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World Premiere of Also see John's recent review of Coop Deville, a new musical at Jubilee Theatre, is about Coop DeVille, a sort of "Han Solo meets Shaft" who has come from the future to take a kid named McSquare to help him save the universe. Along the way we meet such characters as Coop's wife Peaches, her Mamma, Sister Superia and the nuns of the funk, and Coop's nemesis - Tyrone The Terrible.The basic plot is that Tyrone wants to do away with funk and soul, which is protected by Sister Superia and her clan, and become the leader of the universe. Tyrone is more of the Pat Boone kind of music lover. Coop knows that "The Kid" can help him save the world, that is if he can survive his wife's constant interference. The score is downright excellent. The music is a toe tapping/finger snapping mix of disco, funk, and soul, but with a slight overtone of old fashioned Broadway. The small band combo is directed with amazing skill and professionalism by Joe Rogers. He knows when to bring the drums and bass to full volume and pace for the music to get down and boogie. The ballads have an air of Luther Vandross and Anita Baker, while the lyrics are skillfully written to bring out the humor. A music producer needs to come down to the Jubilee and record this score - I loved every song, from the opening number titled "The Ballad of Coop DeVille" to the hilarious "The Shrine of the Funk" and the brilliant "Feeling Good, Doing Bad". Not to forget the soothing "Don't Let Go" and the number that brought down the house, "How Beautiful". Choreographer Keisha Breaker-Haliburton creates some of the most unique dance choreography and it is wonderful and exciting to watch. She mixes disco dancing of the '70s and the energetic dance moves of the '80s to create highly lively and amazing dance numbers. Evident are points of reference such as "Soul Train," "MTV's The Grind," Bob Fosse, Saturday Night Fever, and "American Bandstand." Set Designer Roger Ross has created an all purpose set that has little stairs, mini-stages, and silver pipes to create the illusion of being in space. One mini stage opens up to become Coop's spaceship, "DogStar". It has leopard print seat coverings, those little dangling pom-poms, a couple of 7-11 Slurpies, and car fins. The walls surrounding the set are painted with stars and planets. Costume Designers Eastman and Crickett Pettigrew have proved that you can create wonders on a small costume budget. They dress the leads in hilarious costumes that add another level of comedy for the audience to enjoy. My personal favorite is Peaches' outlandish green and pink sequined outfit. Lighting Designer Michael Pettigrew uses swirling gobos to create the mood of being in space. He has chaser lights on the door and the car fins to create fun illusion. But his finest moment comes during the battle between the good guys and the bad guys. Without giving too much away, I'll say it was original, amazing, and just eye popping fun! Director Rudy Eastman is a genius, hands down. This very talented man co-wrote, produced, and directed the musical. He helped paint the set, and even co-designed the costumes! If that is not being passionate about theatre, I don't know what is. Eastman keeps the pace and energy of his cast at full speed for most of the evening. He brings out tour-de-force performances from his talented cast. Eastman knows how far to bring in the joke, but he also finds heartwarming and honest moments within this colorful show. His blocking is just perfect, using all the levels constantly, and never letting his cast stay stationary. Robert L. Rouse, Jr. leads the cast as Coop. Coop is cool and macho, but becomes a henpecked husband when his wife is onstage. Rouse has a high tenor voice that reminds you of Stevie Wonder. His super cool acting is downright hilarious. He has some hysterical numbers to sing, such as "Believe in Yourself," "As Long As I'm With You," and "Know When to Hit the Road." Rouse keeps the pace and energy at constant speed, forcing others to keep up with him. He is amazing. Kevin Haliburton delivers a magnificent comedic performance as Tyrone The Terrible. Haliburton uses a dialect that is part Elmer Fudd and part Ming the Merciless. He knows what it takes to perform comedy perfectly. He uses his face, eyes, voice, and body to match his excellent comic timing and pace. Haliburton possess the strongest male voice in the company, a superior vocal instrument that has tremendous belt and power. He has two numbers to wrap his singing voice around. In the supporting male roles, Gary E. Payne as Tyrone's puppet, plays off his "white boy ain't got rhythm" act with humorous results. Rickey L. Spivey as The Kid/MC Square is a delightful sidekick to Rouse's Coop, but is hard to hear at times. His first scene lacks punch and suffers from pace problems, but once Rouse comes on stage, Spivey quickly matches Rouse's impeccable pace and keeps up with him the rest of the evening. Leading the females is Sheran Goodspeed-Keyton as Sister Superia. This girl can sing! Keyton has one of the finest and strongest singing voices I have ever heard in the metroplex talent pool. Directors - you need to cast this powerful actress now. Keyton has the kind of belt that tears the roof off the theatre, but she also has the ability to bring her vocals down to create soothing and heart warming tones on the slower parts of her songs. She has the best songs in the score, from the "The Gospel According to Funk" to "Jailhouse Blues," "The Legend of The Dogstar," and the tour de force and breath taking ending number, "How Beautiful". Keyton has wonderful facial expressions and is another performer in this cast with excellent comic timing. Then there's Melanie C. Bivens as Peaches, Coop's wife. She is dressed in a lime green poncho, sequined pink hot pants, and a mile high pink wig that is reminiscent of Marge Simpson. Each time she comes on stage, her top notch comic timing, facial expressions, and eye blinding stage presence have the audience eating out of her hands. Bivens has two musical numbers, the very funny "Mamma Told Me" and the romantic, yet hilarious "As Long As I'm With You," a duet with Rouse. Eleanor T. Threatt has double duty in the musical as Peaches' Mamma and later in act two as Auntie Zee. Threatt is a perfect match to Bivens as the pain the rear mother-in-law. She delivers a performance that has the audience rolling in the aisles. For Auntie Zee she is the voice of reason and delivers not only a moving monologue, but also has a jazz flavored torch song titled "Don't Let Go" that has her singing voice reminding you of Billie Holiday. Kudos must also go to the tight ensemble who have frequent costume and character changes throughout the evening. They are the unsung heroes of the show, adding life, commitment and energy, and they show they are having the time of the lives. That emotion carries over into the audience. A small problem with the show is that off and on it is difficult to hear and understand the cast in both dialogue and song. There were no body mikes and at times this works against the actors. A couple of comic one liners and some of the jokes in the songs are easily missed. This is the musical that rivals the other "space" themed musical, Starmites. Coop Deville is fresh, new and hysterical. It is packed with a first-rate cast, superior music, some of the best singing in the metroplex and is all brought to life with an excellent combination of direction, music direction, choreography, set, light, and costume design. It truly is one of the best musicals of the season Runs through September 2, 2001 Coop Deville: Time Travelin' Brother CAST Melanie C. Bivens.................Peaches |
