BROADWAY'S John Cullum DELIGHTS IN STREAMED "AN ACCIDENTAL STAR"

 

Broadway’s John Cullum delights in streamed AN ACCIDENTAL STAR

 

Roy Berko

(Cleveland Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association)

 

The average theatre-goer is probably unaware of the Broadway superstar, John Cullum.  In spite of his two Tony wins and numerous nominations, and 60+ years starring in such shows as Camelot, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Urinetown The Musical, The Scottsboro Boys, On the Twentieth Century and 110 in the Shade, his name is seldom mentioned when “important” Great White Way stars are listed.  If anything, he is probably more noted for his role in the television show Northern Exposure.

 

My exposure, and ever-lasting admiration for the gentle man with the folksy twang, who hails from Knoxville, Tennessee, was in 1975 when I saw Shenandoah.  I was not only enthralled by the anti-war message of the musical, and its emotional score, but by Cullum’s ability to interpret a song.  His vocal range, even then wasn’t great, but his ability to sing words of meaning and tell a tale, was spell-binding.

 

Cullum’s 1960 Broadway debut was playing Sir Dinadan in Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot.  He also understudied King Arthur.  It followed his accidental casting in several plays, including roles, in which he admits, he should not have been cast.  These “accidents” took place in 1956, within six weeks of his arriving in New York.

 

This and other personal tales are the core of John Cullum:  An Accidental Star.  Stories about the golden days of the American musical and his friendships with the likes of Richard Burton, Robert Goulet, and Julie Andrews, told in his home-style manner, is interspersed with songs from shows in which he appeared.  

 

Melodies include “On A Clear Day,” “Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight,” “There But For You Go I,” “Camelot,” and “Come Back to Me.”

 

Is Cullum’s voice as good as it was in his prime?  Of course not, he’s 91 years old, but he can still tell a great story and make the song lyrics meaningful.

 

Kudos to his accompanist, Julie McBride.

 

Capsule judgment:  John Cullum:  An Accidental Star is a wonderful opportunity to become acquainted with one of Broadway’s “unknown” stars and learn about the making of some of the important musicals.  This is a delightful 90-minutes of entertainment!

 

The show streams from April 8-22.  Once you purchase your ticket, you will receive a link that can be used any time between 8PM on April 8 and 11:59PM on April 22.

 

For information and purchasing tickets, which start at $15, go to:  https://www.vineyardtheatre.org/an-accidental-star/

 

IN ORDINARY DAYS, CASSIDY FINDS THE PERFECT SCRIPT TO STREAM

 

IN ORDINARY DAYS, CASSIDY FINDS THE PERFECT SCRIPT TO STREAM 

Roy Berko
(Member: American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)

 
In these days of angst, many theaters have attempted to stream various types of entertainment.  The formats have been mostly musical reviews, with a few scripted musicals being attempted.  
 
Most of these pieces haven’t worked too well.  It is hard to imagine running through the woods hand-in-hand, dancing cheek-to-cheek, or making love, when there is definitely a screen divide separating the participants.
 
Adam Gwon’s ORDINARY DAYS is a song heavy, action light musical, that requires little in the way of sets or physical interactions to develop the tale.  Many of the songs are solos.  Even the duets don’t require much physical interaction.

The story concerns four young New Yorkers whose lives intersect as they search for normalcy and personal and interpersonal connections.  They are each searching for, as one of the song’s states, “The Perfect Picture.”  
In spite of some personal stress by the characters, they are neither life threatening or a reflection of major pending doom.  Which is fine as there is a longing today for ordinary days and normalcy as an escape from the ever-present angst.  

As Kristin Netzband, the show’s director states, “The sense of the show is simply of how the lives of four individuals interconnect.”  

Of the staging process she states, “Rehearsing during the pandemic proved interesting. The process began virtually before going in-person with social distancing between masked actors taking place in the Cassidy Theatre lobby.  Then the staging moved to the actual set, which was on platform levels with plastic sheeting between the characters.”

Zach Palumb is dork-perfect as Warren, the cat sitting artist who paints “pithy sayings” on paper which he distributes around Manhattan.

One day, during his Big Apple wanderings, he finds a notebook.  The contents are the research notes of Deb, Rachael Armbruster, she of strong voice and good acting chops, who is a graduate student who has escaped from her hick town, but is frustrated by her studies and her lack of ability to tap into the writings of Virginia Woolf, the subject of her thesis. 

Warren and Deb originally are indifferently to each other, but when Warren takes her to the roof of his building, and they discuss their ambitions, they both realize they hoped for something more.  Warren throws the papers of his sayings over the roof’s edge. Seeing this, Deb also throws her thesis off the edge. 

The other couple is Jason (Pat Miller) and Claire (Kelley Wheelock) who have recently moved in together, but are having doubts about their relationship.

Miller’s “The Spaces Between” is nicely presented, while Wheelock’s “I’ll Be Here” is one of the show’s highlight vocals.

The two couples collide when, as Warren’s papers float downward, Jason who has decided to move on from Claire, finds one of the papers, with the statement,” Don't worry, everything will be OK." Claire also sees the shower of papers, calls Jason on his mobile.  After a revelation about a past relationship she realizes that it is okay to move on to her life with Jason.

Obviously this is not a great story line, but it is the music which carries the show.

The production’s musical director is Heidi Herczeg.  Though the music was well played, the sounds often drowned out the singing of the performers, making some of the vocals difficult to hear.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  Cassidy Theatre’s ORDINARY DAYS was a nicely directed and performed production of a story-light script which leant itself to being presented in a streamed format.  Kudos to director Kristin Netzband and her cast, Pat Miller, Kelley Wheelock, Rachael Armbruster and Zach Palumb.

The show streams April 9-11, 2021.  

Tickets may be purchased here:  Buy Tickets