Ptorchwood Ptales & Ptimely Pthoughts

I have faced the reality that I am never going to have the time to write individual reviews for everything I seen in the last few months. So these are just a few thoughts on the music and dance related performances I've attended.

The Elixir of Love at Lyric Opera

I saw this Valentine's Day Weekend - yep February. I've seen this opera several times previously and its light and fun and romantic. Lyric used the same costumes and sets as they have previously - they're not terrible but it might be time to freshen the look up a bit. Other than that minor criticism, the opera was a lovely well-rounded performance. Both leads, Frank Lopardo and Susanna Phillips sang well and were very playful on stage.  The supporting cast was uniformly strong and the guest conductor, Bruno Campanella showed a real understanding of how to pace the music. (Bel Canto singers can be left, literally breathless if the tempo is off).  It was a very enjoyable evening.

Million Dollar Quartet at the Apollo Theater

I saw this with my BFF on her birthday.  This musical review revolves the (true) story of one day in 1956 when four musicians, true innovators of their time, played together at the Sun Records studio in Memphis. Not a formal recording session but a happy and sad coincidence of these four men coming together for the first and last time on that day. Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and and Jerry Lee Lewis all got their start at Sun Records but at this time, Elvis has already moved on to a bigger producer and Cash and Perkins were about to do the same. The owner of Sun Records, Sam Phillips, was one of the few producers that took on performers that were a little out of the mainstream and generally more innovative than the popular acts of the time. Sadly, after he nurtured and grew these talents he was often rewarded with them leaving his studio for more lucrative deals.

All the musicians were incredible but the standout for me was Lance Lipinsky on piano. Holy crap - this kid can play. He has performed extensively with a tribute band and he knows this music intimately. Sean Sullivan as Johnny Cash is a favorite actor of mine and has appeared in several productions at Timeline Theater.. David Lago (best known for his 2005 performance as Raul on The Young and the Restless) does a surprisingly good Elvis. Surprising to me anyway, as I never realized he had any musical talent. Finally, Gabe Bowling as Carl Perkins gave a credible performance, perhaps a bit understated in my opinion. A very fun evening , how can you go wrong with such great music played by stellar musicians.

Hubbard Street Dance  at the Harris Theater

I saw this performance for my birthday with my parents in March. Four very different pieces were performed which showcased the range of talent and dance styles the Hubbard is capable of presenting. First Light, danced by the HS2 members (which are their younger dancers in training ) used lighting and dance together to convey various moods and feelings. And with music by Philip Glass, well I'm a sucker for anything with Phillip Glass.

The second piece, The Kiss - was a visually stunning non-traditional pas de deux with the dancers being suspended on wires. And like a classical  dance partnering, the dancers use each other's weight and momentum to complete difficult movements. 

The third piece At 'em (Atem) Adam was my least favorite. While I admire the muscularity of the dancing as well as the originality of the choreography, the hodgepodge of musical pieces gave the piece a disjointed and unfinished feeling. Hey I like Ella Fitzgerald singing Gershwin, Billie Holiday, and Moondog (along with Sonata for Violins by Luciano berior - not a work I'm familiar with) but not in the same piece.

The final piece, 27'52" (the length of time it takes to perform)  was visually stunning. The themes of giving/taking, pushing/pulling, dependence/independence worked beautifully with the Mahler inspired score.

Billy Elliot at the Oriental Theater

I adored the movie, so I was a bit skeptical seeing this transformed into a musical, especially one written by Elton John. The music for the most part is typical Elton John, in both its good and bad aspects. Good - lively, fun; Bad - gee a lot of this music sounds the same. The standout song for me was Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher cause ...well if you know me at all, then you know where I stand on conservative politicians.

There are four young dancers playing the role of Billy - Cesar Corales danced in our performance and he was amazing.  I would love to see this again with another lead to see what impact if any a different dancer would have on the musical. The supporting cast were great with the exception of a few of those beautiful Welsh vowels making it a little hard to understand a times.

Ok, so now I still have 4 plays to review.  But first a nap is in order.

I saw this several weeks ago, but am just now getting around to posting on it.

I was sure I was going to dislike, if not hate this production.   I am a huge Marx Brothers fan and didn't think a stage version of the play that became a musical (now becoming a play again) could be successfully done without turning it into a parody of itself.

I was wrong!  This was a brilliant production.  And considering that the last few musical productions I've seen at the Goodman were pretty lackluster, the energy and enthusiasm the entire cast displayed was amazing.

The standout performance had to be Joey Slotnick playing Groucho Marx playing Captain Jeffrey T Spaulding.  He had Groucho's looks, movements and speech down perfectly and managed to inject some additional humor into some of the old tired jokes. 

His main foil, Ora Jones playing Margaret Dumont playing Mrs. Rittenhouse didn't look anything like Dumont but her speech and mannerisms were so well done that she really became the part. The comic timing between her and Slotnick was flawless.

Jonathan Brody as Chico Marx playing Emanuel Ravelli was excellent though his part was smaller.  He had the earnest intensity (not to mention the accent) of the character nailed.

The most difficult role fell to Molly Brennan playing Harpo Marx playing The Professor.  This nonspeaking role is essentially mime/clowning - a tough gig to pull off under the best of circumstances.  She did a remarkable job with the material not shying away from the physicality that is always present in the Marx Brothers.

The songs and the dancing were well done and the energy level didn't flag at all during the performance.  What really impressed me was how well the whole ensemble worked as a whole.  Anyone who watches improve or comedy sketch work (SNL anyone?) knows that great scenes are easily ruined by poor timing.   I only noticed one exchange that seemed a tiny bit off - and in a almost 3 hour production, that's saying something.

I only have one serious problem with the play.  I saw it three weeks ago and I still can't get the song 'Hooray for Captain Spaulding' out of my head!!

Posted with comments at the MarxBrothers Community: http://community.livejournal.com/marxbrothers/29086.html