Tag: Musical

We reconnected with Amy Hillner Larsen at our Christmas party last weekend and found out that she was starring in The Marvelous Wonderettes off-Broadway.  The current revival of the 2008 show has been running for over two years and is scheduled to close soon.  In a combination of friendly support, crinoline curiousity and neverending enjoyment of Grease-era nostalgia, we ventured over to see this long-running musical.

At the 1958 senior prom, four young ladies are introduced as the evening’s entertainment, replacing the glee club at the last minute when one of them is caught smoking (the simple plot points evoke and poke fun at a simpler time).  Prankster Betty Jean (Michelle Dowdy) and self-adoring Cindy Lou (understudy Amy Toporek) are best friends and also bitter rivals for both the spotlight and a certain fella.  Missy (Maggie McDowell) is the event organizer who has a secret love, one of her teachers.  Ms. Larsen plays Suzy, the gum chewing ditzy gal who is madly in love with Ritchie, the lighting guy for their show.  The vibe is high school amateur night with more than a dozen classic songs in the first act alone.  “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid” and “Lucky Lips” reflect a sentimental, homogenized America.  The girls just want to be kissed by their beau!

The pacing is frantic as these women plow through more than two dozen hits from the 1950’s and 1960’s.  The second act takes place at the tenth reunion.  The Wonderettes return after a period of personal enlightenment and disillusionment which we refer to as adulthood.  While still very concerned with kissing (“It’s in His Kiss”), they also shed a few tears (“It’s My Party”) and demand to be better treated just a little bit when they get home (fill in the song title).  If the first act is silly slapstick and airy juvenile dreaming, the second half takes place in 1968 when America is erupting with change, boots are made for walking and women’s liberation is soon to be on the march.  As presented here, the movement is not much heavier than whipped cream (Cool Whip?) but you can sense it has begun to arrive.

The four person cast is onstage nearly the entire show and it’s a workout for sure.  Everyone has their opportunity to shine in spotlight numbers.  If you are wistful for this period, the song selections alone should satisfy.  The show aims for campy fun but the so-so book (and frequently repeated jokes) miss the opportunity to reach the malt shop in the sky.

Viewing The Marvelous Wonderettes right now allows for a comparison to the current television series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  Also set in 1958, this Emmy Award winning comedy sits firmly at the end of this musical’s first act.   Impending societal changes are cracking through America.  The ladies wonder where life will take them.  Some sing about that.  Some perform stand-up comedy.  Isn’t that marvelous?

www.themarvelouswonderettes.com.

What to do the night after hosting your festive annual party with friends visiting from out of town?  Our thought was to take in A Child’s Christmas in Wales at the Irish Rep.  This is the third of five holiday themed shows I plan to see this month.  (Too many?  Thankfully not yet but the biggest one – with the highest kicks – is fast approaching.)  This piece is based on a famous story by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.  The prose imagines idyllic Christmas memories while growing up as a young boy.  Adapted and directed by co-founder Charlotte Moore, the tone is sweet and the nostalgia is unaffected.  Mr. Thomas summoned up an idealized world of childhood past.  “It was snowing.  It was always snowing on Christmas.”

What I did not expect to find while donning my own romanticized New York holiday lenses was the historical significance of this particular story.  Mr. Thomas had worked with the BBC since 1937 telling stories on the radio to supplement his income as a poet.  In 1945, a producer suggested a talk entitled “Memories of Christmas.”  A later enhancement was published in 1950 as “A Child’s Memories of a Christmas in Wales” by Harper’s Bazaar.  Two years later a fledgling company persuaded him to make a recorded album of five poems.  When considering what to put on the B-side (while we are waxing nostalgic), Mr. Thomas selected this Christmas story.

The album sold modestly at first and the author died a year later.  A posthumous book created the current title.  The story went on to become one of his most beloved and launched Caedmon into becoming a successful company, later acquired as a label for HarperCollins Audio.  In 2008, the original 1952 recording was selected for the United States National Recording Registry since it was “credited as having launched the audiobook industry in the United States.”  Who knew an off-Broadway holiday offering would result in learning that fun fact?

A Child’s Christmas in Wales is a fairly short story.  In this show, the words have been supplemented with more than a dozen songs from the traditional (“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”) to those sung in Welsh (“Calon Lan”) to original compositions by the adapter, Ms. Moore (“Walking in the Snow”).  Everything goes down nice and easy with the simplicity of a childlike dream.  The section “Aunts and Uncles Come to Dinner” was a particular hoot.

Nicholas Barasch (She Loves Me) portrayed the author and narrator.  The performance was remarkable for its depiction of a child’s wonder and joy, wrapped up in a lightly contained bundle of youthful exuberance.  Completely committed with nary a hint of winking, the cast nicely rounded out the production with their storytelling and singing.  I have to note that the use of a Welsh accent seemed strictly optional which came across as odd given the very focused onstage tone.  At eighty minutes, A Child’s Christmas in Wales did not overextend its welcome – unlike your aunt may do after consuming the parsnip wine on Christmas Day.

www.irishrep.org

This month I saw and reviewed Renascence, the musical celebration of the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay.  I went back to see it again despite a heavy theater schedule which confirmed my rave.  Some critics were quite negative in their assessment which I found incomprehensible.  That is why multiple points of view (and the existence of bloggers) is essential to discourse in the theater.  I had heard great things about Girl From the North Country when it ran in London last year so I decided to attend only knowing that this was a show based on the music of Bob Dylan, the first songwriter to receive the Nobel Prize for literature.  On the way home from the theater I decided to read some of the critic’s reviews.  They were raves which I found incomprehensible.

Successful playwright Conor McPherson (The Weir, The Seafarer) wrote and directed Girl From the North Country.  The setting is Duluth, Minnesota in 1934 during the Great Depression.  Mr. Dylan’s songs are used to comment on the bleak despair blanketing America at the time.  Racism, poverty, mental illness, criminals, false prophets and hooch all swirl around an inn run by the Laine’s (Scott Bogardus and Mare Winningham).  There is a morphine addicted Doctor who vaguely acts as a narrator to occasionally outline the plot as the story clearly needs explanation.  Elizabeth Laine starts off the show severely mentally challenged, unable to feed herself.  By the end, her backbone is quite developed, she dances at parties and she’s got lots of opinions to bark.  (Years do not pass by.)  The story arc is preposterous and Ms. Winningham gives the one of the best performances in the show.

The problems here are numerous.  The music and lyrics are quite beautiful but have little to do with the comings and goings other than to be moody and introspective. Repetitively the cast surrounds a microphone like this exercise is a radio show (?) concert.  There is often no way – at all – to discern why certain characters are singing these particular songs (and why they return to the stage).  This musical is all atmosphere and mood which is fine.  If you make a big deal about creating a period piece (costumes, projections, storyline) then perhaps the actors should have some sense of place in their performances and dialogue.  Was the word “fuck” THAT common in Duluth  in 1934?

Is there anything to recommend in Girl From the North Country?  The sound design was superb and the songs were delivered beautifully.  The New York Times review made a big point that this show was not your standard issue jukebox musical.  If frequently standing at a microphone facing the audience while (more than once) snapping your fingers and swaying your hips during group harmonies is not jukebox, then I’m confused.  The songs were indeed nicely performed and richly evocative of Mr. Dylan’s commentary on America.  They were shoehorned into a show that largely did not connect to them other than to set a mood.  I was bored throughout this entire show.

As this musical was coming to a close, once again the Doctor (Robert Joy) had to come up to the microphone to tell us what was happening.  We learned the fates of all the main characters years later.  By that point, I was simply glad the evening had come to a close.  When I left Renascence, I felt overwhelmed by the words of Ms. Millay’s poetry which was ingeniously connected to the character’s stories in her orbit.  Comparing that show to this much higher budgeted affair at the Public Theater is unfair.  One was a glorious celebration of the words of a woman who was the voice of her generation.  The other was a jumble of well-intentioned affected skit-like musings celebrating the words of a man who was the voice of his generation.  What’s the best word to describe Girl From the North Country?  I choose terrible.

www.publictheater.org

theaterreviewsfrommyseat/renascence

In 2012, Patti Lupone opened the Broadway nightclub 54 Below with a one week engagement.  She performed her magnificent song “Meadowlark” which is justifiably famous in theatrical circles.   I had never before heard this masterpiece of exquisite, lyrical storytelling from 1976’s The Baker’s Wife, a Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Wicked) musical which toured the country but closed out of town before reaching Broadway.  At the intermission of Renascence I was both ecstatic and overwhelmed that the first act contained – at least – two Meadowlarks in its score, one being “The Bean-Stalk.”  By the end of this gloriously creative world premiere musical, I was speechless in the best possible way.

Edna St. Vincent Millay was the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1923.  In this loosely dreamlike show, we follow her from her impoverished, fatherless upbringing prior to skyrocketing to literary fame with the publication of Renascence, a poem she entered into a 1917 contest in The Lyric Year.  The prize was to be a life changing $1,000.  In order to tell this emotionally bountiful and progressively feminist story, first time composer Carmel Dean has beautifully scored the music to Vincent’s (her preferred name) poems.

Renascence is a biographical piece but key figures in her life are given the opportunity to express their feelings using Vincent’s words.  The effect is mesmerizing.  The prose is rich with imagery and the music is simply gorgeous, enhancing the dramatic storytelling and providing layers upon layers of emotional depth that never get in the way of the words themselves.  Clearly one of the best musicals of the year, Renascence is a tour de force on every level.

Jack Cummings III and book writer Dick Scanlon directed this superlative musical.  I loved everything, everything, everything I saw on stage from the entire creative team.  Jen Schriever’s spectacularly fine and nuanced lighting was particularly memorable.  I saw history illuminated from Vincent’s humble beginnings to her expansively larger than life persona.  The creative team let us fill in the visual blanks as we listened and marveled at the never ending cascade of gorgeous prose flowing from the stage at the Abrons Art Center.

Every person in this six member cast was spot on in their (often) multiple characterizations.  As Vincent, Hannah Corneau’s performance of this feisty, flawed and complex woman is astonishingly fine.  Her story arc and personal growth are always believable and clearly delineated, equally sumptuous and scrappy.  Ms. Corneau will likely be someone I see in the future and gladly boast that I saw her in Renascence.  She’s that captivating on stage.

Miraculously fine casting, however, nicely balances this show away from being simply a star vehicle.  Each cast member shines brightly and that is not simply the result of atmospheric lighting.  Vincent’s words and the relationships in her orbit are explored with a breathtaking level of emotional heft and depth.  Mikaela Bennett, Jason Gotay, Danny Harris Kornfeld, Katie Thompson and Donald Webber, Jr. manage to traverse ensemble work and then step into and out of their own riveting spotlight.

Renascence is a triumph musically and theatrically.  There were a few aggressively unimpressed through negative body language types in the audience including the woman who sat next to me and clapped lightly as if it pained her.  I felt sorry for them.  What I saw on stage can be summed up with a few lines from Renascence:  “Of wind blew up to me and thrust/Into my face a miracle/Of orchard-breath, and with the smell, –/I know not how such things can be! –/I breathed my soul back into me.”  Run to see this one.  Or better yet:  dash away/dash away/dash away all.

www.transportgroup.com

www.54below.com

Traveling home, my flight was delayed more than two hours.  Thankfully the pilot told us that we had very strong tailwinds that day so the plane was expected to land faster than usual.  That was fortunate because I had a 7:00 curtain at Ars Nova to see Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of The Future.  From the plane to the monorail to the train to the cab with enough minutes to spare and grab a bevy before taking my seat.  Whew!

First performed in a 2010 concert version during Ars Nova’s ANT Fest, Andrew R. Butler’s musical is now being presented in its world premiere production.  Mr. Butler imagines a world 250 years from now.  As Rags, he informs us that he has served his time as a prison laborer on Mars and is now back on Earth performing in an undisclosed, underground location.  Both Andrew and Rags are singer songwriters.  This musical cleverly conjures a future world and the song lyrics reflect on those times.  What’s the future like?  Here it is filled with outstanding songs expressing themselves amidst a world of love and danger.

Imagine folk music played in a rathskeller where the audience is a diverse mix of humans, synthetics and constructed ones.  Through dialogue and song, Rags tells us his personal journey beginning with “Apocalypse in Tennessee.”  He is also singing songs of The Future, a band in which he was once a member.  The conceit is original, thrilling, topical and timely.  Illegals are not allowed to perform so this gathering is quite secretive.  The Ars Nova space has been ingeniously designed by Laura Jellinek to create an intimate, underground environment.

All of this would simply be creative and interesting science fiction if the music was not particularly memorable.  The tunes are a combination of folk and rock, blues and ballads utilizing a banjo, harmonica, accordion, saxophone, bass, drums and guitars.  The lyrics are poetic and deep with truly memorable, occasionally haunting storytelling that demands focused listening.  Packed with talented performers, the cast is so committed to this show there is not one second where the futuristic backdrop is winked at or abandoned.  As a result, this musical is simply out of this world terrific.

I highly recommend finding a strong tailwind and getting yourself to Ars Nova to see Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of The Future.  Mr. Butler has a great voice and quite a few things to say.  A mirror into the future and a reflection on our times.  Wholly unique and effortlessly satisfying, this new musical is a winner on any theatrical planet.

www.arsnovanyc.com

When Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! closed in 1948, it was the longest running show in Broadway history.  Famed for its seamless melding of book, score and dance, this musical advanced forward the form.  Songs defined characters whether they were soaring ballads or comedic numbers.  I had never seen this classic musical performed professionally so I approached St. Ann’s Warehouse excited to see what was billed as a radical and darker reinterpretation.  The director Daniel Fish is the star of this version and the musical suffers from his indulgences.

Laura Jellinek’s Set Design creates a barnyard dance hall world of all wood.  The audience sits on both sides of the action observing the rather simple story of Laurey (Rebecca Naomi Jones) trying to decide which suitor she will go to a picnic with.  There’s cowboy Curly (Damon Daunno), the hero and real catch, or farmhand Jud (Patrick Vaill, intense and excellent).  For this show to bloom, there has to be more chemistry between Laurie and Curly than was on display.  He occasionally sings at the microphone which is helpful.  If you see this show, sit towards the middle.  I cannot imagine anyone on the ends of the set could clearly hear these performers.

Agnes De Mille’s dream ballet is famous for showing audiences what was in Laurey’s mind about her two suitors.  In this “radical reinterpretation” a singular dancer (Gabrielle Hamilton) wears a white shirt with “DREAM BABY DREAM” printed on it.  The dance is long and largely pointless but there are moments when it focuses on how horny the young’uns can be.  In this choreography, Laurey’s primal urges are displayed by aggressive boot scoots across the floor.  Dog owners will recognize the visual.

There are some genuinely fine moments in this show.  Mary Testa’s Aunt Eller is commanding and her booming voice needs no amplification.  The real core of this Oklahoma! was the love triangle between Ado Annie, Will Parker and Ali Hakim played by Ali Stroker, James Davis and Michael Nathanson.  Each character shined and you could feel the sexual tension of young innocent and not so innocent yearnings.  In their scenes, the show blossomed into the bright golden haze I was hoping to see.

The lights are turned off (more than once) and the book’s darker undertones are brought front and center so you cannot miss them.  Instead of creating real drama, everyone around me became distracted and bored.  No more so than the woman sitting next to me who, at the end of the dream ballet, turned to her companion and said, “I’m not clapping.”  Exiting the theater, you could sense the audience was mixed.  For every “fabulous” there was “a hot mess.”  In this Oklahoma! the ending was altered and made little sense from the story that came before.  For a show famous for its blending of story, song and dance, that’s a fatal flaw.

www.stannswarehouse.org