Rocky Horror Show at Croswell Opera House is a blast (Review)

The Rocky Horror Show, that bizarreness of a stage musical that became a cult hit in London in the early 70’s and a midnight-movie cult in the US, returns to the Croswell Opera House for its third incarnation in recent years, and its a big, sprawling, hilarious blast of musical theater mess.

Once again directed by Eric Parker, and including many of the original cast (albeit in some new roles) as well as some newcomers, the show begs to ask the question, “why?”….well, why not?

Paul Manger makes for a terrific new Frank ‘n’ Furter as he sashays around the large open set in heels and corset, spitting out the lines and songs with the best of them; Katy Kujala is a great-voiced Janet, and Scotland Mills a fine furry boyfriend Brad. Zane Dickerson reprises the role of Rocky in all his body building glory; Eric Parker is a hilarious Riff Raff, and Kyrie Bristle nearly steals the entire show from all of them as Magenta in the waning minutes of the musical.

To be sure, there are ups and downs in the cast — but everyone is solid in their roles, and everyone has a blast and it shows. Stephanie L. Stephan provides some terrific dance movement and she is wise: she understands who can move, and who less so and she makes the most of that knowledge (a skill required by the best choreographers working with non-professional casts at various level of skill). It all looks terrific on the Croswell stage.

Keith Holloway’s set is serviceable, and projections hilarious. Lighting by Tiff Crutchfield is colorful and appropriate to the mood of the show. Cindy Farnham’s costumes range from decent to spectacular. The one problematic tech area in this production is sound: and in this instance, NOT the Croswell’s system, but the actual sound design. The orchestra (under the sure direction of Todd Schreiber) is located backstage, and they sound muffled. When the ensemble joins them for off-stage background vocals, the vocals can barely be heard. While some of the cast use body mics, the other leads use wireless handset mics. While it ads a great touch of “70’s” style kitsch, it results in vocal inbalance throughout. When the entire ensemble is onstage, with leads using mics, the ensemble becomes a vocal afterthought and they can not be heard clearly. The result is some great looking ensemble numbers that have no vocal “pop”; i.e., it doesn’t sound like a rock score should. There were also some missed soundboard cues, that I am sure will resolve themselves as the show gets further into its run. If ever a show deserved better sound design, this is it.

Of course, Rocky Horror is only as good as its audience participation — and there is a lot of it here. You an purchase a participation goody bag at the concession stand before the show, and join in — and if you have never seen a production of Rocky Horror, take a few minutes to peruse the many websites that give you audience shoutback suggestions. At the friday night opening performance, those who knew the show clearly had a better time than those who did not — and to the audience (and cast) surprise, some of the best ShoutBack audience members were in attendance in the first row. They made for a rollicking (if profanity-laced) evening. You’ve been warned — Rocky Horror itself is kind of a 70s throwback-edgy show, lets rate it PG-13…but throw in that awesome audience participation, and it becomes R-Rated instantly.

If the Friday night audience was any indication, this is one of those shows that will need some extra word of mouth to sell tickets — the audience was about half full. BUY TICKETS. The show is terrific and fast-paced, the cast is hilarious, and you will have a wonderful time at this Rocky.

The Rocky Horror Show continues through October 27th at the Croswell Opera House, Adrian MI. Tickets at croswell.org, or by phone at 517-264-7469. There is also a costume contest during intermission every Friday and Saturday night.

Movie Musical “Pitch Perfect” fits the bill (Review)

A-capella singing has come a long way since the dorky days of “a capella glee club” which most of us remember from our college years…riding the wave of popular tv-competitions, Glee, as well as the stellar success of the Indiana University Men’s “Straight No Chaser”, along comes the very entertaining “Pitch Perfect”.

Starring Anna Kendrick (here shown with new-hottie-on-the-block Skylar Astin (Spring Awakening), the movie follows the basic storyline of all such musicals: out-of-her-element college girl finds a girl-group a-capella singing group she likes, is pursued by boy-she-isn’t-sure-she-likes and by the end has found musical success and a new boyfriend. Forget the story — see this for the music, the great chemistry between the actors, and the (for the most part) live performances.

Written by 30-Rock screenwriter Kay Cannon, and directed by Jason Moore (Avenue Q), the show rocks more than a few Broadway folks in the show. Astin himself originated Georg in Spring Awakening. You’ll recognize plenty of Broadway folks in the different ensembles that make up the competing a-cappella teams. Rebel Wilson turns in a superb performance as “Fat Amy” and brings most of the laughs to the affair, but Cannon’s very witty screenplay supplies enough humor to keep the movie rolling from scene to scene. Particularly funny is the banter between Elizabeth Banks and Michael Higgins doing the “play by play” at the competitions — in fact, its so funny that lines often get cut off because you are still laughing from the previous line. Think 30-Rock at its absolute best — you know, the scenes you rewind on your DVR and write down the dialogue its that good.

But what makes the whole thing work is the musical numbers. Arranged by a-capella kings Deke Sharon, Ed Boyer, Ben Bram and others, the songs are perfectly performed (and, yes, to some degree autotuned, though it sounds better here than it does on most episodes of Glee). But the staging is real, the production numbers pop, and the competitions feel very real. Look out cheerleading competitions, you might have met your modern-day match.

In a fall season so far lacking much in the world of musical comedy, you can place a sure bet on Pitch Perfect. Go, have fun, eat popcorn, and don’t think too hard. Enjoy the show for what it is, and don’t be surprised if it (or a similar incarnation) finds its way onto the Broadway stage pretty darn soon.

 

La Cage Aux Folles (Tour review) Detroit Fisher Theater

La Cage Aux Folles rolled into town last night, and its a doozy. I saw this revival in NYC two seasons ago, and the tour is every bit as excellent as it was on Broadway. Winner of the tony for best-revival (among other awards) its easy to see the care that has gone into the tour of the show.

It’s great to see a tour that has as much crafstmanship go into into it as the original — in fact, except for the slightly larger scale of the sets, its virtually identical. George Hamilton plays Georges (so lovable you can let him get by with really poor vocal ability) and Christopher Sieber steals every scene he is in as Albin, quite an accomplishment following in the footsteps (or high heels?) of tony-winner Douglas Hodge on Broadway.

The entire ensemble is exceptional. If you read my earlier review of this revival, you know that the ensemble here is scaled down from the 24 or so in the original to just a handful — and that every one of the “la cage girls” is a hunk. If there is a single thing different about the tour that stands out, it is the intimacy of the theater — on Broadway, the show was so well integrated into the small house that you virtually felt like you were sitting IN the club. The Fisher is a bit less intimate, so the show feels a bit more stage-bound.

Some of the touches that made the NYC production so good are all here too — including “curtain/lobby warmer” Ms Lilli Whiteass making jokes, welcoming the crowd, and cracking a few Detroit jokes to the delight of the audience. This “bit” was added well along into the Broadway run, as tourists replaced locals in the audience. Its a great touch that remains fresh and funny on tour.

If you have seen La Cage before, you haven’t seen it like this. It deserved every Tony it got — and this tour cast does the show proud. Running now through October 7 at the Fisher Theater, Detroit.

See my original review here:   https://a2view.com/2010/07/31/memphis-la-cage-aux-folles-come-fly-away-broadway-reviews/

An update on review policy

Thank you readers for your input and thoughts as this blog develops. A2View Mostly Musical Theater has gone through a period of development. Recent personal attacks on an opinion I posted have caused me to re-evaluate the direction of the blog and reviews. Clearly people find it worthwhile, since I’m getting thousands of hits a day when I post new reviews, and hundreds of hits a day when things are kind of slow.

First, let me remind people that I pay for my own tickets for the shows I review: I do not get any freebies from theater companies. My opinions are my own and are not partial to one theater company or another.

Second, I have long posited that I am interested in appropriate shows in appropriate venues. For the most part, that means fully staged proscenium musicals, with full stage design, and full orchestras. I have strayed from this over the past year to give more leeway to some local theaters and studio musicals. I am no longer going to do that — it will save everyone grief.

Finally, as usual, I rarely review community theater. The rare exception to that is those theaters that present something unique or different (Such as Ann Arbor Civic Theater’s Grey Gardens last season) and those well-recognized near-professional theaters (such as Croswell Opera House) that exceed community expectations. That does not mean that I avoid all community theater — but in order to be reviewed, the show needs to be fully staged, of high quality (or expectation) and fully orchestrated.

When dates conflict, Equity shows will always take preference over non-Equity shows. In cases of touring musicals that are non-Equity, that status will be noted in the review.

There is a wealth of local musical theater. Some of it interests me, some of it does not. I am not a newspaper-funded reviewer. I review what I want to see. That does not obligate me to review anyone. There are plenty of media-funded reviewers available to cover those other events.

As a final note, I will never under any circumstances review another production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat or Guys and Dolls. Consider those shows fully-baked in SE Michigan. Put a fork in them, they are done.

Do I need an iPhone 5 if I have an iPhone 4S?

The answer is – no. Will you want one when you get your hands on one, yes. Is the LTE really that much faster? Well, depending on where you live.

Let’s start with the LTE question: If you have LTE in your neighborhood, its faster. I used LTE on my iPad in Orlando and it was faster than any of the local wireless systems via WiFi. Here in Michigan there IS NO LTE for ATT, and there won’t be for some time — and while there is LTE “sometime coming soon” according to ATT, it will be in Detroit and Grand Rapids only.  So, depending on your wireless service provider and where you live, it may or may not be helpful to you — at least for another year or so.

The form factor is virtually identical to the iPhone 4S — a bit taller, so it has a true 4″ screen for wide-movie viewing (similar to the dimensions on your HD tv, only way way way smaller). If watching movies on your 4″ screen sounds like a must have, then go for it.

The phone does have a new charging cord. I don’t know about you, but I have a cord at home, one in my bag, one at work, and one in my car for charging. That means, with the one new cord included, I would need to buy 3 adapters (29.00 each!) to continue to use my system the way that I have been for years. So that means an additional 90.00. Third party accessories (stereos with built-in 30-pin connectors) will instantly become incompatible. Think about that if you use things like alarm clocks with built in docks.

Also — ATT, for the first time ever, is NOT allowing a lower-priced iPhone for those with current contracts. That means if you have an iPhone 4S with ATT, you will be shelling out the full price for the phone AND extending your contract by two years.

Here’s something that Apple has been VERY quiet about — on September 19th, they are releasing the latest OS software for the iPhone — that will be available to everyone with an iPhone 4 and higher…that means you will get the exact same features as the iPhone 5 for FREE.

How about the speed?…Well, changing from a dual A5 to an A6 chip will no doubt increase your speed a tiny bit. I have not handled the iPhone 5, but all accounts so far of those who have indicate that the increase in speed is not noticeable — until you have been using the unit for about a half hour, at which point you start to see that things open a bit more quickly. But ask yourself: is your current iPhone 4S too slow?…Have you ever thought to yourself, wow, this is slow?  I have never noticed an increase in speed of processing from the iPhone 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to 4S…I’m pretty sure that the normal schmoe will not notice any speed increase to the 5…

Finally — there is the form factor: yes, it looks great. Yes, Apple wants to always have the biggest and most beautiful. Yes, it looks gorgeous. But the reality is that only you and you alone would be aware that you have the newer version of the phone…it looks that similar.

So — as usual, my advice? If you want the latest and greatest, by all means update. If you already have the iPhone 4S, don’t waste the money on this current update — download the new iOS software on 9/19 for free and you will be good to go. If you have an iPhone 4 or older, absolutely update — you missed the major update from the 4 to the 4S, so now is the time to upgrade for sure….but if you have the 4S, not so much.

The Fantasticks arrive at Dexter’s Encore Musical Theatre Company this month (preview)

Created over 50 years ago, Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt’s The Fantasticks has become a staple of American musical theatre, telling the allegorical story of coming of age, young love, and meddling fathers – what’s not to love? Barton Bund makes his Encore directing debut amidst a solid group of actors at The Encore.

The original off-Broadway production that opened in 1960 ran from 42 years, making it the World’s Longest Running Musical, and a successful off-Broadway revival opened in 2006 and is still running. The production has played in 67 countries, and with approximately 250 new productions each year, The Fantasticks has become a favorite of many. The show includes many popular tunes: Try to Remember, Soon It’s Gonna Rain, It Depends on What You Pay, Metaphor and They Were You.

The Encore’s cast  is comprised of Brian Thibault as El Gallo, Paul Hopper as Hucklebee, Tobin Hissong and Bellomy, Thalia Schramm as Luisa, Ryan Dooley as Matt, Keith Kalinowski as Henry, Jamie Weeder as Mortimer, and Gayle Martin as The Mute.

Patrons who attend the official opening night of The Fantasticks on Friday, September 28th, are invited to attend the Opening Night After Glow with the cast and crew of the show. Complimentary hors d’ oeuvres will be provided, as well as a cash bar!  Tickets for all performances are on sale now, and may be purchased by stopping in, calling our box office, or visiting their website.

3126 Broad Street,  Dexter, MI, 48130   (734)268-6200    www.theencoretheatre.org    

Summer 2012 Musical Theater Scorecard – SE Michigan

So — now that the summer musical theater has pretty much ended in SE Michigan for the year, what was the scorecard?

Best of the Best:

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Croswell Opera House)

Les Miserables Student Edition (Croswell Opera House)

The Last Five Years (K&W Productions, Ann Arbor Musical Theatre Company)

Avenue Q (Croswell Opera House)

Wicked (Tour – Wharton Center)

Memphis (Tour – Wharton Center)

Les Miserables (Tour – Wharton Center)

Second Tier:

Legally Blonde (MSU Theater Department)

Legally Blonde (Centre Stage Jackson)

Legally Blonde (Croswell Opera House)

Fiddler on the Roof (Encore Musical Theater Company)

Nunsense (Encore Musical Theater Company)

Just Plain Bad:

Beauty and the Beast (Non-Equity Tour – Fisher Theater and Stranahan Theater)

All in all, not a bad summer season for local musical theater. The biggest surprise: the reworked Seven Brides at Croswell. The biggest disappointment: the multiple Legally Blondes, none of which lived up to their full potential (although Marlena Hilderley’s Elle at Croswell was sublime). Also, not reviewed but occurring were the many community theater productions around the area, including Annie at Dexter Community Players; the Anniversary Celebration at Chelsea Area Players; and many many others. Onto the fall local and touring season…Current recommendation: Anything Goes tour at Wharton Center — don’t miss buying your tickets now before they are all gone.

 

Croswell’s “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” is one of their best summer shows ever (Review)

I am starting with ticket information for Croswell Opera house — online at croswell.org, or by phone at 517-264-7469. Quit reading — go order tickets — then come back.

Erin Satchell Yuen as Milly, and Steven Antalek as Adam (photo copyright Croswell Opera House)

Croswell Opera House opened one of their finest musicals ever last night — the adapted-from-the-movie musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The show pinpoints exactly everything that Croswell does right — a great cast with a pitch-perfect full orchestra, a fine set and costumes, more talent on stage and behind than the Pontipee boys could shake a rope at, and a rousing standing-ovation audience pleaser to boot.

Based on the favorite 1954 Hollywood musical, the show follows the Pontipee clan brothers as they seek out wives for themselves in 1850’s Oregon. How they go about getting those wives is the tale that is told in the brisk two and a half hour production. There is no definitive script/score for 7B47B, only the one that MTI provides in the moment — and this one is the 2007 revised version (because it sure isn’t the original early’80’s version which I was in almost thirty years ago).

The star of the evening is Jodi Adkins Hissong’s athletic choreography the likes of which the Croswell stage has not seen in many a moon. The Brothers, the Brides, and the supporting cast fly (sometimes literally) through many many numbers, favorites being “Goin’ Courtin'” and the spectacular “Challenge/Cut in Dance” at the harvest social. The latter received extended applause not heard in the house for years.

Erin Satchell Yuen as Milly and Steven Antalek as Adam Pontipee turn in solid performances, and both seem born to play these parts. The Brothers are played by David Blackburn (Benjamin); Ben Andre (Caleb); Ryan Chang (Daniel); Zane Dickerson (Ephraim); Joshua Moller (Frank); and Matthew Pettrey (Gideon). Their camaraderie on stage is equal to their singing and dancing, and they are a joy to behold.  Equally at ease on stage with singing and dancing requirements are the Brides: Samantha Bretz (Alice); Caitlin Christenson (Dorcus); Mary Hofmeister (Ruth); Jocelyn Near (Liza); Emily Kapnick (Martha); and Allison Steele (Sarah).  Together, they are a force to be reckoned with.

The large (but never cluttered) ensemble supports the action, and together with the leads turn in some of the most charismatic and entertaining performances ever at Croswell. The audience was positively abuzz throughout the production, and the standing ovation was well-deserved.

The performers are wrapped in lovely packaging in the form of Rachel Buechele’s colorful costumes; Terrence Hissong’s Scenic Design; and fine efforts in lighting, sound, and technical design. (Note that on opening night, there were both mic-related glitches as well as spotlight-mess that will surely resolve over the coming performances). Stage Manager Kent Sprague has his hands full to be sure, and he keeps things running at a brisk and comfortable pace throughout. Snow falls (both onstage and in the audience); wood splits; crashes resound; the unit-set works perfectly; and it all serves to entertain. Music Director Wynne Marsh keeps everything onstage and in the pit sounding remarkable.

Brian Hissong directs the entire affair with a sure hand, and he gets marvelous things from his performers. Choreography and Directing often overlap, and it appears seamless.

Go see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and enjoy an evening out in beautiful downtown Adrian, MI. Get your tickets immediately before they are all gone — buy them now, thank me later. Its one of the best things I have seen onstage regionally in many years — professional or non-professional.

Goodbye Disaster Transport (Avalanche Run) Cedar Point 2012

It’s been a long time coming — and Disaster Transport (nee Avalanche Run) will offer its last toboggan run on Sunday July 29th. The ride is slated for demolition (along with Space Spiral a few weeks later) to make room for next season’s new B&M-manufactured wing coaster.

Built in 1985, Avalanche Run opened with great fanfare along with a handful of the toboggan coasters opening across the country.

Seen here outdoors, it was a fast favorite of fans, despite its low thrill factor, with very long wait times and slow load times. A few years later in 1990, Lake Erie, sand, and the elements were beginning to have their way with the track. Throwing good money after bad (most parks that installed the toboggan coasters removed them within a few years because of the extraordinary  and expensive maintenance required on them vs the low interest/thrill factor) Cedar Point enclosed it in a large warehouse type structure; themed it to outerspace transport gone amok, and Disaster Transport was rebranded.

Known mostly as the coaster you road when it was really hot outside; Cedar Fair did little in the way of maintenance. As lighting and effects wore out, they were simply abandoned. The queue line was shortened to its current lackluster state. Over the years paint, lights, animatronics, and other effects were simply afterthoughts and most current riders don’t even know what it looked like in the early 90’s since most of the effects have been gone for 15 years.

There are plenty of other blogsites that carefully discuss the history and the effects in the ride — so I will leave that to them, and to your Google search.But I will leave this for last, a photo of Disaster Transport taken from the Skyride with Space Spiral in front of it. I had a final ride on Disaster Transport/Avalanche Run yesterday — and for all those many years of lackluster (but fun and air conditioned) rides, I salute you. Goodbye Disaster Transport.

Is Les Miserables the best high school musical ever? (Review kind of).

Having now seen two high school versions of LES MISERABLES, it begs to ask the question, is this the best High School musical ever?

25 years ago, I don’t think any of us would have ever thought that high schools might be doing this musical today. In fact, it seemed so “adult” and so “current” that it was hard to imagine anyone but professionals doing the show. Yet here it is.

Pioneer High School did a decent version a few years ago. Croswell Opera House did a whiz-bang knock-out version of it this past two weekends. Both casts had decent singers and mediocre ones — and yet both versions worked equally well.

Cut to 2.5 hours instead of the 3 hour running time, most audience members will be unaware of the cut material unless you are a true Les Mis expert. Some of the detail is gone, but its barely missed.

What is evident is that this is a show that features dozens of “parts” and the stronger performers are cast in leads while your average high school dramatists are equally happy playing the many many different ensemble parts. The parts fall directly into the vocal ranges of 16 – 18 year olds.

The music is not difficult to perform. Throw in a great orchestra and some straight-forward sets, and you have what might easily become the best current high school musical on the market for those schools tired of Bye Bye Birdie and Hairspray.

That brings me to special kudos for Croswell’s production. Musical Director Jonathan Sills has done a superb job with his (large) high school cast, and the orchestra was simply stunning. No cut-down orchestrations here; the full orchestra sound is lush and glorious.

Doug Miller designed a beautiful set, complete with detailed barricade. If the staging was a bit similar to the recent 25th Anniversary tour of the show, it can only be said that most shows without a turntable are pretty much going to look like that.

In short, I love youth theater and have directed a lot of it — but I was a bit green with envy at the stagecraft (and budget) on display at Croswell Opera House.

One caveat: if you are planning to do the show in your high school, make sure that you have plenty of men. Like most musicals of the last twenty years, its male-centric and you need plenty of them that can act, sing, and (kinda) dance (or at least move to the beat).