Tidewater Players present: The Wedding Singer

One of my favorite musical comedies opens tonight at Tidewater Players in Havre de Grace, MD!
Be sure to go check it out!

Info:
May 6 through 22, 2011
Fridays and Saturdays-8 pm
Sundays-3pm

Tickets- $15/ea.

Reserve online at or over the phone (410) 939-TIDE (8433)

Tidewater Players is located at 121 N. Union Ave., Havre de Grace, MD.

Enjoy the show! I will be there Sunday!

That wasn't RENT

So, I hate to make the official return to reviewing local theatre on such a bad note, but I think I am fed up. Since the rights to RENT became available roughly 2 years ago, it seems as if every young performer has been in it. I think it is a fantastic show to be able to perform in, and each artist involved with it should be proud of their work...unless they are involved with Towson University's "production" of this show. I had been forwarded a rather pretentious article from Towson's student newspaper in which the cast and director stroke their own egos by insisting that their production was "edgier" and "different" from other productions of the show. I simply rolled my eyes, decided to skip what was sure to be a Kanye West-sized ego inflation convention and moved on.

That was until opening night.

I got two different emails from readers from last summers posts insisting that I rush out to see this production immediately. At first, I was wondering why these people were insisting upon it so much, then I read their entire messages. It seems that yes, Towson's production was different. Because they decided to break copyright law and change the ending to a show. I got a ticket from a friend who is a very proud RENThead and went to the show the next night. To say I was mortified would be putting it nicely. From entering the theatre to exiting as fast as was humanly possible, this show was terrible.

These college students had no clue what was going on. I'm more than sure that most of them thought they were making subtle and understated character choices which read more as "Why are you standing center stage and waving your arms like a mob boss giving a monologue?" Perhaps this was the direction, which included a lot of clunky use of levels, characters inexplicably climbing ladders, sliding down poles and running up and down the stairs. Yes, Daniel Ettinger's set looked great, but it seems director and theatre law anarchist Diane Smith-Sadak was hell-bent on using those levels and getting her money out of them.

The show starts rather stereotypically. On Broadway, the show opens with Roger enterting, plugging in his guitar to an amp and then being joined on stage by the remainder of the cast. As is the current trend, upon entering the theatre, the "homeless" are scattered about and trying to draw us in. This is not new or exciting, and I've seen it quite a few times now. Towson's version of homeless, however is very entertaining. Apparently, wearing combat boots or converses with jeans and sweatshirts is their incarnation of manhattan's crack-addicted homeless. I think it looked more like the scene outside of a nightclub in Baltimore, with the urban outfitters-clad hipsters bouncing about. I knew I was in for a long night.

Andrew Worthington's Mark was nothing to freak out about. Could he sing? Yes. His character choices were bland and I never actually felt for anything he said. Yes, he looked the part and he didn't butcher his music, but that was about it. Thomas Hedgpeth fairs slightly better vocally, but he shouldn't have attempted to play guitar. It was painfully obvious that he learned the chords of his music solely for this show. His choices are flat, and include a lot of hand waving, which does not an actor make. Nellie Glover is Mimi. This girl clearly isn't a singer. From the moment she entered in "Light My Candle", she started trying to take vocal risks which came across as diva-ish. Diva-ish in that she thought she was doing something right. Glover and Hedgpeth never once touched the melody of the song. I'm not sure what happened, but it didn't get better. Her "Out Tonight" was cringe inducing, seeing as her voice started to give out halfway through, but no matter! Mimi was joined onstage by a chorus of stripper friends, which escalated the number from bad to worse. "Out Tonight" is a solo sung by a stripper. Not a solo that morphs into a quartet of singing ladies of the night. By the end of the number, she had resorted to yelling on key, which was both highly entertaining and also nerve inducing. I didn't think she would even make it to the end of the evening yelling like that. Her performance in Act 2 seemed more promising until "Without You" which she started off on strong, but again chose to try and use vocal options which she did not have the training to pull off. Next.

Standouts, yes...they surprisingly had standouts. Nina Kauffman is Maureen and does a commendable job in the sea of bad character choices and bad direction. Her Maureen is strong and clearly an activist. Her voice can handle the music and her "Over the Moon" was truly enjoyable. Nurney Mason is Angel. I say he is a standout in that he clearly knows how to work a crowd. Was he entertaining? Yes. Did he ever tear at my heart strings, as Angel should? Never. It was more like watching a drag queen compete to win an episode of RuPaul's Drag Race. No heart or soul to his performance, but he was certainly never boring.
Ensemble member Ines Nassara absolutely rocks the "Seasons of Love" solo and should have been cast as Joanne, who I won't comment on. Anthony Conway as Collins was enjoyable. He has one of the better voices in the cast, and tries to create chemistry with Mason as Angel, which comes off as forced most of the time, but not to say he isn't trying. He shines in Act 2 as one of the few performers who made legitimate acting choices. I actually felt something watching him, and it wasn't burning hatred, so that is great.

All in all, I was hoping that in larger group numbers, so many clearly un-trained voices could pull off some of the more memorable vocal moments. Perhaps if they all managed to yell (I'm sure they thought this was "belting") on key, the harmonies might come across. The only one time that I got somewhere near goosebumps was "I'll Cover You (reprise)" . I think this was more Larson's brilliant music and where the story sits at that moment, but I will give credit where it is due.

As for the copyright problems, which I know all of you have read. Diane Smith-Sadak decided to kill Mimi off at the end of "Your Eyes". Being that Larson passed before he could further edit the show, Mimi is supposed to wake up, tell the group that she saw Angel, and he told her to turn around. Yes, it is corny. No, I don't think that would actually happen. This is, however, Larson's work and it is copyrighted. By changing this, she broke copyright law by altering the plot and outcome of the show. I was absolutely horrified, as was the audience member next to me who simply said, "I hope that was an actor mistake, because this isn't going to end well for them if it wasn't." Towson's changing of this was incredibly brash and blatantly pretentious. It was a huge slap in the face to Jonathan Larson, his family, his work and the legacy of this show. I wasn't going to write a review on this piece simply out of anger, but I started following the story after news broke almost instantly about the changes that they made. Message boards lit up, with my favorite zinger being, "Well, now when I do MY Evita, Eva will live." MTI, the company that owns and maintains the licensing rights to many famous musicals, was contacted and contacted Towson with a cease and desist. Smith-Sadak in a move that made me even angrier, took to the school's blog and attempted to defend her honestly stupid choices. The rant she went on a self-indulgent and crazy. She came off and saying that she made a show better. That would be fine if it were her show to begin with. It wasn't hers to alter, and I am surprised that no one along the way said anything to her.

All in all, this show flops on an epic level. On top of all of the legal drama, it was just bad. Bad performances, bad singing, bad direction. Just bad. On top of that, I was surprised to see that Towson chose to perform a reprise of Seasons of Love after curtain call. According to my RENThead friend, that reprise was only authorized for certain tour versions of the show, but seeing as this production had altered verses of songs, extra actors singing some songs and unauthorized slayings of characters, it was the least of their problems. If you're going to take illegal liberties, you might as well take every single one of them that you possibly can before getting caught.

In other news, lots of shows open soon, and hopefully they've decided to present them within the realm of their contracts.

Welcome back!

Alright, kiddos. I'm back for the spring!

May the theatre festivities begin!

I'm starting next weekend at PFT's "Joseph...Dreamcoat" and moving on from there. Should be an exciting spring/summer season in MD! Hope that you all are looking forward to it as much as I am!

Review-Cabaret

So, I managed to get to a performance of Cabaret at Spotlighters recently. I will say this much, most of the reviews I had read previously to attending were mixed, mainly due to the physical limitations at Spotlighters. Coming in, I didn't really know what to expect, and I left feeling the same way. In some ways, the fact that Spotlighters is a very small space located under a hotel in downtown Baltimore could have been a great place to stage this show. I was proven wrong.

First off, it might just be my own preference, but performers roaming around before the show actually begins has gotten quite tired, no? I feel like any show that has been attempting to look "edgy" or "different" immediately means breaking the fourth wall. When I enter the theatre, I want time to pick up my ticket, possibly grab a drink, take my seat and read through the program. I do not need to be accosted by 1930's club workers, thank you very much. It isn't just this production, but I've seen the same thing happen with productions of Sweeney Todd and RENT. It is wonderful that directors break down the fourth wall and add something new to a production, but it has been done a million times over at this point. Granted, Spotlighters is very cramped and also in the round, but why not just keep the actors backstage until showtime?

Cabaret is by far one of my favorite musicals, it is set in Nazi Germany, and deals with American writer Cliff Bradshaw. He travels to Berlin and meets Sally Bowles, the star performer in the Kit Kat Club Revue. They have a sordid affair, which leaves Cliff reeling at the end of the show. I'd write more of a synopsis, but if you don't know "Cabaret" then you should be ashamed. It is a beautiful and complex piece.

The only standout performance is delivered by one Tim Elliot. While, in recent years, the Emcee is generally a skinny, over the top ladyboy, Mr.Elliot stands out. He delivers a knockout performance that balances the commanding power of the character, as well as his flamboyance and few rather serious bits. Congrats to Tim in a production that was, for the most part, disappointing.

I had an unfortunate seat located near one of the four vertical support beams that surrounds the stage, which left me annoyed having to strain my neck to see what was happening. The choreography was different, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. There is a reason Bob Fosse was hired in the first place for this show...to create movement for these nightclub performerrs that is sleazy and not overdanced. Melissa McGinley does a good job, but overdoes it at times, and seeing as some of the ensemble are not meant to be dancers, the choreo sometimes falls short.

For the most part, the Kit Kat Club dancers are a rag-tag group. It looks more to me like the audition turnout didn't have much to choose from male wise, and they did what they could to fill in the cast. The women of the "Klub" manage to get things right, having stronger dance skills and genereally, better characterization. The men, though trying, just look out of place most of the time.

Aaron Dalton and Lynn McCormick as Cliff and Sally, don't quite have a hold of their characters. The fact that both never seem to delve into the twisted nature of these people leads me to think that direction time was spent more on trying to conquer the physical limitations of the theatre rather than exploring characters. Towards the end of the show, we get a slight glimpse of how great the performances could have been, but it might be due to the extremity of the script. Suzanne Young and Jim Hart as Schneider and Schultz give touching performances. They have settled into their characters quite nicely, especially when there is a pineapple involved.

Michael Tan serves as musical director. The cast sounds decent, but the 3 piece put doesn't quite serve the needs of the score, and there is a general disconnect between the music and the cast, which will rip an audience member out of willing suspension of disbelief faster than one can say "Wilkommen".

Overall, this production relies too much on stock direction choices which have been made to try and fit the difficult space of the theatre. It wanted to be fantastic, but leaves one feeling generally confused by the time it is over. Also, because of the incessant pre-show interaction with the audience in such a small space (I'm aware that the emcee addresses the audience...once the show has b.e.g.u.n.) seeing the performers after the show in street clothes is awkward. I give it a C-, and if it weren't for Tim Elliot's insanely well done performance, I'd say skip this production. It is a FAR cry from Todd Starkey's brilliant mounting of the show for Phoenix Festival Theatre a few years back.

Opening Tonight!

With the fall comes two things: colorful trees that make fore some epic photographs, and tons and tons of local theatre. If you are in theatre, you have probably been inundated with more Facebook invites for your friends and family's shows that you can actually keep track of, so I will try to help. I know of only a few shows that open today, but lots open sometime in the coming weeks...so here we are:

OPENING TONIGHT

Phoenix Festival Theatre's "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
September 10-19
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 3pm
Tickets $9-18
Box Office 443 412 2211
PFT is Located in the Chesapeake building at Harford Community College

Spotlighter's "Cabaret"
September 10-October 10
Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm
Tickets $16-20
Box Office (at the door or www.spotlighters.org)
Spotlighers is Located in Baltimore on St.Paul Street

Maryland Ensemble Theatre's "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"
September 10- October 9
Thursdays, Fridays,Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm
Tickets $16-26
MET is Located at 31 W. Patrick St in Baltimore.

Alright everyone! Break legs and sing your faces off!
I know I'll be at Sweeney either tonight or tomorrow and I plan on attending Cabaret on Sunday!

Bye!

Hiatus/Reviews

Welcome back, all who read this blog. All meaning all four of you.

I'm back from my hiatus from theatre and showtunes, and I'm looking forward to a fall season full of lots of theatre and lots of belting, because lets face it...if you're not beting, you're not trying. Anyways, enough with me falling off the face of the earth without telling you, so let us move on.

Review wise, I caught Teatro 101's outstanding production of "Sideshow" which took place at the Mobtown Theatre in Baltimore. Artistic Director David Gregory has been garnering rave reviews for his work with his new theatre company, so I was very excited to see what the production had in store, and I will start with this...they need a better space. The work being done there is very high-caliber and really deserves a bigger space that can fit more people and give them more room to create, because, after seeing some terrible regional theater in the past few years, Teatro 101 is a breath of fresh air. The creative team work so well to bring this show to life, and this piece is notoriously difficult to do well. The company is fresh and exciting, and handled the conceptual challenge of this show with style. Upon entering, the audience is watching an old black and white film about a freak show, which sets an odd and almost unsettling mood that is kept until curtain call.

Mr.Gregory has assembled and directed a great cast. His direction is simple and effective, and doesn't rely on campy stereotypes to get the point across. It is clear that he holds his audience accountable to expect more from local theatre than some other companies do. Ryan Michael Haase, who is also in the cast as The Geek, created a brilliant set. The entire concept of his design was just so well thought out and well executed, despite the fact that it was generally sparse. The show is set in a run-down traveling freak show, and that is exactly what he created. The stage is nearly bare, accented with a few boxes and staircases. Various strung lights and ropes create a controlled chaos that I really enjoyed. Props to him for fantastic design. Julia M. Smith created an opening video which was projected during the first number of the show, and her creative use of stop motion animation gave the production a punch of something unexpected, and they handled the "transformation" of the freaks in a way that I've never seen before.

As for the cast, Amanda Rife and Shelly Work as Violet and Daisy Hilton, do a great job. Their voices blend well, and despite the physical challenge of staying "attached at the hip" they manage to create entirely separate characters, which is crucial with those roles. I will say that age wise, they were mismatched, but it is merely a surface observation that one quickly forgets. For such demanding roles, these two divas handle them wonderfully. Chris Rudy is Buddy, one of the roles that I can't say I'm very fond of. M.r Rudy has a great pop tenor voice, which is put on great display throughout the production, but some of his acting choices felt slightly stale at times. Perhaps it was a character choice that I never fully absorbed, but overall, he was enjoyable. The evening's real scene stealer is Kevin McAllister as Jake. If anything, it was worth seeing the show solely for his "You Should be Loved" in Act 2. The man can sing, and on top of that, he knows how to act a song. The audience was eerily still when he sang. He has a commanding presence that cannot be ignored, and he was the evening's stand out performance.

The ensemble fills out the show nicely. Their costumes were a little wonky, but they more than make up for it with their powerful sound and characters. I've seen Side Show done with a rather large ensemble, and I like that the ensemble was small. Granted, there wasn't any space for one more person on the stage, but they do a great job. I was really loving the vocals during "Tunnel of Love", especially with a special light trick that was used to set the mood.
Overall, the show gets an A++ from me. Great job, freaks!

OKAY. I know...it has been too long since I've written a review so that sucked, but deal with it. They were amazing, and I promise to post their next review ON opening night. Kudos to them!

Review-Curtains

Again with the lateness. Sorry!

So, I missed opening night of Curtains, but I did get to catch the Saturday night performance, which was great! There was an unexpected Act 2 visit from a bat that added to the somewhat creepiness of the Act 2 opener. Ironic: yes. Terrifying because there was a giant bat on the loose: also yes.

I digress.

Curtains is by far the best production I have seen this summer. Hands down. It puts Cockpit's earlier summer musical, Singin in the Rain, to shame. The cast is spot on at all times, the costumes are flashy, the sets are amazing (depsite one rickety staircase) and the show is just a hit, plain and simple. This, however, wouldn't be a review unless I go into crazy detail, so we shall start now.

One, Tom Wyatt knows how to put on a show. Tom directed/choreographed this production SO well. The book itself is a little weird at times, and some of the scenes drag, but that is the fault of the writer, not the director. The choreography is quick and impressive, especially when danced by the entire cast. He had a massive amount of things to do with this show. The script itself calls for tons of scenery, drops, props and special effects and Mr.Wyatt seamlessly works them all into this finished product. Bravo!

Two, THE COSTUMES! Wow. First off, I give the ensemble of this show a ton of credit. I feel like every time they reappear on stage, they are in new costumes, ranging from rehearsal clothes, to wild western outfits, ballgowns, can can dresses and more wigs than you can shake a stick at. Though shaking a stick at a wig will make you look like a crazy person. My only qualm here is James Fasching's billing as the Costume Designer. I've seen his work in the past, and it has never been this impressive. This leads me to believe that most of the costumes were pulled from stock and that some of the fancier pieces (most of the gowns and fancy dresses for the girls) were rented. Maybe a title like "Costume Coordinator" would have been more fitting. Not to say he didn't design some of the pieces at one time or another, but these were re-used or rented. I may be wrong, but that is how I saw it.

Also, I must take time to give a thumbs up to Stage Manager Margie Lake for what I'm sure is an intense show to call.

Three, the cast. Outstanding to say the least. Every character was perfectly cast and each actor plays with amazing comedic timing and wit. The ensemble of the show isn't just an ensemble, and they are working their butts off. With a ton of scenes and dance work being done, they impress immensely.

Chuck Graham makes for a lovable Frank Cioffi, and has the audience in the palm of his hand from his first scene. He plays with a "good guy" nature and you really can't help but like him. Plain and simple, he was great!

Dori Watson is hysterical in her short-lived time on stage as the terrible Jessica Cranshaw. Watch for her in the kickline, she can't be missed.

Tom Burns works his small comedic bits FANTASTICALLY and stands out as an audience favorite. I couldn't help but watch him when he is on stage. He is a funny man, and he knows how to make you laugh.

Becca Vourvoulas makes a great Bambi, with a killer voice and even better dance moves. Props to her for pulling off a fantastic dance in an over-the-top beaded indian getup.

John Desmone steals almost every scene he is in as director Christopher Belling. He serves up amazing one liners with the pro comedic timing. Mr.Desmone never disappoints, but he is really put to good use in the production.

Amy Pierson is lovably ditzy as ingenue Niki Harris, whom Cioffi is infatuated with. Her beautiful voice and simple but effective acting choices make her time on stage worth watching. Spoiler alert: There was something terribly disturbing about seeing her with a gun in her hand. Disturbing yet laughable.

Of course, my standout. I always have at least one. Liz Boyer Hunnicutt OWNS the show as producer Carmen Bernstein. She is witty, sassy and she knows how to use it. She has a powerhouse voice, as anyone who has seen her perform knows, and frequently had the audience reacting most to her on stage. She is one of my favorite local actresses, and should NOT be missed in this role. She really knocks it out of the park (or theatre) in "Show People" and "It's a Business". Bravo, Bravo, Bravo!

One of my few complaints about the show were music related. At times, there were major tempo problems, which one reviewer blamed on the ensemble. To him I say: Really dude? The ensemble of this show is the hardest working I've seen in a while. They've been rehearsing for months and know the score and choreography inside and out. Any tempo problems fall on the Music Director and pit. The musicians follow the actors, and should be expected to keep up, which at times, they can't. Not to say that they do a bad job, but they need to learn how to find a tempo, and stay there. Actors on stage have enough to worry about.

So, as I warned, I went into detail. But unto you I say this: Curtains and Cockpit is a huge smash. Get your tickets for the last two weekends NOW! If you were impressed by Singin' in the Rain, you need to see the real "Show People" in Curtains. Cockpit has had an amazing season, with a killer closing show (pardon the pun. Read the synopsis from the Curtains entry if you want to know what I'm talking about). Acting, Singing, Dancing and all while trying to escape someone with a death wish for their show. No need for rain on stage when you have real live bats and an epic cast!

A plus plus plus!