MUSICAL MAYHEM: MY TOP TWENTY-FIVE MUSICALS
The Honor Roll - Part 3
Some more musicals from the fifteen shows that
make up my musical Honor Roll. Lots to talk about, so sit back, pour some
coffee and let's begin.
THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS -
Music and Lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb, Book by David Thompson
This is what I posted
on Facebook the day after we saw The
Scottsboro Boys in New York. "Listen up, people! If you care about
musical theatre at all, you MUST get to New York before Sunday and catch one of
the remaining performances of The Scottosboro Boys at the Lyceum Theatre on W. 45th. We saw it on
Wednesday and it was one of the most thrilling theatrical performances I've
seen in years. It's closing far, FAR too soon. This is a must-see!!!" And
it remains one of the most thrilling pieces of theatre, musical or otherwise,
that I have seen. Based on a true story, this bold work by David Thompson, John
Kander and Fred Ebb tells of a horrific
miscarriage of justice based on irrational fear, racial intolerance, and
popularly-held stereotypes. The frightening thing is that this type of bigotry,
ignorance and narrow-mindedness is still prevalent in the United States and
even celebrated, so this show is not only a indictment of our past, but also a
cautionary tale of what could conceivably happen again. The show received mixed
reviews when it opened at the Lyceum Theatre and closed after a far-too-brief
run. It was nominated for twelve Tony Awards, but had the misfortune of opening
in the same season as the juggernaut called The
Book of Mormon and didn't win a single award, giving The Scottsboro Boys the dubious distinction of having the most
nominations in Tony history without winning in a single category. A sad
commentary. A brilliant, touching, wonderful musical.
December, 2010. We saw The Scottsboro Boys just a few days before it closed after a
too-brief run. There was an air of excitement and anticipation throughout the
sold-out theatre. When the lights dimmed and the orchestra began playing and
the cast took their places, the audience erupted into prolonged and loud
applause. We were there to celebrate them and we wanted to make sure everyone
involved in the show knew it. The entrance applause was nothing, however,
compared to the ecstatic standing ovation that just did not want to let the
cast go. I was hoarse from cheering and my hands hurt from applauding. The love
in that theatre was palpable on both sides of the footlights. Beowulf Boritt's
deceptively simple set of backdrops and chairs served as a railway boxcar, a
theatre, a courthouse, a jail and a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, while Ken
Billington's brilliant lighting design changed the mood of the show with the
execution of a light cue. Director/Choreographer Susan Stroman thrillingly
staged the show within the framework of a minstrel show, a choice that brought
her a considerable amount of criticism, but one that was absolutely correct.
Without a single discernible misstep, this is, in my opinion, her finest work,
easily topping her wildly praised jobs on The
Producers and Crazy for You. Performed
by a sensational cast of actors, this was a true ensemble piece. So it is with
the utmost respect and admiration for the entire cast, that I single out these three actors: Joshua Henry, John Cullum
and especially Sharon Washington. As Haywood Patterson, the "leader,"
for lack of a better word, of the Scottsboro 9, Joshua Henry brought a magnetic, dynamic and an unshakeable certainty of the innocence of the Scottsboro 9 that
was the glue of the piece. Theatre legend John Cullum's portrayal of the
Interlocutor easily demonstrated why he has won two Tony Awards and is on
everybody's "A" list when it comes to actors of a certain age. Oozing
with oily, malevolent charm, he commanded the stage with his every appearance.
His last appearance, where the Scottsboro Boys refuse to join him in his racist
cakewalk, was chilling. But it was Sharon Washington's The Lady that made the most impact. Although
she only spoke a few words at the very end of the show, her quiet dignity and
her moments of absolute stillness gave
an added depth of humanity and warmth to the show. And when she finally said
her lines which, for all intents and purposes, ended the evening, it provided a
powerful conclusion to The Scottsboro Boys. It is truly magnificent. - at the Lyceum
Theatre, New York
June, 2012. We were on the West Coast to see
the revival of Follies in Los Angeles
and decided to make a stopover in San Diego when we found out The Scottsboro Boys was in its final
performances there. With the original design team recreating their original
work and Susan Stroman once again at the helm, this was a replica of the
Broadway production. This production featured some members from the original
New York cast in addition to Ron Holgate
as the Interlocutor. Holgate, a Tony Award winner for the original production
of 1776, has a different style and
skill set than John Cullum and Stroman wisely directed him to use his
particular strengths to create a different, yet solidly effective Interlocutor.
This time around Clifton Duncan played Haywood and C. Kelly Wright was moving
as The Lady. If anything, the how made a bigger impact in San Diego than in New
York, possibly due to the size of the respective theatres. While the Lyceum in
New York is a smallish Broadway house seating just under 1000, the Old Globe is
a much more intimate space, seating approximately 600, so the action just
seemed more immediate, more powerful. We were fortunate to be at a performance
that featured a post-curtain talkback (for the record, I love talkbacks)
and it was exciting to see how many people stayed and interacted with the cast.
A classy production of a show that should be on everyone's bucket list. - at
the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego
**********
THE APPLE TREE -
Book, Music and Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock with additional book
material by Jerome Coopersmith
The
Apple Tree, Harnick and Bock's musical
of three one-acts, is decidedly a mixed bag in tone and, frankly, quality. But
there is an irresistible charm to the show that makes the most out its
considerable virtues and downplays its flaws. Written with the intention of
having the same three leads play the more or less equivalent characters in each
of the three acts, it's a wonderful vehicle for actors to show off their range
and versatility. The "star" of the three pieces is its first act,
"The Diary of Adam and Eve," based on a story by Mark Twain. In this
piece, everything comes together. The book is gentle, yet often very funny and,
ultimately, quite touching. The score mirrors the qualities of the dialogue and
concludes with a remarkable ballad called "What Makes Me Love Him,"
which is as pretty a song as one could hope for. The second act, "The Lady
or the Tiger," based on a story by Frank R. Stockton, is paper-thin, but
is accompanied by a jaunty score that includes a torchy "I've Got What You
Want"…absolutely delicious. The third act, "Passionella," based
on a story by Jules Feiffer, is, perhaps unfairly, most noted for a lightning-fast
costume change, but is really a rather smart swipe at the artificiality of fame
and our attraction to it. Even though all three of the playlets had distinct
pleasures, the consistency just wasn't there, with the first act obviously the
strongest, the third act the most fun and the second act the throwaway. It was
Harnick and Bock's follow-up show to their smash Fiddler on the Roof and the critics were respectful and the show
itself received generally very positive critical notices. In her three roles,
Barbara Harris gave an iconic performance that is the stuff of legend, if the
critics and archival material are to be believed. I feel, however, it's more
than just a moderately successful show that is best known for the 1-2-3 punch
of the Eve-Barbara-Ella/Passionella leading lady roles. The Apple Tree has a delightful, underrated score that deserves to
be more than a footnote to the Harnick and Bock catalog and three stories that
will entertain and sparkle with the right cast and director. I'm a big fan. (I
also played the Snake, Sanjar and George L. Brown, the anti-Flip, in a community
theatre production back when the earth was still cooling. Had a blast!)
The U of I Assembly Hall
March,
1969. To my knowledge, this was the only national tour of The Apple Tree. If there were other companies touring the country,
none of them played Chicago. Tom Ewell, of The
Seven-Year Itch on stage and especially on film, was the top-billed star,
but it was probably second-billed Rosemary Prinz who was the bigger draw at the
box office. Prinz had just finished a twelve-year run as Penny Hughes in As the World Turns and was, at the time,
a household name. She was out that night and Brenda Gardner, her understudy,
filled in for her. According to the many notes I scribbled in my program, I
thought she was tentative and a bit underwhelming vocally. She got better as
the evening progressed, but it was nothing more than a competent, professional
job. (To be totally fair to Ms. Gardner, I was a callow lad of 18 at the time
and totally besotted with the original cast album, especially Barbara Harris'
performance on it. I probably would not have liked anyone except Barbara
Harris, so my thoughts on Ms. Gardner's performance should be taken with much
more than a grain of salt.) Will
Mackenzie, who would go on to a great deal of success as a television actor and
director, played the Alan Alda roles with charm and talent and I liked him a
lot in the roles. Most disappointing, however, was Tom Ewell in the Larry
Blyden roles. Perhaps, six months into the tour, he was getting tired of
schlepping from one small town to another. Perhaps he didn't like playing
opposite an understudy. Perhaps he was just bored with it all. Whatever the
case, he gave one of the worst performances I have seen in nearly fifty years
of theatregoing. (Not the worst. That honor goes to Danny Kaye in Two by Two, but more on that in another
post!) Listless, matter-of-fact with zero charm or charisma, he phoned in his
performance. Dismal. My notes complimented the physical production and the
orchestra and sound. Apparently, however, the audience was dead and unresponsive.
Perhaps a reaction to Rosemary Prinz's absence? - at the Assembly Hall,
University of Illinois, Champaign
Sidebar: Then, as now, bus and truck companies
bring theatre to many smaller communities. Designed for mobility, these tours
often play one- and two-night stands. Before many universities built
state-of-the-art performing arts complexes, performances were often held in
venues such as the Assembly Hall at the University of Illinois in Champaign, an
architecturally significant building usually used for basketball and recently
added to the Illinois endangered landmarks list, that is still home for the
Broadway series. But thanks to some theatrical magic and very skilled
technicians and stagehands, this vast arena was transformed into a perfectly
acceptable performance space.
(an
edited repost from an earlier blog entry)
December,
2006. This was the first full-fledged Broadway revival of the show, not
counting a 2005 Encores presentation and I was super-stoked to see it.
And although I had some major reservations as noted below, I wasn't
disappointed. Brian d'Arcy James, in the Alan Alda parts, is a first-rate
and talented actor and was excellent in all three acts. Marc Kudisch, in
the Larry Blyden parts, was at his best as the Snake, but underused in the
other two, a fault of the writing. (I never said the show was
perfect.) Kristin Chenoweth, in the Barbara Harris roles, was the reason
most of the audience was there and I'm sure she didn't disappoint the majority
of them. In my opinion, however, she was a case of diminishing
returns. In "The Diary of Adam and Eve," she was outstanding.
Warm, touching, funny. In "The Lady or the Tiger?" she was
getting a bit too broad. In "Passionella," she was, well, just
not funny. It was all surface Kristin Chenoweth tricks and though
"Passionella" is the broadest of the three acts and is somewhat
of a cartoon, it's also a satire and needs to be played straight, but with a
knowing wink. Chenoweth was just out there madly chewing scenery and it
hurt her overall performance. Director Gary Griffin got a superb
performance out of her in the first act, but sadly seemed to lose directorial
control over her as the show progressed. And that was a shame. Had
she been better directed, she could have been a worthy successor to the iconic
Barbara Harris performance. Quibbles aside, though, it was great fun.
- at Studio 54, New York
**********
SWEENEY TODD: THE
DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET - Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by Hugh
Wheeler
I
need to get this off my chest: even though Sweeney
Todd has been performed by many opera companies at many opera houses
throughout the world, it is not an opera. It is a
musical. Full stop. It was written as a musical. It was first produced as a
musical. It won a bunch of Tony Awards as a musical. It might have the epic
qualities of an opera, but it has the heart of a musical and needs to be
performed by actors who can sing, and admittedly sing very well, and not by
singers who can act. There is a difference.
Let me try to explain. You can sing the crap out of Mrs. Lovett, but
unless you have the acting chops to thoroughly delve into the depths of this
complicated, charming and diabolical villain, all you have is a well-sung Mrs.
Lovett. I'm not saying opera stars don't know how to act. Many of them do, but
acting in an opera and acting in a musical are two similar, yet different,
animals. It's rare for an opera star to convincingly straddle both worlds and
vice versa. But whether you think, like I do, that Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (to use its full
name) is a musical or whether you think it's an opera or even whether you think
it's an opera that thinks it's a musical or a musical that thinks it's an
opera, the bottom line is that it doesn't matter. Any way you look at it, Sweeney Todd is one of the finest works
written for the theatre in the past century. Personally, I prefer Follies, but I will not dispute the fact
that this is Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece. This slice of Victorian Grand
Guignol delight has a rock-solid book by
Hugh Wheeler to compliment Sondheim's soaring score that ranges from broad comedy to chilling
anthems of revenge to one of the most beautiful songs written for the stage,
"Green Finch and Linnet Bird." The ugliness and violence of London in
that era is more compellingly told and far darker and more realistically
portrayed in Sweeney Todd than the London of Lionel Bart's Oliver!, which takes place in roughly
the same time period. You root for Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett even though you
know these are bad people…or are they really very moral people who do whatever
they feel needs to be done in order to survive, repay old debts and, by killing
the totally reprehensible Beadle and Judge, actually make the world a tiny bit
better? It's not a happy show, though you will laugh throughout "A Little
Priest," but it's invigorating show of uncompromising quality that will
make you think while it entertains you.
March,
1979. The show had opened earlier that
month to largely favorable reviews, though, not unsurprisingly considering it's
a Sondheim show, not every critic was a fan. This "critic," however,
was and is. Upon entering the Uris Theatre (now the Gershwin), a theatre that
thinks it's an airplane hangar, scenic designer Eugene Lee's sensational set,
made up of parts from abandoned foundries in New England, immediately set the
tone. It was jaw-dropping and disturbing at the same time and when the shrill
factory whistle blasted through the auditorium, you could feel the audience jolt
to attention. From Larry Fuller's dance and movement to Franne Lee's costumes
to Ken Billington's lighting to Jonathan Tunick's orchestrations to Paul
Gemignani's musical direction, there was not a single production element that
was not absolutely flawless. Harold Prince's direction was insightful, complex
and yet accessible and told this story of revenge and redemption with a beauty
and grace that makes Sweeney Todd
quite possibly the highlight of his long and brilliant career. Staggeringly
good performances by Victor Garber, Ken Jennings, Merle Louise, Edmund Lyndeck,
Sarah Rice, Joaquin Romaguera and Jack Eric Williams brought the large cast of characters vividly and memorably to
life. But it was Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou who, in career-defining performances,
thrillingly anchored the proceedings and who effortlessly brought the gigantic
Uris Theatre down to size. I've seen other productions of Sweeney Todd, but this, kids, was the real deal. Breathtaking.
Simply breathtaking. - at the Uris Theatre, New York
August,
1979. Several months into the run, the show was as fresh as my first viewing of
it. Cris Groenendaal had replaced Victor Garber as Anthony. (Garber was soon to
go into rehearsals for the First National Tour of They're Playing Our Song.) Still stunning. Still magnificent. - at
the Uris Theatre, New York
February,
1980. Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury were leaving the show at the end of the
week, but their performances were still opening-night fresh and effortless.
Betsy Joslyn had replaced Sarah Rice as Johanna. I was in New York to perform
for an association of word processing professionals. (Remember word
processors?) My fellow castmates were all associated with Waukegan Community
Players, the community theatre group in my hometown of Waukegan. I'm not quite
sure how our author and star got the gig, but it paid well, was great fun, and was an excuse to play in New York. My best friend Pat and others in the cast joined
me at the Uris. Pat thought it was one of the finest performances she had ever
seen. No argument from me, Pat. - at the Uris Theatre, New York
March,
1981. When the first national tour of Sweeney
Todd played Chicago, it was unfortunately housed at the ghastly Arie
Crown Theatre, an inhospitable barn of a playhouse seating over 4300 people
that made Sweeney's New York home,
the Uris, seem positively intimate. For whatever reason, I assume it had to do
with money and box office receipts, the Arie Crown was, for a while, too long a while in my book, the theatre of choice for many of the larger musicals
when they played Chicago. This was unfortunate, because even the singular
talents of Angela Lansbury and George Hearn could not overcome the liabilities
of this huge space. Eugene Lee's brilliant set was slightly altered for touring
(no trap doors or rising from the depths of hell in the touring production),
but otherwise this was a faithful replica of the Broadway original with many of
the final Lansbury/Cariou cast continuing in the show. Lansbury remained a marvel
and George Hearn was a powerful and frightening Sweeney Todd. Don't get me
wrong; the performances and producition were all top-notch, but I so wish the
producers had booked the Shubert instead. - at the Arie Crown Theatre, Chicago
May,
1994. The Broadway original may be the gold standard by which all productions
of Sweeney Todd can be judged, but this 1993 chamber-sized (18 cast,
10 orchestra) version produced by Great Britain's Royal National Theatre is my
favorite. The reason? Two words: Julia McKenzie. Wildly praised for her interpretation of
Nellie Lovett, her earthly, sensual performance was a master class in how to
take an already iconic performance (originator Angela Lansbury, thrilling and
incredible) and make it truly, absolutely, totally your own. Lansbury's
approach was daffier, a bit flakier, a bit on the cutesy side which made her
Act Two scene with Toby, where she decides he must be killed in order to keep
Sweeney Todd from being exposed, so potent. McKenzie's approach was broader,
sexier, with a obvious survivor's attitude which made the same Act Two scene as
potent as Lansbury's but with an added quality of calculated evil that made you
almost gasp in despair because, up to that point, despite Mrs. Lovett's popping
people into pies and the rest of her, let's be honest here, sociopathic
behavior, you rather liked McKenzie's
Mrs. Lovett. She was fun; she was funny; she was a Victorian good time. Plus
McKenzie sang the absolute crap out of the score. In my book, this was and remains
the definitive Mrs. Lovett. I am not alone in this opinion. I have read in
several sources that Sondheim himself feels the same way. In fact, Sondheim has
praised this production and its small chamber approach as being his original
vision for the piece. As one would expect from the National Theatre, production
values, though not as epic as the original, were top-of-the-line with a superb
orchestra and a superb cast including Denis Quilley, who originated the role in
the first London West End production in 1980. Seeing it in the intimate 890
seat Lyttelton Theatre made the entire experience powerful and unforgettable.
Steve was ambivalent about seeing this, but he loved Julia McKenzie after
seeing her in the London production of Follies in 1987, so he was willing to
give the show a try. He was a believer by the end of Act One. Highlight of the
evening, however, had to be sharing a drink and a chat with Ms. McKenzie
herself in the green room bar after the show. Classy lady; über-talented
actor. - at the Lyttelton Theatre (NT), London
August,
2001. This semi-staged concert version originated in 2000 with the New York
Philharmonic at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, where it was recorded on
CD. The following year it was produced in San Francisco, where it was taped for
a PBS broadcast. In August, 2001, it played at Ravinia, Chicago's glorious
outdoors concert venue in suburban Ravinia. Lonny Price's skilled direction
gave a theatrical gloss to the proceedings. In the superlative cast were
internationally acclaimed baritone Sherrill Milnes as Judge Turpin, Broadway
veteran Davis Gaines as Anthony Hope, the wonderful Hollis Resnick as the
Beggar Woman and Neil Patrick Harris (!!) as Tobias Rigg. But then, the icing
on the cake: George Hearn once again
formidable and terrifying as Sweeney Todd and Patti LuPone as a deliciously
amoral, comic and scary Mrs. Lovett. Add the glorious sounds of the large
Ravinia Symphony Orchestra and a beautiful summer evening and, well, you have
one magical evening. – at the Pavilion, Ravinia Festival, Ravinia, IL
October,
2005. Director/Designer John Doyle's approach to having the actors also act as the orchestra was something
revolutionary for Broadway, exciting and invigorating and yet, at the same
time, somewhat unsatisfying, an opinion I would have a year later with his
actors-as-orchestra production of Company.
I had absolutely no quibbles about the talented and versatile cast of ten
playing principals and chorus alike and the scenic, costume and lighting
designs were all striking and original. What was missing, in my humble opinion,
was the epic quality that the original certainly had, the chamber piece had and
even the concert version had. For me, this flattened this wonderfully macabre
tale and made it a little less, for lack of a better description, Sweeney Todd, if that makes any sense at
all. Perhaps surprisingly, however, the music seemed fresher and more immediate and I
credit orchestrator Sarah Travis for transforming Jonathan Tunick 's
original orchestrations to perfectly fit this innovative concept and to
perfectly showcase the musician talents of the cast. The casting of Pirelli as
a woman didn't work for me, which is absolutely no reflection of Donna Lynne
Champlin's performance. It was just a choice I didn't agree with. Special kudos
to Mark Jacoby (Judge Turpin), Alexander Gemignani (The Beadle), Lauren Molina
(Johanna) and Manoel Felciano (Toby). Top honors, however, go to Michael
Cerveris, whose Sweeney was so charismatic and so downright hot, as in sexy
hot, and yet so very, very frightening, and to Patti LuPone, whose Mrs. Lovett
took on a completely different life from her Ravinia portrayal and gave us a
very wry, very sardonic and the most cheerfully demented Mrs. Lovett I've seen.
I enjoyed it quite a lot, yet this is my least favorite of the major
productions I've seen of the show. On their first trip to NYC, our niece (age
16) and nephew (age 14) were not terribly impressed. – at the Eugene O'Neill
Theatre, New York
September,
2011. A former student of Bob's was
in the cast of this well-received production and that was the impetus for the
trip to the 'burbs. This was an excellent production with terrific production
values, superb singing and outstanding lead performances by NYC-imported Gregg
Edelman and Liz McCartney that gave the show a Broadway sheen not often seen in
Chicago regional theatre. The ubiquitous Rachel Rockwell did a fine job
directing the show, keeping it more in the style of the original. Her penchant
for "reimagining" and "reinventing" was only apparent in the
decision to cast a young boy as Toby, a bold choice that, had director Rockwell
taken the risk to go full-throttle with this approach, could have added a really
disturbingly creepy element to the production. As presented, however, it was
more Oliver! than Sweeney Todd and just had me bewildered.
Overall, though, a solid production and well-worth the trip out to the
hysterically decoratively overwrought Drury Lane. – at the Drury Lane Theatre,
Oakbrook Terrace, IL
©
2014 Jeffrey Geddes
