Cleveland Orchestra and Audra McDonald...who could ask for anything more?

The sky was clear, the temperature ideal, the Cleveland Orchestra was in perfect pitch, conductor Andy Einhorn was enthusiastic, and Audra McDonald was Audra McDonald---witty, relaxed, filled with wonderful stories, and in full-voice.  Even her floor-length multi-shaded blue gown was occasion right!  Yes, AN EVENING WITH AUDRA McDONALD, the August 13, 2023 Blossom Music Festival program, was a night to remember.   I was first exposed to Audra McDonald in 1995 when she debuted in a pre-Broadway production of Terrence McNally’s MASTER CLASS.  It was love at first exposure.     Since then I have had the pleasure of seeing the six-time Tony winner, that’s more performance wins than any other actor,  on Broadway in CAROUSEL, RAGTIME, PORGY AND BESS, LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR AND GRILL and FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE, on television (National Medal of Arts telecast and RAISIN IN THE SUN), and in an earlier concert at the Blossom Center.     It was my honor, as a member of the American Theater Critics Association, to vote for her for induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2017.    I even had the tenacity to walk up to her restaurant lunch table the day I saw PORGY AND BESS and talk to her.  She was as charming in person as she is on the concert stage.   McDonald, who is not shy about stating her philosophical views, as evidenced in her Blossom concert comments, is known for defying prejudice and racial typecasting.  Her performances as Carrie in the 1994 revival of CAROUSEL and Lizzie Curry in the 2007 revival of 110 IN THE SHADE made her the first black woman to portray those traditionally white roles in a major Broadway production.    AN EVENING WITH AUDRA McDONALD showcased musical theatre songs from her career, from shows in which she hasn’t appeared, as well as jazz favorites and personal revelations.  The between songs commentary included charming self-deprecating insights, family stories and personal revelations.  She knows how to charm an audience!   The evening opened with an enchanting version of “The Carousel Waltz,” from Rodger and Hammerstein’s epic CAROUSEL.  The selection is the opening of the musical.  It exposes the major characters and sets the mood for the tale.   Her opening number was the stirring “I Am What I Am,” from LA CAGES AUX FOLLES, often referred to as the gay national anthem.     Other songs in the evening’s program included a jazzy version of “It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing,” the swing Duke Ellington classic, “I Could Have Danced All Night” from THE KING AND I, PORGY AND BESS’s “Summertime,” “Before the Parade Passes By,” from HELLO DOLLY, Kermit the Muffet’s “It’s Not Easy Being Green” a tribute to self-pride and knowing who you are, and “Some Where”- (”There’s a Place for Us”) from WEST SIDE STORY. Carrying out further the evident theme of the evening, McDonald sang a mash-up of “You Have to Be Carefully Taught” from SOUTH PACIFIC and “Children Will Listen” from Steven Sondheim’s INTO THE WOODS.  The applause was deafening!   Capsule judgment:  AN EVENING with AUDRA McDONALD was an emotional and artistic evening of song, narration and orchestral music.  It was a night to remember!  BRAVO!!!   The Blossom Music Festival ends its 2023 season with “DISNEY IN CONCERT: THE SOUND OF MAGIC,” with music from PETER PAN, MOANA, ALADIN, THE JUNGLE BOOK, FROZEN, THE LION KING, FANTASIA, and ENCANTO (September 1-3) and “DISTANT WORLDS: MUSIC FROM FINAL FANTASY, which showcases the music used throughout the Final Fantasy game series.

EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR

 

Perhaps one of the most famous, or infamous of Shakespeare’s stage directions, ‘Exit, pursued by a bear’ in Act III of THE WINTER’S TALE, sees Antigonus meet death in the most unlikely of ways: at the hands – or rather the claws – of a bear.   Unsurprisingly this stage direction frequently mystifies modern readers. But bears entered and exited the lives of Elizabethan and Jacobean Londoners on a daily basis. Kept in kennels on the south bank of the Thames, captive bears provided ‘amusement’ by being chained to a post and attacked by packs of dogs – spectators would bet on the outcome of this very unequal fight.    It is not surprising that a playwright like Lauren Gunderson, who is little known to the general public, but is among the most produced playwrights in America, would be driven to write a play about the bear quote.  Her works include: ADA AND THE ENGINE, ARTEMISA, THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF DR. WONDERFUL AND HER DOG! and THE BOOK OF WILL, plus many, many more.   EXIT . . . BEAR is a comedy, a dark comedy to be more precise, about abuse.  (Sounds promising!)   Gunderson subtitled her play, “A Revenge Comedy.”  (One might wonder, with the questionable quality of the writing, I wonder if the revenge is making the audience sit through 90-minutes of words in search of a well-crafted play.)   The never-to-be-classified as an epic script, is now on-stage at convergence-continuum theatre located in the Tremont neighborhood.   The plays premise (I use the term in its broadest sense) is that Nan has decided to teach her abusive husband Kyle a lesson. “With the help of her friend Simon (acting as her emotional—and actual—cheerleader), a stripper named Sweetheart, and the words of William Shakespeare, she tapes Kyle to a chair and forces him to watch as they reenact scenes from the couple’s painful past. In the piece de resistance, our heroes cover the room in meat and honey so Kyle will be mauled by a bear.” (How the bear will find him, or why a bear would enter into the residence is not dealt with, but that is only one of the missing links in this work.)   In spite of a gallant effort from the cast (Amanda Rowe-Van Allen, Casey McCann, Hayley Johnson, Zavier McLean) and director (Kate Smith), and the technicians, it turns out to be a most irrelevant and frustrating evening of theatre.   A series of questions arise. Why did the powers that be at con-con, which is noted for selecting plays that often intellectually challenge its audience, choose this inane work?  Did the author have a clear image of what she would like the audience to take away from their theatrical experience (other than the wasting of 90-minutes)?  How frustrating is it for a generally talented cast to be bogged down for a long rehearsal period run of show that got tepid to no reaction from most of the audience on opening night?    The inquiries could go on and on, and this review could dissect the script, and analyzing the acting, but for what purpose?   Capsule judgment:  I am a strong advocate for theatre.  But, I have to be honest. The best I can say is, if you’d like to suffer through 90-minutes of an absolutely poorly written theatrical concept, EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR is the play for you!   EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR is scheduled to run through September 2, 2023 at convergence-continuum.

FUN HOME

 

 
Alison Bechdel is a cartoonist who came to national attention via her long-running comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For.” 
 
She combined her life story and her comic strip style in the graphic memoir, FUN HOME.  It is the adoption of this book that went on to become the musical which was nominated for twelve Tony Awards, winning five, including Best Musical. 
 
The original book was controversial.  In October, 2006, an attempt was made to have FUN HOME removed from the Marshall, Missouri Public Library due to its “graphic” content. 
 
In 2008, an instructor at University of Utah made the book a reading in her course. This was followed by an attempt by a student group to have the book removed from the course’s syllabus.  
 
In 2013 a conservative group challenged the inclusion of the book as a reading selection for freshmen at the College of Charleston.  The issue became so heated that the South Carolina legislature attempted to cut the college’s funding because “this book trampled on freedom of conservatives.”  The issue was only resolved when the state Senate voted to restore the funding, but redirect the funds towards the study of the United States Constitution and The Federalist Papers.  
 
As lately as 2015, several students at Duke University objected to the book on moral and/or religious grounds.
 
In FUN HOME, now on stage at Cain Park, we follow the path of Alison Bechdel of Beech Creek, Pennsylvania, as she goes from being a tween, through her experiences at Oberlin College, where her realization of her homosexuality evolves, to her becoming aware of her father’s life as a closeted homosexual, to his ultimate suicide and her full acknowledgement that, as the closing song of the musical states, “Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him.” 
 
Joanna May Cullinan, the show’s director, says of the script, “I feel very strongly in theater and musical theater.  There are a lot of stories to be told and this was told from the perspective of someone not seen before.  There have been other musicals with gay themes but not with these family dynamics. It’s a great show for young adults to take their parents to if they want their parents to understand them a bit more.”
 
FUN HOME was the first mainstream musical with a lesbian protagonist.
 
Jeanine Tesori’s music and Lisa Kron’s lyrics are is the guts of the tale.  
 
Poignant songs such as “Welcome to Our House on Maple, Street,” (a visit to the family home/funeral home by a visitor from the local historical society), “Come to Fun Home” (Young Alison and her brothers, John and Christian, act out a commercial for the family funeral home while playing in a casket), and “Raincoat of Love,” (small Alison fantasizing about what it would be like if her family was as happy as TV’s Partridge Family), expose the frustration of the family’s life.  
 
In the song “Not Too Bad,” Alison illustrates her anxiety about starting college, while in “Changing My Major,” Alison expresses her falling for Joan, her lesbian lover.   It is a key song of the score as it serves as both the comic relief and center fulcrum on which Alison later understands herself.  
 
Alison’s mother attempts to cope with her ostrich-with-head-in-the-sand existence by escaping from reality through her piano playing as illustrated by “Helen’s Étude.”
 
We watch as her father, Bruce, has contact with a series of young men, is arrested, but continues to pursue these fleeting contacts.  Each is a band aid to patch up frustration with his life.  Depression which finally results in his suicide by stepping in front of an oncoming bus (“Edges of the World”).  Alison, in the finale, reminisces about her past in “Flying Away.”
 
In New York the show was staged in the round, with the audience on all sides of the stage.  The local production is done on a proscenium stage.  Having seen both versions, I believe that the proscenium staging is much better.  The scenery helped give a visual quality to many of the scenes, and words were not lost as the actors faced one section of the audience but not others.   The intimate show becomes up-close and personal on the intimate Alma Theatre stage.
 
The production, under the able direction of Joanna May Cullinan, is of the highest quality. 
 
Some may find the three Alisons confusing at the start.  But quickly it becomes apparent that adult Alison (Tasha Brandt), Small Alison (Juliana Shumaker) and Medium Alison (Gabi Ilg) are the same person at different stages of life.   All three Alison’s have fine singing voices.
 
I wish Gabi Ilg had been more enthusiastic in her rendition of “Changing My Major” as it would have added the needed humor to lighten the heavy tale, and showed how her transition into her new found lesbianism was a positive experience.
 
Scott Esposito, one of the area’s best actors (Broadwayworld and Cleveland Critics Circle recognitions), is properly conflicted as the troubled Bruce.  He allows viewers to feel pity for this man who is a victim of society’s attitude toward gay men and feeling the need to hide who he really is.  His lasting effect on the members of his family, especially Alison, are readily apparent due to Esposito’s clear angst-driven character development.
 
Natalie Green empathically develops a wife and mother who finds herself having to decide how to be a supportive spouse and good parent, while being unable to take the action she probably should have early in the marriage.
 
 Zoë Lewis-McLean (Joan, Alison’s lover) develops a realistic and consistent characterization.  Though probably a little too old for the role, Danny Simpson nicely portrays the young men Bruce pursues. 
 
Simon Keating and Jaiden Shauf-Dressman (Alison’s younger brothers) are believable in their roles, handling both the comic and singing nicely.
 
The lighting and costumes work to enhance sensitive and focused directing.   Trad Burns‘ set-design perfectly captures the Victorian nature of the house and Sara May’s furnishings and props are all era-correct.  The orchestra, under the direction of Rachel Woods is excellent.
 
CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  This is a dramatic message musical which deserves the accolades which it has won.  It gets a must-see production, with the caveat that audience members be aware of the subject matter.
 
FUN HOME runs August 10–27. Showtimes are: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm. For more tickets call 216-371-3000 or go to: https://www.cainpark.com/148/Buy-Tickets.

SIX THE MUSICAL: a history lesson that rocks the Palace!

 

	SIX THE MUSICAL, now on stage at the Palace Theatre, had an unusual journey to the Great White Way.  Conceived by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the script had been a student project presented at Scotland’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  Next it was staged in London’s West End, then in Chicago, for a pre-Broadway out-of-town residence, and then at sea aboard three Norwegian Cruise Lines ships. Even its Broadway premiere was different.  On March 12, 2020, the day SIX THE MUSICAL was scheduled for its Broadway opening (and, for which I had tickets), all Broadway theatres were closed due to Covid.  Over a year later it became the first new musical to open on Broadway since the beginning of the pandemic (unfortunately, no tickets for this one).   The opening was met with smash reviews ("dynamic,” "a blast", “wickedly smart,” “carries out [a] joyful and anachronistic takedown of the patriarchy," "brilliant"), as well as enthusiastic audience response.  That combination resulted in a box office gross of more than $1 million per week.  It is still running to generally sold-out houses.   The musical, which is an exploration of Henry the VIII’s maniac drive for a male heir and the resulting consequences to the women he married, is a pop concert more than a traditional Broadway offering.  The highly stylized and glitzy production begins with stage smoke, a royal purple set, and lighting which silhouettes of six figures--the stars of the show--introduced, one by one, according to the manner of their relationship with the big guy: Divorced--Catherin of Aragon, Beheaded--Anne Boleyn, Died--Jane Seymour, Divorced--Anna of Cleves, Beheaded--Katherine Howard and Survived--Catherin Parr.   “Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived,” yes, the mnemonic taught in English history classes to assist students to remember Henry’s numerous wives and their life paths. The concept is that the six ex-wives of Henry have been brought on stage to allow them to compete and allow the audience to determine who had the roughest royal reign. As is the style with newer musicals, it has no overture.    Besides two group songs, each of the queens has her own signature solo song, which oftentimes has backup vocals and supporting choreography from the other queens. The dynamic music is provided by The Ladies in Waiting:  Sterlyn Termine (bass), Liz Faure (guitars), Caroline Moore (drums) with Katie Coleman conducting and on keyboards who are on-stage during the performance. Is SIX historically correct?  Kind ‘of.  It’s a work based on real historical events and figures, but it does take artistic liberties in its portrayal of these characters.  “Catherine of Aragon tells how Henry wished to annul their marriage and place her in a nunnery when he began chasing after Anne Boleyn despite her being loyal to him during their marriage ("No Way").  In turn, Anne talks about how Henry wanted her instead of Catherine, then complains of the infidelity Henry partook in, which led to Anne flirting with other men to make him jealous and ending up dead/beheaded, all while covering her trauma and feelings with jokes and silly faces ("Don't Lose Ur Head").  Jane Seymour steps up to take her turn, but is ridiculed for having had an easy time with Henry. However, while admitting she may have been the only wife Henry truly loved, Jane claims that his love was conditional on her having produced a male heir, and that she stood by him despite his many faults ("Heart of Stone"). Themes relating to ideas of female beauty are explored in Hans Holbein's portrait studio. The Queens parody a dating app by presenting a choice of potential brides ("Haus of Holbein"). He chooses Anna of Cleves, but soon rejects her and annuls the marriage, suggesting she failed to resemble her profile picture.   She makes a show of complaining about living in a beautiful palace in Richmond, with an enormous fortune and no man to tell her what to do, but in reality, ends up bragging about it ("Get Down"). The Queens question this, and Anna admits her lavish lifestyle lacked actual tragedy and drops out of the competition.  The Queens then belittle Katherine Howard for being the least relevant Catherine, but in retaliation she enumerates flaws in the others' claims to winning. She then recounts her romantic history, having had many suitors even as a child, and at first relishes her attractiveness; however, she soon reveals the emotional trama and abuse she faced in each of these relationships as it is symbolized in the choreography with all the queens holding a hand on her ("All You Wanna Do"). As the Queens continue to fight over who is the true winner, Catherine Parr questions the point of the competition, which defines them by their connection to Henry rather than as individuals. The Queens nonetheless continue to argue. Frustrated, Parr recalls her separation from her lover, Sir Thomas Seymour, and arranged marriage with Henry, but instead of lamenting, she acknowledges her accomplishments independent of Henry ("I Don't Need Your Love").  The other Queens, realizing they have been robbed of their individuality, abandon the contest and declare that they don't need Henry's love to feel validated as people. They use their remaining moments onstage to rewrite their stories, singing together as a group rather than as solo artists, and writing their own 'hsppily ever-afters', had Henry never been involved ("Six").”  As a curtain call they perform a mashup of many of the songs from the show.  Stay around to the very end and become part of the mash! The cast (Gerianne Pérez, Zan Berube, Amina Faye, Terica Marie, Aline Mayagoitia and Sydney Parra) is uniformly excellent.  These ladies have large and well-trained voices.  They dance and act with total believability.  They command and control the stage!   Jamie Armitage creatively directed the production along co-creator Lucy Moss. The dynamic and inventive choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille is spectacular as is the impressive lighting design (Tim Deiling) and sound design (Paul Gatehouse).  Gabriella Slade’s impressive costuming is an important part of the mix with styles that might be worn by the likes of J-Lo or Beyoncé in a Las Vegas concert. Capsule judgment:   Younger audience members will be turned on by the musical style which is pop and hip-hop and literally invites them to yell, clap, sing and jump out of their seats as if at a rave.  Those of a certain age and/or of conservative political/social attitudes may want to cover their ears from the beating sounds and “course” language.  All in all, the clever concept of the show and the talented ensemble will enchant many more audience members than those who might be turned off.  Me?  I loved it!!  More please, I want some more. SIX THE MUSICAL is part of our KeyBank Broadway Series, and is here at Connor Palace for five weeks, through Sunday, September 10th, 2023. Remaining tickets for the run can be purchased on playhousesquare.org or by calling 216-241-6000.  (Tip: best seating availability is in the weeks of August 28 and September 4.) Added info: Want a visual preview of the show?   Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egqqtAo8WSI    Want to hear the score?   Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgEJK6Vk8Ro&list=PLF4ij7xFI0e9RIXcIFplbEVxqvwHC1VlL Want to read the lyrics to get ready for understanding all the words?   Go to: https://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/six/six.htm

Humor filled ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END runs as a pre-season attraction at CPH

“Guilt, the gift that keeps giving.” Marriage has no guarantees. If that's what you're looking for, go live with a car battery.” “Encourage independence in your children by regularly losing them in the supermarket.” “Never go to a doctor whose office plants have all died.” 

What do these quotes all have in common?  They are material written by the subject of the one-person, eighty-minute play, ERMA BOMBECK:  AT WIT’S END, a Suburban Outlaw production now on stage at The Cleveland Play House.

Yes, Erma Bombeck, the woman who wrote such best-selling books as The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank, If Life is a Bowl of Cherries—What Am I Doing in the Pits? and Motherhood:  The Second Oldest Profession.

If you are a person of a certain age, Bombeck’s name is familiar, you grew up reading or listening to someone tell you about one of the country’s most beloved humorists, who gave voice to the everyday joys and struggles faced by the women of her day.  As well as being a leading figure in the fight for passage of the ill-fated “Women’s Rights Amendment.”

ERMA BOMBECK:  AT WIT’S END is the product of the combined minds of Chagrin Falls natives Allison and Margaret Engel.  It has been staged in venues in such places as Washington, D.C., Buffalo, Denver, Rochester and, now in Cleveland.

It stars Pam Sherman, one-time writer of her own “Bombeck-like” column, “The Suburban Outlaw,” who was convinced by Mark Cuddy, then Geva Theatre Center’s Artistic Director, and now CPH’s Interim Artistic Director, to play the role at the Rochester, New York facility.  That production broke box office records for productions causing the run to be extended twice due to popular demand.

Erma Louise Bombeck was born in Bellebrook, Ohio, and raised in Dayton. She started her professional writing career at the Kettering-Oakwood Times in 1964, with weekly columns. The following year, the Dayton Journal Herald requested pieces. After three weeks, the articles went into national syndication in 36 major U.S. newspapers, under the title "At Wit's End."   

By the 1970s, her columns were read semi-weekly by 30 million readers of 900 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada.

“Her work stands as a humorous chronicle of middle-class life in America after World War II, among the generation of parents who produced theBaby Boomers.”

“Erma, with her wonderful, pointed wit and her very sharp powers of observation, brought that whole world out into the open,” said Margaret Engel, co-playwright. “Her fans were legion. They loved her because she illuminated their lives which were funny, tragic, comic, interesting, but really had been so unremarked upon before Erma Bombeck took the world by storm.”

The play, presented without intermission, which is set in Bombeck’s “Dayton home,” is directed by Mark Cuddy, and chronicles the facts and fantasies of Bombeck, spoken in her own words.  It is filled with many of her own pet phrases and oft-quoted clever ideas.  

More stand-up comedy act than play, the CPH staging kept the older demographic audience, who seemed to be familiar with many “Bombeckisms,” amused throughout.  

Sherman, a noted actress, as well as a lawyer and writer, was comfortable with the role.  Maybe her long background with the script was in effect the night I saw the show, as she seemed to working on auto-pilot, saying lines, rather than actually giving the illusion of spontaneity of first-time awareness of the clever dialogue.  The lack of dynamism didn’t keep the audience from having a good time.

Capsule judgment:  ERMA BOMBECK:  AT WIT’S END, CPH’s “pre-season treat,” will delight those of a “certain age” who are familiar with the era and role of women as described in Bombeck’s references.  Modern feminists will roll their eyes at many of her situational references.

Tickets for the Outcalt Theatre production, which runs through August 20, are available at clevelandplayhouse.com or by calling (216) 241-6000. 

Porthouse’s THE PROM tells important story packaged in a solid production

Not only can truth be stranger than fiction, it also can create it!  A case in point is THE PROM, now on stage at Porthouse Theatre, the summer home of Kent State University’s musical theatre program.

In 2010, Constance McMillen was a senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Mississippi. She had plans to bring her girlfriend to their senior prom.  She was banned from attending by the school board. McMillen challenged the board's decision.  The board then decided to cancel that year's senior prom.

McMillen and the ACLU sued her school district.  A federal court found the District guilty of violating McMillen's First Amendment rights. 

That’s not the end of story.  The board eventually decided to allow McMillen to attend the prom, but the event, held at a local country club, was attended by only seven students.  Why?   Conservative parents had organized a separate prom, on the same night, for the rest of the students, making sure to keep the location secret to avoid media attention and “undesirables” from attending.

Here’s where the story gets really interesting.  “Celebrities—such as Green Day, Cat Cora, and Lance Bass—rallied together via social media to show their support for McMillen and helped sponsor a ‘Second-Chance’ prom, where McMillen and her girlfriend could attend without homophobic backlash.”

Yes, truth can be stranger than fiction.

Jack Viertel thought the tale would make a good story line for a musical.  Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin agreed with Viertel and wrote the book for a show, entitled, THE PROM.  Music by Matthew Sklar, with lyrics by Beguelin were added to script. 

The musical premiered on Broadway in October 2018.   That production had 309 regular performances.  Critics called it, "a joyful hoot,” and stated, that it had “a tuneful score, a playful book, and performances that remind you what Broadway heart and chutzpah are all about,” while another stated,” this cause celebre of a show turns out to be a joyous, funny, and sweet production." 

The Broadway production was nominated for six Tonys.  It won none, but was named Outstanding Musical by Drama Desk.

A film adaptation, was released on Netflix on December 11, 2020.
The national tour of THE PROM launched on November 2, 2021, at Playhouse Square in Cleveland.  My review’s capsule judgment of that production stated, “THE PROM is an old-fashioned musical which tells a contemporary tale with a moral.  The touring company gives a fresh, dynamic, fun and tune-filled performance that delighted the audience and got a well-deserved standing ovation.  Applause, Applause!”

“The musical opens on Broadway, where ELEANOR!: THE ELEANOR ROOSEVELT STORY is celebrating its opening night. The musical is bashed by The New York Times because the leading characters do not understand their characters since they are self-absorbed narcissists, resulting in the show closing on opening night. To improve their image, the actors decide to take up ‘a cause’ to appear selfless. They team up with two other actors.  

After searching on Twitter, they find Emma, a teenager from Indiana whose prom was cancelled by the Parent-Teacher Association because she wanted to bring her girlfriend. Seeing the opportunity, and some personal connection, the actors decide to go to Indiana to help.”
 
And, thus we enter in a rockling tale of self-centeredness, ego, conflict, parental misguided actions, liberal and conservative counter-goals, mid-western small-town values, and a heart-warming ending (Kleenex’s required) when the two girls finally getting to “Dance With You” and share a kiss!
 
The Porthouse production, directed by Terri Kent, is nicely crafted.  The characters are clearly etched, the chorus actively involved, and the pacing was mood correct.
 
Lane LaVonne creates an Emma, the Lesbian who is at the center of the major conflict in the story, who is both sensitive yet strong.  They has a fine singing voice and moves well.  Their renditions of “Dance with Me” (the script’s anthem) and “Unruly Heart” were nicely interpreted.
 
Emma’s love interest, Alyssa, was effectively developed by Jocelyn Trimmer.  Though there could have been more real emotional connection between she and Lane LaVonne, her rendition of “Alyssa Greene” was one of the shows emotional highlights.
 
Eric van Barrs, the former Director of the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State, took a break from retirement to do what he does best…perform audience-pleasing “schtick” as the egocentric Barry Glickman. His “Berry Is Going to Prom” was endearing.
 
Talking of playing “schtick,.” Sandra Montevideo, who is probably best known to local audiences as Sandra Emerick, was her dynamic self as Dee Dee Allen, the other half of the ego-centric duo that comes to Indiana to fake helping out the “lesbian girl,” but winds up learning a great deal about herself.
 
Amy Fritsche, who obviously has no physical flexibility issues, fills much of her stage-time doing high kicks as Angie Dickinson, whose only wish in life is to play Roxie in CHICAGO.”  She gets to do a master class in Bob Fosse’s Jazz Hands in “Jazz.”
 
That number, and all the rest of the dancing, is masterfully choreographed by Martin Céspedes.  Not only is Fosse’s influence present, but hip hop, contemporary gospel, golden age of Broadway, showcased.  Céspedes has the ability to take trained dancers and non-dancers and molding them into a cohesive unit of high-quality movements.  This production is a case in point.
 
Alexander Marr’s conducting wisely had the musicians underscoring rather than over-powering the performers, but, at times, a more rapid pace would have added to the show.
 
CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  As is the case with modern American musicals, THE PROM harks back to a Rodgers and Hammerstein-like social message of tolerance and the need to accept the beliefs and needs of others.  It is extremely relevant to today where the rights of sexual minorities, especially trans-individuals, is under both physical and political attack by right-wing bigots.  The Porthouse production, is well-conceived and brings to a conclusion a successful season.
 
THE PROM runs through August 6th.  For tickets go to www.kent.edu or call 330-672-3884.

Feinstein, Thibaudet and the Cleveland Orchestra…who could ask for anything more?

 
About ten minutes before the Blossom music complex was to be filled by glorious music, an announcement asked all attendees who were sitting on the lawn to come into the pavilion as bad weather was moving into the area.

A few minutes later the stragglers were encouraged again to enter the covered area with the warning that the concert would not start until all were safe from the weather forecast of rain and lightning.

Shortly after the concert started a horrendous downpour started.

Combine the compelling piano virtuosity of pianist/singer/musical historian Michael Feinstein, superb pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra and not even torrential rain could corral the enthusiasm of the massive crowd at the TWO PIANOS:  WHO COULD ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE? 
Concert at the Blossom Center on July 23rd. 

Michael Feinstein, an American singer and pianist, is well-known as an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK. 

A multi-platinum-selling, five-time Grammy-nominated recording artist, the diminutive, Feinstein currently serves as Artistic Director for The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana.  In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for celebrating American musical theatre songs. 

Feinstein was born in Columbus, Ohio.  “At the age of five, he studied piano for a couple of months until his teacher became angered that he was not reading the sheet music she gave him, since he was more comfortable playing by ear.” 

After graduating from high school, Feinstein worked in local piano bars for a couple of years and then moved to California.  In 1977 he was introduced to Ira Gershwin, who hired him to catalogue his extensive collection of phonograph records. 

The next six years opened a new world to the creative young man which led, in 2008 to his founding the The Great American Songbook Foundation, whose purpose is to preserve, research, and exhibit the physical artifacts of American music and educate youth about the music's relevance to their lives.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet was born in France.  “He entered the
Conservatoire de Lyon at the age of five and began studying the piano. He made his first public appearance at the age of seven. He won a gold medal at the Conservatoire when he was twelve and subsequently entered the Conservatoire de Paris .” Three years later, he won the Premier Prix du Conservatoire and at the age of eighteen, won the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York.

Thibaudet has performed with most of the world's leading orchestras.  He has also appeared in the major concert halls of Europe, North America and Asia. 

His recording of Lists drew rare praise from the great Vladimir Horowitz, who remarked, “It was amazing, such dexterity, such technique, such articulation, such command.

The quality of the Cleveland Orchestra, considered one of the greatest in the world, is unquestionable.

The concert, which was advertised as the first time Thibaudet Feinstein joined forces, celebrated the music and tales about George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, Vincent Youmans, Andre Previn and Andrew Firth.  

Feinstein recounted his experiences with the composers as well as singing their songs, while playing duets with Thibaudet.  The orchestra both supported the duo, as well as playing solos.

The two program segments, each about 45-minutes in length, were continually supported by enthusiastic applause.

Capsule judgment:  Yes, Thibaudet, Feinstein, the Cleveland Orchestra, under the baton of Keith Lockhart and the finest works of some of Americans great composers.  Who could ask for anything more!!

Upcoming offering at Blossom of interest to theatre-centric audience:  

AUDRA MCDONALD & THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA—August 13-- Audra McDonald is an accomplished performer, singer, theater, TV, and film actress best known for her work in  such shows as Ragtime, Carousel, Master Class,  A Moon for the Misbegotten, Porgy and Bess and 110 in the Shade. 

Her incredible three-decade career has resulted in multiple accolades, including six Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Emmy Award. In 2016, she received the state’s highest civilian honor for the arts, the National Medal of Arts, presented by then-President Barack Obama. McDonald was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame the following year. 

BROADWAY U CLOSE: Going to New York? Recommendations for a great experience!

Now that COVID seems somewhat under control, people are again traveling. For many that means going to the Big Apple…yes, New York City!
 
As a regular traveler to NYC, one of my favorite things to do, besides taking in a live Broadway or off-Broadway show, is take a “Broadway Up Close” tour.
 
These walking excursions are the brain-child of Tim Dolan.  
 
Dolan, a native of Detroit, is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.  
 
I happily found Tim when I wanted an in-depth tour of the Times Square theatre district that was conducted by someone in the know.  Since my first experience, I have trudged along with Tim in NY and also, during the COVID years, “attending” his on-line treks.  They all were filled with humor, interesting tales and amazing info that only a Broadway fanatic would know.  It is a unique experience.
 
As Tim explains his service: “Three of the tours ("Broadway's Beginnings," "Schubert Brothers & Beyond," and "Hippies, Discos, & Dogs, Oh My!") make up a 3-act tour of Broadway, going from 41st Street to 54th street. Another tour is dedicated entirely to the musical Hamilton, one is a not-so-spooky ghost tour, and another even goes inside a theater!”
 
“Each tour is led by me or a member of the Green Team, working actors and stage managers who share personal stories along with the history of the theatre world. The tour guides carry an iPad chock-full of rare photos that help enhance their stories.”
 
In addition to the tours, there is a gift booth on Times Square that has great tee and sweat shirts, handmade Christmas ornaments and other “tchatchkas.”  (I happily wear my unique purple Broadway sweatshirt, ordered on-line from his souvenir shop.)
 
As for Tim:  He moved to the Big Apple shortly after graduating high school to pursue a career in the arts. 
 
Onstage, Tim was the Dance Captain in the Off-Broadway revival of Once Upon A Mattress. He also performed as Abraham in the long-running hit musical Altar Boyz. His other acting credits include the National Tours of Altar Boyz and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  He is a member of Actors' Equity Association.  
 
As an arts educator Tim was on faculty at Rosie's Theatre Kids, Rosie O'Donnell's arts organization, as well as Dream Makers Performing Arts, combining his love of theatre with his experiences as a New York City tour guide.
 
For more information, or to book a tour, go to:  www.broadwayupclose.com
 
Of course, if you are a theater buff, or want a total Big Apple experience, you have to go to at least one live show.  Broadway does it right!   The talent, the production values are top notch. 
 
For tickets, the day of the show you can go to the TKTS booth. There are three of them, but the best known is on Times Squares, located at Broadway and 47^th Street.   Tickets are from 20 to 50 percent lower than box office prices, but be aware that not all shows are available there and you have to stand in line. For information go to: https://www.headout.com/blog/tkts-nyc-booths-broadway/#:~:text=TKTS%20Discount%20Booths%20are%20the,to%2050%25%20off%20regular%20prices.
 
Personally, I don’t like standing in lines and want to be sure what shows I see, so I turn to my trusty best source:  theatermania.com,  If that doesn’t work, try broadway.com
or broadwaybox.com.  There is often a handling fee for the service.
 
BTW, when on Times Square be aware that the Naked Cowboy and other comic characters charge for you to pose with them!  They can get quite nasty if you don’t give them a “tip.”  
 
Go to the Big White Way and see theatre, take a tour. It’s entertainment at its best!!

Brilliantly conceived and performed ONCE ON THIS ISLAND at Beck Center

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, a musical based on the award-winning novel My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy.  

Set on an island in the Caribbean Sea, the musical explores theme the power of community in the face of adversity. With echoes of THE LITTLE MERMAID and the struggle of young love in WEST SIDE STORY, this production blends elements of folk and fairy tales with modern storytelling techniques.

The music by composer Stephen Flaherty with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, which has no well-known pop tunes, contains many authentic sounding calypso tunes, intermixed with contemporary sounds, creates a combination of body moving moments, as well as emotional involvement. 

The original Broadway production which ran from 1990 to 1991, gained little strong reviews.  The London production, on-the-other hand, won the prestigious Olivier Award for Best Musical, which encouraged a “redo” on Broadway in 2017.

That staging was showered with critical acclaim.  Comments included "ravishing" and "an aesthetic experience unlike anything seen on Broadway." It won the 2018 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

When I saw the revival production at the Circle in the Square in New York, I was impressed by the music and the production qualities.  The set for the stage-in-the round staging area consisted of tons of beach sand, trucked into the theatre, creating a real Caribbean island.  

The authenticity was further enhanced by live animals wandering the stage and aisles before and during the show. Yes, a live goat and other livestock helped set the visual tone.  

I had some difficulty with the NY production’s sound system, which couldn’t overcome the theatre-in-the-round problem of having occasional actors’ backs-to-the audience, which made difficulty hearing all the words.  Since the lines create the meaning, I lost some of the story.

The Beck production, under the brilliant staging and equally impressive choreography of Christopher Chase Carter, had none of the “lack of clarity” problems.  The theater’s once finicky audio system worked to perfection and musical director Larry Goodpaster’s orchestra not only had the right island attitude, but underscored, rather than drowning out the performer’s speaking and singing.

Carter, the Artistic Director of Mercury Theater Chicago, has been recognized for his outstanding work as a director and choreographer in the Windy City.  His reputation, if this production is typical of his work, is well deserved.  It can only be hoped that we will see more of Carter’s magic in 216/440.  

The tale takes place on a fictional island in which the peasants, "black as night," live on one side of the island, and the grand hommes, the lighter-skinned descendants of the original French planters, live on the other.  

One night, a storm hits the island, wiping out many villages. The gods save the life of a little orphan, Ti Moune, by placing her in a tree above the flood's waves. She is found and subsequently adopted by several of the peasants. 

Years later, a grown-up Ti Moune prays to the gods to let her know her purpose.  Hearing her plea, the gods decide to give her her wish.  

A car crash during the storm, Ti Moune’s finding the broken body of Daniel, a young grand homme, and her restoring him to health, allows Ti Moune to fall in love with him and imagine he loves her too. Thus, we find ourselves involved in a tale of pain, grief, faith, and, maybe, hope.

Edith Foley, a fourth grader, shows stage presence well beyond her years as Little Ti Moune.  She is totally involved in her character, displays a fine singing voice and physical presence.  She is heading for stardom!

Israeljah Reign, a recent Kent State grad, is on-point as Ti Moune.  She shows that right levels of compassion, passion and emotional energy in creating a real peasant girl.  Her emotional connection with JT Snow is strong. 

Baldwin Wallace rising Junior, JT Snow, has an aristocratic air that makes him actor-right for playing the grand hommes, Daniel.  He has a pleasant singing voice and develops a meaningful character.

Tina Stump, one of the reigning queens of Cleveland theatre, does what Tina Stump does…sing and act the hell of her role as Ti Moune’s adoptive mother.  

The rest of the cast is exceptional.  They act, sing and dance at the most professional of levels and form a company that has no weak links.

Cheri Prough-Devol’s realistic island set is award worthy, as are Inda Blatch-Geib’s costume designs.  Carlton Guc’s sound design, complete with water, wind, bird and animal sounds, helps create a real feel of the Caribbean.  Emma Hansen’s lighting develops all the right moods.

Capsule judgment:  The stage was constantly displaying well-conceived stage pictures, the choreography was not only creative, but visually encapsulating, and the entire production was a master class in how to create an audience pleasing show that developed the intent and purpose of the author. In fact, it actually made more of the storyline than Lynn Ahrens created.  This is musical theatre at its finest!  Bravo!

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND runs July 7 to August 6, 2023 in the Senney Theater of Beck Center.  For tickets call 216-521-2540 or go to beckcenter.org

THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES, an inane jukebox musical at Porthouse Theatre

 

It’s summer, a time of year in Northeastern Ohio for escapist activities.  This is the only logical reason that Porthouse would pick a show like Roger Bean’s jukebox musical THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES.

 

Bean has made a cottage industry out of his “Wonderettes” musicals and similar mindless scripts.  

 

He takes songs which were written by others and were popular, or at least recorded and/or performed at concerts, and shoe-horned them into trite story lines.  Titles of some of his “hits” include:  WONDERETTES:  CAPS & GOWNS, WINTER WONDERETTES, WONDERETTES DREAM ON, SUMMER OF LOVE, HONKY TONK LANDRY, and WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE.

 

These shows, are easy to stage, have small casts and little scenery and are staples in community and summer theaters.  They have probably made the man a millionaire, while adding nothing of value to the American musical theatre genre.

THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES  uses pop songs from the1950s and 1960s as a vehicle to tell its story, while paying homage to the high school “Songleader”squads of the 50s. 

Beyond fiction, there was a most famous local “girl group,” The Poni-Tails--Toni Cistone, Karen Topinka and Patti McCabe--who started singing at Charles F. Brush High School, in South Euclid/Lyndhurst.  A music publisher, signed them to a local record label.  They had a huge hit in 1958 when their “Born Too Late “rose on the charts.  Ironically, the Poni-Tails, like the girl-group in THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES, entertained while still at Brush. 

In THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES, the girl-group—Missy (Alexis Wilson), Betty Jean (Hannah Hall), Suzy (Emma Rose Johnson), and Cindy Lou (Riley McIntyre) are recruited as last-minute replacements at the fictitious Springfield High School. 

In the first act, the Wonderettes rally together to entertain their classmates in four-part harmony and doo-op moves (think The Supremes, Shirelles and Marvelettes). The second act shows the four ten years later at their reunion, still entertaining, gossiping, and sniping at each other.

The musical includes such  the songs "Lollipop", "Dream Lover", “All I Have to Do is Dream,” "Lipstick on Your Color," “Sincerely,” “I Only Want to Be With You,” and ”Leader of the Pack.”

If you, like so many in the Sunday matinee audience I attended are of “that” age, you know and could sing most of the lyrics from those songs.  In fact, there was supportive-singing, some complete with gestures, from the mostly gray-haired assemblage.  They loved the nostalgia of returning to this glory days.

The script had a surprising creation story.  Beach had written DON’T TOUCH THE DIAL, his first musical.  It was a hit at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, and “Bean was asked to write a new musical for their intimate black box space.  Bean suggested a musical about high school song leaders from the 50s and 60s, best friends, singing at prom for their best friends and boyfriends. He would use pop songs from the 50s and 60s to tell the story of the characters.”  And thus, his cash cow was born! 

The story, if one can call it that, has many contrived “angst” incidents—boyfriend issues, personal conflicts between the girls, crushes on “Mr. Lee,” a teacher, being teacher’s pet, and one of the girl’s continually chewing and losing her gum. (Come on, could I make that up?)  

The cast, under the direction of Amy Fritsche, who also serves as choreographer, does all it can with the script.  The girls all have good voices, each is featured in several songs, and they all have the coordinated hand, facial expressions and feet movements down pat.

Jonathan Swoboda’s musicians lay down a perfect background for the young ladies, not drowning out the song lyrics, but supporting their song interpretations.

Highlight songs were “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me,” “You Don’t Own Me,” That’s When the Tears Start, and “It’s My Party.”

Margaret Peebles’ lighting, Tony Hardin’s set design, and Bethy Winters’ sound all add to the production.

Abbie Hagen’s wonderfully colorful and zany era-correct costumes were show highlights. 

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  If you love the teeny-bopper music of the 1950s and 60s, and don’t care about a story line (believe me this is not DEAR EVAN HANSEN or SPRING AWAKENING), then wander out to Porthouse, sit in the beautiful tent theatre in the lush lawn and trees, and see THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES.  Me?  I’m looking forward to THE PROM, the theatre’s next production.

For tickets go to: www.kent.edu or 330-672-3884. Next up at Porthouse is THE PROM (July 21-August 6).