the book
Click here to buy the DVD |
Signature Theatre's Eric Schaeffer has directed
a first class musical intended for girls age four to nine. His design team
is made up of people he has worked with before at Signature and a number of
people with solid Broadway credentials as well. The few hundred girls in the
target
age group who attended opening night at the Hippodrome seemed to love it.
They entered all dolled up in party dresses with many sporting strap-on
wings their parents bought for them in the lobby. (A half dozen boys in that
age group entered looking around to make sure no friends actually saw them
there, but seemed to get into the mood of the piece as well before it was
over.) It
has a simple story with fairy tale lessons of the value of friendship and
respect for diversity all wrapped up in colorful costumes and sets and
catchy pre-recorded music to accompany strong voiced live performers, some
of whom fly back and forth over the stage. The touring company even performs
on a distinctly family-friendly schedule with Thursday and Friday evening performances at 7,
Saturday at 11 in the
morning and 2 and 5 in the afternoon, and then 11 and 2 on Sunday
before they pack up and head off to the next city.
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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April 11 - 23, 2006
Little Women |
Reviewed April 11
Running time 2:40 - one intermission
A highly enjoyable Broadway style musical
Click here to buy the CD |
This handsome, enjoyable
show failed to find its intended audience on Broadway where it folded in
four months, but that may have been more a failure of marketing than it was
a shortfall in the show itself. It is clearly pitched to
the women who loved the book on which it is based and those who would
accompany such women to theater, either their husbands or perhaps their
daughters. Not that it is a slavish transition
of the book to the stage. It is that the sentimentality, the romantic spirit
and the pride in things familial that inhabit the book inhabit the show.
There is a unity of feeling from the storytelling,
performance styles, the sound of the score and the look of the design that
speaks of competence even when it fails to rise to some higher standard. Click here
to read our review of the Broadway production.
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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January 10 - 15, 2006
Cats |
Reviewed January 10
Running time 2:35 - one intermission
t
A Potomac Stages Pick for a major musical
spectacular
Click here to buy the CD |
If you’ve never experienced Cats, this is an excellent time to make
their acquaintance. This non-equity national tour is a bit smaller and tighter than the show has been,
but there is a renewed sense of youthful enthusiasm to the ensemble that is
refreshing. The performers
are noticeably younger than the performers in the Broadway production were
at the end of the history making run - the Broadway company had at least one dancer
who had been in the show for 18 years! But the jellicle magic still works
and you owe it to yourself to know just what jellicle magic is. If you have
seen the show before and you loved it - go back, you’ll love it again. If
you are one of those who resisted the magic before and find the show either
pretentious or a bore (and there are plenty of those) then you should stay
away because this version has nothing to offer to change your mind.
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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December 20, 2005 -
January 1, 2006
Hairspray |
Reviewed December 20
Running time 2:45 - one intermission
A bright, colorful, tuneful musical comedy
Click here to buy the CD |
The feel good musical comedy of the year for 2002 followed on the heels of
The Producers giving book-writer Thomas Meehan two mega-hits in a row,
and re-establishing the genre of musical comedy as preeminent on a
Broadway that had become home to falling chandeliers, massive barricades and
descending helicopters in sung-through musical dramas. Meehan and his
co-writer Mark O'Donnell understood that musicals
work best when the audience cares about the people whose emotions are being
musicalized, and Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman created the songs that that
let the cast hold the audience in the palm of its hand while the time fairly
flies by. Two members of the cast are the most important and they are the
ones playing the super-sized high school girl and her even super-er
sized mother. Here the younger one, Keala Settle, is everything you could
want in the role while J. P. Dougherty as the mother is much less
satisfying.
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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November 15 - 27, 2005
Tuesdays with Morrie |
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
Click here to buy the book |
Mitch Albom, with the help of Jeffrey Hatcher, has turned his
autobiographical book detailing the relationship between himself and his
dying former college professor into a tear and laugh filled theatrical
evening that is best witnessed with more than one handkerchief. Stripped of
any non-essentials, the story is told straight out, relying on a cast of two
to bring the characters to life. The entire project, from editing and
constructing a script from the 200 page book, to the staging and the performances of Harold
Gould as Morrie and Dominic Fumusa as Albom, is marked with taste,
intelligence and restraint. With material this good, that is the right way
to approach it.
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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October 25 - November 6, 2005
Evita |
Reviewed October 25
Running time 2:20 - one intermission
A high quality, serious production of the
pop-opera
Click here to buy the CD |
The place of this pop-opera in the history of
musical theater is solid, which makes
this solid revival both a pleasure and an event. After Andrew Lloyd Webber
and Tim Rice's success of both Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph
and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, they teamed up again. They did
not just repeat the formula for success of Superstar, but took their
unique fusion of strong musical construction, iconographic topics and
idiosyncratic lyrics to new heights. Just like Superstar, they first
released the work on record and then brought in a director to put it on
stage. The legendary Harold Prince - then in his forty-somethingth year of
turning out Broadway hits (from Pajama Game and Damn Yankees
to Fiddler on the Roof and Sweeney Todd) - mounted it in
London and then transferred it to Broadway where it dominated the Tony's in
1980. This touring version is listed as being under the supervision of Mr.
Prince and is directed and choreographed by Larry Fuller who won a Tony for
his original choreography of the show.
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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June 2 -
September 4, 2005
The Lion King |
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
Click here to buy the CD |
There are going to be a lot of happy theater
goers exiting the beautifully renovated Hippodrome over the next three
months after witnessing the marvel that Julie Taymor created out of the
Disney animated feature. The first national touring company has arrived in
the Potomac Region. True, the cast now playing the key roles may not be
quite as strong voiced as the originals. As a tour, the traveling sound system and
the size of orchestra are not as impressive and a few set pieces and effects
have been downsized a bit, but it doesn't seem to matter. The show is as fresh, as colorful and as
exciting here as it is on Broadway. Everywhere you look you find a new
wonder. As a lyric in the opening song says: "There is much more to see than
can ever be seen / there is far too much to take in here / more to find than
can ever be found."
Storyline: The stage adaptation expands on the Disney animated film but
retains its basic plot line of the king of beasts raising his son to succeed
him but who is killed by his jealous brother who then sends the son off into
exile and assumes the throne. When the son grows up he returns to reclaim
his birthright and save the animal kingdom from the ruinous rule of his evil
uncle.
The Lion King on stage is definitely Julie Taymor’s vision,
from the moment the lights dim. She took a marvelously visual movie and
converted it into a unique visual experience, which is tied more to the
origins of theater as spectacle than theater as literature. From leaping
antelope to lumbering elephants, from living savanna grasses to drought
dried lakes, from burning suns to sparkling stars, from leering hyenas to
crying lionesses, from flying buzzards to flitting fireflies, from towering
rock formations to looming monster skeletons, from scampering shadow puppets
to visages of the Lion King himself, there is a new marvel at every turn.
Taymor’s adaptation may be uniquely hers but there are notable
contributions from many other artists. The songs by Elton John and Tim Rice
have a number of fine moments with a strongly atmospheric sound. Additional
musical materials combine to enhance the content of the original score. The
book by the co-creators of the screenplay is efficient if slight and Garth
Fagan's unique choreography is a fine compliment to Taymor's vision. The
scenic design of Richard Hudson travels extremely well, partially because
there are very few visible instances of skimping which is so often a
distraction in less well-packaged tours. The introductory parade may have
slightly fewer creatures sauntering down the aisles and a rather
un-fantastic Pride Rock slides in from the side rather than rising
majestically out of the floor, but the inventiveness of the visuals remains
astonishing.
The show was never a star-vehicle even when some fairly well known
performers were originating the roles on Broadway. That is not to say,
however, that the show doesn't require great talent and hard work from a
large cast. It does, and, for the most part, it gets just that in this
touring company. The strongest voices come from Phindile as the chanter
Rafiki, Mark Cameron Pow, whose physical comedy and puppetry skills also
impress as the bird Zazu, and Thomas Corey Robinson whose booming voice
matches his sense of dignity as the old king Mufasa. Nearly as well sung and
quite well acted is the role of his younger brother, the evil plotter Scar,
played by Dan Donohue. Energetic twelve-year-old Lendsay O'Neil Brown is
good as Young Simba, but when the older Simba enters in the second act, it
is the less energetic and less satisfying S. J. Hanna playing the part.
Still, no one comes to The Lion King because of the names of the cast
members. What brings the people is the spectacle and it is all here in the
Hippodrome this summer. 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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April 19 - May 1, 2005
Little Shop of Horrors |
Reviewed April 19
Running time 2:15 - one intermission
t
A Potomac Stages Pick for an
energetic cast
and ever-growing plant
Click here to buy the CD |
This is the
national touring version of the 2003 Broadway production of the high-energy, high-camp, highly entertaining show that has been a staple of regional,
community and school theater companies ever since its off-Broadway debut
twenty years ago. As on Broadway it has a small but energetic cast, a great set design and,
of course, that ever growing plant that takes over the stage as well as the
world in the camp comedy based on a comedy horror movie that played the drive-ins of the 1960’s.
The real strength is the tuneful, inventive and highly enjoyable score by
Alan Menken and his late partner Howard Ashman, but this company also offers
the pleasure of Jonathan Rayson's "Seymour."
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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February 22 - March 6, 2005
Say Goodnight, Gracie |
Reviewed February 22
Running time: 1:35 - no intermission
t
A Potomac Stages Pick for warm,
affectionate magic and gentle humor |
Many
kinds of magic take place on theater stages around the world. On the Helen
Hayes Theatre stage on Broadway, for 364 performances (plus 27 previews) in
2002 and 2003, the magic was that the late, great, George Burns came before you
to share his life and his absolute love for his partner, Gracie Allen. Now
that magic happens on stages throughout the nation as Frank Gorshin, who
played Burns on Broadway, tours with this incredible show. No
impersonation. No impression. No imitation. No caricature. Gorshin just is George
Burns. It is a double dose of magic because, not only does Gorshin become
Burns, the script by Rupert Holmes gives him just the right words to make
you believe you are hearing Burns’ life from Burns’ mouth. And what a life
it was!
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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January 18 - 23, 2005
Tea at Five |
Reviewed January 20
Running time 2:00 - one intermission
Click here to buy the
book on tape |
Kate Mulgrew stars in the solo bio-play about Katherine Hepburn in which she
appeared Off-Broadway in 2003. Those who are fascinated by Hepburn, who
remained in the public consciousness for seventy years on the strength of
her personality and a dedication to the craft of acting, will find spending
two hours with the object of their fascination highly rewarding. Those who
are merely intrigued by the persona of the lady will still find enough in
the stories she relates to keep them interested and will appreciate the
skill with which Mulgrew brings her subject to life without descending to
the level of a night club impersonation of the oft-impersonated star.
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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December 20 - 26, 2004
Rent |
Reviewed December 20
Running time 2:35 - one intermission
t A Potomac
Stages Pick for matching or exceeding the Broadway standard
Click here to buy the CD |
Rent won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama because it is such a
well-structured play. It won the Tony Awards for Best Musical and for Best
Score because the music and lyrics function so well in the play. It became a
long-running hit on Broadway and on the road because audiences get caught up
in the experience and go out singing its praises. When it opened in 1996 the
buzz was so strong many people predicted it would affect the future of the
Broadway musical. Well, it didn’t. That is because it isn’t revolutionary,
as many seemed to think, but extremely traditional in its structure and its
score. The difference is that the music is arranged to sound like rock
rather than show music. But rock music is about volume, rhythm and attitude.
Show music is about emotions, story telling and character. Jonathan Larson’s
score is loud and rhythmic but it is all about emotions and the stories of
characters, all of whom have an attitude.
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.
The national touring company features a
physical production every bit as good as you will find on Broadway, with a
cast of performers working well as an ensemble. Individual performances are
strong. The crystal clear enunciation and rock solid delivery of Andy Meeks
as the photographer/narrator
is superb. Among the other four major characters, only Dan Rosenbaum as the songwriting roommate
suffering from AIDS is disappointing in his ability to deliver lyrics
clearly and even he hits a few high points of note including a strong
delivery of his early big number, "One Song Glory." Their nightclub
dancer neighbor (Tallia Brinson) is exciting on "Out Tonight," the performance artist (Ava)
gets better as the evening progresses after a very impressive first song,
the comic "Over the Moon" and Damien DeShaun Smith does justice to the drag
queen with a heart of gold. The
full company numbers, especially "Seasons of Love" which opens the second
act, are very well sung, filling the hall with joyous sound.
This tour is designed for one or two week stops in each theater. The set
is every bit as effective and
functional as the Broadway offering which is still running. The speaker stacks and light frames have been moved inside the
proscenium which compresses the action slightly in smaller houses but, on
the Hippodrome's enormous stage, there is almost too much room for the cast
to work. The sound is particularly
satisfying, with the famous concert-style face mikes delivering a uniform
sound with a rare crack or pop. The costumes look every bit as good and
shabby as the did on Broadway when the show was new.
Only the lighting design seems to suffer
at all in the transformation to the road. Blake Burba's original lighting
design uses a lot of tightly concentrated spotlights which need precision
aiming. On an opening night in a new house, the operators are still finding
their marks but, even so, the design works. Later in the week, one suspects
that even this slight problem will have been resolved and the performance in
Baltimore will match or even exceed that on Broadway.
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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December 14 - 19, 2004
Scrooge - the Musical |
Reviewed December 14
Running time 2:35 - one intermission
Click here to buy the CD |
Making a one-week stop in Baltimore on its way from Detroit to Philadelphia
where it closes out its eight-city holiday tour, this show has something to
offer each generation. To the kids, it is the fact that this musical is a
holiday show. To their parents it is the fact that it stars the actor they
remember from "The Thorn Birds" and "Shogun" television movies. To the
grandparents, it is that the star is the same Richard Chamberlain that they
remember from the television series "Dr. Kildare." It also has a tuneful
score, a full sounding accompaniment from a pit band of three
keyboards, four brass and reed players plus bass and drums and some sharp costumes. However, it also has a
flimsy set, a sound system prone to clicks, screeches and drop outs and
not-very-special special effects. A large and talented cast delivers
spirited scenes but throughout the evening, it is Chamberlain's show and
that is quite enough for each generation.
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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November 2 - 14, 2004
Thoroughly Modern Millie |
Reviewed November 2
Running time 2:30 - one intermission
Click here to buy the CD |
Sometimes Broadway gets light and frivolous entertainment right, and when it
does, it is important to make sure that the touring version is mounted with
care so audiences across the country can have as good a time as do audiences
in New York. Here’s an example. No deep human insights. No important social
commentary. No big name star power. Just a lot of fun. Bright, colorful,
jazzy, funny and attractive fun. On Broadway, Thoroughly Modern Millie
was thoroughly satisfying entertainment - nothing less, nothing more. This
national touring version, while a bit shaky in the sets with a few of the
scenic effects left behind and others represented by cloth flats that tend
to flap around in the wind, captures most of the Broadway experience. Most
of the cast is very good, including Darcy Roberts in the title role.
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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August 11 - September 19,
2004
The Phantom of the Opera |
Reviewed August 13
Running time 2:45 - one intermission
Click here to buy the CD |
The reputation of this show would have you thinking it doesn't matter much
who is in it, it is a big music spectacle where the logo is the star - but
you'd be wrong. Andrew Lloyd Webber actually wrote it as a star vehicle for
Sarah Brightman, and the original phantom was Michael Crawford, who walked
away with the Tony Award back in 1988 when the show first opened a run on
Broadway that continues to this day after nearly 7,000 performances. Its
success there, and its success on the road, is highly dependent on the
skill, the talent and the energy of its cast, and this touring version
succeeds precisely because it has Gary Mauer, Rebecca Pitcher and a very
strong supporting cast. Unlike many other national tours of Broadway
musicals, this is not a re-conceived, re-designed shadow of its former self.
Despite some unfortunate economies taken in the orchestra pit, in the size
of the ensemble and in a few sets, it is in essence the Broadway show picked
up lock stock and barrel and put down on the stage of Baltimore's marvelous
new venue. The magic created by Harold Prince's staging and the lush musical
score by Lloyd Webber is given the opportunity to work here with a
professionalism and attention to detail that is a hallmark of producer
Cameron Mackintosh' s legendary quality control.
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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April 13 – 25, 2004
Les Misérables |
Reviewed April 13
Running time 3 hours
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A Potomac Stages Pick for a sprawling story well told through a marvelous
score |
Thank goodness that the closing of this show on
Broadway did not mean the end of the opportunity to see it performed at the
level of quality it deserves. The adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel is so
captivating and compelling and the musical score by Claude-Michel Schöenberg
with lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer is so glorious that we would be poorer
indeed if we couldn't revisit this masterpiece from time to time. We don't
use the term "masterpiece" very often but this is one case where there
simply is no other word. It is not only masterful in its use of music,
lyrics, book and staging, it is also the work that remains the finest
product of Claude-Michel Schöenberg whose Miss Saigon and Martin Guerre are
themselves memorable additions to the musical theater world.
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.
There is a reason this show has been the success that it
has not only on Broadway but around the world (almost $2 billion in sales
from nearly 40 million customers). The reason is the quality control
exercised by Cameron Mackintosh’s production company, the single production
company responsible for all versions. The high standards for the production
gave its combination of stirring music, eye-filling staging, strong
characterizations and well told story every opportunity to work its magic at
every performance. Mackintosh even closed the show down a few years ago
(bringing in the US touring company to keep the "continuous performance"
record going) while he re-cast, refurbished costumes and sets and even
tightened up the book a bit.
An evening filled with highlights is what audiences have come to expect
of "Les Mis," and the current touring company provides them. Randall Keith,
who has practically made a career of signing the role of Jean Valjean, was
strong all night long - which is a requirement of a role that includes
singing while carrying another actor in his arms. His impassioned "Bring Him
Home" was the highlight not only of his performance but also of the evening.
Ma-Anne Dionisio was a marvelous Eponine (her "On My Own" opens Act II with
a bang). She's matched by one of the finest performances of the young man
whom she loves by Josh Young, who gives Marius a youthful flair that works
beautifully. Young isn't the youngest cast member to impress, however.
Pre-teen Branden Steinagle is. His performance as the young Gavroche is full
of energy. While the roles of Cosette and the Thénardiers are given less
than exciting performances, they are sufficiently satisfying.
The mounting of the show remains just as impressive as ever, with John
Napier’s indispensable turntable floor allowing such fluid staging that one
of the most complicated plots any Broadway show ever had is communicated
clearly and cleanly. David Hersey's use of darkness in his lighting design
remains remarkable. The show has spectacle as well as intimate moments of
emotion and high comedy. After nearly twenty years it is still a show not to
be missed.
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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February 10 - March 14,
2004
The Producers |
Reviewed
February 11
Running time 2 hours 50 minutes |
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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. |
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