ALPHABET SOUP 1

ALPHABET SOUP 1

A mash-up of plays and musicals picked at random . There's a little bit of everything here.  Enjoy!

January, 2006. I quite enjoyed this musical adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott classic. Rather than being the rather heavy-handed (in my opinion) story about the March family and Pilgrim's Progress and doing good, etc. etc., I found Allan Knee's adaptation nicely tart with all of the sisters played as intelligent women and Jason Howland's and Mindi Dickstein's score a pleasant treat for the ears with a knockout first act curtain tune ("Astonishing"), two kick-ass songs for Marmee ("Here Alone" and "Days of Plenty") and a fine, understated eleven o'clock number for Jo ("The Fire Within Me").  Maureen McGovern made a splendid Marmee. For those of you who only know of McGovern as one of our finest singers, you may be surprised to know she's also an accomplished stage actress of warmth, presence and intelligence.  Kate Fisher was a very satisfying Jo. This tour also featured Michael Minarik, who I would later see in an outstanding performance in The Happy Time in D.C. Beth still dies, but this musical dispenses with the simpy and syrupy of Alcott's story. I was very pleasantly surprised. - at the Palace Theatre, Chicago

April, 2008. Speaking of Mr. Minarik…. A rarely-produced musical by Kander and Ebb.  Far from the reportedly over-produced Broadway production of years ago, this intimate, sparse production made the most of the show's quiet virtues, but, curiously, also pointed up its shortcomings.  It's charming, but uneven.  I felt part of the unevenness lay with Jace Casey's portrayal of Bibi, the nephew.  I just didn't believe him as an adolescent teenager; he seemed too young and, frankly, a bit annoying.  The centerpiece of the show was Michael Minarik's Jacques...beautifully acted and sung.  (Didn't hurt that he was very easy on the eyes, either.)  Glad I saw it, but easy to understand why it failed on Broadway. - at the Signature Theatre, Arlington, VA

August, 1979.  Liv Ullmann in a musical?  A Richard Rodgers musical?  The same Liv Ullmann who angsted her way through all those Ingmar Bergman films?  Yep.  That's the gal.  And she was pretty damn good, too.  This was the last musical Rodgers wrote.  He died later that year.  After a hellish Philadelphia tryout, "Mama" limped into New York, received negative reviews, and closed promptly after its advance ran out.  It wasn't a great show, but Ullmann, though she wasn't much of a singer, had lots of warmth and charm and provided a lovely Scandinavian aesthetic to the show.  Rodger's score, though certainly not his finest, was tuneful, but unmemorable, with nothing really standing out - good, bad or indifferent.   A fitting end to an illustrious career?  Not really, but this show deserved better.  - at the Majestic Theatre, New York

This graced the back of the I Remember Mama program. Smoking was still accepted everywhere in 1979 and I was among the smoking class. I was a Marlboro Lights man, however. Tareytons were vile.

Another ad. The Algonquin...historic, classy, atmospheric. It was also the home of the late and lamented Oak Room where the cream of cabaret singers would perform in the oddly-shaped, yet intimate room. 

April, 2012. London loved it; New York hated it. And thanks to the fearless TimeLine Theatre Company, we were able to make our own decisions. When it talked finance, it sometimes got, for me a least, a bit obtuse, but this tale of corporate greed and indifference to anything except profit was both compelling and disturbing. TimeLine exhibited its usual fine production values and superb casting choices with standout performances by Stef Tovar, Amy Matheny and the always reliable Terry Hamilton leading an excellent cast. It's quite possible in a larger venue, the show may have gotten lost, but in TimeLine's intimate space, this was a powerful evening of thought-provoking material. - at TimeLine Theatre, Chicago

May, 1991. This staged revue of songs by composer/lyricist Brian Gari was sharply executed on the small stage at Don't Tell Mama on West 46th in New York and performed by a quartet of talented singers (Tammy Quinn, Michael McAssey, Larry Victor and Angela Warren) with Gari at the piano. Gari is the son of Janet Gari, my collaborator on the musical Such a Pretty Face (see a previous post). I met Gari a year earlier at Margaret Whiting's club act at the Algonquin and we struck up an acquaintanceship, which led to meeting his mother, and so on and so on. The show was timely and could have had a nice post-NYC life had it been properly marketed. Sadly, that didn't happen and it all seems a bit dated now.  A sad footnote: Larry Victor would die from AIDS in late 1992 at the age of only 33. - at Don't Tell Mama, New York

March, 2011. Residents of the seedy Hotel Baltimore are facing eviction when the property is sold/condemned/whatever. Full of  "colorful" characters, I found the play deadly dull when I first saw it at the Ivanhoe when it was a hot property back in the 70s and found it even duller decades later at Steppenwolf as part of a GLBT Theatre Series we had subscribed to that year. I felt the production was murky in all aspects: direction, scenically and acting. The atmosphere was one of "Look at us! This is an important play!!" We left at the interval, something I very rarely do, but I just felt I couldn't waste my time anymore with this mind-numbing production. - at the Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago

November, 2012. This play still has the power to thrill, educate and move audiences to tears nearly 60 years after it made its debut. A long moment of silence at the end of the play and then the audience burst into loud and sustained applause. First professional production I've seen of this and it was a thrill to see adult actors. Bob really wants to direct this with age-appropriate actors. As usual at Milwaukee Rep, outstanding production values (though we both felt the sound effects often sounded exactly like that, although the effects accompanying the Nazi's arrival were chilling) and superb casting. A wonderful and necessary play for any time, but so timely today. Bravo, Milwaukee Rep. - at the Milwaukee Rep, Milwaukee

That's it for now. We head for a long w/e in NYC on Thursday. Next post: Notes from New York!