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And the World Goes 'Round Also see John's recent review of Side by Side by Sondheim, A Grand Night for Singing, Putting It Together, Perfectly Frank, Closer Than Ever, Swinging on a Star, Jerry's Girls. All of these titles belong to a genre of musical theatre that makes my eyes roll back & become glazed over. My brain takes off to Homer Simpson land and I just become numb as I sit in a darkened theatre waiting for what I hope is two quick hours of neverending showstoppers, 11:00 o'clock numbers, and enough sugar coated ballads to cause me to wonder if I should have gone to a Marilyn Manson concert instead. I just have no real interest in musical revues. Now, having said that, there has been one (and only one!) musical revue that I do love dearly, and that is And the World Goes 'Round with the music of Kander & Ebb. I first became introduced to this production during its national tour. Within that cast I also laid my eyes and ears on two up and coming stars of broadway future: Marin Mazzie, who has gone on to earned Tony nominations for Ragtime, Passion, and Kiss Me Kate. The other person was Karen Ziemba, who went on to win a Tony last season for Contact. When I saw And the World Goes 'Round in 1992, I just fell in love with the songs and the passion the entire company put into it. So when I read that Theatre Three had mounted a production of it, I was extremely excited. Having now seen T3's take on the world of Kander and Ebb music, I can say that, despite some of its problems, this production is deeply passionate and brought new life, energy, and fresh new understanding to the genre of the "revue". Director Bruce Coleman did something I have never seen done before; he took the songs of K&E and gave them a whole new world of meaning and understanding. He did not do just a revue, he placed his cast of seven actors in a dingy bar somewhere in New York in the '70s. He then shaped this "ghost of a book" to revolve around the seven: The bar's singer (N. Wilson King), the bar owner (Sally Soldo), a rich woman (Lisa-Gabrielle Greene), a drug dealer (Jamey Cheek), a sailor (Sergio Antonio Garcia), the bar's janitor (Patrick Amos), and a hooker (Jenn Tusa). These seven then displayed their passions, fears, hopes, dreams, failures, etc. by singing the songs of these two masters of musical theatre. Each song took on a new and different meaning and look. I sat that there in the dark, just floored at what Coleman had achieved. This man has single-handedly found the magic secret formula to taking a dead art form and bringing it to life in a way that leaves you speechless! I also must commend Coleman on the non-traditional casting of this production, bringing diversity to the company, and not just in minor roles. For example, the role of the sailor could have easily been cast with a blonde, blue eyed pretty boy, but instead Coleman cast a Latino. Musical theatre productions in our metroplex have so very few performers of color in their casts, when you see an actor of color in a musical, let alone an Equity production, you notice. It brought me such warmth and acceptance to see actors of various ethnic backgrounds in solid roles in a musical because, let's face it, it hardly happens here. Instead of just having the actors sing, Coleman creates dark and disturbing pictures and situations within the songs; he adds rich subtext to the songs through the actors' actions on stage. You can tell Coleman studied the films of the '70s and used them as a palette on which to create. It was pure artistic brilliance. Sadly though, one of this production's few problems was its set. The set is supposed to be a dingy, dirty bar. You know, like one of those smelly and smoky dives in the Big Apple on Times Square in the '70s before Disney took over and wiped NYC clean of hookers, peep shows, X-Rated porno palaces, and pimps. But Harland Wright's set has no representation of this type of seedy bar. The set, for some odd reason, reminds me of the Tiki Bird Lounge at Disneyworld. Thankfully, Mike Garner's light design is visually stunning and adds rich layers of light to what is unfolding on the stage at that moment. For the most part the cast is remarkable and truly gifted in the art of "acting" the song. Jenn Tusa gives a performance that leaves you wanting more. When Tusa first graces the stage, she is costumed exactly like Jodie Foster in "Taxi Driver", from the major F.M. pumps to her Sunday sun hat. Physically, Tusa looks like the love child of Bebe Neuwirth, Vicki Sue Robinson, and Priscilla Lopez! But this thespian is a powerhouse of raw emotion and she brings such sorrow to her songs, you honestly feel her pain reach to your gut in the darkness of the theatre. Her seductive and gravity-defying choreographed movements are some of the best dancing I've seen performed in a long time. She slithers, jumps, and floats in the air like a soft feather. Then comes that voice - a rich, full soprano vocal with an equally solid vibrato and a full belt. With her strong commitment to the art of truly understanding the lyrics that she sings, you have a performance that is, in a word, magnificent. Sally Soldo once again delivers a strong performance. Her rich belting soprano wraps around the beautiful ballad "Colored Lights" (from The Rink), and what a sparkling gift that is. Soldo also performs two of my all-time favorite comedy duets, "Class" (from Chicago) along with Ms. King, and "The Grass is Always Greener" (from Woman Of The Year) with Ms. Greene. Both times Soldo knew just knew how to hit the comedy bull's eye dead center! N. Wilson King left her heart on the Theatre Three stage with her performance of the song "A Quiet Thing" (from Flora, The Red Menace). You could feel the pathos of pain and of being alone, of no love. It brought a lump to my throat. But watch this actress/singer perform "And the World Goes 'Round"; its pure beauty! King is also blessed with the finale of "New York, New York." Her rendition of this over performed song is a welcome breath of fresh air. You totally forget that Liza and Frank ever sung it before! Lisa Gabrielle Greene was assigned the hardest ballads of the production, and her vocals, while pleasant just could not reach the belt that the songs require. "How Lucky Can You Get?" (from Funny Lady) was originally sung by Barbra Streisand. I remember watching a PBS special on Kander and Ebb, and they commented that when they know who is going to sing their songs, they write in keys and notes they can hit, adding crescendos and long holding notes, as was the case for the above mentioned song for La Streisand. Greene just cannot seem to belt those strong soprano notes. Sadly, she even runs out of air before the song ends. In act two, she is given "Maybe This Time" (from the film Cabaret). Once again, Greene just doesn't match those hard belting notes. She does, however, do a delightful job on the duet with Soldo of "Grass is Always Greener". Jamey Cheek is costumed, coiffed, and bearded like Al Pacino in the film "Carlito's Way" (which was set in the '70s as well). Cheek's evil drug dealer is not liked by anyone in the bar, nor by the audience, but I mean that in a good way! His strong baritone voice requires no body mike, thank you, but his commitment to the character is strongly appreciated. He never stops trying to get his "addictions" throughout the evening, whether it's drugs, booze, women, or life. Cheek and Coleman have taken the heartbreaking ballad, "I Don't Remember You" (from The Happy Time) and changed its meaning to be brutal and cruel to the bar singer. Its amazing to watch, but painful to accept, the hatred that Cheek gives King's bar singer. Cheek and Coleman also achieve brilliance in the song "Kiss of the Spiderwoman" (from Kiss Of The Spiderwoman). Here, Cheek sings to his hypodermic needle and the subtext is rich and multi-layered. Cheek sings to his "spiderwoman" - in this case, his drug. Cheek finds a vein, wraps the leather strap around his arm, and jabs the needle, all the while singing and giving the song delicious evil dripping from its words. Sergio Antonio Garcia (no relation to this reviewer) is all apple pie innocence as the sailor on leave to come have a root beer before finding his Polly. I especially enjoyed his dance duet with Tusa in act two, which had the underscore of "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago. Garcia's baritone vocals add a nice touch to such songs as "Sometimes a Day Goes By" (from Woman Of The Year) and especially to "Marry Me" (from The Rink). Patrick Amos possess a rich baritone singing instrument. I especially enjoyed his take on "Sara Lee", and "We Can Make It" (from The Rink). But I felt that Amos did not truly get the humor and comic timing on the song "Mister Cellophane" from Chicago. This song is a "bring the house down" number, but Amos instead performs it with too many inflections in his vocals, causing the song to lose its comic punch. Also, the number is way too choreographed. The entire production is littered with great moments of song and dance: the company's performance of "Me and My Baby" (Chicago), "Money, Money"(Cabaret), and especially "Cabaret" are just pieces of delicious ear candy. The show stopping vocal strengths of the trio performance of Green, Amos, and Tusa with three ballads all sung at the same time, Soldo's hysterical take on "Ring Them Bells" (from Liza With A Z) ... list goes on and on. Overall, I was just floored at the beauty and immense scope of Coleman's and the entire company's take on the genre of the musical revue. It was a majestic revelation and new awakening on this art form. And The World Goes 'Round Theatre Three Call 214-871-3300 for tix and info. Directed by Bruce Coleman CAST Patrick Amos, Jamey Cheek, Sergio Antonio Garcia, Lisa-Gabrielle Greene, N. Wilson King, Sally Soldo, & Jenn Tusa. |
