Soul Sister: Review Roundup

Posted on August 30, 2012 by boz

Emi Wokoma

The jukebox Tina Turner bio-musical Soul Sister opened to mixed reviews – unfavorable for its creators but highly favorable for its performers – in a limited West End engagement at the Savoy, where it transferred after a limited Fringe engagement at the Hackney Empire. For the record, the creative team includes John Miller (book), Pete Brooks (book, direction), Bob Eaton (direction), Laura Hopkins (production design), Jason Pennycooke (musical staging), and Sean Green (music direction). The cast includes Emi Wokoma (Tina Turner) and Chris Tummings (Ike Turner) with Sharon Benson, Nadine Higgin, Ngo Ngofa and Joanna Sandi (The Four Ikes).

Julie Carpenter (Express): 3 out of 5 stars. Wokoma neither looks like the stomping rock ‘n’ roll icon nor exactly sounds like her … but she has a big, deep, incredible voice of her own. … She seems to embody Turner’s feral, ferocious spirit and reveals herself as a true talent in the process. … It’s as if the writers know the shortcomings of the often-clunking script, preferring to focus on the star and the music, magnificently backed up by the live band and the exuberant “Ikettes.” … While conceding at the start that most stories “only scratch the surface” this show does nothing more. … Simply the best thing to do is just appreciate the spectacle and relive the power of the music.

Michael Coveney (What’s On Stage): 3 out of 5 stars. Along comes this weak-kneed, sycophantic Tina Turner tribute … but with a blistering, knockout star performance from unknown Emi Wokoma. Wokoma doesn’t just re-fashion Tina’s greatest hits; she claims them for herself. … She sings like a dirty angel possessed, miraculously gifted as a vocalist, charting that unique progress from Gospel and blues to soul and the hard-hitting rock. … Chris Tummings does his best with a thankless role … but the main thing is that Tummings, like Ike, plays the guitar superbly. And he’s part of a really fantastic onstage band.

Paul Taylor (Independent): 3 out of 5 stars. Savour Emi Wokoma’s phenomenal performance as Tina Turner. … The sensuous drive and rhythmic command of her powerhouse voice are enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck follow the example of those electrocuted-looking locks in Tina’s trademark lion-mane wigs. … It’s a pity she doesn’t have a better book to engage with. … The sizeable compensations are a fantastic onstage band, a charmingly raunchy posse of Ikettes (whose dance moves are wittily choreographed to keep track of changing tastes), and the superb Ms Wokoma.

Tom Wicker (Time Out): 3 out of 5 stars. It boasts a stunning central performance but lacks substance. … The perfunctory script won’t win awards for subtlety. … Vigorous choreography and a great live band recreate the atmosphere of smoky bars and stadiums. And Emi Wokoma tears up the stage as Turner, raising the show’s quality tenfold … into a performance of star-making quality. This is a foot-tapping, often enjoyable show, marred by a use of Turner’s life-story that lacks drama and occasionally feels tacky. Stripping out the personal elements and letting the magnificent Wokoma barnstorm her way through the set list would be more fun, and more honest.

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Mario Lanza: Video Reviews

Posted on August 29, 2012 by boz

Warner Home Video has released a pair of Mario Lanza films (his final two) on DVD for the first time. The first is the 1957 United Artist musical Seven Hills of Rome (aka Arrivederci Roma), Mario Lanza’s penultimate film. The soundtrack features several original songs, including the minor pop hit “Arrivederci Roma.” For the record, the creative team includes Art Cohn and Giorgio Prosperi (screenplay), Roy Rowland (direction), Tonino Delli Colli (cinematography), Gene Ruggiero (editing), Piero Filippone (art direction), Luigi Gervasi (sets), Maria Braoni (costumes), and Renato Rascel (original songs). The cast includes Mario Lanza, Renato Rascel, and Marisa Allasio.

Derek McGovern (IMDB): It’s undoubtedly Mario Lanza’s weakest movie effort. … Still, there are a few compensations along the way. … Ironically, the biggest vocal highlight of this movie is Lanza’s imitations of … Perry Como, Frankie Laine, Dean Martin and – believe it or not – Louis Armstrong. … This movie will probably not win Lanza any new admirers, but diehard fans will enjoy it. Happily, Lanza’s next (and final) movie, For the First Time, was a considerable improvement, with enough opera and popular ballads to satisfy every type of music lover.

The second release is the 1959 MGM musical For the First Time, Mario Lanza’s final film. The soundtrack features a few Italian arias, including a handful from Verdi’s Otello, as well as original songs, including Lanza’s cover of “Come Prima.” For the record, the creative team includes Andrew Solt (screenplay), Rudolph Maté (direction), Aldo Tonti (cinematography), Gene Ruggiero (editing), Fritz Maurischat (production design, art direction), H.J. Kiebach and Heinrich Weidermann (production design), Alfred and Charlotte Bücken (costumes), and George Stoll (original songs). The cast includes Mario Lanza, Johanna von Koczlan, and Kurt Kasznar, with Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Mike Clark (Home Media): Lanza looks mighty puffy here. … On the other hand, he is in very good voice, which is why his fans rate this picture near the top of his admittedly small big-screen pool. … The film’s music selections embrace not just the operatic (Othello and Aida) but also a not-quite-rocker (but getting-there) confection called “Pineapple Picker.” … Had some restoration been done on this print, the Capri-and-more locales would have probably made this one of the best-looking MGM movies of its era available a home format because Time was shot in Technirama.

Mick LaSalle (S.F. Gate): This very good movie gets extra credit for being one of the best showcases for Mario Lanza, the best in terms of conveying his personal appeal, and for being his swan song. … Before this film, he lost a lot of weight, but still looks chubby. … What I like, even love, about this film is the way the real Lanza comes through: big-natured, impulsive, lovable, unreasonable, a glutton, an artist, just another guy from Philly, and the man who can sing “Come Prima” better than anyone who ever lived. What a talent, and what a loss.

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FringeNYC 2012: Review Roundup Week 2

Posted on August 27, 2012 by boz

The 2012 New York International Fringe Festival (aka FringeNYC) ended its run this past weekend. Of the scores of productions in this 16th annual edition, nearly three dozen were musical offerings. The FringeNYC Encore Series, now in its seventh year, will give theatergoers another chance to see some of the most critically acclaimed and crowd-pleasing shows. This year’s encore series of four shows being presented Sep. 7-30 at Soho Playhouse includes one musical, Independents. Below are highlights of selections from what theater bloggers have been saying about the other musicals presented in the second (and final) week of this year’s festival.

Blanche: Onalea Gilbertson (book, lyrics, music), Morag Northey, Jonathan Lewis (music)

Kat Chamberlin (N.Y. Theatre): Sometimes a performance can be so deceptively simple, you don’t fully appreciate what it’s doing to you until you found yourself reeling from its emotional punch. Such is the power of Blanche. … The songs are rendered with exquisite expressiveness, showcasing Gilbertson’s range. … This wild dame’s pulsing life-force seems so strong, it makes the history matter and so very personal. She will touch you.

Marc Miller (Back Stage): Every grandmother should have a grandchild like Onalea Gilbertson. The Canadian songwriter-singer-pianist was so besotted with Grandma that she concocted a song cycle about her. … We don’t get to know her as well as we might … but her fealty to Blanche is so potent that the show gets by on sweet memories and granddaughterly affection. Critic’s score: B-

Brooke Pierce (Theater Mania): This musical collage reveals the life of a tough woman who survives the poverty of the Great Depression, young widowhood, and the dread of war, while never forgetting to laugh, dance, and enjoy the little things. … Blanche is overall an engaging walk through the life of a female member of the Greatest Generation whose trials and triumphs deserve to be remembered. It makes us all think of the rich lives that our grandparents and great-grandparents led during hard times, and it’s a much-needed reminder to ask them about those days if we still can.

Chalom: Bronwen Mullin (book, lyrics, music)

Ed Malin (N.Y. Theatre): A potentially beautiful and disturbing look at Jewish learning and longing. … Bronwen Mullin (a rabbinical student at Jewish Theological Seminary) daringly asks what the texts mean when taken together. The result is moving, artistic, as well as educational. … The piece has an appeal for religious Jews … but the style of presentation is purposefully universal and accessible to anyone.

City of Shadows: Rachael Dease (book, lyrics, music)

Dan Balcalzo (Theater Mania): This 40-minute song cycle is inspired by the book of the same name, which collected Sydney police photographs from the early 20th century. … Dease’s accompanying songs do not attempt to tell specific stories about the people in the pictures. Rather, they’re more poetic meditations that riff on the imagery but are not tied exclusively to it. … Dease is a striking presence. Her vocals can be ethereal one moment, and then shortly afterwards her powerful voice takes on a harsher quality.

Amber Gallery (N.Y. Theatre): This is my favorite kind of small-scale theater – the kind that affects your emotions in a more physical way than a cry or a laugh, where your heart skips and the hairs on your neck stand up. … The four musicians were great, and Dease has a wonderful voice. The ensemble worked well together. … A show like this doesn’t come along too often. I would highly recommend having the experience.

Clifford Lee Johnson III (Back Stage): The emphasis is placed squarely on the visuals. … There is no story or narrative. Instead, as one beautiful image succeeds a horrific one, an impression of life’s fragility and preciousness begins to haunt our consciousness. A string quartet provides sometimes jittery, sometime ethereal music that enhances the contemplative spell cast by the photographs. Dease’s poetic lyrics are the least effective element of the show … but they do nothing to disrupt the power of this unique and compelling work of theater. Critic’s score: A-

The Dick and the Rose: Robert Biggs (book, lyrics, music)

Charles C. Bales (N.Y. Theatre): Robert Biggs, who drives the performance as a sort of circus ringleader named ME, has created a cross-genre production that aims to be a clown show exploring human darkness. Running 55 minutes but feeling much longer, The Dick and the Rose falls short of that goal, ending up more laborious than clownish. … As is, the show has a whiff of pretension that makes it more enervating than entertaining.

Oscar E. Moore (From the Rear Mezzanine): One of the most bizarre, unsettling and purely theatrical offerings of this year’s FringeNYC Festival. … The Dick and The Rose is a daring, surreal and wonderfully theatrical venture into the darkest of deeds previously unspoken of except in Greek tragedy. Hopefully there will be an audience beside a Fringe Festival audience to see this modern day tragedy to stop the madness that we so often read about.

Dogs: Ido Bornstein (book), Various (lyrics, music)

Dan Balcalzo (Theater Mania): Passionate performances mix with overwrought symbolism. … The result is strangely compelling yet not completely satisfying. Written by Ido Bornstein, the plot focuses on five men – three Jewish, two Arab – who come together to work on a musical adaptation of Romeo & Juliet … as a way of bridging the gap between the two races. … Bornstein’s script does not adhere to strict realist principles and can be frustrating insofar as the characters’ actions sometimes seem to defy logic. Additionally, certain staging choices from director Shlomo Plessner obscure rather than clarify what is going on.

Leslie Bramm (N.Y. Theatre): A brave attempt to solve and resolve a conflict that’s centuries old. The battle between the Arabs and Jews. It’s also a comment on masculinity. … I admire this production because it dares to reach for a bold idea and uses theatrical abstraction to create metaphors that make its point. … Naïve? Perhaps. … Powerful nevertheless. The play is laced with Jewish and Arabic folk songs … about love and peace. Simple poems that hope to galvanize very large and complex problems.

Anita Gates (N.Y. Times): Dogs has noble ambitions, to explore the aggressive masculinity that develops … in the world in which Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs coexist. Unfortunately the message becomes largely lost in a frequently incoherent production, and the proceedings are sometimes just baffling. … But there are bright spots. Much of Mr. Bernstein’s script is written in convincingly colloquial English. … The music … is melodic and moving, even for those of us who don’t understand the words.

Eric Haagensen (Back Stage): This movement-oriented work … is more interested in earnest symbolism and the studied deconstruction of masculinity than it is in subversive satire. … The physically adept actors are committed to playwright Ido Bornstein and director Shlomo Plessner’s head games, but a little of Dogs goes a long way. Critic’s score: D

An End to Dreaming: Emma Dean, Jake Diefenbach (book, lyrics, music)

Suzy Evans (Back Stage): Emma Dean and Jake Diefenbach are alarmingly unique, talented vocalists from Australia, and their show An End to Dreaming showcases their range as singers. However, the performance felt more like the sitzprobe for an album than a fully realized theater piece. … The music is relatable and wrestles with issues that many young people face about being accepted. However, the self-conscious conceit gets in the way of the show’s message. Critic’s Score: B-

Chris Harcum (N.Y. Theatre): It is refreshing when a show flips my expectations a couple of times during its performance. … Rich in texture, haunting in tone, and breathtaking in performance, this evocative piece transported me. The simple themes both in music and story keep building into something more sophisticated and deep. … This event goes beyond its style and genre into something more. It would be hard not to be mesmerized by the end of the evening.

Brooke Pierce (Theater Mania): The pair appear at first to be members of a particularly gifted cult of Aussie Goths. But as the show progresses, they shed their coverings and reveal two vulnerable, tow-headed youths, a kind of Hansel and Gretel braving the woods of life with no one but each other for support. … There is no clear narrative; it is a musical journey from dark to light, with excursions into self-doubt, longing, confusion, pain, and all that wonderful existential stuff.

Essence: Allen Lewis Rickman (book), Various (lyrics, music)

Ed Malin (N.Y. Theatre): Yiddish theater succeeded in New York and had an incalculable effect on American plays and musicals to come. To hear this amazing story, do yourself a favor and see Essence. … Rickman, Shmulenson and Sterner bring their vitality (and ability to change costumes every two minutes) to a genre that is still appreciated and bursting with things to offer today’s audiences. Their joy in what they do and happiness for the success of Yiddish theater in inhospitable places (believe it or not, Israel once banned the language) makes you want to laugh and cry.

Hanafuda Denki: Shuji Terayama (book), Makoto Honda (lyrics, music)

Chris Harcum (N.Y. Theatre): Hanafuda Denki begs the question of whether the dead are more alive than the living. … This show is a feast for the eyes and ears. And the entire company of actors does an admirable job of pulling off the mash-up of styles in this. They are all top-notch and so great to watch. … If this is hell, sign me up. Heck, I’ll even become fluent in Japanese.

Rachel Saltz (N.Y. Times): Performed with full-tilt commitment and unusual discipline by the Ryuzanji Company, the show, directed by Saori Aoki with little flourishes of the grotesque, has rowdy, propulsive energy that almost never flags. It could use a few more moments of calm and a few less of high-voltage shouting, though a couple of songs manage a quiet melancholy. … The dead want company, so you may want to sneak out before the end. Because it may be the End.

Nicole Villeneuve (Back Stage): Despite some puzzling references and a heavy reliance on super-titles, the ebullient spirit of the cast carries viewers away on a fantastical trip. … The result is a madcap mixture of Japanese ghost stories and Weimar cabaret; musical styles run the gamut from J-pop to jazz, all delivered with the same devil-may-care enthusiasm. … The players perform a seemingly impossible balancing act, remaining completely committed while winking at the audience, bringing them in on the fun. Critic’s Score: A-

Kriep: Sam Belich (book, lyrics, music), John Hammel (book)

Ethan Angelica (N.Y. Theatre): Even with solid performances from many of its players, the winding, confused story, inconsistent direction, and songs that are rarely hummable or integral makes Kriep a rough evening. … The program claims that Kriep examines our society’s mutually destructive fascination with serial killers through the musical theater idiom. That is a musical I’d like to see. However, what is currently onstage at FringeNYC never finds this footing.

Andy Propst (Theater Mania): An appealing young cast works tirelessly to put over the woefully pretentious musical. … This “Grusical in Seven Deadly Scenes” clumsily attempts to bring the world of a serial killer to life using old-fashioned song and dance. … It’s a bit like watching “Springtime for Hitler” (from The Producers) actually unfold in a tiny downtown venue. … One watches them, knowing that, like the doomed kids in horror flicks, they’re fighting a losing battle.

The Mirror Show: E.O. Levendorf, Carrie Elizabeth Drew (book, lyrics, muisc)

Heather McAllister (N.Y. Theatre): We find ourselves in some crystalline minimalist underworld, maybe purgatory, maybe a corridor to hell itself. I’m not sure. … The songs are great and the women are amazing. Although “night club” in style, the substance of the lyrics go deep. … I do wish Director E.O. Levendorf used more movement. I understand the stylistic choice to “mirror” the static lives of these women by having them virtually frozen in place, but to me it felt like an element was missing. Still, the music is intriguing and strong, the actors are funny and have great depth.

Mother Eve’s Secret Garden: Uma Incrocci (book, lyrics), Erica Jensen, Kirk McGee (book), Christian Pedersen (music)

Josh Sherman (N.Y. Theatre): Flat out one of the funniest bits of nonsense playing in New York City (with just enough heart to get by), Mother Eve’s Secret Garden of Sensual Sisterhood is a terrific send-up of self-help gurus, con artistry, secret sisterhoods and overblown musical theater. With a sparkling cast of comediennes with some great voices to boot (and featuring actual choreography!) and a winning attitude to match, Mother Eve’s is a pure joy to watch and laugh alongside.

Nightfall on Miranga Island: Justin Moran, Jonathan Roufaeal (book, lyrics), Adam & Matt Podd (music)

Ivanna Cullinan (N.Y. Theatre): While the piece as a whole is more solidly mapped out than actually arriving anywhere, it is gratifying to have so much to watch and enjoy nonetheless. … Nightfall on Miranga Island has heaps of talent and could be even so much more than it is, if it would step up and be about something. Yet it is a worthy piece with solid lead actors.

Oscar E. Moore (From the Rear Mezzanine): Can it be that in trying to outdo themselves that they might have done themselves in? With nothing to compare this production to, the audience ate up every outlandish, over-the-top plot twist. … I however, unfortunately, had the original tucked in the back of my all too good memory. And so writing this review is quite difficult. I am still a charter member of the Justin Moran fan club and his entire troupe of improvisational actors and will remain so. … But I much preferred Nightfall on Miranga Island the first time around.

Sheherizade: Aidaa Peerzada (book, lyrics, music)

Josephine Cashman (N.Y. Theatre): The actors use communal storytelling, classical storytelling, shadow play, movement, song, and slam to bring this famous tale to life. … Peerzada’s and Pittle’s [costume and sound] work are standouts in this wonderful production. Playwright Aidaa Peerzada’s story and language are rich and sonorous, but only 40 minutes long. I wish it could have been longer, despite some lags in timing. The whole production, under Artistic Director Anne Marie Bookwalter and Director Priscilla Garcia, capture an old fairytale and bring it beautifully to earthy, human life. … Sheherizade is destined to have a vibrant future.

Six String Sonics: Gil Kuno (book, lyrics, music)

Amy Lee Pearsall (N.Y. Theatre): Rather than stick the proverbial guitar in the back of the closet to gather dust, Kuno has deconstructed it, creating six individual guitars – each with a single string – to be played collaboratively by six musicians. The beauty in this concept is that chords that one might never achieve on a standard six-string guitar can now easily be created. … Some music has been composed for this staging, but improvisation plays a huge part in this work. At one point, Kuno even takes suggestions of words from the audience. … Six Strings – and Reactive Bodies – may each be individual elements, but together form a glorious sum of parts.

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Edinburgh Fringe 2012: Review Roundup

Posted on August 27, 2012 by boz

The Edinburgh Fringe 2012 has come to an end, and of the more than 100 musicals at this year’s festival, some dozen were from the U.S., including the original Mod and several new pieces in the American High School Theater Festival. Other premieres from elsewhere around the world include Clinton (one of the best reviewed of the fest) from Australia; Party Worth Crashing from Canada; Active Virgin (another best of the fest), The Macbeth Project, Mary, The Secrets Hidden in the Beatles Rock Band, Streets, and Towards the Moon from Scotland; and Bereavement (another best of the fest), Dr. Quimpugh’s Compendium of Peculiar Afflictions, 1,000 Suns, The Picture House, and The Wolves Descend from England.

Active Virgin: John & Gerry Kielty (book, lyrics, music)

Malcolm Jack (Scotsman): While the musical itself doesn’t quite add up to the sum of its parts in the overall enjoyment stakes, it bears firm recommending purely as a thoroughly enjoyable hour spent in the company of a crazily talented cast and crew. … While it probably lacks that immersive feel-good factor necessary for a musical to enjoy a serious commercial lifespan, it’s easy to imagine this show having some kind of educational application as a stealthily un-preachy way of reaching impressionable young minds with an important message. 4 out of 5 stars

Ana-Claudia Magaña (Three Weeks): Featuring amazing singing and active, exciting choreography, the story explores gym culture in a humorous manner. … It is a well-written story with an excellent moral regarding the imperfect definition of perfection, yet it leans towards a somewhat preaching tone. The dystopian ending is well-suited to the story’s build-up, and this is an exciting, physically active play worth seeing. 4 out of 5 stars

Robin Strapp (British Theatre Guide): The cast performs with high energy and the choreography is demanding – they must be exhausted by the end. There are great comic touches and the music bounces along without any real stand out numbers. Various rooms are visited where Botox injections, liposuction, steroids, and protein are delivered but the musical seems to lack cohesion and is rather a series of disconnected sketches. 3 out of 5 stars

Lee Zhao (Fringe Guru): The satire of gym culture goes straight for the jugular, pulling no punches. The musical does take a long time to warm up, and ironically, this is because the opening is perhaps too energetic. … Though the story is a bit silly and the side-plot justifying the second half of the title is perhaps unnecessary, the show is certainly not supposed to be taken too seriously; after all, there is good section of society that should probably visit a gym. Active Virgin is an unapologetic B-musical; as a harmless hour of fun, it does all the right things. 3 out of 5 stars

Bereavement: Maírín O’Hagan (book), Jeff Carpenter (lyrics, music)

Miranda Cannibal (Three Weeks): Bereavement: The Musical is such a listless piece. … While the mixture of comedy and darker elements should have the potential to work, but actually makes the show feel muddled and cringe-worthy. The musical routines are performed well, with excellent vocals from the performers and good choreography, though they rarely complement the overall story. Ultimately it felt that too much had been crammed into this production, to the point where it is hard to understand what the creators are trying to convey. 2 out of 5 stars

Ellen Macpherson (Fringe Guru): While there were a few bumps along the road, this show is ultimately a crowd-pleaser – endearingly awkward, full of almost-offensive black humor and at times incredibly moving. It’s not perfect, but it’s an entertaining time. … With a bit more tightening and polishing, this could be a formidable example of new writing in musical theatre. There are some excellent stories in this production that genuinely strike a chord with those who have blundered their way through bereavement. 3 out of 5 stars

David Pollock (Scotsman): Opening at a funeral, what sets itself up as an apparent excuse to hammer a delicate subject and a bit of chorus line frivolity into one incongruous whole, turns out to be an amusing hour’s entertainment with a nice balance between sensitivity and bad taste. … Unfeasibly, it’s all more good and insightful entertainment, than it is crass and headline-grabbing. 3 out of 5 stars

Antony Sammeroff (The Skinny): Bereavement takes a little time to find its feet owing to a slow beginning and a general ambiguity as to whether a narrative is going to emerge or not, but it has much to recommend it. The performances are accomplished and varied, and it manages to cut straight into the heart of long pondered existential questions. … Musical theatre fans will enjoy this contemporary work although it may not convert those who are already averse to its emotional and comic norms. Still, there is much to be said for Playing the Death Card. 3 out of 5 stars

Clinton: Paul & Michael Hodge (book, lyrics, music)

Benet Catty (Fringe Review): There’s plenty of comic caricature here but there is no rewriting history. … The show owes more to the political cartoon than to musical comedy or storytelling at its present length but this isn’t wholly to its detriment. … It took Clinton himself time to work out what he really was. Let’s hope that this musical of his life also gets a second term to prove what it can really do. 4 out of 5 stars

Malcolm Jack (Scotsman): Clinton and Clinton take us on an all-singing, all-dancing journey through the highs and lows of two terms in office to a swinging live soundtrack. … A sequel is threatened, and with Chelsea waiting in the wings, even a trilogy. It’s chaotic and rife with questionable logic, but as far as madcap Fringe musicals go, Clinton scores typically well in the approval ratings. 3 out of 5 stars

Anna Millar (The List): There’s high energy here from the off, from an engaging, talented ensemble making good use of a relatively small, pared down space to sing, dance and guffaw their way around the highs and lows of Clinton’s outrageous (mis)fortunes. … The yin and yang, too, of Clinton’s personality is played out to nice comedy effect. And while some of the dialogue is a little hit and miss, the show’s catchy songs and first-rate performances hint at a show with great potential to grow. 3 out of 5 stars

Hannah Sweetnam (Three Weeks): A raucous, outrageous and sexual affair, Clinton isn’t for the faint-hearted. A striptease, sex scandal and jazzy numbers about “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy” gave an uproarious take on past American constitution. … Although lyrical timing was a slight issue during group numbers, seamless accompaniment from a live band and fast-paced, frivolous choreography from Alissa Keogh made Clinton fantastic Fringe fun. 4 out of 5 stars

Mod: Paul Andrew Perez (book), George Griggs (lyrics, music)

Gordon Clayton (Edinburgh Guide): Mod is fun. Fun, fun all the way! … While the music is the sound of the 60s it is to the credit of the writers that they have come up with original music that really works without resorting to a back catalogue of the times. … The choreography and singing are up-tempo throughout and while not mentally challenging at all, it was a perfect antidote to being soaked en route to the venue. 4 out of 5 stars

Katherine Cunningham (Three Weeks): It’s not an original premise, but Mod makes up for that with a lot of enthusiasm, loads of good jokes, and strong singing and acting. … The original songs aren’t really catchy, it’s not especially memorable, and not much in it escapes from the expected high school drama clichés – but it’s still enjoyable, if not brilliant. If you want fun, nostalgia and a good time, Mod is a good way to go. 4 out of 5 stars

Antony Sammeroff (The Skinny): This is not a thrilling tribute to 60s mod culture. … Neither is it the “original musical comedy” it tips itself to be. Rather it is a banal, nostalgic Beatle-mania retrospective that dares not name a single other band from the era. … If there is one thing that Mod gets right it is the choreography, which captures the era perfectly and is well danced to boot. … It’s heartbreaking to see such a young and ambitious cast struggle to breathe life into such poor material. 1 out of 5 stars

Michael Wilkinson (Broadway Baby): Mod is a brash American import exploring teenage angst amid Beatle-mania as the infamous group set out on their tour of the States. However, Beatle-mania in this production … is tantamount to a gaggle of girls running around screaming for the best part of an hour. … Although composer-lyricist George Griggs had some interesting musical moments in the score, some of the lyrics were too obvious and after sleeping on it, the music wasn’t particularly memorable. 2 out of 5 stars

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Cougar: Review Roundup

Posted on August 27, 2012 by boz

Babs Winn, Brenda Braxton, and Catherine Porter

The new Off-Broadway musical Cougar (not to be confused with the 2010 Chicago musical Cougars by Gillian Bellinger and Chuck Malone, nor with the 2008 New York revue Cougar by Mark Barkan) has opened to mixed though somewhat positive reviews. For the record, the creative team of this 2012 New York Cougar includes Donna Moore (book, lyrics, music), Mark Barkan, Meryl Leppard (addl. lyrics, music), John Baxindine, Arnie Gross, Seth Lefferts (addl. music), Lynne Taylor-Corbett (direction, choreography), and Dustin Cross (costumes). The cast includes Danny Bernardy, Brenda Braxton, Catherine Porter, and Babs Winn.

Suzy Evans (Back Stage): What should be an overtly campy ode to the societal convention of a “cougar” … tries to be heartfelt and gets caught somewhere in between. … The problem lies with Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s direction. She treats the piece as a musical of substance, when in reality it is pure farce. Book writer, lyricist, and composer Donna Moore’s music is cheesy and simple. … The theater was packed with women of a certain age having a ball. I can only hope that I’ll be having that good of a time when I get there.

Frances McGarry (First Online): Who would have thought that a musical about “cougars” … would be among those stories to refresh my soul? And soul this musical has. … Don’t go to see this show if you’re looking for flash, and special effects both literal and metaphorical with its pap outcomes. But if you want to be entertained and leave the house feeling your funny-bone was tickled and your soul uplifted, then Cougar: The Musical is a purrr-fect choice!

Iris Wiener (Theater Mania): The cheesy clichés abound … but despite the corniness of the light plot (and the horrible sound system that serves this theater), the production is a fun time for the non-jaded female theatergoer. … Lynne Taylor-Corbett, doesn’t get to do much with the hokey material, but in the few big dance numbers she has created, the women are clearly enjoying themselves. … While Moore has written some pieces that don’t belong in the show … much of Cougar: The Musical will leave audiences feeling better about themselves while they snap their fingers.

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Sparkle: Review Roundup

Posted on August 18, 2012 by boz

Jordin Sparks and
Whitney Houston

TriStar Pictures has released Sparkle, a remake of the 1976 musical film, to moderate reviews. For the record, the creative team for the remake includes Mara Brock Akil (screenplay), Salim Akil (direction), Anastas Michos (cinematography), Terilyn A. Shropshire (editing), Salaam Remi (music), Fatima Robinson (choreography), Gary Frutkoff (production design), and Ruth E. Carter (costumes). The cast includes Jordin Sparks (Sparkle), Whitney Houston (Emma), Derek Luke (Stix), Mike Epps (Satin), Carmen Ejogo (Sister), Tika Sumpter (Delores), Omari Hardwick (Levi), and Cee Lo Green (Black).

Stephen Holden (N.Y. Times): A sudsy show-business Cinderella story in which Emma’s youngest daughter, Sparkle (Jordin Sparks), ascends to glory, Houston’s presence makes it a cautionary tale. Houston is not technically the star [but] dominates the new Sparkle and gives its most compelling vocal. … Sparks is not much of an actress [but] this 2007 winner of American Idol, who has slimmed down since her victory, has a wonderful voice. … The editing is haphazard, the cinematography too dark, and there are holes in the story. If the new songs on the soundtrack are effective Motown pastiches, most of them pale beside their prototypes. But diluted Motown is better than none.

Todd McCarthy (Hollywood Reporter): This new Sparkle still sparkles more brightly than its 1976 namesake, which was a sort of rough draft for Dreamgirls. Like its predecessor, both melodramatic and predictable in illustrating the rough-and-tumble rise of a girl group in the black music scene, this new version pops with energy and adds welcome new angles. … Many of the sets look far too modern, just as the dialogue is studded with usages that were, in some cases, decades away. But the interplay among the characters pulsates and the dramatic confrontations are sufficiently charged for the audience to get past the rampant aspirational clichés or at least ride with them.

Michael Phillips (Chicago Tribune): Most of the stuff that’s new in the new Sparkle … is shrewd and cleverly considered. The stuff that’s old is what people responded to back in ‘76. … Sparks, as Sparkle, has a warm and pleasing screen quality. She’s a tad bland, but so is the character as written. She’s meant to blow everybody away in the finale, but here’s another thing about Sparkle: It actually holds back in terms of technique and dramatic builds. That restraint may hinder it at the box office, but director Akil knows how to give his actors space and time to get a few things going on their own. 3 stars.

Elizabeth Weitzman (N.Y. Daily News): The picture’s off-screen history gives it an import it would otherwise lack. But a strong cast, empathetic direction and memorable soundtrack help create a movie that does everyone proud. … The dialogue’s a little corny, and the drama is unabashedly soapy. Still, the actors sell it all. … The film is meant to be a showcase for Sparks. But while she is a sweet presence, she isn’t a natural actress. … Ejogo is the real heartbreaker as Sister, adding affecting delicacy to a role that could so easily have become an overblown cliché. … Come to see Sparks, pay tribute to Houston, and celebrate the star-making performance that Ejogo delivers. 3 out of 5 stars.

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FringeNYC 2012: Review Roundup Week 1

Posted on August 17, 2012 by boz

The 2012 New York International Fringe Festival (aka FringeNYC), which runs August 10 through 26, has just passed the halfway mark of its 16th annual edition. Of the scores of productions being presented in some 20 venues in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, nearly three dozen are musical offerings. Below are some highlights of selections from what theater bloggers have been saying about the shows presented so far.

Dark Hollow: Elizabeth Chaney (book, lyrics, music)

Stephen Cedars (NYTheatre.com): When the play works, it’s fantastic. … The well-oiled production, which manages to deliver this atmosphere with seeming ease despite a large cast, live music, and complicated transitions, is particularly noteworthy. Ironically, the times when the play doesn’t work are perhaps due to this very asset. Some of the singing is simply too good. … But what this team (adaptor Elizabeth Chaney and director Alkis Papoutis) has done is stay true to a legend while not letting themselves be hampered by it.

David Finkle (Theater Mania): Fidelity to a work so resolutely downbeat may not be the best idea for a piece that runs an intermissionless 105 minutes. … Chaney does add something to Buchner’s 1836 work. … By opening her version with Woyzeck sitting center stage while behind him a preacher rants and a choir member raves, she implies some of that old-time religion triggered his initial disorientation. … No less than 17 actors have been recruited, some of whom sing the included songs better than others and all of whom do their best to keep the proceedings involving.

Grimm: Ken Kruper (book, lyrics, music), Jon Randhawa (book)

PJ Grisar (NYTheatre.com): Kruper the, writer/composer, has a great ear for melody and themes, and his harmonies are no slackers, either – when you can hear them over the far-too-loud midi tracks. Our leading ladies, Theresa Burns and Gina Cucci … do a good job of making their characters distinct, and both have nice sets of pipes with which to relay the, at times, clumsy morals. … It’s hard to tell when the piece is being sincere or a parody of its own conventions; in consequence, the effects of both are muddled.

David A. Rosenberg (Back Stage): Grimm is a junior league Into the Woods. Despite occasional theatrical flourishes, this 50-minute foray into folk tales is likely to appeal mainly to tykes. … Unhelpful is the unintelligibility of the lyrics, thanks to a zealous sound system that elicited a number of overheard audience complaints. The eager cast features old-college-try ensemble performances. … Olivia Hartle’s direction gives truth to a line from the show: “Things are looking awfully grim.” Critic’s Score: C-

Hill-Bent: My Night with Hillary Clinton: Danny Visconti (book, lyrics), Adam Wachter (music)

David Fuller (NYTheatre.com): There is certainly a passion for Clinton and her political point of view here in the show, especially at the beginning. But Visconti doesn’t belabor any points and soon gets down to the events as he claims they unfolded. … It is a vivid and fun story with a fitting surprise ending. Now, it isn’t all just about Hillary; there are tangential digressions into Visconti’s time performing on cruise ships. … Somehow however Visconti ties it all together in this show about Hillary, and it works because he is a talented comedy writer.

Eric Haagensen (Back Stage): The increasingly outrageous fantasia starts at an event at the St. Regis Hotel and proceeds across a long New York night. … Interspersed are amateurish song parodies filled with misaccents, crammed-in extra syllables, and dodgy rhymes. … His hourlong scenario is not without its charms but gets increasingly desperate in its outlandishness. Ultimately, it only diminishes what I take to have been his admirable political commitment.

The Hills Are Alive!: Frankie Johnson (book, lyrics), Eric Thomas Johnson (music)

Chris Caggiano (Everything Musicals): It essentially wants to be a perversely madcap romp across the Alps. … What it winds up being … is a reasonably good idea trapped inside a book, score, and production that don’t fully do that idea justice. … There’s a decent amount of comic potential in the idea for The Hills Are Alive. With stronger comic direction, faster pace, and a few more tuneful songs, the show might have a future.

Brian Gillespie (NYTheatre.com): Parody is a tricky art to pull off and The Hills Are Alive! deftly and hilariously succeeds at it. … They’ve created songs that lovingly echo the style of the Rodgers & Hammerstein originals at which they are poking fun. The story moves along briskly and ridiculously. … The cast of nine were uniformly excellent and each had several moments to shine. … This show is well crafted, well executed and very funny. You don’t need to know The Sound of Music well to get it or enjoy it. However if you are a fan, this show is a special treat.

Brooke Pierce (Theater Mania): The Fringe show embraces a gleefully dark sense of humor while still remaining fairly wholesome. Yet, it does not manage to draw as many laughs out of its source material as one might hope. The songs are often too earnest to be very funny, and while Ashley Ball does a hilarious impression of Julie Andrews, the show’s focal point is the children, who spend most of their time whining about their circumstances. Nonetheless, The Hills Are Alive! is a pleasant lark for fans of The Sound of Music who have always wondered how that hike to Switzerland might have gone.

Independents: Marina Keegan (book), Mark Sonnenblick (lyrics), Stephen Feigenbaum (music)

Suzy Evans (Back Stage): Keegan and her collaborators, composer Stephen Feigenbaum and lyricist Mark Sonnenblick, bring a relevant and touching work to what will hopefully be a long life. … Feigenbaum and Sonnenblick’s score is catchy and poignant, while Keegan writes excellent character-specific dialogue within a beautifully crafted coming-of-age story. The large cast carries the show’s sail well, with Summer Broyhill, Christopher Burke, and Corey Desjardins delivering standout performances.

Claire Kiechel (NYTheatre.com): First things first … you should go. It’s a beautiful new musical; Marina Keegan’s book is funny and sad in all the right places, Stephen Feigenbaum and Mark Sonnenblicks’ songs are clever and heartfelt, and Charlie Polinger’s direction is flawless. Together with its excellent ensemble cast, jaunty onstage band, and innovative design, it’s a shame that there are so few chances to see Independents. Hopefully producers will take note, and this deserving production will be remounted again.

Inexperienced Love: Jacob Tischler (book, lyrics, music)

Naomi McDougall Jones (NYTheatre.com): Inexperienced Love is a delightful musical written. … The cast is filled with astoundingly good voices, and it is a pleasure to listen to them have fun as they play with Tischler’s floaty, flirty melodies. … The story material is not groundbreaking: young love. But I imagine most people would recognize a little of their college-age selves. … It’s practically a time machine back to the exuberance, delirium, insecurity, heartache, ecstasy, and awkwardness of inexperienced love.

Lolpera: Ellen Warkentine, Andrew Pedroza (book, lyrics, music)

Andy Propst (Back Stage): Lolcats … are the inspiration for Lolpera, a frequently hysterical but exceptionally uneven two-act opera. … Sadly, though, the good versus evil Faustian tale that emerges in Andrew Pedroza’s libretto proves to be too weighty for such “found lyrics” as “Can I has cheezburger?” Nevertheless, composer Ellen Warkentine uses a remarkable array of styles in her impressive score. Critic’s Score: B-

Love, Death, Brains: Sarah Mucek (book, lyrics), Meghan Rose (music)

Leslie Bramm (NYTheatre.com): This new musical … seems to want to capitalize on the current zombie and horror genres that are currently a la mode. Alas, they fall short of the mark in a number of aspects. … The lyrics aren’t as clever as the campy style of the piece needs them to be. … The music by Meghan Rose is adequate, but lacks imagination and punch. … Love, Death, Brains feels like a show that was put together quickly, with a lack of attention paid to the necessary details of craftsmanship.

Andy Propst (Back Stage): This show … derails on a number of levels, from Mucek’s curious inclusion of characters that are thinly veiled re-imaginings of ones from the cartoon Scooby-Doo to director Pete Rydberg’s staging, which lurches without any sense of tension from moment to moment. What emerges most successfully – beyond the show’s conceit – are utterly charming performances from Corianne Wilson and Stuart Mott. … Whenever these two are center stage, it feels as if love can indeed triumph over both death and flawed material.

Mike Hadge Trio’s 7th Reunion Concert: Mike Hadge (book, lyrics, music)

David Fuller (NYTheatre.com): Hadge comes to the fore with a band-fronting, guitar rocking show that is funny, fun and sometimes feverish in a good ol’ rockin’ way. … The songs are all entertaining, sometimes hilariously so, in a variety of styles and subject matter. … Sometimes you see a talent with a unique voice who just might be on the cusp of going somewhere. Mike Hadge has that certain something, with or without his trio. Okay, without. Go see the show, enjoy yourself and maybe one day you’ll say, “Hey! I saw that guy start out at FringeNYC!”

MisSpelled: D’Jamin Bartlett, Mark Bornfield (book, lyrics, music)

Case Aiken (NYTheatre.com): From start to finish, the show is a jumbled mess. … I think. I should point out that ninety percent of the lyrics of any song were completely inaudible. … The numbers come in at the most random of times, usually after a scene has had its natural end just to, near as I could tell, reiterate what was said in the scene. … It’s like no one took the time to edit the script after the jumble of scenes were put together for the first time, which is amazing when you note that it was staged before in a Florida production.

Andy Propst (Back Stage): If the show’s hoary jokes … don’t set our teeth on edge, then the hokey numbers … and rambling book which also contains tired gags about Hollywood … will. The uninspired quality of the material is only underscored by the performances, which range from grandiosely overblown to simply under-rehearsed. In fact, this less-than-magical evening even features one performer … who appears to be reading his lines from sides on a clipboard.

Non-Equity: Danielle Trzcinski (book, lyrics), Paul D. Mills (lyrics, music)

Kristin Skye Hoffmann (NYTheatre.com): Although there is a genuine effort to stay positive, the story borders on being exhaustingly whiney. … Still numbers like, “Living My Dream” help yank them back from the edge. … The ensemble as a whole seems to be having a blast showing off their chops and there are certainly some standouts. … Trzcinski herself … certainly deserves a showcase of her talents such as this. … A little editing on the book might be in order. … Still, Trzcinski’s play is a funny take on an honorable mission.

Oscar E. Moore (From the Rear Mezzanine): Non-Equity is a delight. … Ms. Trzcinski plays Wendy Gibson (her alter-ego) and there is not a bitter bone in her body. Well maybe one or two tiny ones but most of her bones are funny. … The cast seems to be reveling in performing this show, which surely will have an extraordinary future. If only they could cut about 15 minutes. I know it’s difficult when all the material is so good, but as they saying goes “leave them wanting more.”

Paper Plane: Nick Ryan (book, lyrics), Andrew Lynch (music)

Amy E. Witting (NYTheatre.com): Paper Plane is playful, poignant, and keeps you entertained throughout. … At the core is a simple story about a young boy following his dreams, a young boy longing to put the pieces of his past together while always keeping one eye on his own paper plane. The stagecraft of Paper Plane is innovative and whimsical. … While overall the show was beautiful to watch every step of the way, the story fell flat until the magical title number “Paper Plane.”

Panoramania: David Jackson (book, lyrics), Party Folk (music)

Alix Cohen (Woman Around Town): Dissapointingly, Panoramania … is a disjointed production with neither smooth through line nor point of view. Sometimes an amiable musical and at others the kind of broad, self-indulgent piece thrown together by unedited college kids, the evening doesn’t hold together. … Consistently buoyant music fares better than lyrics, which often push their way into phrasing and sound generic. … Brandon Zelman … is a standout playing extremely diverse roles … clearly in possession of skills outranking this production.

Quest for the West: Julie Congress, Ryan Emmons, Zachary Fithian, Jennifer Neads (book), Rebecca Greenstein, Danny Tieger (lyrics, music)

Sarah Lucie (Show Business): The show combines all the interactive fun of the now legendary video game with a catchy score and hilarious script to produce a theatrical jackpot. … The score is complete with eleven original songs, all of which are filled with clever puns voiced by high-caliber singers, most notably John Bambery and Scott Raymond Johnson. … Quest for the West’s combination of interactive games, witty yet poignant script, and music that can’t help but get stuck in your head makes it one of the most clever new musicals.

Nicole Villeneuve (Back Stage): Walking the fine line between gimmick and genuine comedy, the show, which follows five pioneers on a fraught trek to the West, offers ample opportunities for audience participation and frequent references to the original game. Some are gratuitous, but many are chuckle-worthy. … The cast features several strong singers, notably John Bambery as Jebediah and Scott Raymond Johnson as [Name 1].

Saharava: Fahad Siadat (book, lyrics, music), Andre Megerdichian (book)

Judith Jarosz (NYTheatre.com): Had I not gone to the website and read more about this piece, I would not have picked up on the basis for the story I watched. … That being said, the piece moves at a swift pace under Siadat’s direction and his modern choreography is executed with a wonderful expressiveness and athletic fierceness. … The music uses a lot of repeated droning type phrases and chants, with occasional gasping and shrieking, which alternately soothes or irritates, depending on your taste, and perhaps that was the composer’s intent.

Clifford Lee Johnson III (Back Stage): Andre Megerdichian and composer Fahad Siadat combine inventive choreography, Eastern-flavored music, and characters from the Tarot. … Inventive dances evoke wonder, desire, and terror in us, even though we often have only a vague idea about what’s going on in the bare-boned “story.” Siadat’s lyrics … are of no narrative use, but his hypnotic melodies occasionally rise to moments of droning beauty. … Those looking to the Fringe for unique, nontraditional theater need look no further than the frequently spellbinding Saharava.

Standby: Alfred Solis, Mark-Eugene Garcia (book, lyrics), Keith Robinson, Amy Baer (music)

Jason S. Grossman (NYTheatre.com): We can all relate to falling victim to infuriating flight delays. Unfortunately, that is essentially how much of this musical feels. … It is commendable to embrace subject matter that reaches beyond the typical themes of the traditional Broadway musical. The creative team is taking chances here. There are some tender moments between the characters, and there are some unexpected turns in the plot. But many of the revelations feel manufactured. Overall, the basic spine of the story is lacking.

Oscar E. Moore (From the Rear Mezzanine): With a slew of character-driven songs, sung dialogue and almost complete underscoring, Standby … is as interesting as it is odd. More a song cycle than a traditional book musical, it’s pleasing to the ear, while attempting to explain how these random five people are connected, which is a bit contrived but sometimes quite moving. … The performers are excellent and their musicianship superb. The arrangements and harmonies are extremely good. And the song “To Feel Alive” is as uplifting and life- affirming as anything can be.

Super Sidekick: Gregory Crafts (book), Michael Gordon Shapiro (lyrics, music)

Linnea Covington (Happiest Medium): The team behind Super Sidekick have perfected the art of live-action cartoon, mixed with a healthy dose of Glee. … With the fast pace, audience participation, and fun characters, if you have children, this play is right up their alley. But, even as a grown woman I found it humorous, saucy, and a lot of fun. Yes, it’s cheesy, but they do it so well.

Who Murdered Love?: Lissa Moira (book, lyrics), Richard West (book, music)

Naomi McDougall Jones (NYTheatre.com): Props to the creative team of Who Murdered Love? for going for the out-of-the-box: a surrealist musical about the death of Dadaism. Unfortunately, the musical never quite coalesces into the show it sets out to be. … The real trouble that the show finds itself in is a lack of cohesiveness. … Despite its problems, there is enough here that promises a show that could be a whole lot of fun. I hope that the team persists with it long enough to clarify their vision and shape it into all the joyful, nutty, whimsical Dada ride it has the potential to be.

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Soul Doctor: Review Roundup

Posted on August 16, 2012 by boz

Eric Anderson

The new musical Soul Doctor has opened to mixed but positive-leaning reviews in its limited Off-Broadway engagement at NYTW. For the record, the creative team includes Daniel S. Wise (book, direction), David Schechter (lyrics), Shlomo Carlebach (music, lyrics), Neil Patel (sets), Maggie Morgan (costumes), Jeff Croiter (Lights), Clive Goodwin (sound), Steve Margoshes (orchestration), Seth Farber (music direction), and Camille A. Brown (choreography).

The cast includes Eric Anderson (Shlomo), Erica Ash (Nina Simone), Dianna Barger (Linele), Merideth Kaye Clark (Ruth), Ryan Duncan (Timothy Leary), Joey Farber (Young Shlomo), Dionne Figgins (Seeker), Steven Hauck (Father), Cassi Quinn Kohl (Flower Child), Melana Lloyd (Pastor), Colin Campbell McAdoo (Nazi), Kenny Morris (Reb Pinchas), Julia Osborne (Wife), Devin L. Roberts (Sinner), J.C. Schuster (Holy Hippie), Emmet Smith (Young Eli Chaim), Rachel Stern (Mother), Ryan Strand (Eli Chaim), and Jamie Wax (Recording Engineer).

Michael Musto (Village Voice): I never heard of Shlomo Carlebach, but it turns out he was one of the biggest Jewish presences on the hit parade. … The show is long and unwieldy, but there’s some nice stuff, particular the bits between the rabbi and Nina. Shlomo (well played by Eric Anderson) comes across Simone (an absolutely wonderful Erica Ash) in a club. … He explains that he grew up in Vienna when the Nazis came in. That cements their bond, which proves to be pretty lovely and unconventional. I smell a spinoff … Shlomo and Simone? Or just Eric and Erica?

Frank Scheck (N.Y. Post): 3 out of 4 stars. The book by Daniel S. Wise, who also directed, tries to pack far too much into the proceedings, resulting in a choppy, episodic structure. … The show is most effective in its quieter moments, such as the wonderfully written and performed scene depicting Carlebach and Simone’s first meeting. … Fueling the evening are the nearly three dozen songs, most of them featuring Carlebach’s infectious melodies with new lyrics by Daniel Schechter. Their joyousness demonstrates the reasons for the performer’s success.

Jason Zinoman (N.Y. Times): Mr. Anderson’s understated acting style pays off here, and his onstage performances are the best part of this otherwise safe, mechanical portrait of a fascinating cultural figure. … Mr. Wise creates the framework for a potentially fascinating show but doesn’t fill it in with the necessary psychology or personality to make his protagonist vivid. … It comes alive, however, when Mr. Anderson bursts into song. That’s when Soul Doctor stops treading carefully and begins to stomp.

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Oklahoma’s Leading Ladies

Posted on August 15, 2012 by boz

Roberts and Holm backstage at Oklahoma!

Within the past month we have lost the two leading ladies from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s landmark musical Oklahoma! This Monday, Joan Roberts, who originated the role of Laurey, died in Stamford, Conn., at age 95. She made her Broadway debut in 1941’s Sunny River, another R&H show – Romberg and Hammerstein, that is. In 1945, she starred in two brief musicals: Marinka and Are You With It? In 1947, she replaced Nanette Fabray in High Button Shoes. She made few New York appearances since then but did record songs from four of her shows on her solo album, Joan Roberts Sings Her Hit Songs (1955). Her last Broadway show was the 2001 revival of Follies. This past June, Kaufmann released her autobiography, Stage Right, and last year, University of North Carolina’s School of the Arts honored her during their replica production of the original Oklahoma!

Also present at UNC for that production was Celeste Holm, who died in New York City July 15 at age 95. Holm created the role of Ado Annie in the Pulitzer-winning 1943 musical, and the role of Mary L in William Sayoran’s 1939 Pulitzer-winning play The Time of Your Life. After starring in Arlen and Harburg’s Bloomer Girl (1944), she briefly went to Hollywood, where she won an Oscar for Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) and noms for Come to the Stable (1949) and All About Eve (1950). She returned to New York to replace Gertrude Lawrence in The King and I (1951) and Angela Lansbury in Mame (1967) and worked primarily in theater, save for the films The Tender Trap (1955) and High Society (1956) with Frank Sinatra. Her last Broadway appearance was in Paul Rudnick’s I Hate Hamlet (1991).

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Sparkle: Album Reviews

Posted on August 13, 2012 by boz

Sony RCA Records has released the soundtrack to the upcoming film Sparkle, a remake of the 1976 musical picture (starring Irene Cara) inspired by The Supremes, to middling reviews. The recording includes new versions of four songs from Curtis Mayfield’s original soundtrack, among them “Something He Can Feel” (a #1 hit originally for Aretha Franklin and later when covered by En Vogue), plus three original compositions from R. Kelly, among them “Celebrate” (the last song Whitney Houston recorded), and others. The vocalists include Carmen Ejogo, Goapele, Cee-Lo Green, Whitney Houston, Jordin Sparks, and Tika Sumpter.

Andy Kellman (All Music): The soundtrack for the 2012 remake of 1976’s Sparkle is an enjoyable if muddled affair. … When it comes to “Something He Can Feel,” it would be an understatement to say that the deck is stacked against Sparks and her vocal partners, Carmen Ejogo and Tika Sumpter. Both the Franklin original and En Vogue’s 1992 version rightly topped the R&B chart. Sensibly, there’s no effort to out-power them; this version has its own light and breathy touch. … Houston sounds as commanding as one can expect from a later recording. Cee-Lo Green contributes the rollicking “I’m a Man.”

Melissa Maerz (Entertainment Weekly): It’s powerful to hear Houston belting out a gospel song for the last time. … You’d expect her to break into a sermon-stopping vocal run. And she comes close a few times. But she never does. … So that leaves Houston’s costar Jordin Sparks to carry most of Sparkle. Unfortunately, that burden is heavy. … The best track belongs to the only man on the bill. … [Cee Lo’s] strutting soul-funk oozes so much charisma, you’ll almost believe that he’s a ‘‘love machine.’’ (Almost.) But the track only makes it easier to miss Houston. If anyone could’ve served up a fierce rebuttal, it was her. And I would’ve loved to hear her sing ‘‘I’m a Woman.’’ B

Andy Propst (Theater Mania): While it can be difficult to hear Houston’s vocals and not feel a sense of loss, she and Sparks thrill as their voices combine to whip the dance tune “Celebrate” into an infectious joy. Houston can be heard in one other solo track (a stirring “His Eye Is on the Sparrow”) and Sparks offers up a trio of great solos. The album is also rounded out with numbers performed by the likes of Cee Lo Green (channeling James Brown), Carmen Ejogo (whose work brings to mind classic Diana Ross), and Goapele.

Jody Rosen (Rolling Stone): The headline-grabbers here are two Whitney Houston songs, her last-ever recordings. They’re also this soundtrack’s low points. “Celebrate” is forgettable disco pop, and on the gospel standard “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” Houston sings – and croaks – in a voice octaves lower than in her prime. At times the song has a ravaged magnificence, but mostly it’s painful. Otherwise, though, this is a delightful record, from Cee Lo’s soul-funk “I’m a Man” to Jordin Sparks’ torch-y “One Win.” Sparkle revives four soul chestnuts and includes three originals written and produced by R. Kelly.

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