Carolyn Burke, Jordan DeBona, Harv Lester, Katie McManus, and Carli Smith. Photo by Keith Waters, Kx Photography.
The five performers featured in the revue are a diverse group that shines, each in their own turn… Creative Cauldron’s production of The World Goes ‘Round is the perfect experience for anyone wanting to reminisce about Kander and Ebb’s beloved shows and songs, expose themselves to other works by the duo, or to simply lose themselves for a time. It’s sheer magic!…Kendall Mostafavi, DCMetroTheaterArts
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The cast of Black Nativity at Theater Alliance
Center: Natasha Gallop. Back L to R: Taylor Walls, Roy Patten, Jr. Elton Pittman, Krislynn Perry, Marquis Gibson, Kelli Blackwell, Ryan Swain, Kinaya Grayson, Jakiya Ayanna, and Greg Watkins. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
Throughout my eardrums were thrumming like pulseways to my heart. What my retinas beheld at time through tears seemed a suddenly found community. A singular story was being retold with supreme reverence and transcendent joy as if by a priesthood of theater artists: Jakiya Ananna, Kelli Blackwell, Natasha Gallop, Marguis Grayson, Whitney Hutcherson, Roy Patten Jr., Sherice Payne, Krislynn Perry, Elton Pittman, Ryan Pittman, Ryan Swain, Darin Turner, Taylor Walls, and Greg Watkins.
Black Nativity from Theater Alliance is a not-to-be-missed revelation. What Director Eric Ruffin, Music Director e’Marcus Harper-Short, and Choreographer Princess Mhoon have done is nothing short of a reconnection this very minute to the highest and deepest mystery of meaning made incarnate in human performance…John Stoltenberg, DCMetroTheaterArts
Anastacia McCleskey (Narrator), Christine Dwyer (Sara), Tommar Wilson (Michael), and Cole Burden (Tom). Photo by Vithaya Phongsavan.
Murder Ballad is a great respite from everyday life. It is full of its share of scorching music, biting lyrics, and passionate acting to feed an audience a heated tale of infidelity and murder. Inhale this unexpected short-time pleasure while you can. Do you have an excuse or alibi for letting the cold winds of murder moan so delightfully and safely but pass you by? Nope, you don’t. Put down your phone, and go take in Murder Ballad…David Siegel, DCMetroTheaterArts
The cast of “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.’ Photo by Suzanne Carr-Rossi.
The scintillating cast of Riverside Center Dinner Theater’s The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webberalmost blew the roof off when I saw this new production on Saturday, January 17, 2015. Each singer – Sara Ashley, Bo Price, Shawna Walker, Patrick A’Hearn, Kelly Curtin, Chad W. Fornwalt, Sylvern Groomes, Ashlie-Amber Harris, Sheri Hayden, Andrea Kahane, Ian Lane, Darian Lunsford, and Calvin Malone had their turn or two in the spotlight showing off their pipes and gorgeous interpretations of Webber favorites…Joining these singers were a group of fabulous young singers who comprised the Children’ Choir: Angelina and Elijah Beale, Evelyn Detar, Nathan Griffin, Muggs Leone, Alexa Norbeck, Julianna Robinson, and Ethan Theriot…Joel Markowitz, DCMetroTheaterArts.
The cast of ‘Once on This Island’: Carl Williams, Quartz Crystal, Malcolm Lee, Harrison Lee, Avia Fields, Jade Jones, Ian Anthony, Tiara Whaley, Iona Blake, and Daphne Epps. Photo by Kx Photography. www.KxPhotos.com
Creative Cauldron’s production of Once on this Island (book and lyrics by Lynn Aherns and music by Stephen Flaherty) starts off with a bang. Well, to be more precise, a thunderclap. What follows is one of the most impressive thunderstorms ever created in live theater, courtesy of Lighting Designer Joseph Lovins. And what follows that is one of the most spellbinding productions this reviewer has ever seen in twenty years as a local theatre enthusiast…Caroline Simpson, DCMetroTheaterArts
From left in clockwise order: Karen Vincent (Turtle), Wendell Jordan (Frog), Jimmy Mavrikes (Tejean), Sakile Lyles (as Crayfish), Greg Twomey (Claude), and Brittany Williams (Petite Rouge). Photo by Bruce Douglas.
This feisty version of the classic is a great way to introduce your children to the history and tradition of Mardi Gras and Creole culture!…The performances were great! This production is filled with energized song-and-dance numbers….Lively and fun, Adventure Theatre MTC’s production of Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood makes for a great family-friendly celebration of Mardi-Gras!”…Julia L. Exline, DCMetroTheaterArts
Kurt Boehm, Colleen Hayes, J. Morgan White, Max Clayton, Ryan Fitzgerald, Ryan Kanfer, Shawna Walker, and Maria Rizzo. Photo by Christopher Mueller.
Whether you are a veteran musical theater enthusiasts who knows each and every line of dialogue or lyric or are much newer to this great American musical theater classic, I just can’t imagine you won’t be enthralled with the passion, confidence, heat, and playfulness of Signature Theatre production of West Side Story…Signature’s production is a West Side Story for the ages…David Siegel, DCMetroTheaterArts
Silence! The Musical is very easy to digest (pun intended), as presented in the tightly directed current production now playing at the creatively configured 2ndStage space of The Studio Theatre. A dark satire replete with savage wit and dancing, interactive lambs, the filmic source material (the 1991 Jody Foster-starring and Academy Award-winning film) has always been unsettling and disturbing as hell——how many people do you know who say they want to see the original film over and over?
Tally Sessions (Hannibal Lecter), Laura Jordan (Clarice), and the ensemble of Studio 2ndStage’s ‘Silence! The Musical.’ Photo by Igor Dmitry.
I certainly do not know many people who rush to view the film that often (cannibalism and creating clothes out of human skin could be considered as especially grisly subject matter) and, thus, it is all the more interesting that Director Alan Paul and Company have pulled this off so adroitly. Credit a very integrated approach with top-of –the-line actors and technical components all merging together to produce a work that moves like clockwork through seventeen musical numbers (almost “sung through” but the Book by Hunter Bell has a barrel of great one-liners and puns—-)in a mere ninety-minutes of time.
Having seen the Off-Broadway production, I can definitely attest that Studio and Director Paul’s version is far superior in timing, casting, and technical aspects. Director Paul has wisely kept the approach very “tongue in cheek”, with each line delivered with “dead-on” timing and a breezy, spoofy attitude that works exceptionally well. Straight faces are kept by each cast member in every micro-second of this production and the essence of how to present this material seems to be instinctively understood.
A three-piece combo artfully plays the serviceable score by Joan Kaplan and Al Kaplan. Under the Music Direction of Christopher Youstra, the musical numbers nimbly advance the action and give the actor’s their shining moments. Interspersed with the primary musical numbers is a chorus of singing lambs that have been given goofy, creative bits of business and highly imaginative asides that fuel the murderous merriment. Jessica Beth Redish definitely helps to integrate the actors, chorus and dialogue successfully with her masterful choreographic patterns and movements. At times the Chorus, will delight with pelvic thrusts and arms extended in an almost “Fosse-esque” manner.
In the demanding lead role of Clarice, the FBI aspirant with dreams of grandeur, Laura Jordan is a comic revelation. With her “Lily Tomlin-like” rubbery, elastic expressions and movements coupled with her slightly nasal twang and earnest zeal in the role (she never drops her sense of the ironic even once), Jordan commands the stage. Perhaps the highpoint of numerous highpoints was her superb mock-rendition of “It’s Agent Shtarling”; throughout this number, Jordon was topping lines and spoofing the entire canon of all the Grande Dames of musicals. In the hilarious and physically frenetic duet with Dr. Lecter (Tally Sessions) entitled “Quid Pro Quo”, Jordan’s physical energy and agility was electric (and the Lighting Design by Andrew Cissna was particularly striking).
In the non-singing department, Jordan was just as superb. Her soliloquy on the quietude of the lambs after slaughter and her phone call full of alternating permutations of the line “Fuck You “ would have even playwright David Mamet convulsing with laughter.
As Hannibal Lecter, Tally Sessions portrayed the character as somewhat deceivingly wholesome and, consequently, delivered a fresh interpretation of a character that can be all too obvious. Lecter’s best number was the deliberately offensive song “If I Could Smell Her Cunt.” Sessions never made the mistake of playing the Lecter we have come to know from Anthony Hopkins’ portrayal.
In the dual roles of Catherine and Senator Martin, Hayley Travers was especially arresting as the banal and overtly literal-minded Senator. Travers’ rendition of “My Daughter is Catherine” was sung in an amusingly overwrought “mock-operetta” style replete with theatrical flourishes.
Tom Story (Buffalo Bill), Hayley Travers (Catherine), and the ensemble. Photo by Igor Dmitry.
As Buffalo Bill, Tom Story was appropriately decadent especially when singing “I’d Fuck Me”—a hymn to masturbatory fantasies and all attendant psychoses.
As Dr. Chilton, the lithe Alan Naylor wins singing and acting honors as first runner-up —right after Ms. Jordan in theatrical prowess. Naylor moves like a dream and plays his character with just the right touch of pretension. His song “The Right Guide” (sung with Ms. Jordan) gave me a blissed-out feeling of pure euphoria. Naylor is totally at ease on the stage.
The actors Awa Sal Secka (Ardelia) and John Loughney (Jack Crawford) provided inspired support that was perfectly in tone with the mood of this very creative production.
Set Design by Jason Sherwood was a marvel and I do not want to give all the surprises away. I will only say that the entire theatre space has been turned into an intimate café with table seating. Elongated ramps extended from the proscenium very close to the audience. Instead of being over-utilized, the use of the ramps was all the more effective as they were only used when absolutely necessary to highlight a heightened moment of song or dialogue.
Sound Design by Lane Elms and Projection Design by Adrian Rooney was stellar. Special mention must be given to Costume Design by Frank Labovitz; it was alternately appropriate and outlandishly eye-catching.
Laura Jordan (Clarice) and the ensemble. Photo by Igor Dmitry.
Silence! The Musical has to be seen to be believed. Studio’s 2nd Stage’s production is another feather in Studio Theatre’s cap. Miss this one at your own peril!
Running Time: 90 minutes, with no intermission.
Silence! The Musicalplays through August 9, 2015 at Studio Theatre’s Studio 2nd Stage – 1501 14th Street, NW, in Washington, DC. For tickets call (202) 332-3300, or purchase themonline.
Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel (to the day: April 19, 2015), Olney Theatre Center exquisitely reimagines and reinvigorates the classic epic musical, audaciously addressing timely issues of domestic violence and economic status, which still pervade our culture as it did many decades ago.
Tally Sessions (Billy Bigelow) and Carey Rebecca Brown (Julie Jordan). Photo by Stan Barouh.
Spearheaded by the Helen Hayes Award-nominated team behind last season’s How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying – Director Jason Loewith, Choreographer Tommy Rapley, and Music Director Christopher Youstra, the powerhouse production features an extraordinary team of Broadway performers and Olney Theatre Center veterans splendidly showcased with a striking 12-piece orchestra.
Acclaimed by Time Magazine in 1999 as the Best Musical of the 20th Century, Carousel is an enduring tale of love and redemption, following the passionate and tempestuous romance of carnival barker Billy Bigelow (Tally Sessions) and mill worker Julie Jordan (Carey Rebecca Brown). After his untimely death, Billy is given one day – a final opportunity – to redeem his life and return to his wife and see the child he never got to meet.
Artistic Director Jason Loewith nimbly steers his 25-member cast lithely around the intimate set stage, which is enhanced by Seth Gilbert’s visually appealing costumes. Sessions swaggers swimmingly through the role of Billy Bigelow, exuding an aura of rebellious recklessness and deep-seated intensity, and in the character’s pivotal solo, “Soliloquy,” he oscillates compellingly between pure elation and utter apprehension to make Billy’s ensuing felonious act seem all the more foreseeable. With her slim build and femininity, Brown, as Julie Jordan, at first glance, looks delicate and meek but despite her elusive appearance, she is staunchly strong and stalwart — she has strength that does indeed seem to be “quieter and deeper than a well,” as Julie’s pal Carrie Pipperidge aptly describes in the show’s first number.
Rebecca Brown (Julie Jordan) and Dorea Schmidt (Carrie Pipperidge). Photo by Stan Barouh.
Dorea Schmidt is absolutely delightful throughout the production, lending Carrie a peppy practicality that contrasts strikingly with Julie’s romanticism, and the dissimilarity in their temperament becomes all the more poignant because the actresses make Julie and Carrie’s friendship seem genuine. Correspondingly, as Carrie’s prosaic love interest, Enoch Snow, who dreams of canning sardines, Eugenio Vargas equips some welcome comic relief, particularly when he first clomps onstage, appearing somewhat off kilter and misplaced. Together, they make a dynamic duo, harmonizing beautifully on the lovely “When The Children Are Asleep,” and shine singularly in Carrie’s “Mister Snow” and Enoch’s “Geranium in the Window.”
Delores King Williams, as Julie’s sage and loving cousin Nettie, delivers the initial rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with great pathos, and brings great fervor to leading the uplifting chorus in the animated “June is Bustin’ Out All Over” and the delicate “A Real Nice Clambake.”
Cast of Olney Theatre Center’s production of ‘Carousel.’ Photo by Stan Barouh.
Chris Genebach is properly villainous as the no-good Jigger Craigin; Eileen Ward is spectacularly convincing as Mrs. Mullin, the lecherous older widow with her clutches in Billy.
Also impressively insightful and eloquently exhibited are the dance interpretations of choreographer Tommy Rapley and Fight Choreographer Ben Cunis, as evocatively exemplified in the standout performance of Maya Brettell as Louise. Her energy and expressiveness help make the show’s second-act ballet, in which Billy silently watches his daughter cavort on the beach, seemingly soar off the stage. And a special nod to the talented singers and dancers in the wonderful ensemble.
Emotionally potent and intensely illuminating, Olney Theatre Center’s Carousel is an unforgettably heartwarming production that lingers and tugs; a legendary, pulsating show that any musical theater or romantic tale enthusiast will appreciate and treasure for many more years to come.
Running Time:Approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes, with one 15-minute intermission.
Carouselplays through May 10, 2015 at Olney Theatre Center- 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD. For tickets, call the box office at (301) 924-3400, or purchase them online.
