Million Dollar Quartet

North American Tour

Providence Performing Arts Center

January 15, 2013

It’s December 4, 1956. For the first and only time, four future legends congregate at Sun Record Studios in Memphis, TN for a spur-of-the-moment, unrehearsed jam session under the guidance of Sun Records owner, Sam Phillips, who discovered each member of this “million dollar quartet”- Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. Million Dollar Quartet is the musical reenactment of this special night in rock ‘n’ roll history. 

Comments: Million Dollar Quartet is like time-traveling backwards to a 1950’s rock concert. A real audience-pleaser, many of the singers’ most well-known songs are showcased such as “Blue Suede Shoes”, “Folsom Prison Blues”, “That’s All Right”, “I Walk the Line”, “Hound Dog”, and “Great Balls of Fire”. I particularly liked the gospel tunes, “Down By the Riverside” and “Peace in the Valley”, which were sung in perfect harmony. 

Elvis Presley was played by Billy Woodward, and his performance was inspired by a young Elvis early in his career that went beyond doing a mere “Elvis impression”. David Elkins captured the vocal quality and speech inflection of Mr. Johnny Cash very well, and his singing was probably the closest to the “real thing”. Lesser known is Carl Perkins, played by James Barry, who I felt had the most depth of all the singers. Finally, show stealer Benjamin Goddard killed it as the crazy, piano-thumping Jerry Lee Lewis. Bravo. 

Vince Nappo portrayed Sam Phillips and although he didn’t do much singing, he was very effective as the tie that brought the million dollar quartet together.  The addition of a female character named Dyanne (Elvis’ girlfriend), played by Kelly Lamont, balanced the show musically. 

This musical is not solely a “concert”; several minor story-lines are incorporated into the performance that explain each singer’s career struggles/triumphs at that time. 

Million Dollar Quartet is appealing to all generations and reminiscent of a great period in music history.  If you want an enjoyable night at the theatre, check out the national tour here. 

Eight Reasons to See Pippin on Broadway

Diane Paulus’ Broadway-bound production of Pippin concludes its run at the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, MA on January 20, but the production won’t be idle for long!  Pippin will start Broadway previews on March 23 at the Music Box Theatre. 

Synopsis: The play begins with the introduction of an ensemble of actors and a Leading Player, who reveals to the audience that they are about to relay the story of a young man named Pippin who is searching for meaning and purpose in life. A recent college graduate, Prince Pippin returns home to his father and stepmother, King Charlamagne and Fastrada, and begins his pursuit of the “fulfilled” life. During this personal quest, Pippin seeks the advice of many, including his father, stepmother, his grandmother Berthe, and the Leading Player, all of whom compel Pippin to undertake many roles, most notably, a soldier, a monk, a murderer, a king, and a lover, none of which fulfill him.  Alone and desperate, he encounters an ordinary woman named Catherine, a widow, and her son Theo, and senses what it means to be fulfilled. Pressured by the Leading Player to perform the most incredible act- the Finale, Pippin leaves Catherine and this ordinary life behind. Ultimately, Pippin must choose between performing an extraordinary, but dangerous feat and living an ordinary, but fulfilling life. 

Eight Reasons to See Pippin on Broadway

1.) It’s a circus!! Director Diane Paulus employed the talents of circus choreographer, Gypsy Snider of Les 7 Doigts de la Main, in creating some of the most exhilarating stunts to ever be performed in a musical!  Further, the choreography, created by Chet Walker in the style of original director/choreographer Bob Fosse, is incorporated strategically into the story in a very theatrical fashion and in a way that propels the story forward. The utilization of a circus theme and daring choreography enhances the element of danger that is a major theme in the story. 

2.) It’s the first Broadway revival of a “gem”. In fact, I wonder why this underrated, overlooked show has not been revived sooner. The original Broadway production ran from 1972-1977. 

3.) Stephen Schwartz of Godspell and Wicked fame composed the score, so it’s no surprise that the music is great. Personally, I loved the opening number (“Magic to Do”) because it sets the mood for the show and immediately pulls the audience into the story.  The score is light, upbeat, and harmonious, which directly contradicts the story’s underlying darkness.  

4.) Patina Miller as the Leading Player gave a mysterious and calculating performance. In Pippin, she shows her versatility as an actress, and while we all loved her Tony-nominated performance as Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act, she really proves that she won’t be typecast as the funny, sassy leading lady.  And that voice...

(Sidenote: The Broadway cast of Pippin has not been announced)

5.) The set, a giant tent, and the lighting are captivating and magical. 

6.) The audience gets the chance to sing with the incomparable Andrea Martin while watching her hang upside down from a trapeze. Now that doesn’t happen every day. The scene between Berthe and Pippin is one of the great comedic moments of the show and is not to be missed. 

7.) On the surface, Pippin appears to be a light-hearted story about a young man in search of himself, yet there is far more depth and meaning to this story than initially expected. For the purposes of this blog, it is not my intent to analyze Pippin; however, I can promise that this show will make you think. How many musicals can do that? 

8.) Last, but not least- a sweet little dog makes an appearance! 

I hope the above eight reasons will encourage you to check out Pippin on Broadway, which opens in previews on March 23, 2013 at the Music Box Theatre! 

Jekyll & Hyde

National Tour

Providence Performing Arts Center

1/1/13

Last Tuesday evening, I saw the opening performance of Jekyll & Hyde at the Providence Performing Arts Center. The production is currently on a 25-city national tour that will conclude with a Broadway revival at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in April. Based on the novella, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, the original production ran on Broadway from 1997 to 2001. Music was written by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Wildhorn, Steve Cuden, and Leslie Bricusse, and book by Bricusse. 

Synopsis: Jekyll & Hyde is the story of the brilliant, but obsessive, Dr. Henry Jekyll, who longs to understand why man is both good and evil in order to help his institutionalized father. He proposes to test his theory on a human subject, but to Jekyll’s dismay, his proposal is rejected by the Board of Governors and he is called a “madman”. With the faith and support of his fiance, Emma Carew, Jekyll decides to conduct his experiment on himself. Injecting himself with a potion, he is taken over by his evil personality, a character called Edward Hyde, who goes on a malicious killing spree. And so begins the struggle between the two personalities, or rather, the struggle between good and evil. In the end, Jekyll finally realizes that there is no way to control Hyde, and the only way to prevent further harm is to kill himself. 

Comments: The role of Jekyll/Hyde was played by Constantine Maroulis. Maroulis proves that his talents go far beyond the world of “American Idol”, if he hadn’t already proven that during his Tony-nominated performance in Rock of Ages. He has a soaring tenor voice that is well-suited for this pop-rock score. He alternates from the thoughtful, reserved Jekyll to the vile, maleficent Hyde with ease and clarity. He is very well-cast in this role. 

As Lucy, Deborah Cox is given some of the best songs in Wildhorn’s score; “Bring on the Men”, “Sympathy, Tenderness”, “Someone Like You”, and “In His Eyes”, a duet with Emma, and I thought she did these songs justice. She has a strong belt and her voice has a modern sound rather than the traditional Broadway belt, but this seemed to work for the role. Her singing was one of the most enjoyable things about the show. Her acting was solid and I really enjoyed her scenes with Jekyll. 

Teal Wicks played Emma Carew, and she was outstanding. On Broadway, she was most recently seen in Wicked as Elphaba, and it was delightful to see her portray another strong, yet completely different type of character. Her singing voice is beautiful, as she alternates between belt and soprano. “In His Eyes”, a duet between Emma and Lucy, is one of the highlights of the show.  

I thought that Frank Wildhorn’s score was very good with several memorable songs. The score has an early 90’s, pop-rock feel to it, which was amplified by Deborah Cox’s modern R&B voice. Constantine sang the heck out of “This is the Moment”, which was a huge audience-pleaser! 

My only complaint is that I couldn’t understand most of Constantine’s lyrics, but I think this is related to poor acoustics at PPAC and not his performance. 

I also have to mention the awesome projections of Hyde lurking on the stage during intermission.  Very spooky. 

Finally, the show is thought-provoking, and you may find yourself thinking about good and evil in humanity just like Jekyll. Just don’t try mixing up any potions or you might end up like him! (Just kidding)

Les Miserables- the movie

The highly anticipated movie-musical, Les Miserables, opened in theaters on Christmas Day with generally positive buzz. The original Broadway production ran for 16 years from 1987-2003, won the Tony Award for Best Musical, and is currently the 4th longest running Broadway show. Les Miserables will return to Broadway in 2014 after the 2nd National U.S. tour is completed. 

Synopsis: Based on the 19th century French novel by Victor Hugo, Les Miserables is the story of Jean Valjean, a poor French man who serves 19 years of hard labor for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister’s starving child. When he is finally released on a lifetime of parole, he is unable to find employment as a known ex-con. Inspired by a bishop’s act of kindness, Jean Valjean breaks parole, and over the next eight years, he assumes a new identity and becomes a factory owner and mayor. A young woman named Fantine is a worker at Jean Valjean’s factory. When the other factory workers and foreman discover that Fantine has an illegitimate child who lives with an innkeeper, she is dismissed from the factory and forced to sell her jewelry, hair, and teeth for money, and later becomes a prostitute. When Fantine dies of consumption, Jean Valjean feels guilt over her dismissal from his factory, and he promises that he will find and care for her daughter, Cosette, who is being abused by the Thenardiers. He pays the Thenardiers 1500 francs for Cosette. Meanwhile, Javert, a policeman who knew Jean Valjean during his jail time, recognizes him as a fugitive of the law, and this begins a cat and mouse chase that will last for the next ten years. 

Ten years later, a young student named Marius meets a now grown-up Cosette and instantly falls in love with her, but Marius is secretly loved by the Thenardier's daughter, Eponine. Another student, Enjolras, organizes a revolution after learning of General Lamarque’s death, and a barricade is built, while Javert disguises himself in order to spy on the students. Eponine also disguises herself as a man and joins Marius and the student rebels, but is shot and killed.  When Javert is exposed as a spy,  Jean Valjean offers to kill him, but instead sets him free. All of the students are killed in battle except for Marius, who is wounded and carried to safety through the sewers by Jean Valjean. Jean Valjean and Javert meet for the final time but Javert is unable to apprehend him because Jean Valjean had saved his life. Javert commits suicide out of shame. 

Jean Valjean tells Marius the truth about his past, but asks him to never tell Cosette. Marius and Cosette marry, and Marius realizes that Jean Valjean was the man who saved his life at the barricade. Marius and Cosette go to Jean Valjean, who is dying, and Marius is able to thank him for saving his life before he dies. 

Comments: I will start by stating that this film is very, very good and quite possibly one of the best, if not THE best, musical movie in recent years. I recommend Les Miserables to anyone and everyone. But what prevents it from being an excellent film is the same mistake that plagues most musical movies- the casting of actors who can sing adequately, but are not singers. Luckily, Les Miserables is so visually stunning and emotionally raw that it mostly distracts from some of the disappointing vocal moments in the movie. 

Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean was fantastic. He completely embodied his character, physically, emotionally, vocally; from the familiar opening notes of the overture until his bittersweet “death”, Hugh Jackman WAS Jean Valjean.  His performance was emotionally raw, authentic, and honest. He carried the entire “show” with ease. Bravo. 

Russell Crowe played Javert and I found his performance to be very repressed and unemotional; however, this may have been his interpretation of the character? I thought his acting improved toward the end of the movie. During his final scenes with Jean Valjean, he did bring out hints of Javert’s passion and shame. His singing was a bit nasal and mediocre. 

Perhaps the most talked-about performance is Anne Hathaway as Fantine. Her performance is... heartbreaking. Tragic. Raw. And though her screen time is probably fifteen or twenty minutes early in the movie, her character will linger in your mind throughout the movie, which is really a testament to the actress’ performance. Her emotional rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” is raw and honest; however, there was no emotional arc because she cried through the entire song. I have mixed feelings about her vocal performance. On the one hand, her performance of this iconic number is superbly acted and was very enjoyable in this sense. On the other hand, the copious tears were also a distraction from the fact that she is not a strong singer. Within the context of the movie, I would say that “I Dreamed A Dream” is enjoyable despite her vocal shortcomings; with that said, if I want to hear “I Dreamed A Dream” on my iPod, I’ll stick to the Broadway cast album. But overall, Bravo. 

West End actress Samantha Barks plays Eponine and by far, she gave the standout vocal performance in the movie. “On My Own” was perfect. I loved the rain. I loved the close shots of Eponine. I loved the emotional arc that she brought to the song. I loved her chemistry with Eddie Redmayne (Marius), especially during the heart-wrenching song, “A Little Fall of Rain”. Many actresses have played Eponine during the past 25 years, but Samantha Barks brought something special to this beloved character. Bravo. 

Eddie Redmayne played Marius and he also had a great voice and gave a very emotional and honest performance. His performance was a nice surprise for me, because I was not expecting him to be as good as he was. Amanda Seyfried played Cosette and was good. Cosette is not a standout character because the book does not give her much depth, but she does the best with what she is given. She sings with a very unique vibrato and her voice is a bit airy and thin. As Enjolras, Aaron Tveit was outstanding and by far, had the best death scene. He also stood out vocally, but this is not a huge surprise since he comes straight from Broadway. 

The Thenardiers were played by Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter and they had great chemistry together as a comic duo. Finally, 10 year old Isabelle Allen was excellent as Young Cosette and sang beautifully in her debut performance (and eerily resembles the child on the former Les Miserables marquee and poster). 

In conclusion, Les Miserables is a must-see for theatre-lovers and movie-lovers alike. This film is filled with raw, honest, emotional performances by very talented actors. The sets are visually stunning. The story-telling is authentic. Despite some vocal shortcomings, Les Miserables is, in my opinion, one of the best musical movies to ever grace the silver screen. Go see it. 

Annie

Broadway

Palace Theatre

December 1, 2012

Miss Hannigan’s sweet and endearing orphans are bringing sunshine and optimism to audiences at the Palace Theatre this holiday season in the latest revival of the beloved musical, Annie! 

Synopsis: The year is 1933. The location is New York City. Seven lonely, mistreated orphans long for the warmth and love of a real home. Their dreams of having parents are dashed by the evil orphanage supervisor, Miss Hannigan, who despises “little girls”. One orphan, Annie, was left at the orphanage eleven years earlier with a locket and a note from her parents stating that they would return for her. Fed up with living the life of an orphan, Annie runs away from the orphanage in search of her parents, but is caught and returned to Miss Hannigan. However, Annie’s luck is about to change when billionaire Oliver Warbucks invites an orphan to spend the holidays at his mansion in order to improve his public image. Daddy Warbucks is quickly smitten with Annie and decides to adopt her, but Annie yearns to find her real parents. A generous reward offered for the whereabouts of Annie’s parents brings trouble in the form of greedy parent imposters and the envious Miss Hannigan. But all ends well when the imposters are revealed and Annie is adopted by Daddy Warbucks. 

Comments: As the title role, 11 year old Lilla Crawford is charming and spunky with a voice that fills the colossal Palace Theatre- a great task for an eleven year old, but Lilla sings with ease and clarity. Lilla and Anthony Warlow as Daddy Warbucks have excellent chemistry, and their scenes together are delightful, especially the musical number, “I Don’t Need Anything But You”. Warlow is impeccable as the gruff billionaire whose persona softens as he is forever changed by an orphan. Katie Finneran portrays Miss Hannigan sympathetically, emphasizing the discontented, despairing, resentful, and slightly unstable side of the character, but nails the comedic timing as usual. Her interaction with the orphans, especially little Molly, was hilariously appalling, and although her character is loathsome, you love to hate her. Speaking of Molly, Emily Rosenfeld is the most adorable and endearing little girl on that stage, but all of the orphans are animated and energetic, stealing the show with dance numbers like “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile” and “It’s the Hard Knock Life”. Brynn O’Malley was perfection as Grace Farrell, and sang beautifully. Clarke Thorell and J. Elaine Marcos were very good as villains Rooster and Lily, although not particularly memorable- with that said, Annie is filled with so much heart and optimism that I don’t think Rooster and Lily are meant to be memorable. My favorite part of Annie was Sunny, the rescue dog who played Sandy. Who doesn’t love to see a dog on stage? 

Check out Annie at the Palace Theatre for a surefire audience pleaser!