Theatre & Film Archives - Page 3 of 103

Mega-Musical Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations – Now at the Kennedy Center

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Jordan Wright
February 15, 2024
Special to The Zebra

Ain’t Too Proud debuted on the Kennedy Center stage in 2018 when it opened in DC before heading directly to Broadway. We thrilled to the musical and the extraordinary performances then. But since going to Broadway the show has amped up every single production value from the electrifying choreography by Sergio Trujillo, to the scenic design by Robert Brill and Projection Design by Peter Nigrini. For two and half hours, time stops. If you blink, you’ll miss everything cool you ever knew. Your heart will race, your jaw drop and your feet won’t stop toe-tapping. This is one of the most exciting musicals you will ever see. It is sheer entertainment from curtain up to the final wild applause.

Jam-packed with hits from America’s number one R&B/Soul/Funk/Pop group of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, this bio-musical from the Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a blast-from-the-past, an oldies-but-goodies mega hit. Told through the eyes of Otis Williams (Michael Andreaus), the group’s founding member, the story takes us on a top-of-the-pops journey from the original foursome’s Detroit roots on Euclid Avenue through its heyday under über producer Berry Gordy (Jeremy Kelsey) with songs written by Smokey Robinson (Derek Adams who also plays Damon Harris).

Through the years the group gained and lost members from the originals – David Ruffin (played by the spectacular Elijah Ahman Lewis), Eddie Kendricks (a riveting Jalen Harris), Melvin Franklin (the silken bass of Harrell Holmes, Jr.) and Paul Williams (E. Clayton Cornelious – played without missing a beat by understudy Brian C. Binion on opening night). The group’s veteran agent, Shelly Berger (Ryan M. Hunt), was tasked with guiding their sound and keeping them in line.

Though the story guides us through their triumphs and tragedies and the ebb and flow of group member changes, the show hangs on fiercely to their mega-hits – hits that a generation of us danced to, made out to and even got married as we sang along to their soulful love songs. But don’t think for a minute that the audience was a bunch of aging baby boomers clinging to memories of their teenage years. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. I looked around to see who was there – who was tapping their toes, mouthing the lyrics and bobbing their heads, and they were all ages. Because you cannot sit still to this energy-pumping, concert-style musical – certainly not while watching the performers execute the highly-stylized, synchronized dance movements The Temptations made famous or the exquisite harmonies of the group of five performing 30 of their platinum hits. These were the tunes that backgrounded family BBQs, birthday parties, dance parties and discothèques. Melodies that were listened to on car radios and record players and on street corners where quartets would spring up like weeds. There is so much joyfulness in the early music – “My Girl”, “I Can’t Get Next to You”, “If You Don’t Know Me by Now”, “Cloud Nine” and so many more.

When the scene changed with the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., John Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy, the group’s music – “War”, “I Wish It Would Rain” and “Ball of Confusion” – reflected societal upheavel. Just as “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” reflected the psychedelic era.

The musical is backdropped with period-centric projections by Peter Nigrini of Sponge Bob Square Pants and Amélie fame and choreographed to a gold standard by Sergio Trujillo known for his work on Jersey Boys and On Your Feet. Familiar with Dancing with the Stars? Orchestrations are by the show’s 18-year veteran musical director, Harold Wheeler with music directed and arranged by the legendary Kenny Seymour. Multi Tony Award-winning Director Des McAnuff puts it all together and it’s as tight as the group’s pegged trousers and trim sharkskin jackets or the sequined gowns worn by Diana Ross and The Supremes who make an appearance along with music icon Tammi Terrell (Shayla Brielle G.), all of whom are costumed by Paul Tazewell veteran designer of Hamilton and a ton of other blockbuster Broadway hits.

Book by Dominique Morisseau. Based on the book “The Temptations” by Otis Williams with Patricia Romanowski. Music and lyrics from The Legendary Motown Catalog.

Highly recommended! If I gave out stars, which I don’t, I would give it five stars!

Through February 18^th at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information call 202 467-4600 or visit www.Kennedy-Center.org.

Studs Terkel’s Seminal Book “Working” Brought to Life at Creative Cauldron

Working
Creative Cauldron
February 12, 2024
Jordan Wright
Special to The Zebra

Sally Imbriano, Erin Granfield, Molly Rumberger, Oscar Salvador, and Chelsea Majors (Photo/William T. Gallagher Photography)

Back in 1974 American writer/historian/actor/broadcaster, Studs Terkel, wrote a seminal book on ordinary workers. Its subtitle was “People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do”. A fascinating, deep dive into the often monotonous, constantly challenging lives of everyday American workers. I read it then and it changed my perspective on life and the people who are its driving force. That long lasting impression left me eager to see the musical produced by the small but mighty Creative Cauldron. Proudly celebrating its 22^nd anniversary, the regional theater has been thrilling audiences with its often daring, always fascinating productions.

Directed by notable and Helen Hayes award-winning director Matt Conner, who has been commissioned by Creative Cauldron to write an original work for the next five years, Working is a project he has long had his sights on. The entire creative team is well-respected in local theater and includes Helen Hayes nominees Choreographer Stefan Sittig, Music Director Paige Rammelkamp and Lighting Designer Lynn Joslin.

Molly Rumberger, Sally Imbriano, Oscar Salvador, Tony Lemus, Chelsea Majors, and Erin Granfield (Photo/William T. Gallagher Photography)

Fourteen, storytelling, musical numbers by a six-person cast fill the small stage and keep the action moving swiftly as the cast delivers songs by notable songwriters Lin Manuel-Miranda, Stephen Schwartz, James Taylor, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, Susan Birkenhead, and Craig Carnelia.

The stories they tell are moving and poignant. Conner has included videos of real-life locals including the Mayor of Falls Church, the building developer of their soon-to-be-completed, brand new theater, a local government agency retiree and an endearing series made up of local children talking about what they want to be when they grow up. The videos are interspersed within the music and connect us to the universal hopes and dreams of the workforces of the past, present and future.

Characters include Freddy Rodriguez, a fast-food delivery worker; Delores, a waitress, “It’s an art! I’m not just a waitress, I’m a one-woman show.”; Frank, an interstate trucker who doesn’t see much of his family until it’s too late; Rose, a third grade school teacher, “Everything has to be fun!” she declares as she deals with unruly students; Raj, a tech support guy; Rex, a hedge fund manager, “Unless you have winners you can’t have losers.”; Kate, a stay-at-home mom, “What I do only matters to three people.”; Grace, an assembly line millworker; Sharon, a receptionist, “I call it the land of no phone,”; Anthony, a stone mason; Utkarsh, an eldercare worker; Mike, a father longing for more family time; Maggie a cleaning woman; and Theresa, a nanny, raising other people’s children. Taken altogether they are a sea of dashed hopes and longings.

Sally Imbriano, Chelsea Majors, and Erin Granfield (Photo/William T. Gallagher Photography)

An energetic cast of six, plays numerous roles – gliding in and out of the many characters with ease. Treated as an ensemble, the playbill lists them by not assigning the performers to their individual roles. There are some fine performances by Molly Rumberger, Sally Imbriano and Erin Granfield. Other cast members include Tony Lemus, Oscar Salvador and Chelsea Majors.

Scenic and Costume Design by Margie Jervis; Lighting Design by Lynn Joslin; terrific Video Projections and Lighting by James Morrison.

Through March 3^rd at Creative Cauldron, 410 Maple Avenue, Falls Church, VA 22046 – For tickets and information call the box office at 703 436-9948 or visit www.CreativeCauldron.org.

An Unforgettable Production of Next to Normal at Round House Theatre

Next to Normal
Round House Theatre
Jordan Wright
February 6, 2024
Special to The Zebra

The cast of Next to Normal at Round House Theatre (Photo by Margot Schulman)

How do you make a story about a bi-polar mother having a nervous breakdown palatable to musical theatre audiences? First, you make the characters poignantly identifiable – Dan (Kevin S. McAllister), a loving husband and father devoted to keeping his family intact; Natalie (Sophia Early), their angsty teenage daughter living in the shadow of her dead baby brother, Gabe, and fighting her own demons; Henry (Ben Clark), her boyfriend committed to seeing her through her pain; and Gabe (Lucas Hinds Babcock), the ghost of the dead child who haunts Diana in her darkest moments. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal with its deeply emotional story might seem highly unlikely to resonate with theatregoers, but it truly does. Thanks in large part to the unforgettably lush score by composer Tom Kitt with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, the show is impossible to resist.

Lucas Hinds Babcock (Gabe) and Tracy Lynn Olivera (Diana) (Photo/Margot Schulman)

Ignoring the needs of her family, Diana (Tracy Lynn Olivera) is prescribed more and more pills to dull the memory of the loss of her child and heal her break with reality. Her struggle to keep it all together for the sake of her family, is thwarted by Gabe’s constant demands to be remembered. In the song, “I’m Alive”, he tells his mother he must never be forgotten.

As Diana descends into a manic state in a fog of despair from a plethora pills, she begins to question the meds, the therapy, and even her psychiatrist, Doctor Madden (Calvin McCullough), whom she pictures as a rock star – one of the funnier bits. “What happens if the break was not in my mind or my blood, but in my soul,” she asks Dan after the constant “hauntings” by Gabe. Dan, struggling to hold the family and their tenuous marriage together, wonders aloud, “Why would you want to remember the things that hurt you?” In her manic state these questions are impossible to contemplate… and even more difficult to explain.

Kevin S. McAllister (Dan), Sophia Early (Natalie), and Tracy Lynn Olivera (Diana) (Photo/Margot Schulman)

Thirty-six numbers turbo-charge this sing-through with joy, pathos, passion and anguish too. The cast is superb – their voices exquisitely blended and nuanced. Olivera is a well-known, well-respected commodity in area theaters and here her subtly powerful performance is balanced beautifully – shining but not outshining this remarkable ensemble. Audiences will be moved by McCallister’s rich baritone and commanding presence as the father who must keep the family from falling apart at the seams. A surprise casting is the clearly up and coming young actor, Lucas Babcock, as Gabe’s ghost. His voice and performance will tear your heart out. It stopped me in my tracks. This is a big role – physically and emotionally demanding and I’m excited to see what’s next for this straight-out-of-college young actor’s future.

Ben Clark (Henry) and Sophia Early (Natalie) (Photo/Margot Schulman)

Director Alan Paul (Whatever he directs, for god’s sake, just go!) has assembled the best cast with top-drawer performances plus Chris Youstra’s staging that brings it all seamlessly together. This is the one to see now!

Choreographer, Eamon Foley; Music Director, Christopher Youstra; Scenic Designer, Wilson Chin; Costume Designer, Helen Huang; Lighting Designer, Sherrice Mojgani; Sound Designer, Ken Travis; Dramaturg, Naysan Mojgani.

Highly recommended!

Through March 3^rd at Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814. For tickets and information contact the box office at 240 644-1100 or visit www.RoundHouseTheatre.org

AT the Kennedy Center tick, tick…BOOM! Shines with Jonathan Larson’s Lush, Emotional and Extraordinary Music

Tick, tick…BOOM!

Broadway Center Stage at
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Jordan Wright
February 2, 2023
Special to The Zebra

Brandon Uranowitz and the Cast of tick tick BOOM (Photo by Teresa Castracane)

Tic, tic, boom is the sound Jon (Brandon Uranowitz) hears in his head as he feels himself falling into obscurity as a musical composer. Looming large is his 30^th birthday. With nothing to show for decades of laying his soul bare in words and rhymes, he ponders the wisdom, or idiocy, of taking a job in the corporate world like his former roommate and best friend, Michael (Grey Henson). Michael is flying high on success and shows Jon that having a luxury penthouse and flashy BMW can erase the pain of failure and a respite from their 6-floor walk-up.

At the same time Jon’s beloved, Susan (Denée Benton), is bent on leaving the city and getting a home in the country where their lives would be less stressful. This is not an option for Broadway hopeful Jon whose raison d’être is inextricably tied to the stage. His keyboard forms the nucleus of the limited props.

Denée Benton and Brandon Uranowitz (Photo by Teresa Castracane)

Playwright, composer and lyricist Jonathan Larson’s real life was a tragedy in itself. Drawing from his own bohemian life and inspired by Puccini’s La bohème, he wrote the wildly successful rock opera Rent. His own poverty and struggle for recognition were undoubtedly its inspiration. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here since Larson died at 36 years-old on the night before its Broadway opening in 1996.

Fast forward to the 2021 film adaptation of tick, tick…BOOM! which you may have seen on Netflix and is definitely worth your time. It was directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and roundly praised.

Brandon Uranowitz and the tick tick BOOM cast (Photo by Teresa Castracane)

Director Neil Patrick Harris comes to this stage production with some strong connections to its early-stage iterations when in 2005 he was cast as Jon in the London premiere. He’s performed in Rent and feels a personal connection to Larson’s work.

Bringing this semi-autographical musical tick, tick…BOOM! to a new audience has inspired Harris to re-invent its earlier productions. He has added a four-person ensemble to the three-hander. Why? More voices? More harmonies? It inserts a bit of Broadway pizazz (We’re a musical with song and dance!!!), but at what cost? It’s distracting. In this staging, actors are over-choreographed – shuffling chairs and other furnishings around the stage in a kind of chorus line does not sharpen the mood. Background video projections distract without providing connections to the script. The Georges Seurat painting used as the promo poster for Sunday in the Park with George popped up for a nanosecond, but it didn’t dovetail with any of Jon’s lines referencing his relationship with Sondheim.

Grey Henson and Brandon Uranowitz (Photo by Teresa Castracane)

An accurate reflection on Larson’s lean years, it drips with sarcasm and angst and is reminiscent of Sondheim’s “The Ladies Who Lunch”. It is the heartbeat of his life in New York City and reflects the nucleus of his despair. To be sure there are some very funny bits as in the tune “Sunday” which references Larson’s time waiting tables at the Moondance Diner trying to appease difficult diners during brunch service. As to diminishing its focus, you’re left to wonder if the decision to plump it up with extra actors wasn’t made by an ad hoc committee. If you go, love it for the music which is lush, emotional and extraordinary. Thirteen numbers flesh out the story backed by a four-piece band. It really doesn’t need more than that.

Through February 4^th at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20566. For tickets and information call the box office at 202 467-4600 or visit www.Kennedy-Center.org

Disney’s Frozen is a Shimmery, Wintery Ice Palace of Wonder at the Kennedy Center

Disney’s Frozen – The Hit Broadway Musical
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Jordan Wright
December 26, 2023
Special to The Zebra

Caroline Bowman as Elsa (photo/Deenvan Meer)

What’s shimmery, glittery and icy all over? Frozen!!! The Disney spectacular indulges everyone’s wintery fantasy with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads – most especially the adorable tiny princesses that filled the audience in their long tutus and tiaras dressed up like Elsa and waving shiny wands. Did they know the story, the music and all the lyrics? You bet they did, though their parents and grandparents kindly kept them from singing out loud.

Kristen Anderson-Lopez and partner Robert Lopez who together crafted the music and lyrics from Jennifer Lee’s book, keeps the audience in thrall as what was originally the Disney movie by the same name, comes alive in front of eager eyes. From the stage they’re asked if this is their first Broadway show and quite a few gleefully raised their hands. What a scintillating introduction to musicals and, I mused, what a tale they’ll tell their children!

Lauren Nicole Chapman as Anna and Company of Frozen North American Tour (Photo/Matthew Murphy for Disney)

The story of the two sisters, Elsa (Caroline Bowman) and Anna (Lauren Nicole Chapman), brought up in a magnificent kingdom by their caring parents, the King Agnarr (Kyle Lamar Mitchell) and Queen Uduna (Katie Mariko Murray) of Arendelle, is beloved around the world not only for the beautiful story but also the lessons it teaches children – to be kind, to love, to be cautious, but also, when to believe. Along with the charming, life-size Sven the Reindeer (Collin Baja or Daniel Plehal) and Olaf (Jeremy Davis) the goofy, fearfully meltable snowman, Elsa learns to tame her secret magical powers and save her sister from a frozen fate.

But this is no average children’s play, nor a mere evening’s diversion. Backed in full by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra in concert with the Frozen Touring Orchestra, it is an epic show set in Scandinavia with all the gorgeous scenery reflecting the frigid fjords and alpine tundra. Video projections fill in what the massive sets cannot impart so that it is like being smack dab in Nordic splendor as opposed to sitting in your cozy velveteen seat.

Gowns and balls, maypoles and merriment define the sisters’ lives, until Elsa’s grand coronation when Anna is forced to live in isolation to protect her from Elsa’s dangerous powers.

Dominic Dorset as Kristoff and DanPlehal as Sven (Photo/Matthew Murphy for Disney)

The diverse cast moves effortlessly between ice crystals and shimmery fractals. Comic relief comes from Olaf (Jeremy Davis) and Sven (Collin Baja or Daniel Plehal) and the very silly number, “Hygge” sung beside a wayside chalet by the whole cast who dash in and out of a sauna beating themselves with birch branches to a song about comfort, friendship and conviviality. It is irresistible!

Snow blizzards and the haunting mountain people create just enough suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat. And did I mention Anna and Elsa’s love life? A Prince, Hans of the Southern Isles (Preston Perez), and a kindly mountain climbing guide, Kristoff (Dominic Dorset), are involved – one a straight shooter and one, well, not at all what he seems.

Highly recommended. Embrace the wonder-filled world of Frozen!

Caroline Bowman as Elsa and Lauren Nicole Chapman as Anna (Photo/Matthew Murphy for Disney)

With Annie Piper Braverman or Emma Origenes as Young Anna; Erin Choi or Savannah Lumar as Young Elsa; Evan Duff as Weselton; Tyler Jimenez as Pabbie; Renée Reid as Bulda; Jeremy Davis as Oaken; and Gretel Scarlett as Head Handmaiden.

Additional cast members in the ensemble – Kate Bailey, Kristen Smith Davis, Leigh-Ann Esty, Michael Everett, Jason Goldston, Natalie Goodin, Zach Hess, Adrianna Rose Lyons, Alexander Mendoza, Nick Silverio, Daniel Switzer and Peli Naomi Woods.

Under the direction of Michael Grandage with Orchestrations by Dave Metzger; Sound Design by Peter Hylenski; Puppet Design by Michael Curry; Scenic and Costume Design by Christopher Oram; Lighting Design by Natasha Katz; Choreography by Rob Ashford.

Through January 21^st at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20566. For tickets and information call the box office at 202 467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org

Kennedy Center’s Girl from the North Country is Moving and Unforgettable

The Girl from the North Country
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Jordan Wright
December 19, 2023
Special to The Zebra

Chiara Trentalange (center) and the cast of the GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY North American tour (Photo/Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)

The thing that Writer/Director Conor McPherson understands is the intrinsic value of Bob Dylan’s words. The Words! The Words! And how Dylan’s lyrics reflect the pain of growing up in small town Minnesota – the frustration of an artist who saw and struggled and loved and experienced the inequality of poverty in America. Surprised as McPherson was when given the go-ahead from Bob Dylan to use his songs in a Broadway musical, his gift for Irish storytelling made him the ideal candidate to interpret the music as poetic script.

This musical had such an impact on me that I’ve been processing it for a week before penning my review. Mainly because the subject matter and the songs are weighty and complicated and the beautifully drawn characters leap right out at you. You know these people, or you know of them. There is an empathic intimacy within this story and in the telling too.

L-R Ben Biggers, Sharaé Moultrie, Jennifer Blood and John Schiappa (Photo/Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)

It is set in Duluth, Minnesota. The year is 1934 as the Great Depression settles heavily upon the nation and those with little to show for their lives of hard work and sacrifice are suffering mightily. The Laine family runs a boardinghouse filled with curious characters down on their luck or running from the law or in love affairs gone sour. Nick and Elizabeth try to keep things in order along with their adopted daughter Marianne and their unemployed son, Gene. But Elizabeth’s mental health is failing, and the place is losing money. Hardships and love affairs threaten to topple the tenuous equilibrium.

Pretenders and desperados live amongst them. A fake holy roller priest, a prison escapee, and a doddering shoe store owner who proposes to young Marianne when the father of her yet to be born child leaves town. References are made to the true story in Duluth when a crowd broke into the jail and hung three Black men. It was hard times.

Sharaé Moultrie (Photo/Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)

Dylan’s songs are not as he recorded them. Yes, lyric-wise, but not with the same tempo. McPherson gets more heft from slowing them down, changing up some of the notes and phrasing for emphasis and re-imagining their place in the story. You will feel this deeply and appreciate the songs even more when their meaning is placed in the hands, and voices, of this wonderful 17-person cast. When Elizabeth sings Like a Rolling Stone you can feel the undercurrent of trauma, death and mental illness. It is both insistent and poignant.

Dylan’s words were reflective of society’s drift, the ebb and flow of human involvement, of broken women, beautiful women, men on the fringes of society, his own fallibility and the country’s fragility. This is a thinking person’s production with a world of space within its songs to process its meaning.

Highly recommended. Moving and unforgettable.

Chiara Trentalange and Ben Biggers (Photo/Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)

With Alan Ariano as Dr. Walker; David Benoit as Mr. Burke; Ben Biggers as Gene Laine; Jennifer Blood as Elizabeth Laine; Matt Manuel as Joe Scott; Sharaé Moultrie as Marianne Laine; Jay Russell as Mr. Perry; John Schiappa as Nick Laine; Chiara Trentalange as Kate Draper; Jill Van Velzer as Mrs. Burke; Jeremy Webb as Reverend Marlowe; Aidan Wharton as Elias Burke; Carla Woods as Mrs. Nielsen;

Soloists/ensemble – Ashley D. Brooks, Justin Michael Duval, Kelly McCormick and Hosea Mundi.

Music and Lyrics by Bob Dylan; Music Direction by Wiley DeWeese; Sound Design by Simon Baker; Lighting Design by Mark Henderson; Scenic Design by Rae Smith; Orchestrator, Arranger and Music Supervisor, Simon Hale.

Through December 31st at The Kennedy Center, 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20566. For tickets and information call the box office at 202 467-4600 or visit www.Kennedy-Center.org.