PREVIEW: Goodspeed, The Music Man

Goodspeed Musicals, East Haddam, CT
www.goodspeed.org
April 12 - June 20, 2019

TROUBLE Is Coming To Town!

River City’s about to get the last thing they expected ̶ and the very thing they need ̶  in “The Music Man.” Goodspeed Musicals kicks off its 2019 season with the rip-roarin’ dance-filled classic running April 12 – June 20, 2019. “The Music Man” is so popular that, even before the run has started, nine performances have been added.

You got trouble in River City! Professor Harold Hill and Marian the Librarian march into their first appearance at Goodspeed in a rousing new production of this great American musical. When huckster Harold promises to save an Iowa town by selling the dream of a boys’ band, Marian is the only skeptic, until she starts to buy his pitch. Fall in love with “76 Trombones,” “The Wells Fargo Wagon,” “Trouble” and “Till There Was You.” This is considered to be one of America’s glorious classic musicals. The mastermind creators of “The Music Man” are Meredith Willson (book, music, lyrics) with story by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey.

The huge cast of professional actors, singers, and dancers include many Goodspeed returnees, while others make their debuts. Several in the cast and crew have found homes on Broadway stages.

A few words about the Goodspeed venue. This is not your typical theatre, but a large, old, elegant, three-floor mansion-like building. Somewhat like a mini-castle, the site it white with classic designed trimmings. Once inside, immediately at the center is a sprawling staircase, carpeted in deep red, branching off to each side. Patrons walk up to the first floor. [There is also an elevator.] Goodspeed seats fewer guests than one might expect.

One of the most amazing aspects is its postage stamp-sized stage. Through the years, Goodspeed’s choreographers have directed their dancers to tap, waltz, Lindy Hop, Charleston, rock ‘n roll in solo pieces, duets, ensembles, and full cast Broadway-like spectacular numbers. Easily (actually, maybe not so easily), more than 30 dancers have occupied the space at any one time. “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” probably boasted the biggest number. Here’s guessing that “The Music Man’s” young musicians, their parents, townsfolk, and leads will fill Goodspeed’s stage to the brim. It’s a challenge for any choreographer, and all have fully succeeded.

REVIEW: Majestic Theater, Boeing Boeing

Majestic Theater, West Springfield, MA

www.majestictheater.com

through March 31, 2019

by Konrad Rogowski

They say you can tell how good a silly sex farce is by the number of doors through which folks suddenly enter, just as someone else is making an equally sudden exit to avoid drastic/comic results. To his credit, director Rand Foerster has five such doors, which adds up to an evening of very funny “how will they get out of this mess?” moments.

The plot is as thin as the ethics and motives of the lead, played with appropriate physical and facial mugging by Jack Grigoli, as he plots how to balance his three (yes, three) airline stewardess “fiancés’” travel schedules to keep his love life from going into a tail spin. This is somewhat complicated, since they all live with him in his Paris apartment, each on a different shift.

Photo by Kait Rankins

His grounding force in this madness, is his maid, Bertha, played with delightful disgust and dismay by Christine Anthony, as she hurriedly whips up appropriate foods for his American, German, and Italian conquests, and runs about swapping out pictures and anything else that might give the whole scheme away. Jack’s long-lost friend arrives, played by Scott Renzoni, who tries, and fails, to be the voice of reasons, as he slowly succumbs to the wiles of all three women. Kyle Boatwright, Katie Mack, and Larissa Marten round out the cast, each as comically high flying as the next.

The set is straight out of the 1960’s Paris chic playbook, right down to that obligatory shag rug. The comedy all comes down to that final scene that could nose dive everyone into disaster, but is saved by the quick-talking guys whose logic, defies both reason and the laws of gravity. “Boeing Boeing” is a barnstorming night of fun and frolic.

REVIEW: Playhouse on Park, The Revolutionists

Playhouse on Park, West Hartford, CT

www.playhouseonpark.org

through March 10, 2019

by Shera Cohen

Congratulations to Playhouse on Park’s (POP) on its 10th anniversary season. Over the years, POP’s triumvirate co-founders (Tracy Flater, Sean Harris, and Darlene Zoller) have presented an array of dramas and comedies, straight plays and musicals, old chestnuts and new works. For the most part, and the reason that single ticket buyers soon become subscribers, is the excellent quality, talent, and purpose of the plays. Skilled staff, both onstage and backstage, can always be depended upon.

POP does nearly everything right to create a fine production of “The Revolutionists.” The major element of what makes a play the best it can be is the ability of a director to present a full story from the opening line to the final curtain. Any theatre-goer knows that the actors, crew (a very long list of highly skilled individuals), and even those at the concession stand help to make a theatre experience important and memorable to the audience. POP has all of this good stuff.

Photo by Meredith Longo

Yet, even with POP’s skills on every level, it seems unlikely that no theatre could produce this particular play to audience satisfaction. In the Spotlight’s review criteria purposely omits critique of the text – that’s a given, and it is the production that is considered. However, here is an exception, the reason being to essentially not kill the messenger - in this case, POP. Apparently, the playwright’s record of success is broad, but this work by Lauren Gunderson is not up to the level of POP’s abilities. Big question: why did POP select this play?

As a tragi-comedy, the play’s story does not ring true, which is especially odd because three of its four characters were actual people living at the time of the French Revolution. The contemporary language stuffed with numerous and unnecessary expletives mixed with that of 18th century semi-aristocratic conversations. The play would have had a decent start had it been a drama throughout. At the very least, if the writer meant “The Revolutionists” to be a comedy, then stick with it.

Three plays round out the second half of POP’s 2018-19 season. In spite of what is written above, Playhouse on Park is worth a trip.

REVIEW: Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn’s Italian and Brahms

Springfield Symphony, Symphony Hall, Springfield, MA

www.springfieldsymphony.org

February 23, 2019

by Michael J. Moran

A more appropriate title for this concert might have been “A Superstar Is Born.” When the scheduled violin soloist, SSO favorite Rachel Barton Pine, was forced by a short-term health issue to cancel, William Hagen stepped in to replace her with less than two weeks’ notice. To retain the original program, he learned a new piece and prepared one of the most difficult works in the standard repertoire, both of which he did in a triumphant local debut.

Continuing the SSO’s 75th anniversary seasonal focus on American women composers, the program opened with short pieces by two of them. First up was the four-minute “Prayer and Celebration,” an “homage to Mahler,” which Augusta Read Thomas wrote in 2006 for her alma mater, St. Paul’s School, in New Hampshire. Next came Amy Beach’s 1893 “Romance,” originally for violin and piano, in a recent transcription by Chris Trotman for solo violin, harp, and strings.

Both received lush, lyrical performances from an ensemble which included members of the SSO and the Springfield Symphony Youth Orchestra, also celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The “Romance” featured Hagen as well, who shaded his tone from robust to delicate in capturing the warmth of this lovely eight-minute confection.

The SSO then turned in a powerful rendition of Mendelssohn’s fourth, or “Italian,” symphony, to round out the concert’s first half. From a surging opening “Allegro vivace,” to a fleet “Andante con moto,” a flowing “Con modo moderato,” and a rambunctious closing “Saltarello-Presto,” Rhodes coaxed an urgent energy from his musicians that never flagged. 

William Hagen

The high point of the evening was Hagen’s riveting account of the Brahms Violin Concerto. The opening “Allegro non troppo” was broad and spacious, with the 26-year-old, Utah-born soloist balancing interpretive maturity with technical skill, especially in the demanding five-minute cadenza. Duetting stunningly with SSO principal oboe Nancy Dimock in the central “Adagio,” and playing vigorously through the “Allegro giocoso” finale, Hagen achieved a strong rapport with Rhodes and the fervent orchestra.

After a thunderous standing ovation, Hagen presented a whirlwind solo encore of the “Allegro assai” finale from Bach’s Sonata in C. The return of this charismatic artist to Springfield would be welcomed in a heartbeat.

REVIEW: Hartford Stage, Detroit ‘67

Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordstage.org

through March 10

by Jarice Hanson

Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Dominique Morisseau’s exquisitely crafted “Detroit ‘67” is a powerful reminder of the so-called “race riots” that erupted across American cities in 1967. Detroit is Morisseau’s hometown, but it serves as a metaphor for what was, and what was to become a turning point in the cultural lives of all Americans.  Punctuated by the optimism and soul of Motown—one of Detroit’s musical gifts to the world, the story begins with a sister and brother who have inherited their family home.

Chelle (Myxolydia Tyler) likes life the way it was. Her brother, Lank (Johnny Ramsey), has plans to open a neighborhood bar with his best friend, Sly (Will Cobbs). Neighbor and friend Bunny (Nyhale Allie) adds a level of sass and funk, but these four actors/characters convince their audience that they’ve had a history together and that they belong to a community in Detroit. Their petty squabbles, difficult past, and desire for the future are all upset when Lank brings Caroline, a white woman (Ginna Le Vine) beaten into unconsciousness, to the safe haven of the home’s basement as Detroit begins to burn and the forces outside begin to impact the characters’ lives.

Directed by Jade King Carroll and with an effective scene design by Riccardo Hernandez, lighting by Nicole Pearce, and brilliant sound design by Karin Graybash, the play establishes Detroit as a place where past and future clash. Morriseau’s metaphors are powerful and she is the type of playwright who knows when humor is needed. There are some very funny lines and character interpretations that all serve to build to the exciting, heart-rending conclusion.

The pace of this production, though, works against the message. Whether the director thought it necessary to slow the action so that the powerful words could be experienced by the audience, or the actors needed the time to traverse the big stage, the production plods somewhat through Act I, though there are some dramatic, even chilling moments in Act II. 

What Morisseau has effectively created, though, is a snapshot of American history. The breadth of this moment in time is also highlighted by a display in the upper lobby of the theatre that juxtaposes black and white photography of Detroit with Hartford’s own racial and civil unrest in 1967. This story needs to be told, and the important controversies of the late 1960’s should never be forgotten.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony, Latin Lovers, Hartford Symphony Orchestra

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT

www.hartfordsymphony.org

February 15–17, 2019

by Michael J. Moran

Red roses in the hair or lapels of many Hartford Symphony Orchestra (HSO) members set a festive Valentine’s weekend tone for the fifth “Masterworks” program of the HSO’s 75th season. Led by their Assistant Conductor Adam Boyles, it featured five Latin-style works by four composers, all but one HSO premieres.

The concert opened with the only piece likely to be familiar to many listeners, Aaron Copland’s “El Salon Mexico,” written in 1936 and last played by the HSO in 1999. Named, according to the composer, after a “Harlem-type nightclub” he had visited in Mexico City, its original melodies are based on Mexican popular themes and dance rhythms. A lively performance under Boyles’ animated baton got the evening off to a foot-tapping start, which never let up from then on.

Julien Labro

Next came two works by Argentinian tango master Astor Piazzolla which featured the bandoneon, a South American concertina, and French-born soloist Julien Labro. Playing his instrument as it rested on his knee after he placed his right foot on a bench, Labro produced a colorful range of sonorities in both the energetic 1974 “Libertango” and the more virtuosic three-movement 1979 “Concerto for Bandoneon, String Orchestra, and Percussion.” The HSO and Boyles had a field day in both pieces.  

A warm ovation brought Labro back for an encore, which he played on an accordina, a mouth-blown cross between a harmonica and an accordion. With lush accompaniment from orchestra and conductor, he gave a loving account of the main theme from the Italian film “Il Postino.”

Intermission was followed by the most dramatic music of the evening, “Three Latin American Dances,” written in 2004 by Peruvian-American composer Gabriela Lena Frank. Inspired by Bernstein’s “West Side Story” Symphonic Dances (from which Boyles led a thundering audience-participation “Mambo” as a closing encore), it showcased a battery of exotic percussion, including bongos, thunder sheet, and rain stick. Joyous renditions of these dances and of Mexican composer Arturo Marquez’s sumptuous, nostalgic 1994 “Danzon No. 2” sent the enthusiastic audience home in a romantic glow.

Attendees at Boyles’ entertaining and informative pre-concert talk caught the mood early in a sensual tango lesson by elegant dancers Chantelle Johnson and Kadeem Jordan from the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Bloomfield.

REVIEW: The Bushnell, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT

www.bushnell.org

through February 24, 2019

by Michael J. Moran

Based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s novel of the same name, which also inspired two popular films, this 2013 musical opened in London, running for three and a half years before a reworked version transferred to Broadway, where it ran for nine months before launching the current national tour.

With a book by David Greig, and music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (the “Hairspray” team), the production tells the story of how and why legendary chocolatier Willy Wonka reopens his mysterious chocolate factory for a tour by five lucky winners of golden tickets found in Wonka candy bars. Replacing the injured actor Noah Weisberg for the entire Hartford run, stand-in Benjamin Howes is a kinetic and appealing Wonka, rivaling even Gene Wilder in the 1971 film, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

Unlike in the book and films, Wonka doubles in the stage version as the candyshop-keeper who opens the show with its most familiar musical number, “The Candy Man” (yes, the Sammy Davis, Jr. hit). This is one of three songs by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley from the film that are featured in the show, along with “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket” and “Pure Imagination.” The charismatic rendition by Howes quickly sweeps the audience into the musical’s magic spell.

While all five golden ticket winners are children, only the titular Charlie Bucket is played by a child actor. As on Broadway, three young actors alternate performances in the touring cast. On opening night 10-year-old, Henry Boshart gave a sweet, winning account of the role. He was ably supported by the heart-warming Amanda Rose (who nails her solo “If Your Father Were Here”) as his mother, and by the magnetic Colin Bradbury as his Grandpa Joe, who joins Charlie on his life-changing Wonka tour. Hilarious Brynn Williams as chewing-gum-loving “queen of pop” Violet and spacey Daniel Quadrino as “vidiot” Mike Teavee stood out as obnoxious fellow tourists.

While some antics in Act II may disturb the youngest viewers, eye-popping projection design by Jeff Sugg, astonishing “puppet and illusion design” (for Wonka’s “oompa loompa” employees) by Basil Twist, exhilarating choreography by Joshua Bergasse, and joyous direction by Jack O’Brien will captivate children of all ages who see this engaging production.