Dancap announces Toronto Musical Theater Tour Season 2012 October 17, 2011
Posted by ronannarbor in Broadway Musicals, Broadway Tour, Entertainment, musical theater, Musicals, Travel.Tags: Dancap 2012, Ontario theatre, Toronto, Toronto Musical Theater Tours 2012
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Dancap announces their 2012 Musical Theater Touring Season in Toronto — Note that Dancap is the up-and-rising direct competitor to Mirvish Productions. Most of its productions are presented at the stellar Centre for the Performing Arts in North York (nee Ford Centre for the Performing Arts). Dancap is particularly known for its longterm sitdown productions such as Jersey Boys.
American Idiot – Dec 28, 2011 – Jan 15, 2012, Toronto Centre for the Arts
In The Heights – Feb 7 – 19, Toronto Centre for the Arts
West Side Story – May 8 – June 3, Toronto Centre for the Arts
Shrek The Musical – March 20 -April 1, Toronto Centre for the Arts
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast – July 3 – 22, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Million Dollar Quartet – July 20-29, Toronto Centre for the Arts
A Christmas Story, the Musical – December 2012, Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
Hodgepodge from UM, Tigers, Jackson, etc. October 17, 2011
Posted by ronannarbor in Broadway Tour, Entertainment, musical theater.Tags: The Full Monty, University of Michigan Musical Theater Program, [title of show]
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Yeah, lots going on, and no particular single topic to write on….
Jackson Michigan saw a pretty dandy production of [title of show] this past few weekends. Still waiting for this to have a decent production in the Ann Arbor area now that it’s available royalty-wise. Jackson’s The Fourth Wall presented a critically acclaimed production that hopefully some of you got to see. This is a super show that somehow has just not caught on in the local theater circuit.
University of Michigan musical theater program put on a dandy production of The Full Monty musical which continues this coming weekend. I haven’t reviewed it, not because its undeserving, but because its just one of those shows that doesn’t work as well with a cast of hunky 19 year old boys in the leads, who should be in their 30′s and early 40′s. Not to say that this isn’t a great production — the show looks great, sounds great, and the cast is magnificent (as they should be, given that they are in a professional musical theater training program). But it just didn’t work for me. When Dave complains of being fat and he looks like he weighs about 160 pounds, the realism seeps right out. Mark Esposito’s choreography, however, is something to behold. It’s a great show. Go see it. But unlike the Broadway production, don’t expect to be emotionally moved by it.
The Detroit Tigers had an awesome run of their own, losing in the 6th game of the ALCS to the Texas Rangers. They went much further into the post season than anyone would have thought even a month ago, and they knocked the Yankees out of contention for this year’s title, so they are the darlings of the entire nation right now. Better luck next year, guys, what an awesome run you gave us this year!
UM, as has become usual, folded under MSU’s much better defense; and Denard Robinson just disappeared in a game where he should have been front and center. All for the best, as attention can now be paid to the UM Hockey Team, who are off to a great start for the season, and who have always been nearer and dearer to my heart than the football team will ever be. Go Blue!
Coming up within the next few months?….Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Performance Network, My Fair Lady (tour) at the Fox, Les Miserables (Stranahan, Toledo, tour), Wicked (Detroit Opera House, tour), battling White Christmas’s (tour at the Fox, community theater productions throughout SE Michigan and Ohio – from the Croswell Opera House to Howell), A Christmas Story, the musical at the Fisher (tour), and yet another revision of It’s A Wonderful Life at Encore in Dexter. Busy musical theater season coming up. Look for reviews as we go.
iPhone 4S vs iPhone 4 — should you upgrade? (UPDATE: Camera quality) October 10, 2011
Posted by ronannarbor in Apple, Entertainment, Gizmos, Photography, Uncategorized.Tags: iPhone 4s, iPhone 4S camera, iPhone 4s vs iPhone 4
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SEE UPDATE at the end of this article.
Many of my clients have asked me about the iPhone 4S, and should they upgrade….here is my take:
First, if you want the latest and greatest, by all means upgrade.
Second, if you have a 3G or older, absolutely upgrade. You will be amazed what the iPhone 4/4S range can do.
Specifically for owners of the current iPhone 4: This is an upgrade that Apple calls a “refresh” — that is, it doesn’t have a lot of major style upgrades, but it does have significant upgrades “under the hood”. The phone is physically virtually identical to the iPhone4. Here is what you should consider if you are looking to upgrade:
1. The processor is faster. The chip in the iPhone 4 is faster (the same as in the iPad) so that programs, web pages, and other applications will open faster. Ask yourself, though, is your iPhone 4 too slow?? Not a complaint I have heard from anyone.
2. The antenna is improved. If you live, or travel, to an area that the signals are strong, you won’t need the improvement. If you live in (say NYC, SF, etc) you will find that the antenna is much improved, and your signal will be stronger. Note for you AT&T University of Michigan fans — this will NOT mean you will be able to get a signal now inside Michigan Stadium during game day when 115,000 friends are all trying to use their phones at the same time. It will mean your signal will be stronger in general. (For my non-Ann Arbor friends, AT&T signals are pretty strong here in SE Michigan).
3. The camera has been improved to 8 megapixels. What does this mean? Well, your pictures will be much larger, and they will be much sharper with less pixelation (visible dots). For many users, it will mean being able to ditch your compact digital camera and use only the iPhone. For others, it would be a poor substitute. The zoom is digital, and marginal at best. There are no controls for speed, aperture, etc. Even basic compacts have that ability (not that most people use it). What it WILL do is give you sharp front-to-back in-focus shots. No artsy shots here (i.e. no blurred backgrounds in your portraits). Most casual camera users want everything to be sharp and clear so this is a great new feature in the iPhone 4S. I’ll try out my iPhone 4S camera as my sole camera on an upcoming trip and give you my verdict. Personally, I can already predict that it won’t have the quality and features that I usually want in a camera, but I’ll see what it’s like to use it for a few days and nothing else.
4. Siri, new to the iPhone 4s is ONLY available on the iPhone 4s and will not be available in the OS upgrade to older phones. In essence, it’s a much improved voice command system. If you use the current Voice Command on the iPhone, you will find that this does more (not only dial your contacts by voice control, but also set appointments and put them into your calendar). The jury is out on this one. People I know who have tested Siri state that it generally works fine. It can not spell and it makes many mistakes (i.e. it might get the date and time of your doctor appointment correct, but it sure won’t spell the name of the doctor correctly). I personally do not know a single friend of mine who uses the current Voice Command on the iPhone. I don’t know if this will change with the iPhone 4s and it’s Siri program, but I doubt it. Your mileage may vary.
5. The new OS software — this will be available as a free upgrade to all current iPhone users, so this really shouldn’t be a consideration for an upgrade.
6. Your contract — okay, let me warn you up front, the iPhone 4S is a “refresh” as I mentioned earlier. It will, however, come with a two-year contract. That’s not a big deal, and the carriers have allowed upgrades within the year at additional cost with extension of the contract. BUT, if Apple surprises people with an iPhone 5 next summer, say, you will not be able to upgrade as in the past. For many, this is not a consideration. For others it is. There will be a non-contractual universal iPhone 4S released in November for the contract-phobes….but it will come at a much higher unsubsidized cost.
In summary: your desire to upgrade might not be in line with the reality of what an upgrade will actually bring. If you are not in one of the categories listed above that would make an upgrade a sure fire “deal maker” I would say that those with a current iPhone 4 have little reason to upgrade at present, and wait for the next iPhone update.
Personally: I am upgrading to the iPhone 4S and should have mine on Friday. Why? Well, you know I want the latest and greatest, but no, seriously — I am interested in the new antenna and the improved signal. I travel a lot and any improvement in the antenna will be an overall improvement for me. Second? My current iPhone 4 is worn out: there are cracks in the back, and it’s seen better days (although it’s only a year old)…I can pay the 150.00 at an Apple Store to have the back replaced, or I can spend a bit more and just get a shiny new model. I opted for the latter. I have my iPhone in my pocket 16 hours a day, so its been well used, to say the least.
Hopefully, this will give you some guidance as you decide if you need the newest model. For the most part, I say no. But there are exceptions.
UPDATE: 10/25/11 CAMERA QUALITY
On a recent trip where I did not take my camera and relied solely on the iPhone 4S, I can unequivocally say that the phone alone, even with 8 Megapixels, is NOT a suitable substitute for a decent digital camera. Photos taken directly out of the camera without any zoom are clear and basically sharp. You can not crop these photos or blow them up or they instantly become pixilated. In general, straight out of the camera, shot is fine — don’t mess with it for size or crop.
Transfer of photos is what it is: I refuse to use iPhoto, being a creature of habit with Bridge and Photoshop. so I transfered the photos through eMail, one by one, to my home desktop. It took half hour and most of the camera battery to send the 15 shots to my desktop computer. This won’t be a problem if you transfer using iPhoto or through iTunes. I imagine it would be a problem if you turn on Photostream and rely on iCloud.
Other quirks: If you open the camera from the lock-screen and then try to use the + volume control as your camera shutter, it freezes up the iPhone. Don’t do this. Open your camera application as usual from the iPhone itself, not from the lockscreen. Apple is apparently aware that this can be a problem on cameras. Wait for a patch.
To zoom in, you need to pinch the screen (as if you are making the photo bigger) and it will bring up the zoom controls. These are quirky and it takes several attempts to zoom in. In general try NOT to zoom in. Zoom is 100% digital, and while it brings your subject closer, all it is really doing is zooming in digitally and pixilizing your shot.
So, to summarize: straight out of the camera, full size photos = usable and generally sharp, capture detail well. Zoom is worthless. And you can NOT use the iPhone 4S alone as your sole camera if you are in way at all interested in photography and not just simple snapshots of friends.
For comparison purposes:
Straight out of the camera, no zoom, interior, generally well-lit: result – pretty good
50 percent zoom, and then cropped for central 50%: result – unusable
“Jersey Boys” tour as fresh as ever (East Lansing, Wharton Center) Review October 9, 2011
Posted by ronannarbor in Broadway Musicals, Broadway Tour, Entertainment, musical theater.Tags: Jersey Boys, Jersey Boys tour
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Okay, granted, the Wharton Center is a bit late in the game with the Broadway tour of Jersey Boys which has been traveling around the country for years now…but the production currently appearing in East Lansing is as fresh as ever, with a fine cast.
Lead by Joseph Leo Bwarie (in the Frankie Valli role) and a very strong Preston Truman Boyd (as Bob Gaudio), the entire cast looks and sounds terrific (For the record, Michael Lomenda and Matt Bailey round out the quartet). The women are as strong as the men in this cast, and the vocal sound is top notch across the board. In fact, when Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons come to life in their big numbers, they sound better then the REAL Frankie Valli and company. Bravo.
The tour also has the virtue of having to adapt its sound system into hundreds of theaters in the past few years, hence they have it down to an art, and it sounds fantastic in the Wharton Center. No dead spots here. It sounds great.
The audience ate up the show. The cheering, clapping, and shouting start early in the evening, and raise to fever-pitch by show’s end by which time the audience is standing and dancing along.
If you have never seen Jersey Boys, it’s terrific as a show — the music is interwoven into a smart script that never gets too “musical” but never strays far from the roots of theater. The direction and choreography are sharp and work well in both more intimate as well as larger numbers. It’s a show that has found its popularity among those who don’t usually like musical theater. No tap-dancing and magic tricks here. Just pure, theatrical magic.
By all means, go visit these Jersey Boys…the show is as fresh as ever, and that’s saying a lot when its been as well-traveled. To quote Frankie, it just keeps “going and going like the Energizer Bunny”. You should go see it, too. If you’ve seen it before, you already know how terrific the show is, and this cast will win you over. If you’ve never seen it before, you are in for a treat.
Moneyball (movie review) one of the best baseball movies ever. September 25, 2011
Posted by ronannarbor in Entertainment, Movies.Tags: baseball movies, Moneyball movie
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I waited a few days to write this review, since I’m still basking in the thrill of what is possibly one of the best baseball movies of all time. Moneyball, which opened on Friday, is about baseball, financing a team, and assembling the best team possible given the circumstances. If you have read the book, you know how it works. If you follow sports, you know what happened and how Billy Beane transformed baseball. Skeptic? Look at the Red Sox who use the moneyball system.
But like all of the best baseball movies, its about much more than that. There is a saying that if you want to understand America, you better understand baseball. That is on full display here in Moneyball. More than baseball itself, its a story about finding strength in what you have; in giving people a second chance; and in achieving something unexpected in return. There is a lot of heart in this movie, and it wears its heart on its sleeve (most effectively in the sub-story involving Scott Hatteberg, which will break your heart).
Performances here are superb. Brad Pitt leads the helm as Billy Beane; Jonah Hill as his recent college grad assistant (based on real-life Paul DePodesta but fictionalized here, DePodesta actually started working for the A’s in 1999) in a subtle, underplayed manner; Philip Seymour Hoffman as A’s coach Howe; and some great supporting work by Chris Pratt as Hatterberg (who looks eerily like the real thing). Indeed, most of the A’s players look like the ragtag team that Beane assembled, from Justice (yeah, that Justice) to Giambi (no, not that Giambi, the other one).
What happens in the film is a snapshot of a season in which the Oakland A’s, with a measly yearly budget compared to the big boys (i.e. Yankees), assemble the most undervalued but highest on-base-percentage players and lead the team to a 20-game winning streak and the playoffs. Baseball fans can look at the historical record and see that the A’s didn’t win the World Series. There is no big home run where outfield lights shatter and sparkle to the ground (although one comes close, at least emotionally in this film). But what Beane and his team did was to change the way baseball players are managed forever.
In the very fine understated final reel, the full emotional impact of what occurred hits you pretty hard. And it stays with you for days. You get home, and you turn on the end of the game on tv, and you see the players in a completely different light. And that is what good filmmaking is all about. And that is what Oscar gold is about. Look for high accolades come next year’s award season.
Highly recommended, even for those who aren’t big baseball fans. It’s a movie movie. And it’s a great tale told well.
Simply put, “The Light in the Piazza” at Encore is their best production to date (Review) September 8, 2011
Posted by ronannarbor in Ann Arbor, Broadway Musicals, Entertainment, musical theater, Musicals, Theatre.Tags: Adam Guettel, Encore Musical Theatre Company, The Light in the Piazza musical
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Take a superior score and script; add Encore’s strongest singing cast ever; stir in a new sound system and some terrific direction, and you have, quite simply, Encore Musical Theatre Company’s best production to date with “The Light in the Piazza”.
I have to disclose that I am partial to this show to begin with: many friends worked on the Broadway production both on the creative team and on stage. I saw it at the Vivian Beaumont a half a dozen times during it’s run. That being said, this cast is as strong as any I have seen in the show.
The production is Directed by Steve DeBruyne, Music Directed by Brian E. Buckner, Costumes are designed by Sharon Larkey Urick, Sets by Toni Auletti and Lighting by Matthew Tomich. I mention their names up front because it is their work that frames this sparkling production.
The action, played out on a sparse but lovely set, allows the actors to truly shine. And you have never heard a cast like this on the Encore stage. The very difficult score leans heavily toward legit voices (you know, opera voices for those of you not in the biz), and they sound fantastic on the new sound system that mixes the orchestra with the vocals.
I don’t want to give away too much of the storyline for those who don’t know. Suffice it to say it involves a mother (Barbara Scanlon) and her daughter (Stephanie Souza) who travel to Florence in 1953 and where the daughter finds love with a young Italian man (Brian L. Giebler). The will-they-or-wont-they romance plays out in a storyline that heaps levels of surprise and emotion in a deeply layered script that unfolds slowly over the course of the musical and leaves the audience as breathless as the cast by the end of the show.
Barbara Scanlon turns in a mesmerizing performance as Margaret Johnson, and Stephanie Souza plays her daughter Clara with aplomb. Brian Giebler as Fabrizio has a wonderful voice and stage presence to hold his own in a cast in which one cast member delightfully outshines the other throughout the evening. Scott Crownover plays a commanding Signor Naccarelli with Marlene Inman-Reilly turning on the vocal dazzlement as his wife. Sebastian Gerstner and Angela Kay Miller humorously play off of each other as the elder son and his wife. All smaller parts are played by an ensemble that includes Curt Waugh, Gil Bazil, Anne Bauman, Natalie Burdick, Lauren Conley, and Elliott Styles.
The vocal work here is dazzling — notes are hit and resound in the theater space which is superb for this type of show. The tone is exquisite — nothing is sharp, nothing is undertone…everything is right where it needs to be. The very difficult score includes large portions sung in Italian, often in counterpoint to English, and at times instantly alternating between the two. Adam Guettel’s lush score mixes contemporary romantic melodies with more adventuresome musical styles. This is a very difficult score and it is handled here expertly.
The requisite tears come — are they tears of sorrow? Or joy? Do you cry at a wedding? Or does something occur to throw it all out of balance. You’ll have to go see it for yourself, because it all plays out as well as any suspense story you’ve seen. From the romance of a hat blown through the air across a piazza, to the touching moments of a mother learning to come to terms with her own grief — it’s all there.
By all means see this. It is the best production Encore has done to date, and you will kick yourself if you don’t get a chance to experience it. Buy tickets for your parents. Send a pair to your grandparents. Take your husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/best friend. Go see it. I am personally getting tickets to see it again. I loved this production.
The Light in the Piazza continues through October 2nd. Tickets are available at the theater box office (3126 Broad Street, Dexter, MI) by calling (734) 268-6200, or online at www.theencoretheatre.org
“Warrior” movie joins ranks of best fight-movies (Review) September 5, 2011
Posted by ronannarbor in Entertainment, Movies.Tags: best movies of 2011, fight movies, Gavin O'Connor, Joel Edgerton, MMA, Nick Nolte, Tom Hardy, Warrior movie
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You’ve probably seen those posters around town — in subway stations and bus stops — in cineplex lobbies…you know, the type of poster that sells tickets without any other need for explanation:
I’m happy to report that WARRIOR, seen at an advanced screening yesterday, won’t need much more than those posters. It’s a terrific fight movie, and possibly the years first Best Picture candidate.
Tom Hardy (Inception) and Joel Edgerton (countless Australian movies and tv shows) playing brothers, are superb in Gavin O’Connor’s (Miracle) MMA-themed family tragedy movie. Nick Nolte positively shines in his role as their father. And there isn’t a single wrong note in the casting. O’Connor proves that Miracle wasn’t a fluke — he has a genuine knack for the inherent drama in sports and competition.
But this isn’t your standard fight movie. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA, or for us old-timers “cage fighting”) holds center stage here, but like the best fight movies, serves only as the background for the grander themes being played out: in this case, family-related loyalty, pain, and destruction.
Without giving away too much in this surprise packed drama that heaps one revelation upon another, I’ll give away only as much to say that Nolte plays an ex-alcoholic who has driven a wedge so deeply into its family system that brothers haven’t spoken for almost two decades, and there isn’t much love going around. Hardy’s character has cared for his mother and served in Iraq; Edgerton’s character has stayed behind and raised a family, now up to his ears in debt due to a sick child, and works as a schoolteacher.
The master-strokes of drama delve into Hardy’s attempts to escape the grief that follows him from one life situation to the next; while Edgerton’s follows an anything-for-my-wife-and-kids path.
Sure, the themes have been seen elsewhere. Sure, much of the symbolism has been seen elsewhere. But that doesn’t mean that O’Connor hasn’t discovered something all-together new and different in this tale. I won’t say anymore, but to add that the ending is about as perfect as you can get. Alternating between standard film, hand-held cameras, and media coverage, it all feels gritty and real…the movie is fiction, but it plays like a true story, and by the time you reach the final fight sequence, your emotions will be as conflicted as those depicted on the screen.
About halfway through the movie, O’Connor achieves something in film that rarely works well – and here it works spectacularly: escalating the action of almost two months into a several minute split-screen montage of slices-of-life of what is occuring in two parallel families, the film lifts from the ordinary to the sublime. And it stays there for the remainder of the film.
Choose your sides — root for your favorite brother — and have a swell time at the movies. This is an emotion-packed big old fashioned wallop of a motion picture, and I highly recommend it.
Cedar Point – Paddlewheel Excursions closing forever as of Labor Day August 23, 2011
Posted by ronannarbor in Entertainment.Tags: amusement parks, Cedar Point, Cedar Point closes paddlewheel, end of an era, Paddlewheel Excursions, paddlewheels retired
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Yes, it’s true — I’ve talked about it before, but this time its real — The Paddlewheel Excursions (nee Western Cruise) will offer its last rides ever at Cedar Point on Labor Day 2011.
This has been a long time coming, so its not a surprise to most Cedar Point veterans…with rising fuel costs and with increased maintenance costs not only of the boats, but also the animatronics (most of which have ceased working years ago), it comes as no surprise that the Paddlewheels will be “retired” (as Cedar Point calls it) after Labor Day.
Installed in 1964 as the Western Cruise (almost double the current length of the attraction), the ride was one of the remaining such attractions at any amusement park anywhere. Those of us who are older will remember the frontier fort it used to glide by, and the burning sunken paddlewheel steamer (all removed years ago as the park expanded). The ride in now a mere shadow of itself as it floats under coasters and dodges rides as they have ever-encroached on the water-retention lagoons at the back of the park.
Unlike the water attractions at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, which are tracked underwater and run electrically (Jungle Cruise, and yes, even the Riverboat!), The Paddlewheel Excursions boats are free-floating gas-consuming, money-draining snake pits. They’ve been bleeding hundreds of thousands of dollars a year of maintenance, fuel, and operations monies. It was only a matter of time until they were gone. For years it has been the last ride of the season to open, and the first one closed in the fall. It has opened later and later each day, and closed earlier and earlier each evening. This part-time ride has finally come to its end of days.
In its place, the landing dock area will serve as the entrance/exit for next seasons Dinosaur’s Alive exhibit that will make its home for the next few years on Millenium Island (now renamed Adventure Island). The bridge that is used during Halloweekends will be used for the new attraction.
Get your final rides in on the Paddlewheels….it’s a relic of another age — a time when Cedar Point really was an amusement park and not just a Coaster Kingdom…and it joins a long line of family friendly rides that have slowly been removed to make way for faster, taller, more exciting attractions (Pirate Ride, Earthquake, Frontier Lift, White Water Landing, the original Shoot the Rapids, the Funhouse, the Aquarium, etc.)
I’ve posted this photo before, but I thought it made for an appropriate final tribute to the Paddlewheel Excursions…you will be missed.
The Book of Mormon…Catch Me If You Can…Sister Act…(Broadway, reviews) July 31, 2011
Posted by ronannarbor in Broadway Musicals, Entertainment, musical theater, Musicals, Theatre.Tags: Catch Me If You Can musical, Sister Act musical, The Book of Mormon musical
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I can’t remember a time I spent a few days in NYC seeing musicals that there wasn’t at least one so-so show in the bunch…instead, all three musicals I saw this past weekend on Broadway were all excellent in their own ways, with their own strengths.
No doubt about it, Broadway’s hottest current ticket (and 9-time Tony winner) The Book of Mormon at the Eugene O’Neill theater is something else. It’s the strangest, dirtiest, and funniest musical I think you will ever see. And guess what — the tunes are hummable and pretty good!
The production is ensemble through and through, and while the leads are very strong, some of the ensemble members actually steal the show from time to time. And it’s meant to be that way. “Turn it Off”, a paean to repressed emotion, features the strongest song-and-dance sequence (although “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream” comes pretty close too.) This is a show where the music and lyrics are so intricately integrated into the book, that the show virtually races from scene to scene and neither overpowers the other. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea; the show uses language that could make a sailor blush — but it’s all in good fun. Personally, it’s one of those shows where my parents would walk out minutes into the show — but it’s not designed for them, nor for the casual musical goer. Call this “South Park” for adults, humor run amuck. I loved every second of this deliriously funny musical. The merchandise stands do very swift business selling “Hasa Diga Eebowai” t-shirts. I suspect NYC schools will ban them this fall — the rest of the country needs to find out what that phrase means for themselves. You can get them online at bookofmormonbroadway.com/
A block north, Catch Me if you Can has taken up residence at the Neil Simon theater. This one is all about Norbert Leo Butz, who outperforms lead Aaron Tveit in every scene he is in. Not to say that Aaron isn’t very good — he certainly is (and he gets the requisite hoots and hollers when he takes his shirt off), but there is nothing in this show that can eclipse the Tony-winning performance by Norbert. If you saw his number on the Tony awards, you know he has energy to spare. But there is a lot of good going on this show, not the least of which are wonderful performances by Tom Wopat and Kerry Butler in supporting roles.
From music and lyrics to set design and costuming, this is a whiz-bang entertainment. The story works well in this musical setting, and it’s another great evening out for adults (I can’t imagine anyone under the age of 15 will be able to sit still for this one — it’s themes of self-creation, ego-disintegration, and self-centeredness require some maturity and life experience to fully appreciate.). The story unfolds slowly, in spectacular show-within-a-show fashion. You know how it ends. Getting there is what makes this so fun. And the direction (Jack O’Brien) and choreography (Jerry Mitchell) are about as fluid as you will find on Broadway right now. The production itself owes a lot to the revival of “Chicago” 14 years ago. The orchestra is on a tiered set onstage (a convention I don’t like in any production), and set pieces fly and pop-up through stage traps. Things run efficiently and very quickly to cover locals throughout the US and overseas. Had The Book of Mormon not raised it’s delerious head, this show would have won the Tony for Best Musical this year hands down.
And around the corner, Sister Act has what is sure to be a longterm home at the Broadway Theater. In a multi-million dollar production, the show is crowd-pleasing and family friendly (not something that can be said for most of the seasons other new shows).
The real find here is Patina Miller in the role created by Whoopi Goldberg. Her voice soars in the many gospel-cum-Broadway songs, and her stage presence in a force to be reckoned with….it’s the rare performer who can make someone like Victoria Clark (in a superb performance as the reverend mother) fight for her right to party. But she has had several years of experience stealing the spotlight: she also played the role on London’s West End where the show originated.
Granted, the storyline here is relatively thin — it’s up to the music and the very strong ensemble company to make this one shine. And shine it does. The crowd ate it up. You will too. Skeptics need not apply (see Book of Mormon instead).
Tickets for Catch Me If you Can and Sister Act are readily available online and at the box office. The Book of Mormon is another story altogether. I purchased my tickets while I was in NYC in December. The first good tickets I could find were this past weekend (in July). Tickets are on sale through 2012, and don’t expect to get any tickets for months – this is Broadway’s hottest ticket since The Producers, and because it isn’t reliant on specific “stars” it will continue to sell no matter whom is in the cast. By all means get tickets — just expect to wait.
“The Wedding Singer” – Dexter Community Players….or, how to make a community theater production look like a million bucks… July 27, 2011
Posted by ronannarbor in Broadway Musicals, Entertainment, musical theater, Musicals.Tags: community theater, Dexter Community Players, The Wedding Singer musical
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I’ve just completed directing and choreographing a weekend run of THE WEDDING SINGER, the musical, for Dexter Community Players in Dexter, MI. Not to toot my own horn, but the single most heard comment in the audience (besides what a fun show) was how professional the show looked and sounded. This is not a review. This is a blog entry about what goes into directing a show that looks and sounds as professional as you can make it.
1. Make sure you have great leads — in this case, Andrew Buckshaw (Robbie Hart) is a musical theater student, sure to be a future Broadway performer. Katherine Kujala (Julia Sullivan) is a recent graduate of University of Michigan’s Opera program, already an established performer. Almost all of the supporting cast are or were musical theater, or vocal performance majors.
2. Keep the set simple, fast to move, and streamlined. In community theater, unless you have a half million dollar budget, you can’t even come close to approximating the multi-million dollar Broadway sets. So you do elements of them: you make sure that they fly and move quickly; and you make sure that the show doesn’t stop to wait for set changes. Use fades, not blackouts. Stack sets that fly behind each other. Have more than one person on flyrails so things can move at the same time. Enlist cast members in helping with set changes. Keep it moving.
3. Get the best orchestra and sound designer you can get. We had an 11-piece orchestra under the direction of John Tartaglia that was composed of a mix of music professionals and the very best students we could find. Nothing says “amateur theater” like a bad orchestra. So make sure that it is not. The orchestra was the single most expensive aspect of this entire production. It also sounded like a professional pit orchestra. You get what you pay for. Our sound designer (Patrick Schrock) is an expert in blending vocal sound on stage with rock music in the pit. If you can’t hear every word, you don’t have a show.
4. Simplify choreography. Make sure that you give the ensemble steps that they can perform — your show is as good as it’s weakest link. Your choreography can be brilliant, but if only a few cast members can perform it, you have nothing. Keep the steps simple, repetitive, and throw in some fun steps that they enjoy doing and will take the time to learn. In this case, I rewrote large portions of choreography before even teaching the steps.
5. Light it. Make sure you have a terrific lighting designer. Kent Sprague is a lighting design major at Wooster College in Ohio. Not only does he have an eye for good, focused lighting, but he has a playful sense of color and design. In a show where lighting substitutes for sets, at times, you better make sure that lighting looks fantastic.
6. Make sure you have the details right. If the show calls for a mirror ball, make sure you have a mirror ball. If water needs to cascade onto a cast member, make sure you have an effect that works on stage, and “reads” in the house. If a dumpster is your most important set piece, you better make sure that dumpster looks like a dumpster. If your leads need matching jackets, make sure they have matching jackets.
7. Expect to spend more money than you originally budgeted. Nothing comes in under budget. Ever. Build in a slush fund, or make sure that your design team has deeper pockets than your budget allows.
8. Surround yourself with the best staff you can get — from designers to techies, make sure you have the best people you can find to fill each important role. Have regular production team meetings. Even with the best intentions, expect some miscommunications and work together to resolve difficulties. Have a great producer (Francyn Chomic). Stay in communication with the Board.
9. Stay calm and enthused. Not every rehearsal is going to run as smoothly as you like. There will be plenty of drama that arises offstage. These are actors and “theater people” — expect it!…Stay calm, easy going, and confident.
10. Remember that this is community theater. People expect it to look and sound like community theater, based on their past experiences. When they see something that looks and sounds professional instead, you’ll stun them. In this case, the production really fell into the category of “pre-professional”, given the quality and experience of the staff and most of the tech crew. Pat yourself on the back for a job well-done, and hope the next production at the theater will maintain the same high caliber. Create a new benchmark with each show, and keep the quality up.
