Damn Yankees

Carousel lets Indians win pennant in ‘DAMN YANKEES’

Knowing the disdain that locals have for the New York Yankees baseball team, the staff at Carousel Dinner, which is now producing ‘DAMN YANKEES,’ adapted the script to ensure that our beloved Cleveland Indians beat their dreaded rivals for the American League pennant.

“DAMN YANKEES,’ a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, is a modern retelling of the Faust legend, with a baseball twist. It is based on Wallop's novel, The Year The Yankees Lost The Pennant.

The story centers on Joe Boyd, a middle-aged baseball fanatic who sells his soul to the devil (Mr. Applegate) for a chance to lead the Cleveland Indians, his favorite team, to a pennant. Reinvented as Joe Hardy, Boyd transforms the hopeless Indians into a super team. In the process, with the help of Lola, Applegate’s assistant, he outsmarts the devil.

‘DAMN YANKEES, which opened in 1955 with a cast that included Gwenn Verdon and Ray Walston, won the Tony Award for best musical of the year. It ran over one thousand productions, was made into a movie staring Tab Hunter, and has had many revivals. It was choreographer Bob Fosse’s first Broadway hit.

The basically unspectacular score does include “Whatever Lola Wants,” and “Heart.”

It should be noted that I saw a preview production of the show, so much may have changed as the cast settles into their roles.

Jerry Coyle (Joe Boyd) and Jan Leigh Herndon (Meg, his wife) have nice singing voices and developed clear characters. Nathaniel Shaw (Joe Hardy) both physically and vocally fits the role of the reluctant star baseball player.

Ashlee Fife, she of long legs and high kicks, dances the role of Lola with the finesse and movements of a former Radio City Rockette. Unfortunately, that doesn’t translate into seductive, which the role requires. Her “Whatever Lola Wants” lacked the necessary sizzle.

It’s pretty hard to evaluate Mark Kaplan, who portrayed the devil, as he was a last minute replacement in the role, after an injury to Jim Corti who was scheduled to portray Mr. Applegate. As is, he just wasn’t as smarmy or manipulative as the role requires.

Buddy Reeder, the dance captain, stood out among the male dancers who were not always in sync. (The timing should improve with practice.)

“Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo” and “Two Lost Souls” were well choreographed.

A wonderful backdrop of the old Cleveland Stadium and a portrait gallery of former Indians players was well received.

Costumer Dale DiBernardo hit a homer with his Indians’ uniforms. During the era of the show, the Tribe home uniforms were white pinstripes, had the numbers on the back with no names and the caps had an odd shaped “C” instead of the script “I” or Chief Yahoo head of the present day. DiBernardo got all that right! He even had the Larry Doby-like character in his famous number 14!

The musical sound was rather tinny. The two keyboards and percussionist didn’t produce the big brassy sound that the music required.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: ‘DAMN YANKEES’ is not a great script and it doesn’t have a great score. It is one of those 1950s “nice” shows. Carousel’s production, under the direction of Marc Robin, is not memorable, doesn’t hit a homer, but it doesn’t strike out either.

The King and I

Lush ‘KING AND I’ pleases at Carousel

There is a saying among theatre-goers that it’s never a good sign when one exits the theatre talking about the production’s sets and costumes. Well, in the case of Carousel Dinner Theatre’s ‘THE KING AND I,’ the likely departure conversation will be about the glorious sets and the magnificent costumes. That’s not to say the acting, dancing and singing are bad, they are all quite good, it’s just that the technical aspects of this particular production are so outstanding.

Artistic Director Sean Cercone has let loose big time on the production budget. Scenic Designer Robert Kovach and Costume Designer Dale DiBernardo have very successfully taken up the challenge and created striking visually images.

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were the kings of musical theatre in the 1950s and 60s. They wrote more classics for that genre than any other creative team. The list goes on and on, ‘OKLOHAMA,’ ‘SOUND OF MUSIC,’ ‘FLOWER DRUM SONG,’ and ‘CAROUSEL’ are only a few. Many consider ‘THE KING AND I’ to be one of their best shows.

‘THE KING AND I’ is based on the book ‘ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM’ by Margaret Landon. The plot was actually taken from a story by Anna Leonowens who was a school teacher to the children of King Mongukut, the King of Siam, in the early 1860s. Though the story is supposedly autobiographical, there are numerous questions about the accuracy of the story.

The Broadway production which starred Yul Brenner and Gertrude Lawrence, opened in 1951, ran over twelve-hundred performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The script was made into a film in 1956 starring Brenner and Deborah Kerr. Since Kerr was not a singer, Marne Nixon, the diva of voice stand-ins, did the singing.

The story starts with the arrival of Anna Leonowens, a widow from Wales and her son Louis, into Bangkok. She has been hired to teach the children of the King of Siam in the “scientific ways” of the Western world. In the process of her stay there are conflicts over her housing, the King’s “barbaric” control over his people, a visit from the British who may be considering taking over the country as a colony, and eventually the death of the king. All this encased within a glorious musical score that includes, “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Getting to Know You,” “We Kiss in a Shadow,’ and “Shall We Dance?”

R&H’s shows contain messages of societal ills. The theme was highlighted by a major song. In the case of “THE KING AND I,’ it is ‘A Puzzlement,” during which the King questions his role in bringing Siam into the “new” world, his ability to adapt to the changes and whether what is going on in the outside world is good for his people.

Carousel’s production is well served by its cast, which is the largest company ever to appear on the theatre’s stage.

Though he takes a little getting used to, due to a lack of strong physical presence, Francis Jue gives his own spin to the role. That interpretation generally works.

Jennifer Hughes is a fine Anna, though her speaking voice was occasionally a little high pitched, and she lacks some of the needed warmth that would have made the character more appealing. She sings well.

Jonelle Margallo (Tuptim) and JP Moraga (Lun Tha), both have nice voices and develop authentic characters as the young lovers.

Catherine Cheng Jones (Madam Thiang) does an excellent vocal rendition of “Something Wonderful.”

Both of the young boys, Jacob Rummell (Prince Chululongkorn) and Matthew Hemminger (Louis) have difficulty developing realistic characterizations.

Director Stephen Bourneuf and choreographer Vince Pesce do a nice job of creating the proper atmosphere and add some creative touches to the happenings.

The major flaw with the production is the overzealous orchestra who often drowned out the vocalists and the sound technician who often cranked the musical volume to an ear-splitting level.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: ‘THE KING AND I’ is a musical theatre classic which gets a very good production at Carousel Dinner Theatre.

Pump Boys and Dinettes

Tepid ‘PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES’ at Carousel

Sean Cercone, the Artistic Director of Carousel Dinner Theatre, and director of the venue’s present production, ‘PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES,’ states in the program that on one-hand, PBD is a “fun musical revue about a group of mechanics and waitresses with wonderful music abilities.” He also states that others will see the show as “a high energy concert with a variety of musical styles.”

To be honest, I don’t like the script because of its attempt to make a story out of songs that really don’t fit cohesively together. So, I think the best way to review the production is to examine it using Cercone’s explanations.

“With wonderful music abilities.” Yes, yes, yes, the Carousel cast play instruments with talent and zeal. On the other hand, the singing was not of the same quality. Many of the vocal blends were off and several songs were misinterpreted.

“Fun.” The Carousel production is short on the fun aspect. The pace is too slow. The jokes often don’t work. Attempts to engage the audience generally failed. Part of this is due to the size of the theatre, which discourages interaction unless the cast roams the aisles. In addition, Canton’s Pat McRoberts, who was so brilliant in Carousel’s ‘BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY,’ just doesn’t have the stand-up comedian style to pull off the adlibbing and high-jinks needed for the requisite fun. A great singer he is, but a comedian, he isn’t. Many of the other performers had the same lack of comic timing.

“A high energy concert.” High energy? Nope. Those who saw PBD at Porthouse earlier this season saw high energy, and by the way, also the fun aspect, but Carousel’s production, at least on opening night, was flat. The tepid applause at the curtain call was evidence to that. On the other hand, the encore segment was high energy and the audience responded to that segment with enthusiasm. Too bad the rest of the show wasn’t on a “Red Bull” high.

“A variety of musical styles.” Yes, the musical score covers rock, country, ballads and many more styles. The musicians did an excellent job of varying the sounds so that each mode became distinctive.

High points of the production included “Mamaw,” a plaintive song performed by Pat McRoberts, and ”Be Good or Be Gone” by Kate Margaret. A nice tap dancing interlude in “Drinkin’ Shoes’ brought sustained applause.

On the other hand, T.N.D.P.W.A.M. (“The Night That Dolly Parton Was Almost Mine”) lacked the necessary plaintive feeling of loss. The always amusing “Farmer Tan” failed to delight. Both of these songs were performed by Steven Ray Watkins. He plays a mean piano, but didn’t let loose in the songs meant to add “fun” to the show.

Kate Margaret wailed and commanded the stage in each of her presentations. Her voice was so strong that she drowned out the small vocal sounds of Sarah Nischwitz who lacked needed dynamism.

The impressive set by Robert Kovach was well conceived, but the massive size of the stage, with all the real gas pumps, cars and realistic diner, overwhelmed the small cast.

One of my favorite theatre professors, Kent State’s Bill Zucchero, once said, “You should not come out of a musical whistling sets and costumes.” Interestingly, as I was walking out of the theatre, the people who I exited with were talking about the set and not the quality of the staging or the music.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Hopefully, as ‘PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES’ runs at Carousel, the pace will pick up, Pat McRoberts will play more with the audience in a comfortable and natural way, and Steven Ray Watkins will let loose and enjoy himself and make his songs more fun. If that happens, PBD will be a delightful experience.

West Side Story

Inconsistent ‘WEST SIDE STORY’ at Carousel

In the program for ‘WEST SIDE STORY,’ now on stage at Carousel Dinner Theatre, the show’s director, Marc Robin, states, “‘WEST SIDE STORY’ is one of the most remarkable shows in the musical theatre catalogue. It has everything: great story, challenging dance sequences, unforgettable music and characters and enough conflict to span five musicals.”

Robin is right on the mark. Often appearing on most musical theatre aficionado’s top five list of great shows, in a good production, the script is a sure-fire audience pleaser.

Carousel’s production has many strong elements, but fails to reach its potential because of an uninspired male corps, dancing which feigned intensity, and a shallow performance by one of the major cast members. The result was polite, if not prolonged applause at the curtain call.

‘WEST SIDE STORY’ uses Shakespeare’s ‘ROMEO AND JULIET’ as its base. In this version two opposing cultural groups conflict over the right to mark off their psychological and physical territory. Set in the west side of New York, the Jets, a gang composed of second generation “Americans” of various ethnicities, conflict with the Sharks, new immigrants from Puerto Rico. The ridiculousness of their warring comes to a head when Tony, a former member of the Jets, falls in love with Maria, whose brother is the leader of the Sharks. A series of killings spells disaster for all.

Set to Leonard Bernstein’s amazing music and Stephen Sondheim’s poignant lyrics, the perfectly integrated book by Arthur Laurents has the story unfold in emotional detail through not only song, but dance. The original choreography by Jerome Robins was some of the finest ever conceived for the theatre.

The show’s score includes such classics as “Something’s Comin,’” “Maria,” “America,” “One Hand, One Heart,” “I Feel Pretty” and “Somewhere.”

Carousel’s production is blessed with some strong performances. Stephanie Iannarino is glorious as Maria. She sings, acts and dances exceptionally well. She makes the play’s final scene compelling due to her well-crafted intensity.

Nathan Scherich starts slowly as Tony, but builds into the role. At times his voice is powerful, hitting the high notes with ease. At other times he goes into a falsetto to achieve the needed sound and at times sings words rather than meanings. His acting is quite believable.

Julie Kotarides (Anita) displays the right Latin temperament, sings well and dances powerfully. As her lover, David Villella creates a believable Bernardo. Jonelle Margallo’s solo in “Somewhere” was emotionally on-target. The female corps, especially those portraying Puerto Ricans, were excellent.

However, in a very pivotal role, Matthew Steffens (Riff) is extremely weak. His acting is shallow, his singing off-key and his character development lacking. Much the same can be said for many of the male chorus. From the opening number where the stalking out of territory lacked reality and emotional tension, to the gym dance, through the rumble, the acceptable choreography was ruined by the lack of spontaneity and dynamism on the part of the male corps. The only male ensemble highlight was the delightful “Gee, Officer Krupke.” It is surprising that a professional theatre of Carousel’s repute, couldn’t find male dancers and actors of higher quality, especially to play major roles.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Carousel’s ‘WEST SIDE STORY,’ in spite of some strong performances, is less than it should be. The main problem lies in the hands of many of the male members of corps and a lack of fine honing by director Mark Robin.

Thoroughly Modern Millie

‘THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE’ lights up at Carousel

There is an old adage in the theatre, “The show must go on!” There are lots of legends about performers going on stage in the midst of tragedies and illnesses. Carousel Dinner Theatre has a reality tale to add to the list. On Saturday, Hollie Howard, who plays the title role of Millie in Carousel’s THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE,’ fell off the stage during the afternoon preview performance of the show. That evening was opening night!

What to do?

In the make believe world of theatre, as exemplified in such shows as ‘42ND STREET’ the understudy goes on, does a smash-up job and becomes a star. Well, that’s not what happened at Carousel. They mount their shows in a week, so the understudy doesn’t really get to learn her/his part until the show is running.

Howard, complete with taped ankle, went on after some adjustments to the choreography. Ironically, this was not the first injury for this production. Director Marc Robin, early in rehearsals, tripped over a piece of scenery, and hurt himself. Opening night was his first night off crutches.

Howard’s being hobbled hurt no one. In fact, if the announcement hadn’t been made before the show, the audience wouldn’t have known the difference. Howard danced well, sang even better, and portrayed the role to perfection.

In contrast to many musicals which are turned into films, ‘THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE’ was first a movie. It opened in 1967 and stared Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, John Gavin and Carol Channing.

In the early 2000s, the movie was adapted for the stage. It maintained the basic story line of the movie but, in an effort to be politically correct, it toned down the stereotypical traits of the Asian characters in the film. (Some will still find those stereotypes offensive.)

The plot revolves around Millie Dillmount, who, in 1922 comes to the Big Apple from Kansas determined to marry her wealthy boss. She sheds her country girl image and becomes a “modern” flapper in order to hook her man. On her first day in NY, she accidentally trips Jimmy Smith, an apparently ne'er-do-well paper clip salesman. Yep, you guessed it. He isn’t a ne’er do well, and in the tradition of trite musicals, after a few obvious plot twists, they go off into the sunset. Well, into the bright lights of Broadway, to live happily ever after.

The show, which is filled with lots of upbeat songs and many dance numbers, including some great tap dance routines, is dynamic, thanks to Robin’s setting a lightening quick pace, clearly developing the characters, and adding some fun gimmicks (such as having the Chinese lines projected in English on screens on the sides and above the stage). But most of all, he explodes the stage with creative choreography.

The cast is excellent. Howard brings Millie to musical and dramatic life. Brian Ogilvie is properly wholesome as Jimmy Smith. He dances and sings well. Donna Ryan is so bad as the scheming Ms. Meers, that she is good. Christin Mortenson effectively lets loose her big voice in “Only in New York.” Lindsey Clayton is fun as Miss Flannery, an uptight boss who turns into a goodie. Jim Sorenson is Broadway handsome and effectively develops the over-bloated Trevor Graydon, the richie on whom Millie has her sights set. Even the male dancers, who are often the weak link in many musical productions, are excellent.

The music, the sets, the costumes all work.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Carousel’s ‘THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE’ is everything that makes for good dinner theatre...a sprightly production, featuring a well chosen cast, guided by excellent direction. If you like theatre-light and don’t want to think a lot, but have a good time, you’ll dance happily out of ‘THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE.’

Singing in the Rain (Carousel Dinner Theatre)

The sun almost shines at SINGING IN THE RAIN at Carousel

A recent survey revealed that the five most liked movie musicals are ‘CHICAGO,’ ‘WEST SIDE STORY,’ ‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC,’ ‘THE WIZARD OF OZ,’ and ‘SINGING IN THE RAIN.’ The first three were original plays which transformed into cinematic form. The latter two were transformed from the silver screen to the stage. While Oz is an enchanting story with lots of societal implications, Rain is a piece of escapism that was brought to fame because of the wonderful performances of Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly.

The story is based at a time when Hollywood was making the transition from silent films to talkies. Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont are the king and queen of the silent screen. (Think Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. and Mary Pickford.) Unfortunately, after the ‘JAZZ SINGER’ became a hit, the day of the silent film was gone. Lamont, a dumb blond with a squealing voice, can’t make the transition, so an idea is hatched to have the charming and vocally proficient Kathy Seldon lip-sinc for her. As happens in feel-good musicals, all turns out well as Lamont is revealed for what she is, and Seldon winds up with stardom and Lockwood.

Macio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed’s musical score is filled with audience pleasers including “Fit as a Fiddle,” “You Stepped out of a Dream,” “You Were Meant for Me,” “Good Morning,” and “Would You.”

Because of a slightness of the Betty Comden and Adolph Green plot, the stage version, which closely follows the movie story line, must have three super talents to pull it off. The Carousel Dinner Theatre production does have two of the necessary three. Amanda Rose is pretty, charming and gifted. Her Kathy is delightful. Richard Strimer is wonderful as Cosmo, the Donald O’Connor character. He sings, dances and clowns well. His only clunker is the usually delightful “Make “Em Laugh’ which fails to amuse. It isn’t his fault, he gives his all, but the segment is poorly conceived by director/choreographer Marc Robbin.

The missing performance element is the character of Don Lockwood, the Gene Kelly role. This is a case of miscasting. Curt Dale Clark doesn’t physically look like nor does he effectively act the role of the handsome and charming swashbuckler. He has an adequate singing voice and his dancing leaves much to be desired. In comparison to Strimer, who lights up the stage, the chunky Clark barely lifts his feet. In the usually wonderful “Singin’ in the Rain” number he spends most of his time splashing the audience with water. None of the Gene Kelly magic here.

Besides the performances of Strimer and Rose, the Carousel show does have many other positives. Rain, yes real rain, falls on the stage several times. The patrons in the first several rows have been given slickers so they don’t get totally soaked. The wet gimmick is a sure audience pleaser.

In addition, Barbara Helms is wonderfully obnoxious as the scheming Lina Lamont and Dominic Sheahan-Stahl displays a fine voice in “You Are My Lucky Star.” The singing and dancing choruses are fine.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Carousel’s ‘SINGING IN THE RAIN’ has enough laughs and gimmicks to please most audience members. Too bad for the miscasting of the lead male role. With the right person in that part, this could have been a total winning production.

‘URINETOWN’ is okay, but not great at Carousel

Last year, when Beck Center, produced URINETOWN, THE MUSICAL! I stated, “Beck’s’ production is outstanding! The cast is excellent...not a weak link in the chain.” I’d love to say the same thing about the Carousel Dinner Theatre production, but I can’t. That’s not to say the production was bad, it just didn’t live up to my previous experiences with the show.

The show is fun, in fact, a total delight, but it also has a serious underbelly. This is a tale of greed, corruption, love and revolution in a city where water is worth its weight in gold. Messages pervade, such as what happens when big business is given the right to control our lives. Think of the pharmaceutical and medical companies and their stranglehold over our health. What is it like to be lied to continually in an attempt to push a political and economic agenda? Think of the amount of money being made by the oil and military-industrial complex and influential public officials. Think of the rape of the environment caused by loosening the clean air act. The fantasy of the situation described in ‘URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL’ has become near reality.

The first act of the Carousel show, as directed by Jennifer Cody dragged. The cleverness was missing. The cast seemed to be moon walking through their roles, often not connecting with the audience. The second act, however, sparkled. The pacing intensified and a feeling of abandonment set in. The transition centered on Brian Loeffler’s excellently choreographed act two opener, “What is Urinetown.” This, “Cop Song” and “Run, Freedom, Run” were the show’s highlights.

Chris Murrah has a good singing voice and developed a clear character as Bobby. Karen Katz was a delightful scene stealer as Little Sally. She and Murrah were absolutely consistent in their high quality level.

Al Bundonis was not playful enough as Officer Lockstock. Much of the success of the production centers on his characterization. Unfortunately, he never quite hit the right stride. Patrick Carroll was totally ineffective as Senator Flipp. Robert Stoeckle was not slimy enough as the bad guy, Caldwell B. Cladwell. Without the audience hating him, much of the play’s core erodes. Also adding to the problems was the tinny sound of the overly keyboarded orchestra.

Carousel deserves kudos for taking a severe bend in their usual safe production road by producing this controversially titled and subject-mattered script. Hopefully, they will continue to challenge their audiences.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: ‘URINETOWN THE MUSICAL’ can be a delightful and meaningful experience. The Carousel production comes close, but has too many weaknesses to be a stellar production.

Buddy (Carousel Dinner Theatre)

‘BUDDY’ rocks the Carousel

If I didn’t know better, I’d assume Buddy Holly was presently performing at Carousel Dinner Theatre...but more about that later.

The musical, ‘BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY,’ which is basically a rock concert overlaid with a biographic story line, tells of the rise and tragic death of rock-and-roll superstar Buddy Holly. It was written by Alan Janes and Rob Bettinson.

Holly was born Charles Holley in Lubbock, Texas. He had a love for music and was a local bluegrass entertainer until 1955 when, after seeing Elvis Presley sing, he turned to rock-and-roll. After an appearance on the same bill as Bill Haley & His Comets, Holly was offered a contract with Decca Records, who not only changed the spelling of his name to “Holly” but tried to get him to return to his bluegrass roots. The young man, who once said, “Buddy Holly does things his way,” refused and was dropped by the record label.

Shortly afterwards, Holly, drummer Jerry Allison, and bass player Joe Mauldin formed the band “The Crickets.” They cut a record at a small studio in Clovis, New Mexico, entitled, “That’ll Be the Day,” and the rest is history. Songs such as “Peggy Sue,” “Everyday,” “Not Fade Away,” ”Oh Boy,” “Raining in My Heart,” “Rave On” and “Johnny B Good” followed.

Holly's musical sounds and lyrics were quite sophisticated for their day and led to his being a primary force in the evolution of rock-and-roll. He bridged the gap between white and black rockers. Paul McCartney cited Holly as a primary influence on the Beattles. Even the band's name was later chosen partly in homage to Holly's Crickets. The Rolling Stones also fell under the influence of Holly’s style.

In 1959, Holly split from the Crickets and began a solo tour with other notable performers, including Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson ("The Big Bopper").
Following the February 2 performance in Clear Lake, Iowa, Buddy Holly chartered a small airplane to transport Valens, Richardson and himself to their next gig. The plane crashed shortly after take-off, ending Holly’s short but meteoric career.

The Carousel production, under the able direction of Victoria Bussert, though a little long, is right on target. The show is generally well cast. Steve Parsons’ musical direction is tone right. Paul Black’s lighting and Russ Borski’s set all work to enhance the production.

John Rochette, as drummer Jerry Allison, is a terrific musician as is base player Tobia D’Amore (Joe Mauldin). Michael Busillo lights up the stage as the hip wiggling Ritchie Valens and Ryan Dunkin does a great enactment of the Big Bopper. The musical backups and character actors are all excellent.

The success of this production, however, depends entirely on the believability of the actor playing Holly. And, fortunately, Canton born Pat McRoberts doesn’t portray Holly, he lives Holly, he sings Holly, he dances Holly and he musically is Holly. McRoberts is Holly in every nuance. This is an amazing performance! Repeat....THIS IS AN AMAZING PERFORMANCE!

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Are you a rock-and-roll fan? Do you appreciate the music of Buddy Holly? Do you like a well put-together production? If so, you’ll love ‘BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY’ now on stage at Carousel. Even if you don’t love rock-and-roll, I defy you not to wind up dancing in the aisles during the curtain call.

Sean Cercone, Artistic Director of Carousel Dinner Theatre

Spotlight on Sean Cercone, Carousel Artistic Director

Usually when one thinks of the Artistic Director of a theatre with a more than two million dollar budget one envisions an older, seasoned person with years of theatrical experience in producing, selecting plays, casting and choosing directors and technical staff. This is definitely not the case with Sean Cercone, the Artistic Director at Carousel Dinner Theatre.

Cercone is young, and a relative newcomer to the theatrical scene. His background includes only one administrative theatrical position, founder of the West Virginia Shakespeare Festival. He has a Master of Fine Arts in acting from West Virginia University, not in either theatre or arts management.

So, why would a venue, which invests between $300,000 to $500,000 on each production, place their fate in the hands of such a neophyte? And how was he selected? In a word, the New York born and raised Cercone has “chutspah” (the Yiddish word for “nerve”).

He saw an ad for the Carousel position on a website. Most people with his background would not see “newbie” and “Artistic Director of one of the major dinner theatres in the country” as being synonymous. This, of course, was not Cercone’s view. He saw the job as an opportunity to parallel his outgoing personality, self-avowed “awesome self-confidence,” desire to educate audiences, develop an image for the dinner show industry, and create a positive national portrait for the theatre. He perceived it as “a challenge, an opportunity.” He obviously was able to convince the new owners of the facility that he was the right person for the job as they turned over to him, the entire artistic operation of the theatre.

Cercone set for himself the task of learning everything he could about the business. He believed that there needed to be a change in the financial and artistic structure. He set budgets for each play where there had not been financial accountability in the past. He developed job descriptions for employees. He set in motion a philosophy that each season should have a set purpose. He envisioned changing the demographics of the audience to lower the average age of the attenders, while not ignoring the venue’s base which includes bus and senior tours (25% of the attenders), as well as subscribers (one-third of the audience). The remainder are individual ticket purchasers. He set out to eliminate the attitude that dinner theatres are often regarded as the trailer park of the theatre world by casting shows with professionals, many of whom are selected in New York tryouts, but not overlooking local area equity performers, while hiring top quality professional directors and choreographers.

Cercone, because of his involvement with the National Alliance of Musical Theatre’s New Works Committee, a national group which seeks out new scripts, envisions Carousel as a player in the creation of musicals. The first step in this process came to fruition when early this season ‘JOHN DOE’ received a staged reading at the theatre. The show’s creators were present, as were producers from various theatres around the country and theatrical agents. The staging of ‘JOHN DOE’ cost Carousel $16,000, with little financial income from the invitation-only event. However, the theatre received much publicity for the staging and all future productions of the show will masthead that the first staging was done at Carousel Dinner Theatre in Akron, Ohio. The “JOHN DOE” staging was also part of Cercone’s “subscriber appreciation days” which have the purpose of teaching audience members about the facility and how plays are developed and staged.

Cercone went out on a limb with his selection of ‘URINETOWN’ for this season. It is a departure from the safe musicals of the past. He chose the script because he “has a responsibility to stretch the audience and hopefully, can aid them to develop new attitudes toward theatre.”

Considering that the audience tends to be conservative and gasp at any swear word or sexual connotation, ‘URINETOWN” should be a challenge. Interestingly, the musical, which is about corporate greed and is basically a love story, doesn’t have the “yuck” factor, but the title may be enough to keep those with “red state” attitudes away. Only box office receipts will tell the tale.

Carousel productions are usually mounted in 10 seven-to-ten hour days. As a comparison, musicals produced by such theatres as Beck Center, usually have a five-to-eight week rehearsal period. The fact that Carousel’s directors are seasoned professionals and the performers are equity actors allows for the “speeding up” process. Even so, the first week or so of the productions often illustrate signs of still being rehearsal periods. The shows tend to run 10 weeks. The out-of-the-area performers are housed in Carousel’s home-away-from home, a residence with 8 apartments. Actors are provided with cars and gym memberships.

The future? Cercone hopes to mount some new scripts to intertwine with old favorites, further fulfilling his vision of making Carousel into a major player in not only the local world of theatre, but expanding its national image. If that happens, Carousel is going to have to fight to keep the young man who is working hard to become the “wunderkindt” of the dinner theatre circuit.

‘GREASE’ is an audience pleaser at Carousel

‘GREASE,’ which is now on stage at Carousel Dinner Theatre, is one of the most oft- produced musicals. It has achieved almost cult status, but few realize that it was not an instant hit on Broadway and had a checkered history.

The show opened off-Broadway on February 14, 1972 with Barry Bostwick as Danny Zuko, and Carole Demas as Sandy Dumbrowski. The critics were generally unimpressed, but the public found it satisfying and through word-of-mouth its popularity spread. The result was a run of 3,388 performances. It closed in 1980 and it held, at that time, the record for the longest run for a musical.

Interestingly, the Tony Awards committee ruled the show was ineligible for nominations as the theatre in which it was playing was several blocks away from Broadway. After the producers threatened to sue, the Tony committee backed off and the show was nominated for 9 awards, including best musical.

The show became even more popular when, in 1978, the movie version starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John opened. The movie version sugar-coated the class aspects of the original, and subsequent stage productions have played down that aspect of the story even further and emphasized the nostalgia aspects.

Another little know fact is that when the show opened in London, the role of Danny was taken by an unknown actor named Richard Gere.

A Broadway revival in 1994 ran for four years and starred Ricky Goldin as Danny, Susan Wood as Sandy, Rosie O'Donnell as Rizzo, and a pre-‘WILL AND GRACE’ Megan Mullally as Marty.

The show is set in the 1950s, in-and-around Rydell High School, as the students return from summer vacation. The guys are members of the "Burger Palace Boys" and the girls form the "Pink Ladies."

Danny, the quasi-leader of the Burger Boys, returns to school with a tale of the girl he met during the summer, only to find that the girl in question, Sandy, has transferred to Rydell High from the more innocent surroundings of a strict Catholic school. The complications of teen angst play out including a possible pregnancy, going steady, a high school drop out, ear piercing, a personality change-over and the purchase of a clunker of a car entitled “greased lightning.”

The show has a memorable score which includes, "Summer Nights, "Look at Me I'm Sandra Dee," "It's Raining on Prom Night" and "We Go Together."

Several songs--"You're The One That I Want" and "Hopelessly Devoted To You"--were written for the film version, but have been incorporated into many stagings, including the one at Carousel.

Carousel’s production is fine on many levels. The singing, the choreography, the staging, and the technical aspects (except for the overly-amped voices) work well. On the other hand, the cast is generally too old to be playing teenagers. Because they are clean- scrubbed college graduate twenty-somethings, they seem to have difficulty identifying with the greaser guys and unsophisticated young ladies. Thus, caricatures rather than characters resulted.

Highlights of the show included “Shakin at the High School Hop” and “Born to Hand Jive,” production number show-stoppers. The gospel version of “Beauty School Dropout” was delightful. “Mooning” was an audience favorite.

Brunswick High School and recent Baldwin Wallace graduate, Hannah Laird (Jan), Megan Nicole Arnoldy (Sandy), Kevin Smith Kirkwood (Johnny Casino), Jacqueline Colomer (Rizzo), Jason Shuffler (Kenickie) and Kristofer Stock (Rump) gave highlight performances.

The music was well played, but at times was so over-amplified that it drowned out the singers.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Carousel’s ‘GREASE’ is well staged. Audiences will be entertained. Too bad the same quality of singing and dancing couldn’t have been accomplished with a more age-appropriate cast and one that had a better level of identification with the era and its teens.

7 Brides for 7 Brothers (Carousel)

PLEASANT BUT UNINSPIRED 7 BRIDES @Carousel

Name your favorite musical film. If you are fairly typical your list probably included ‘MY FAIR LADY,’ ‘SOUND OF MUSIC,’ ‘WEST SIDE STORY’ and ‘CHICAGO.’ But, did you select ‘SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS’? You might be surprised that in recent favorite movie musical polls, Seven Brides came in third on one list and eighth in another. It was the only musical on those lists which was developed as a film and not transferred from the Broadway stage. It definitely makes my top five list.

In 1954 the film, loosely based on Steven Vincent Benet’s short story “The Sobbin’ Women,’ opened. The flick, which starred Howard Keel, Russ Tamblyn, Jane Powell and Julie Newmar was the sleeper hit of the year and has developed a cult following. Much of the popularity was due to the amazing choreography by Michael Kidd which took such mundane pursuits as chopping wood and raising a barn and made them into spectacular and enthralling visualizations.

In 1979, Jane Powell and Howard Keel reprised their film roles in an off-Broadway stage production, and in 1982 a full-blown Broadway musical opened to moderate success. It is the staged version which is now at Carousel Dinner Theatre.

The story is about Adam, a backwoodsman and Milly, who marries him after knowing Adam for only a few hours. Upon arriving at his cabin in the mountains, Milly is surprised to learn that Adam is one of seven brothers who inhabit the cabin. After a rocky start, the relationship flourishes and Milly teaches the younger brothers manners including how to dance. They are able to test their new “selves” at a barn-raising, where they meet six girls they like. The girls, of course, like the brothers, but due to a fight, the brothers are banned from town and the relationships don’t flourish.

Winter arrives, and the six younger brothers mope for their girls. Adam inspires his brothers to kidnap their lady loves. The girls, of course are upset and Milly is furious. She bans the brothers to the barn while the girls live in the house. Adam, who is also furious, leaves to live out the winter by himself. And, of course, since this is a traditional musical comedy, the brothers and the girls, and Adam and Milly find ways to work out their problems, and they live happily ever after.

Okay, so this isn’t a great story line, but it is fun. Well, it can be fun. For the material to work, it must be done with abandonment and enthusiasm. It must a hoot from beginning to end. It has to be bigger than life.

Unfortunately, the Carousel show, under the emotionally controlled direction and uncreative choreography of Chet Walker, is “nice” not “dynamic.” The cast spent lots of time in straight rows, stepping forward to sing their solos or speak their lines. This is just out and out bad staging. The choreography was repetitious, not always fitting the moods of the music.

Part of the problem may also be due to a limited rehearsal time that the cast had to prepare. Seven days does not make for developing the type of dance coordination and complete comfort with the material that a dance show like this needs. Add to that the necessity for seven superb male and female dancers and the task is daunting.

The show’s sprightly and often tender music is by Gene dePaul with creative lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Songs include, “One Man,” “Goin’ Courting,” “”Sobbin’ Women,” and “Wonderful, Wonderful Day.” Like the dancing, some of the song interpretations were missing the necessary texturing and proper mood.

Jennifer Byrne (Millie) is pretty, has a nice singing voice, but was much too sophisticated for the role. Randy Bobish (Adam) has George Clooney good looks and a nice voice. But, he failed to texture his performance so he came off as being unreal.

Curtiss Howard III was delightful as the youngest brother. Kyle DesChamps (Daniel) showed some great dancing skills.

Robert Kovach’s sets worked well. Dale DiBernardo’s costumes designs were era correct, but in a discussion following the opening night’s production several of the male dancers complained that the high-waisted pants made for difficulty in easy movement.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: To be successful, a production of ‘SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS’ requires extraordinary dancing, and the development of a love story that charms the viewer with warmth and wit. The production needs to be an imaginative romp. The Carousel show just doesn’t reach those levels. It’s not bad, it’s just not wonderful.

Swing (Carousel Dinner Theatre)

Carousel’s ‘Swing!’ swings audience

“It was worth the drive in from Warren!” Fill in the name of the town, but those were excited words of some audience members as they exited Carousel Dinner Theatre’s production of ‘SWING.’

As long as there has been a Broadway, there have been music and dance revues. ‘SWING!’ is one of those. The show opened on the Great White Way in December of 1999 and ran through mid-January, 2001, a respectable 461 performances.

As its title indicates, the show centers on swing music, also known as swing jazz or the big band sound. It is a music that was popular during the 1930s and 40s in the United States. The major dance forms that went with the music included boogie woogie and the jitter bug.

Reviews of the Broadway production stated that is was exuberant, fun and a sure winner. It was called “a show that is one big exclamation point.”

There is no story line, just a series of dance, song, instrumental solo and group performances. Some of the songs included are: “Hit Me with a Hot Note and Watch Me Bounce,” “G.I. Jive,” “ I'll Be Seeing You, “ “In the Mood,” “Swing, Brother, Swing,” “Cry Me a River,” “Blues in the Night,” “All of Me,” and “Stompin' at the Savoy.”

The Carousel production, under the adept directing of Marc Robin, features the creative choreography of Beverly Durand and Mark Stuart Eckstein. The duo also dance in the show and provide many of the show’s highlights. Eckstein tosses Durand around like a sack of potatoes. He sweeps the floor with her body, tosses her skyward on numerous occasions, twirls and twists and flips her with ease. Their versions of “Show Me What You’ve Got,” and “Boogie-Woogie Country” were show stoppers.

Other highlights included: the dynamite “Swing It, Brother, Swing” and “Don’t Mean a Thing,’ the opening number; Bli-Bip” which featured the duo singing of Charles Statham and Kate McCann; “Harlem Nocturne” which featured Jessica Dillan performing an interactive sensual dance number with a cello; the pretty ballad, “I’ll Be Seeing You” sung by Kate McCann and featuring the dancing of Joe Komara and Courtney Combs; the company’s singing and dancing of “Swing It, Brother, Swing” and “Cry Me A River” featuring Ashley Hunt and strong trumpet solo; and, a fine rendition of “Blues in the Night” featuring Kate McCann, Jessica Dillan and Robert Bottoms.

Steve Parson’s musical direction, Paul Black’s fantastic lighting concepts, Paul Sannierud’s creative big band techno set and Dale DiBernardo’s costumes, all added to the quality of the production. Another added feature was the theatre’s new sound system, which made the vocals and the music crisp and clear.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: If you love swing music, if you love good dancing, if you love good singing, if you like musicals that entertain even though they have no story line, you’ll love Carousel’s ‘SWING!.’

Footloose - Carousel Dinner Theater

Fine ‘Footloose’ lets loose at Carousel

Several years ago a new trend hit Broadway. Rather than develop a musical with an untested plot line, producers turned to films as a source of getting audiences into the theatre. Three such shows were ‘FAME’ ‘SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER’ and ‘FOOTLOOSE.”
‘FOOTLOOSE’ is now on stage at Carousel Dinner Theatre.

Based on the1984 film which has become a cult cinema sensation and insured stardom for Kevin Bacon, the story contains a simple, if unlikely plot line. Ren MacCormack lives in Chicago. He is into the club scene and is leading a pleasant life until his father suddenly walks out on the family. Along with his mother, he is forced to move to Bomont, a backwater town where his aunt and uncle live. Streetsmart but gentle Ren is enrolled at the local high school. As the new kid in town he is given a hard time by both the students and the faculty. He is appalled to discover the town's adults, under the guidance of the local preacher, have imposed a law against "public dancing" and rock music. Ren sets about to change things, falling in love with the preacher's daughter Ariel in the process. As in all good musical theatre fairy tales...the happy ever-after ending is achieved.

‘FOOTLOOSE THE MUSICAL’ came into being in 1998 with music by Tom Snow, lyrics by Dean Pitchford and book by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbi. Pritchard wrote the original screenplay. Additional music was contributed by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins and Jim Stein.

Unlike ‘FAME,’ ‘FOOTLOOSE’ gives the audience the movie songs it expects to hear, and unlike ‘SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER,’ it complements those songs with newly written, honest-to-goodness songs that support the plot. The music doesn't exactly break new ground, but it makes for a good listen.

Light plot, non-complicated book, the musical should be a snap to stage, right? Wrong. It is not easy to mount. There are four teenage leads surrounded by an ensemble of approximately 25 including a gaggle of adults. They must all sing, dance and act.

Carousel has been fortunate on two levels. It has the show’s Broadway director and it has cast performers who can perform at a highly satisfying level. Director/choreographer AC Ciulla has created a production that works well and choreography which shines. The cast performs that choreography with pizazz, especially the male dancers.

Pleasantly, your first impression of the cast will probably be, "My goodness, how young and how talented." None of the usual thirty-year old Broadway gypsies playing high-school students. And, none of the local high school kids, not quite ready for prime time, trying to play themselves. It freshens the whole evening.

Mike Backes, playing Ren, is both physically attractive and talented. His singing and dancing abilities are impressive. He is totally believable in the role. Of course, the fact that he did the national tour of ‘FOOTLOOSE’ as Ren doesn’t hurt. His version of “I Can’t Stand Still” is fine.

Nicki Scalera is a beautiful Ariel. She is rebellious and sexy, but never loses the expected basic decency and innocence of a preacher’s daughter. Her voice is lovely. It is unfortunate that, as an accomplished dancer, she isn’t given more opportunity to strut her stuff. Her singing of “Almost Paradise” with Backes is wonderful.

There's an effective girl trio (Vanessa Ray, Amanda Flynn and LaQuet Sharnell), so typical of the era, and a wonderful, funny red-neck boy, Willard, played to perfection by Robert Koutras, who basically steals the show.

Clevelanders know the name of Paul Floriano from his many local roles. He does a nice job of making Rev.
Moore believable and vulnerable. This is a hard job because the character of the vulnerable but hard-edged “bad guy” is not well written. Marci Reid, as Ren’s mother, and SuEllen Estey as the reverend’s wife, both have strong singing voices and excellent acting skills. Their version of “Learning to be Silent” is excellent as is Estey’s solo “Can You Find It In Your Heart?”

The sets, lighting and costumes are functional and well designed. The musical accompaniment is excellent.

Show highlights include the creatively choreographed opening number, “I’m Free/Heaven help Me,” “Let’s Hear it for the Boy” and the finale.

Capsule Judgment Carousel’s ‘FOOTLOOSE’ may not be the greatest of theatre vehicles, but this production is well worth seeing. It harkens back to the good old days of musicals when nice music, wonderful dancing and a light but satisfying story line, all packaged together in a well-directed show, were all that was required to make audience’s happy.

The Sound of Music (Carousel)

‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC’ hits right notes at Carousel

‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC,’ which is now on stage at Carousel Dinner Theatre, is one of the most beloved and produced musicals of all time. The show, with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, opened on Broadway on November 16, 1959, and starred Mary Martin as Maria and Theodore Bikel as Captain von Trapp.

Most theatre-goers are familiar with the story. In Salzburg, Austria, Maria, a young novice, is sent from her convent to be the governess of the seven children of Captain von Trapp, a widowed naval commander. The children, initially hostile and mischievous, come to like her, and she finds herself falling in love with the captain. He is to be married to a baroness but he marries Maria instead. The Nazis take power in Austria as part of the Anschluss, and want Captain von Trapp to serve in the Reich’s Navy. During a singing performance at a musical competition the whole family manages to flee and “climb every mountain” to Switzerland.

This is a true story, right? Well, not exactly. Some details of the von Trapp tale were altered for the play and the film. The real Maria was sent to be a nurse for one of the children, not to be a governess to all of them. The Captain's eldest child was a boy, not a girl, and the names of the children were changed to avoid confusion, as the Captain's eldest daughter was also named Maria. Also, the von Trapps spent some years in Austria after Maria and the Captain married in 1927. They did not have to flee right away. And when they did leave they fled to Italy, not Switzerland.

The film version, which was released in 1965, was named Best Picture of the Year. Hammerstein died before the movie was made, and the two songs that were added to the film’s score ("I Have Confidence" and "Something Good") were written solely by Rodgers.

How did the show come to be? In 1956 Vincent Donahue, a well known director, saw a German film called "The Trapp Family Singers." He proposed to Mary Martin’s husband that a stage musical with the score to consist of von Trapp songs star Martin. Rogers and Hammerstein, who were hired to write only one new song, eventually proposed an entirely fresh score. In March, 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein laid out the placement of the songs using a book prepared by Lindsay and Crouse. One of the difficulties faced by Richard Rodgers, who was Jewish, was that of writing Catholic ecclesiastical music. To add to the problems, while working on the lyrics Hammerstein was diagnosed with stomach cancer. In spite of the difficulties, on the 14th October 1959 the show opened in Boston. During that tryout the musical duo felt the show needed a signature number. So, one song was added--”Edelweiss.” (No, “Edelweiss” is not the Austrian national anthem. It was created specifically for ‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Austrians never heard the song before the musical was produced there.) It was the last song ever written by the most prolific of musical theatre teams.

On November 16th the show opened on Broadway. The reviews were mixed, mainly praising the score and criticizing the sentimentality of the play. In spite of the reviews the show lasted over three-and-a-half years on the Great White Way, thus becoming the second longest running Broadway musical of the fifties.

The Carousel production, under the direction of Mitzi Hamilton, will generally please audiences in spite of the fact that it is stilted and drops some of the material’s emotional triggers. Part of this is due to some of the performers, but it is mainly due to Hamilton’s heavy handed interpretation. For example, the van Trapp children, who were noted for driving away nanny’s with their mischievous tricks, show no negative reaction to Maria when she first arrives. Therefore, there is none of the winning over which makes the Maria role so endearing and pivotal. The foreshadowing of the eventual break up of the Captain and his fiance is lost because Niclole Haimos’s Elsa isn’t aloof enough. Also, some of the cast seems on automatic pilot, moving and responding with stilted smiles, robot-like movements and a lack of spontaneity.

Cristin Mortenson is effervescent as Maria. Whenever she comes on stage she shines like a moonbeam! Her characterization is right on target and her voice is glorious. The same can be said for Sharon Alexander, The Mother Abbess. Her version of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” is worth the price of admission and, fortunately you get to hear it twice--at the end of each act.

The nuns are glorious. Their vocal sounds are pure beauty. The children are all acceptable, but often too preprogrammed to stand and smile and look childlike...they lack the needed impishness. The usual delightful “So Long, Farewell” lacks playfulness and charm.

Ray Luetters is unbelievable as Captain von Trapp. He seems uncomfortable, his acting is on the surface and his singing voice is not up to the requirements of the role. Adam Crawford is physically right for Rolf, the oldest van Trapp daughter’s suitor, but moves too automatically, especially in what should be the enchanting, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.”

The sets and costumes are excellent, as are the orchestrations.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Carousel’s ‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC’ will please most audience members. It’s a shame that director Mitzi Hamilton found it necessary to stilt some of the enthusiasm and delight of the show.

Chorus Line (Carousel Dinner Theatre)

Carousel's 'CHORUS LINE' grabs the gold ring!

So there is no question about the basis of this review: I am ‘A CHORUS LINE’ fanatic. I love the show! This affection carries with it a problem...I go into productions of the show, which I’ve seen probably 15 times, with the fear that the director/choreographer/actors are going to give me visual and emotional mind-burn. Fear not in going to the production of the show at Carousel Dinner Theatre. It is one of the best I’ve seen, including the three times I experienced it on Broadway.

‘A CHORUS LINE’ was originally conceived, directed, and choreographed by Michael Bennett, the recognized genius of theatre choreographers. It has music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban. The book was assembled by James Kirkwood (an Elyria native) and Nicholas Dante. After a successful Off-Broadway run, the show opened at the Shubert Theatre in 1975 and closed in 1990 after 6,137 performances, making it one of the Great White Way’s longest running shows.

‘A CHORUS LINE’ dominated the 1975 Tony Awards. It also won the Pulitzer Prize for drama, one of the few musicals ever to receive that honor.

The setting is a Broadway theater. Young hopefuls are auditioning for a job in the chorus line of a musical. As each speaks, sings and dances we learn about their hopes, insecurities and dreams.

The script was not written by the traditional means of a writer scribbing a plot. ‘A CHORUS LINE’ began as a workshop "share" session. A group of dancers met after rehearsals for other shows to talk about their personal and professional lives. The sessions were tape recorded, written down, and a libretto was pieced together. Their combined work, guided closely by Bennett, resulted in a staging scheme that filled the songs and book with overlapping layers. A little known fact is that comedy writer Neil Simon was called in to do some uncredited book doctoring, adding some of the great one-liners.

When it opened in New York, ‘A CHORUS LINE’ was hailed as: “The best blending of all the elements of musical theatre yet achieved by a theatre artist.”

What helps make the show unique, besides the manner in which it was written, is Bennett’s choreography. Throughout his career he used a unique style of dance for each show. For ‘A CHORUS LINE,’ he incorporated what he called "cinematic staging." There is a constant "jump-cutting" as the audience's attention is shifted from one figure to another. This draws focus to the character by placing the visual spotlight on that person. Bennett also used a series of mirrors to spotlight performers and make them stand out bigger than life in the eyes of the audience.

Instead of a standard plot, the show has what might be called a "staging scheme." This allows for each character to tell us his or her story in verbal or musical form. For example, "I Can Do That" has Mike recalling his first experience with dance, watching his sister's dance class when he was a pre-schooler. "At The Ballet" is a poignant tribute to Sheila, Bebe, and Maggie who found escape in the beauty of ballet. "Sing" comically makes it cringe-ably clear that Kristine is tone deaf. In "Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love" all of the dancers share memories of their traumatic early teens. In “Nothing” Puerto Rican, Diana, recollects the affect on her resulting from a horrible high school acting class, and in "Dance Ten, Looks Three," Val explains that talent doesn't count for everything with casting directors.

The Carousel production, under the direction and choreography of Donna Drake, who was in the original Broadway show, is almost perfectly conceived. She wisely reproduces the original choreography of Michael Bennett and Bob Avian. She is aided by the fact that all but two of the actors have previously appeared in professional productions of the show. This meant that the four to six-day usual prep time given to Carousel directors were spent polishing, rather than creatiing. Most professional, and even amateur productions, rehearse four to six weeks before they open but due to financial constraints Carousel has a short rehearsal time and uses the first week of the run to polish the show which sometimes leaves the early performances a little ragged. Not so with this show.

The cast is generally excellent. Highlight performances were given by Kathryn Mowat Murphy whose Cassie was the best I’ve seen. That is saying a lot as I saw Donna McKechnie do the show several times. Murphy adds a special dimension to what many consider to be the overly long dance segment ”The Music and the Mirror.” Her fine acting, as well as her dancing abilities, help flesh out the pivotal character.

Scottie Gage, as Paul, stands on a dark stage in a solo spotlight and exposes his painful past in a heart rending monologue. It is one of the most challenging moments the musical theater offers an actor. Gage captivates the audience with a performance that is mesmerizing.

Elena Gutierrez has a wonderful singing voice and nails the role of the hispanic Diana. Jessica Goldyn’s “Dance: Ten; Looks: Three” was a show stopper. (Little known local fact--Elyria’s Crissy Wilczak was in the original production of the show and often performed “Dance: Ten”.) Kristopher Thompson-Bolden lights up the stage as Ritchie.

The only flaw in the production was the staging of the speech preceding “What I Did for Love” in which the characters reveal why they are willing to put up with the stress and humiliation which is part of being a Broadway chorus member. The scene, which is supposed to be an interaction between the characters was, for some inexplicable reason, relayed directly to the audience. This forced characters to come forward, speak, and then backpedal into their original positions. Having the actors“talking to each other” would have been much more effective and believable.

More than a quarter century after its premiere, ‘A CHORUS LINE’ remains one of the ultimate expressions of what the musical theater can be, should be. This belief is affirmed by the fact that the show will soon be revived on Broadway. Members of the Carousel cast have been invited to try out for that production.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Carousel's 'A CHORUS LINE' is a top level proffessional production of a great musical! See it!

Beauty And The Beast - Carousel Dinner Theater

'BEAUTY AND THE BEAST' at CAROUSEL more beauty than beast, but...

'DISNEY'S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST,' which is now on stage at Carousel Dinner Theatre, tells a "tale as old as time." It was originally conceived as a story in 1740. It was a tedious, dark and scary tale which in 1756 was later transformed into the popular version. In 1992 Disney released a version of the story which became the first animated feature to be nominated for the Academy Award's Best Picture. (It lost to 'THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.') In 1994 Disney transformed the script into an award winning Broadway musical which is now the sixth longest-running show in Broadway history. The show has been in presented in15 countries and in translated into 7 languages. It is estimated that over 24 million people have seen the live version of the show.

The story concerns a prince who, because he has no love in his heart, is transformed into a hideous beast by an enchantress. To break the spell, the Beast must learn to love another and earn their love in return. If not, he will be doomed to remain a beast for all time.

Of course, as in all fairy tales there has to be a happy ending, so enter Belle, a beautiful young woman who lives with her eccentric father in a small town near the Beast's castle. Belle longs for a life of adventure like those that she reads of in her books. Her father gets lost in the woods and wanders into the Beast's castle, where he is imprisoned. Upon finding her father in the Beast's clutches, Belle offers herself to the Beast in return for the release of her father. And...well, you can guess the rest. Yes, the Beast learns kindness and love, it is reciprocated by Belle, and we all go out of the theatre singing the likes of "If I Can't Love Her," "A Change in Me," "Be Our Guest," and the title song, "Beauty and the Beast."

Carousel's production, under the direction of Marc Robin, has some shining moments, but fails to create the potential magic of the show. Part of the problem lies with Robin's direction. As in Carousel's 'CATS,' early in this season, he fails to imbue in some of his cast members the necessity to "be" the characters they portray instead of feigning the characterizations. He also paces the show in a meandering pattern. It lacks vitality. His choreography also fails to light up the stage.

The show lacks polish. This may be because, as one member of the cast indicated, "We only had five days of rehearsal before we opened." He said this in wonderment that the production was able to get staged in such a short period of time. I would hope as the production runs, it might meld better.

Another factor in the lack of sparkle is the restriction placed on Carousel by Disney and Music Theatre International, which own the rights to the show. The theatre is not permitted to copy the original Broadway or animated feature designs. Because of this the images which audience members are used to are missing. As good as Dale DiBernardo's costume designs are, there is a visual element missing. Robert Kovach's set designs don't help the matter. They tend to lack creativity and sometimes cause staging problems.

The performance qualities vary greatly. Julia Krohn is a charming Belle. Even though she was sick on reviewer night, her voice still was excellent. She light up the stage. Curt Dale Clark sings the role of the Beast well, though in the early scenes his Beast was not menacing enough.

James Patterson is delightful as Lumiere, the candlesticks. The fact that he has played the role on Broadway and in the touring company shows. John Reeger is wonderful as Cogsworth, the clock, as is Paula Scrofano as Mrs. Potts. Another performance highlight is that of Benjamin Brooks Cohen as the much maligned, punched and tossed LeFou though he often slips into a characture rather than being the character. By overdoing the slapstick he draws away from the delight and we laugh at him rather than with him. As the dresser, Arlene Robertson is delightful.

On the other hand, Matt Stokes feigns the role of Gaston, Belle's boorish muscle-bound suitor. He, of bad wig, is all shticks and gimmicks and no characterization. He dances poorly and his lines lack believability.

The dancing, with few exceptions, is weak. There were times when it actually looked like they were counting their steps. The male chorus lacked the necessary vocal dynamics.Capsule Judgment Carousel's 'BEAUTY AND THE BEAST' isn't a bad show, it just lacks polish, dynamism and the special quality that makes the movie and Broadway productions so wonderful.

Honky Tonk Angels - Carousel Dinner Theater

'HONKY TONK ANGELS' at Carousel a country music fan's "thang"

Okay, I have to be honest. I am not a lover of review-type musicals, and I don't favor country music. With that said, for me to pronounce that 'THE HONKY TONK ANGELS,' now on stage at the Carousel Dinner Theatre is an "okay" evening, is taking a long step.

I have never figured out why reviews are called theatre. They are a series of songs, much like that presented in a cabaret or night club. Sometimes the songs are connected with some trite kind of plot. But, in general, that, in my opinion, is a concert, not musical theatre.

As for country music, after a while all the wallowing in self-pity, death, wife-beating and cheating husbands, and the near-same twanging sounds, just gets to me. (Okay, country music lovers, before you fill up my e-mail box, you have the right to listen and love anything you want. I'm sure that if I was brought up on The Grand Old Opera, Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton I'd probably be on your side, but I wasn't. I'm just not a fan.)

With that said....The slight plot unfolds with three woman from varying backgrounds developing a friendship on a Greyhound bus on their way to Nashville, the country music capital. As the "story" goes on we see their performances and how they handle the changes in their lives. In the process they sing some of the most recognized country-western songs, including "Harper Valley PTA," "Stand By Your Man," "Angels Among Us," "I Will Always Love You," and "Coal Miner's Daughter."

The three characters are Darlene (Elizabeth Stanley) who moved to the Mississippi delta before heading for Nashville. We are led to believe that she has been kind of stuck between being a child and an adult for a long time. The show is her journey into adulthood.

Angela (Trudi Posey) is a Texas housewife. Between her truck driving husband, repetitive daily life, and out-of-control kids, she needs to take a break, to try something different for a while.

Sue Ellen (Barbara Helms) is a native Texan, living in Los Angeles, who realizes that life is not turning out the way she wants it to.

'HONKY TONK ANGELS,' written by Ted Swindley, who also created 'ALWAYS PATSY CLINE,' gives each of the actresses a chance to shine in several solos as well as a number of medleys.

The show has a much stronger first than second act. The first segment is filled with some humor and allows the performers to show their acting as well as their singing abilities. The second act is a concert which often turns sappy and centers on how angels affect our lives (Angles Among Us," "The Circle is Unbroken," and "I'll Fly Away." (Don't blame me, I didn't write the so-called script!) A segment dedicated to the County Music "Hall of Fame" is pathetic.

All three of the Carousel performers are quite good. They are obviously soloists, for their individual efforts far outshine their blendings.

Of the three, Elizabeth Stanley stands out. She has a nice stage presence, interprets her spoken lines well, sings meanings rather than words to her songs, and has a nice voice. Her versions of "Fancy" and "I Believe in Music" were exceptionally fine.

Barbara Helms displays nice comic timing and has a fine voice, though her version of "These Boots Are Made For Walking" was given a poor vocal interpretation. She does a fun version of "Cornell Crawford" while gliding across the stage on roller skates.

After a while, Trudi Posey's speaking voice just becomes too raspy, too loud, too hard to listen too. She needs to tone down the screech. Her "Stand By Your Man" was nicely humorous and "The Pill" was fun.

While the show's costumes are wonderful, the wigs are awful. Many scenes found the wearers having to hold on the obviously fake pieces, which were often poorly coiffed.

Capsule Judgment If you love or even like country music and aren't put off by a flimsy plot, you'll be find Carousel's "HONKY TONK ANGELS a "Paradise Road" and have a "Fancy" for the goings-on. If not, "These Boots are Made for Walking" in another direction.

Holiday Dreams (Carousel Dinner Theatre)

FEATURED ACTS IN ‘HOLIDAY DREAMS’ AT CAROUSEL ARE EXCELLENT

This is the time of year when theatres seek ways to use the holiday season to entertain audiences. Some decide to take the serious route and present the likes of ‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL’ (Great Lakes Theatre Festival) while others go the ‘PLAID TIDINGS’ route (The Cleveland Play House). Still others decide that they should present a series of acts, surrounded by holiday sounds and songs. The later decision was made by the producers of the Carousel Dinner Theatre in Akron.

To accomplish their goal the theatre’s producers decided, according to one of their public relations team, to turn to Las Vegas, the home of the very best in review-type entertainment. Their mission was to provide stellar specialty acts and embed these into a holiday sing-and-dance-along. Therefore, ‘HOLIDAY DREAMS, AN INTERNATIONAL HOLIDAY SHOW,’ was created especially for Carousel by Q Productions Las Vegas.

On the positive side, Q Productions did find some excellent specialty acts. Romano Frediani is an eighth generation juggler. Handsome, charming and talented the young man mesmerized the audience with his juggling golden boxes and playing the drums with balls while juggling the spheres. He convulsed the audience by making himself the cog-pin in a “ring the juggler” routine in which members of the audience were asked to frisbee-toss silver rings over Frediani’s head. He put life and limb at stake as he dove, slid and cartwheeled across the stage to get neck-cuffed by the errant throws. The more the tossers missed, the more hysterical the proceedings became.

Danny D’Oscar, a mass of muscles, received much applause for his balancing and flying routines. The Cuban defector used apparatus in the first act to perform balancing acts of super strength. His second act actions consisted of an impressive display of flying and swinging high above the heads of the audience while twisting and turning on long red sheets of material.

The Los Huincas Gauchos, a trio of Argentineans, has been awarded the title, “Best Specialty Act in Las Vegas.” Their drum routines and synchronized dances with the use of dangerous weapons, delighted. Even their use of audience members, which in other venues is often both awkward and embarrassing, was entertaining.

Unfortunately, the rest of the show varied from amateurish to just plain awful. This was best exemplified when about half way through the show a cast member asked the audience, “Are you having a good time?” and was answered by a very weak number of positive responses. Even when he kidded the audience about their lack of enthusiastic response, they didn’t perk up much.

Michael Chambers’ choreography was generally uninventive and often poorly executed. The supposed “Las Vegas’s best” performers proved adequate at best. Statuesque Betsy Allen, who has headlined shows for the Luxor and the Las Vegas Hilton hotels has a pleasant voice. Jeff Hutson, the other featured singer, was inconsistent in his renditions and displayed little stage presence. Both the male and female dancing and singing choruses showed little depth of talent. Their vocal blends were often off and their dance timings left much to be desired. There are many local talents who far exceed these supposed pros. The “original music” was repetitious and lacked creativity. How much variety can there be in hearing the same rock and roll beat applied over and over to versions of Christmas carols?.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: The featured acts of Carousel Dinner Theatre’s ‘HOLIDAY DREAMS’ are excellent and highly entertaining. If you can put up with the dancing and singing, and place all your attention on Romano Frediani, Danny D’Oscar and Los Huincas Gauchos, you’ll have a fine time.

Cats (Carousel Dinner Theatre)

‘CATS’ acceptable, but less than purr-fection at Carousel

During the Smithsonian Museum’s symposium ,“The Actor’s Role in the Musical,” an original cast member of the New York production of ‘CATS’ was asked why the show with no plot and few memorable songs had become the longest running musical in Broadway history. His response centered on the belief that the audience became so entranced by each actor “becoming” the cat he or she was portraying, that the viewers were transported into the world of cats. He went on to say that the costumes and the makeup were also important elements.

It’s too bad that Marc Robin, the director and choreographer and costumer Dale Dobermardo of the production of ‘CATS’ at Carousel Dinner Theatre didn’t attend that lecture. Though Carousel’s production is perfectly acceptable the show lacks the magic needed to transform it into a wonderful experience.

Cats are amazing creatures. Each breed is distinct. Each cat has a personality all its own. They are independent beings, refusing to be trained. In order to transform this onto the stage, each actor must transmute him or herself into a particular cat. A Siamese is different from a Persian who is different from an alley cat. As audience members we must instinctively gain that from the actions of the performers. They must remain in that mind-set for the entire show, not just when they are solo performing. In a well-honed production of ‘CATS’ you should always believe that you are in the presence of a welter of individual cats. Unfortunately, this was not true in the Carousel production. The twitches, the back arches, the posturing, and the face cleaning came and went.

The Carousel cats are dressed in representative costumes. No one will believe they are actually cats. Even identifying the breed becomes difficult. Too bad. It was another missed opportunity to help capture the audience.

‘CATS’ has no plot, per se. It is a series of vignettes based on T. S. Eliot’s “OLD POSSUM’S BOOK OF PRACTICAL CATS.” Act I starts. It is midnight...not a sound from the pavement. An explosion of lights and music fills the theatre, revealing an abandoned tire plant. One by one, the curious cats emerge. Tonight is the one special night each year when the tribe of Jellicle Cats reunites to celebrate who they are. But the cats are not alone. Humans (the audience) are present in the cats' private world. The cats are at first reluctant and suspicious to include others in their domain. Gradually, the cats not only sing to the audience, but prowl into their presence. The Jellicle Ball allows the humans to gain an understanding of the various types of cats and their habits.

The only song from the show that has become well known is the haunting“Memory,” though “Old Deuteronomy” and “Mr. Mistoffelees” should sound familiar.

Production highlights include “The Old Gumbie Cat” and its nicely performed tap dancing, and the reprise of “Memory” which is well sung by Molly A. Curry and Christine Mild.

The actors in the Carousel production are young, enthusiastic and generally acceptable, but none are standouts. Many sing words, not meanings. Since they are presenting poetry and the words carry the entire understanding of the show, this is a major faux pas. The strongest singing performances were those by Kate Fahrner, Stephanie Youell, Emily Loftiss, Christine Mild and Molly Curry. Dancing highlights were presented by Johnathan Owen and Ben Franklin.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Carousel’s ‘CATS’ is an acceptable presentation. Most audience members will be positively impressed. If, however, the director was willing to spend time teaching total characterization and the need to interpret lyrics, and some adjustments were made in costuming, this could be an excellent production.

Anything Goes (Carousel Dinner Theatre)

‘ANYTHING GOES’ sails merrily into Carousel Dinner Theatre

If your illusion of a dinner theatre is an old clapboard building, greasy food in steamer trays and a poorly produced musical, then you haven’t been to the Carousel under new Artistic Director Sean Cercone. Cercone has many fine plans for the theatre, and many have already been put into effect.

The theatre itself looks like a sumptuous Las Vegas show room. Beautifully decorated in red, with linen coverings and candles on every table, the tiers of tables and booths allow for good stage sight lines. The servers are young, polite and cooperative. In fact, we were so delighted with Chris Hendricks, our waitperson, that we changed her title in the program from Assistant Head Front Server to CHIEF Head Server.

The menu has 9 appetizers, 18 entrees and 10 desserts and a full offering of wines, alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks. Favorable comments were overheard about the quality of the food.

And, now to the show, itself. ‘ANYTHING GOES’ is a classic 1930s musical. The story is silly and predictable and the music doesn’t always fit into the plot. You will never mix this up this with ‘CHORUS LINE,’ ‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’ or ‘WEST SIDE STORY.’ But, who cares. If you are in the right mood for farce and good dancing and ready to hear clever and wonderful lyrics to songs, you’ll probably go out singing, “I Get a Kick Out of You.” And, as one of the songs states, it is “Easy to Love.” The music and lyrics are by the wonderfully gifted Cole Porter and includes “All Through the Night,” “It’s DeLovely,” and “Goodbye Little Dream.”

The Carousel production has three strong elements going for it. First and foremost, Kirsti Carnahan, playing Reno, is the consummate Broadway star. She is beautiful, is a powerful singer, sparkles in every scene she is in, and has a wonderful sense of comic timing. If you go see the show for no other reason than to see Carnahan, it’s worth the price of admission.

Second, Rob Donohoe is a delight as Moonface Martin, Public Enemy #12. “Friendship” a duet by Donohoe and Carnahan was absolutely delightful.

And, Janiece Kelley-Kiteley’s choreography sparkles. The tap routines in “Anything Goes” and the show stopping “Blow, Gabriel Blow” are gems.

The plot, if that’s what you’d like to call it, centers on the premise that boy falls in love with girl, girl’s mother arranges for a marriage to an older man on a cruise ship, boy stows away on the ship, boy wins girl after many twists and turns in the story.

Director Victoria Bussert has added just the right level of farce to the staging to insure that the laughs are present and the production moves right along. Her only stumble was the casting of Dominic Roberts as the show’s hero Billy Crocker. Roberts failed to develop a believable character, flatted in many of his songs and lacked the polish to appear opposite the likes of Carnahan and Donohoe. Others in the cast, however, are quite good. Jenn Goodson, a Marilyn Monroe look alike, sings and dances up a storm in “Buddy, Beware.” Brian Ogilivie is a standout dancer and Katherine Wilfong has a nice singing voice as does Marc Moritz.

The musical sounds and the technical aspects of the show were excellent.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: If ‘ANYTHING GOES’ is any indication of what’s to come, going to Carousel Dinner Theatre will give you a complete entertainment package...good food, in a wonderful setting, with an above average production.