BROADWAY BABIES ALL GROWN UP

Musical Director Shane Schag, Marie Stumpf, Shengquan Jin, Montana York, Raquel Nobile, Juliana Levinson, Victoria Policht, Sam Krivda, Allison Porter, and Luke Sikora

What an entertaining evening we enjoyed at Manhattan School of Music!  Directed by Carolyn Marlow, students of the Musical Theater Lab performed an array of Broadway tunes, many of them addressing issues of our present culture and many of them absolutely hilarious.

Some of them were songs we could not appreciate when seen on Broadway because of the egregious custom of deafening amplification.  Here they were sung unamplified by talented young artists with fine young voices and a good feel for the style. What a treat to understand every clever word!

Perhaps the funniest was "Baptize Me" from The Book of Mormon by Parker, Lopez, and Stone. Luke Sikora was hilarious as Elder Cunningham trying to perform his first baptism on the equally hilarious Allison Porter.  The double entendres flew thick and fast but not over the heads of the audience.

For political resonance, the cast performed  "Everybody's Got the Right" from Stephen Sondheim's Assassins, a wonderful choice.  One can never go wrong with Sondheim, whose text is always meaningful and whose music is always interesting and original.

The issue of "the road not taken" was tackled with excellent humor by Victoria Policht and Montana York in "The Grass is Always Greener" from Kander and Ebb's Woman of the Year. Ms. Policht portrayed an overburdened housewife in muumuu and fuzzy slippers, comparing her life to that of her stylish famous friend, enacted by Ms. York.

A different kind of rivalry was portrayed by Luke Sikora as an author and Sam Krivda as his more 

exciting creation in "You're Nothing Without Me" from Cy Coleman's City of Angels.

Not every duet was competitive.  The warm friendship between Glinda (Ms. Nobile) and Elphaba (Juliana Levinson) was harmonically lovely as they made their farewells in "For Good" from Stephen Schwartz' Wicked.

Marie Stumpf showed fine dramatic chops in two roles: she portrayed a very crazy girl in "Screw Loose" from Javerbaum & Schlesinger's Cry Baby. In "Come Up to My Place" from Leonard Bernstein's On the Town, she was hilarious as Hildy, driving a taxi in which passenger Chip (Sam Krivda), a sailor on leave, has a very outdated list of sights he wanted to see, all of which were long gone. Their interaction kept the audience in stitches.

The dilemma of living in an apartment in New York with very loud neighbors was illustrated by Han Hsiao in "14G" from Jeanine Tesori's Thoroughly Modern Millie. What made it even more fun was that the neighbors were singers, allowing Ms. Hsiao to exercise her vocal cords.

On a more serious note, she performed the duet "One Hand, One Heart" from Bernstein's West Side Story with Mr. Jin in the role of Tony.d

Fortunately we heard even more Bernstein when the full company ended the evening with "To Make Us Proud" from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and "Make Our Garden Grow" from Candide.

Shane Schag was Musical Director and Pianist. He did a bang-up job!

It was a fun evening from an entertainment standpoint but also rewarding in the knowledge that there are up and coming young performers whom we hope will keep Broadway lit up for many years to come.

(c) meche kroop

MSM DOES STEPHEN SCHWARTZ

Defying Gravity--the Magical World of Stephen Schwartz (photo by Anna Yatskevich)

Year after year, the students of the American Musical Theater Ensemble of the Manhattan School of Music present an evening of entertainment that rivals any evening you might spend on Broadway.

Last night's DEFYING GRAVITY presented the songs of Stephen Schwartz in a clever revue format, conceived and directed by Carolyn Marlow. The concept involved extracting songs from his large oeuvre and weaving them together with dialogue that posited interesting relationships among the members of the cast, comprising a dozen talented young performers, as adept at dancing and acting as they are at singing.

There was an arrogant male figure (Joseph Sacchi) and an insecure one (Luke Sikora), and a bunch of gals just bursting with pizazz. There was a big guy with an operatic voice (Christopher Lilley) and a skinny one (Frank Humphrey) who needed a lesson in "Style" from The Magic Show. 

Composer Stephen Schwartz has written a slew of captivating  award-winning musicals for the stage and for film--even having scored some Disney films. His tunes are memorable and the lyrics capture the zeitgeist beautifully. Having gotten on board too late for anything but Wicked, we will have to do a library search to get exposed to more of his writing, since the taste we had last night served to whet our appetite.

The voices were all excellent and the performers adept at creating believable characters. We particularly enjoyed Allie Altieri in the wistful "Lion Tamer" from The Magic Show and her moving account of "Just Beyond the Riverbend" from the film Pocahontas. Mr. Humphrey did his best work in "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin. The two artists sang these two songs simultaneously. (We don't know how they worked this out so successfully).

In "Style" the pair, pretending to be awkward losers, were coached by the very stylish Gabriela Moscoso and Christopher Lilley, both of whom had the moves. It's always humorous to see talented people pretending to be clumsy.

Ms. Moscoso was featured in a lot of numbers and impressed us with her high octane personality and expressive acting. She led Anna Mayo and Juliana Levinson in the wonderful "Sweet, Sweet, Sweet" from The Magic Show, and had a great solo in "Spread a Little Sunshine" from Pippin. 

Mr. Lilley commanded the stage in "Simple Song" from Leonard Bernstein's Mass (for which Schwartz wrote the lyrics) accompanied by Mr. Humphrey and some lovely flute playing from Aaron Patterson, who was just as fine on the clarinet as he accompanied the lovely Grace Callahan in "Blame it on the Summer Night" from Rags, for which Charles Strouse wrote the music. There was a fine bright ring in her upper register. We also enjoyed the duet "All for the Best" from Godspell, in which she was joined by Anna Mayo.

Ms. Mayo was lovely in "Since I Gave My Heart Away" from Gepetto while Nicole DeLuca and Joseph Sacchi did a graceful ballroom dance. There was a theme running through the revue that Ms. DeLuca, whose character was headed for a stint on Broadway, got nothing but negativity from her boyfriend, portrayed by Joseph Sacchi, as an arrogant philanderer, trying to keep his woman down on the farm, in pre-liberation mode.

Mr. Sacchi's solo "Proud Lady" from The Baker's Wife was excellently done. He got his comeuppance from the ladies of the cast in "Turn Back, O Man" from Godspell; they sure strutted their stuff and waved their feather boas!

There were some beautiful harmonies in "Serenade" from The Baker's Wife and even more harmony in five parts in "In Pursuit of Excellence" from Children of Eden.  

Juliana Levinson expressed some lovely sentiments in French in "Chanson" from The Baker's Wife.

Luke Sikora portrayed an insecure fella who finds his bearings during the show. There was nothing insecure about his performance however. His "everyman" in "Extraordinary" from Pippin was great and his "Dancing Through Life" from Wicked was even better.

The excellent musicians were not in the pit but were upstage. Music director and pianist Shane Schag was joined by guitarist Sean Richey, bassist Connor Schultze, percussionist Guilhem Flouzat and the aforementioned Aaron Patterson, a virtuoso on flute, clarinet and saxophone. Orchestrations were by Mike Webster with some special arrangements by Warren Helms.

The set and lighting by Shawn Kaufman were simple, involving staircases on either side with a walkway extending the width of the stage up above. The risers of the stairs were illuminated with tiny colored lights and the backdrop was washed in intense colors. It was simple but effective.

Colleen Durham's choreography was well suited to the skills of the students.  We particularly enjoyed a dance with black bowler hats that made us think of Bob Fosse.

Whether these students elect a career on the opera stage or on the Broadway stage, they do seem destined for success.

(c) meche kroop

A Little Night Music at Manhattan School of Music (photo by Brian Hatton)

There was much to enjoy last night in Manhattan School of Music's American Musical Theater Ensemble's production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music. Although it premiered in 1973 it has aged well with a plethora of melodic arias underscored by beautiful music, orchestrated by Jonathon Tunick. Music director Shane Schag was at the piano and there were some lovely contributions by Caroline Cox on violin, Duane Fields on cello, Connor Schultze on bass and particularly by Melanie Genin on harp and Brian Krock whose lovely clarinet intro to "Send in the Clowns" was a highlight of the evening.

The story (book by Hugh Wheeler) was suggested by the Ingmar Bergman film and takes place in the early 20th c. in Sweden at the time of year when the sun doesn't set. Six mismatched people get their love lives sorted out under the observing eye of grande dame Madame Armfeldt who has a lifetime of experience, and her precocious granddaughter Fredrika. 

The former was portrayed by veteran star of opera and theater Catherine Malfitano who was made up to look elderly. Her voice is undeniably better than Hermione Gingold and she put her own take on the role. Her song "Liaisons" was a show-stopper.

She had a lovely bond with granddaughter Fredrika, portrayed by petite Julia Suriano who was able to express all the ambivalence of the child of a too-busy mother of whom she is quite proud but by whom she feels somewhat neglected.

The middle generation of the Armfeldt family is the actress Desirée who would like to renew her old relationship with Fredrik Egerman, a lawyer now married to his childlike virgin bride Anne. Desirée was portrayed by mezzo-soprano Agness Nyama, whose song "Send in the Clowns" was far better sung than it was by Glynis Johns. She has a fine mezzo instrument and sang with great feeling.  Unfortunately, her acting was not up to par with her singing.  There was no chemistry with anyone else in the cast and it was difficult to believe that she belonged in that family or circle of frenemies.

As Fredrik, baritone Clayton Brown was quite believable and sang well. His Act II duet with Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm was splendid. Nickolas Miller was quite good as the arrogant Count, especially as he terrorized his poor wife Charlotte, excellently sung and believably acted by Addie Hamilton. Ms. Hamilton's conspiring with young Anne was quite fine and Samantha Williams made a fine shallow Anne with her bright clear soprano and ditzy body language.

Fredrik's son Henrik was performed by Luke Sikora who did an excellent job portraying a young man in love with his step-mother and burying his feelings in theology. As immoral as the story is, we couldn't help cheering when the two of them ran away together leaving Fredrik free to get back together with Desirée.

We loved the other show-stopping song performed by Viktoria Falcone as the servant Petra--"The Miller's Son".  Her pizazz is something to see and to watch develop.

Further, we loved the chorus.  All were fine: Evan Henke, Stephanie Christian, Sara Ptachik and Hannah Dishman with Christopher S. Lilley a standout for his impressive tenor. All were choreographed by Colleen Durham in a colorful waltz.

The gorgeous period-appropriate costuming was credited to Summer Lee Jack. The simple but effective set and its lighting were credited to Shawn Kaufman.

The Direction by Carolyn Marlow fell short of her customary good work. The main flaws in the production had to do with the overall tone of the piece. Accents were all over the map and some performers had lazy diction, causing us to miss the wonderful sung dialogue. Characters occasionally seemed to belong to  different productions, different countries and different epochs. We longed for more unity of tone.

We were also troubled by the obvious amplification which lent an unnatural sound.  In a rather small auditorium with trained voices, perhaps that could have been eliminated. 

Nonetheless, it was a gift to be able to see and hear this show again, in spite of some minor shortcomings. This is the first time we have seen and heard shortcomings of any kind at an MSM production. We realize it is a student production but we generally don't have to make such allowances.

(c) meche kroop

MOVING RIGHT ALONG

Addie Hamilton, Sarah Tupper Daniels, Marley Dove, Cameron Johnson, Christopher Lilley, Chelsea Nectow, Kendrick Pifer, Jacob Lewis Smith, Kim Johansen--photo by
Brian Hatton

Manhattan School of Music's American Musical Theater Ensemble has yet another hit to lure lovers of musical theater away from BROADWAY and up to 122nd and Broadway.  A treasure trove of songs by the terrifically talented Jeff Blumenkrantz has been shaped into a revue conceived and directed by Carolyn Marlow.  Although there isn't a "plot" there is definitely a story to tell since each of the characters has a relationship with the others. The show gets off to a rousing start with the ensemble singing the cleverest lyrics advising audience members how to behave.  Not only was it a clever number but it was effective.  Not a single phone rang and no one rummaged through a purse or unwrapped a cough drop!

Set and Lighting Designer Shawn Kaufman has set the first act in a coffee shop with a barista named Miles (Jody Hinkley) who appears to suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder and sings the very funny "Everything is Better When It's Clean".  This setting allows the characters to come and interact with each other and leave.  The action takes place over the course of a year with each month bringing new events.

Act II is set in a gay bar called 50 Shades of Gay.  The bartender Kevin (Piers Portfolio) reprises Miles' lovelorn ballad from Act I "Hold My Hand".  One wants to stand up and cheer that these two souls have found each other. Not everyone is romantically lucky but Alysha (Kendrick Pifer) who opens the show hilariously obsessing about her weight in "This Will Be the Year" winds up connecting with the lovelorn Paul (Christopher Lilley) at a wedding which she is trying to get through by getting drunk in "Drink My Way".

Devoted Maxime (Kim Johansen) is unable to get the time and attention he wants from author Becky (Chelsie Nectow) in "Steal Away" and by Act II, they have separated and she is exploring her potential in "I'm Free".  In a funny bit, she enlists members of the audience to help her overcome her slacker procrastination.

Meanwhile the very cheerful Mary (Sarah Tupper Daniels) leaves her dead end job as a toll collector and starts doing voice-overs for porn, earning enough money to furnish her apartment.  Her "Welcome to My Apartment" is one of the funniest songs in the show.

Her brother Kyle (Cameron Johnson) is the saddest character in the show since he is unable to get over the death of his partner in "It Can't Be".  Having just seen Mr. Johnson in a fine comedic role in Haydn's Orlando Paladino at MSM, we were astonished to see his dramatic range.  He bitterly mocks his sister's pollyana-ish attitude in "Choose Happy".  His is one of those angry depressions--the "mean reds", not the blues.

Sixteen-year-old Meg (Marley Dove) is not at all sweet and torments her mother Victoria (Addie Hamilton).  Her gay brother Jason is consistently hilarious as he sings about his new crush in "spencersgt@yahoo.com" and even more hilarious in the title song "Moving Right Along", a duet with Miles whom he has dragged to 50 Shades of Gay.  Who has observed a horde of potential partners without criticizing them mercilessly!?  One poor victim was "dorky, porky, not NewYorky".  That should give you some idea of the cleverness of Mr. Blumenkrantz' lyrics.

But words cannot convey the catchiness of his music which works beautifully with the lyrics.  Musical Direction for the show was by Shane Schag who played the piano.  Grace Ho performed the cello part with Connor Schultze on bass, Aaron Patterson on "reeds" and Guilhem Flouzat as percussionist.  The excellent orchestrations were done by Josh Freilich.

How surprising to read the program notes and to learn that the singers were all students--from a freshman to some graduate students!  It was surprising because they all performed with professional attention to vocal demands and were completely dramatically convincing. We have seen shows on and off-Broadway that were not half so wonderful as Moving Right Along.

What made this show even more special was the way it tapped into so many contemporary issues: parent-child stress, romantic disappointment, growing up, achieving independence, loss and finding the right partner.  The humor of the songs and the immense effectiveness of the cast made it easy to see oneself and one's friends represented onstage.  There is one more performance tonight.  You couldn't spend a better evening anywhere else.

© meche kroop