Jesus Christ Superstar
Special to www.TheZebra.org
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
February 25, 2022
Jordan Wright
 Aaron LaVigne, Tommy Sherlock and the company of the North American Tour of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. (Photo by Matthew Murphy, Evan Zimmerman) I was looking forward to this reimagining of Jesus Christ Superstar by two Brits, Director Timothy Shearer and Choreographer Drew McOnie, if only to see how they tailor their work to a British audience. Both gentlemen have earned Olivier Awards (Britain’s equivalent to a Tony Award) for their work – Sheader earning four for “Best Musical Revival” to include one for Jesus Christ Superstar and McOnie celebrating two nominations for “Best Theatre Choreography” and winning for In the Heights. Together they spell theater royalty.
So, I was more than surprised when I found some odd choices in the staging of this iconic musical. Don’t get me wrong, I can still be found humming and tapping my foot to the glorious Andrew Lloyd Webber score and running home afterwards to listen to the beautiful music days later. But as I watched this production unfold, I found myself too frequently scratching out “Why?” in my notes.
 Jenna Rubaii in the North American Tour of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. (Photo by Matthew Murphy, Evan Zimmerman) Why did Jesus use a mic stand? Mary and Judas, too. Sometimes, not always. Why did some performers use a hand mic and others not? Utterly mystifying. Why did Jesus sport a hipster man bun throughout his performance, then switch over to a ponytail for the final scene? I wonder because his head shot in the program has him with long wavy blond locks. Wouldn’t it have been more apropos to let it hang in loose curls around his shoulders? And, if I may state the obvious, wouldn’t it have been the perfect opportunity to cast a person of color in the role of Jesus?
There are more mysteries to unpack here. Why did Jesus carry around an acoustic guitar? If the thought is to depict him as a rock star, wouldn’t he play a snazzy electric guitar? Why were the sound levels all over the place? Sometimes singers came across powerfully at other times they could hardly be heard no matter from which area of the stage they were singing. Why did the casting director choose a lead with the weakest voice in the entire cast? And, for Chrissake (pun intended), why did Aaron LaVigne give such a stilted, unemotional performance as Jesus? Poor Mary.
More questions vexed me. What was the point of tossing dozens of glitter bombs at Jesus to sub for the 40 lashes ordered by Pontius Pilate? And, in the strangest interpretation of all, why was Mary (Jenna RubaII) absent in so many scenes usually played by Jesus’s side? It was an especially bizarre directorial choice during her solos, especially for the lovely lullaby, “Everything’s Alright”, when she comforts Jesus urging him to, “Close your eyes, close your eyes and relax, think of nothing tonight,” which she sung in her unique, lilting and soulful vibrato. This has been one of the most poignant scenes in other productions as she caresses him to allay his fears.
As for the musical element, 11 onstage musicians in second tier cubicles are joined by members of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra for a concert-like sound. Add Omar Lopez-Cepero as Judas (that falsetto!) and the experience is worth the price of admission. With his epic rocker voice, he brought the house down several times over. Wailing electric guitars and a hot licks sax solo that nearly shook the great Opera House chandelier ratchet up the temperature. As to the choreography, rest easy. McOnie chose ace dancers who sing their faces off.
With Alvin Crawford as Caiaphas; Tommy Sherlock as Pilate; Tyce Green as Annas and an ensemble of 18 singer/dancers.
Through March 13th at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20566. For tickets and information call 202 467-4600 or visit www.Kennedy-Center.org
The Prom
Where Love Conquers All
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
January 8, 2022
By: Jordan Wright
 Courtney Balan, Patrick Wetzel, Bud Weber and Emily Borromeo in The National Tour of THE PROM. Photo by Deen van Meer.  The Prom, Music by Matthew Sklar, Book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, Lyrics by Chad Beguelin, Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
cast: Kaden Kearney (Emma), Kalyn West (Alyssa Greene), Courtney Balan (Dee Dee Allen), Patrick Wetzel (Barry Glickman), Emily Borromeo (Angie Dickinson), Bud Weber (Trent Oliver),
Sinclair Mitchell (Mr. Hawkins), Ashanti J’Aria (Mrs. Greene) and Shavey Brown (Sheldon Saperstein). Photo by Deen Van Meer.  The Prom, Music by Matthew Sklar, Book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, Lyrics by Chad Beguelin, Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
cast: Kaden Kearney (Emma), Kalyn West (Alyssa Greene), Courtney Balan (Dee Dee Allen), Patrick Wetzel (Barry Glickman), Emily Borromeo (Angie Dickinson), Bud Weber (Trent Oliver),
Sinclair Mitchell (Mr. Hawkins), Ashanti J’Aria (Mrs. Greene) and Shavey Brown (Sheldon Saperstein) Straight off, I want to say that although The Prom tackles serious subject matter and it handles it with the flat out fun of a confetti bomb. This story of two teenage lesbians forbidden to attend their school’s senior prom is no joke. It is set in Indiana, that bastion of Conservatism where alternative lifestyles are unacceptable and school regulations are governed by the PTA.
In New York the glamorous Broadway musical star Dee Dee Allen and her co-star Barry Glickman, a prancy-and-proud-of-it queen, are having a bad day. While at Sardi’s, reading the next day’s reviews of their latest show, they learn The New York Times has murderously panned it and tagged them as “aging narcissists”. Hoping to change that perception (in Dee Dee’s case it’s true), they agree to find a social issue to publicly support. Checking what’s trending online – climate change, poverty, etc. – they seize on the viral Twitter issue of the prom. With that as their cause celebre, they head to Indiana with their publicist Sheldon, waiter/actor and Julliard grad Trent, and chorus girl Angie to drum up support for the teens and garner favorable publicity for themselves. Did you know thespian rhymes with lesbian?
Alyssa is still in the closet to her mother who heads up the PTA and is dead set against gay couples at the prom. Yes! We’ve got trouble. Right here in River City! Her girlfriend, Emma, is out and supported by Principal Hawkins who vows to fight the PTA mothers calling it a civil rights issue. How they resolve it, becoming activists in the process, is the hopeful message of this endearing musical.
The young company is absolutely adorable. You just want to hug every last massively talented one of them. And their dancing, thanks to fabulous choreography by Director/Choreographer Casey Nicholaw, is exceptional. Kaden Kearney gracefully embodies the zeitgeist of Emma and is well-bracketed by Patrick Wetzel as the hilarious, gay role model Barry; Courtney Balan as the marvelously ballsy diva Dee Dee; and eye candy handsome Bud Weber as waiter/actor Trent Oliver who squelches the haters with buckets of charm and bible excerpts.
With Emily Borromeo as Angie; Ashanti J’Aria as Mrs. Greene; Sinclair Mitchell as Mr. Hawkins; Olivia Cece as Kaylee; James Caleb Grice as Nick; Jordan Alexander as Kevin; Sheldon Saperstein as Shavey Brown; Ashley Bruce as Olivia Keating; Brittany Nicole Williams as Shelby; and Kalyn West as Alyssa.
Book by Bob Martin & Chad Begulin; Music by Matthew Sklar; Lyrics by Chad Beguelin; Scenic Design by Scott Pask; Costume Design by Ann Roth and Matthew Pachtman; Sound Design by Brian Ronan and The Kennedy Center Orchestra.
Through January 16th. For tickets and information call 202 467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.
Ain’t Too Proud
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
By: Jordan Wright
January 1, 2022
 National Touring Company of Ain’t Too Proud – © 2021 Emilio Madrid  (left to right) – Elijah Ahmad Lewis, Marcus Paul James, Jalen Harris, Harrell Holmes Jr., James T. Lane from the National Touring Company of Ain’t Too Proud © 2021 Emilio Madrid A Soul-filled Journey Packed with Hits
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 bonanza. Told through the eyes of Otis Williams (Marcus Paul James), 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 producer Berry Gordy with songs written by Smokey Robinson (Lawrence Dandridge). Through the years the group gained and lost members like David Ruffin (played by the spectacular Elijah Ahmad Lewis), Eddie Kendricks (a riveting Jalen Harris), Melvin Franklin (the silken bass of Harrell Holmes, Jr.) and Paul Williams (James T. Lane).
Though the story guides us through their triumphs and tragedies, and the multiple group member replacements, over the years, the show hangs on their hits – hits that a generation of us danced to, made out to and even got married to back when we grooved to the lyrics of their love songs. They fought through racist attacks in the Deep South hoping to become crossover artists. “You never know who is hating you and singing along to your records,” Otis decries.
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 checked out the audience – who were tapping their toes, mouthing the lyrics (Yes, under our masks!) and bobbing their heads – and they were all ages, every race. You just can’t sit still to this concert-style bio-musical. Certainly not while watching those slickly-choreographed and tightly-synchronized dance movements.
Amassing an astonishing 31 platinum hits in their decades-long journey, the group created the sound that backgrounded family BBQs, birthdays, dance parties and early discos – songs listened to in cars and parks and on street corners where quartets sprung 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, John and Bobby, the group’s music reflected that fraught time with “War”, “I Wish It Would Rain” and “Ball of Confusion”.
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 TV show’s 17-year veteran musical director, Harold Wheeler with music directed by the legendary Kenny Seymour. Multiple Tony Award-winning Director Des McAnuff puts it all together and it’s as tight as the group’s pegged trousers and slim fitting sharkskin jackets and the sequin-gowns worn by Diana Ross and The Supremes who make an appearance along with Tammi Terrell, all of whom are costumed by Paul Tazewell veteran designer of Hamilton and a ton of other blockbuster Broadway hits.
I’d copy the playbill for you word for word if I could, because the cast includes some of the most successful and talented Black performers whose voices, bios and acting chops, are well known in musical theater, film and TV. These are multi-talented actors from the Broadway productions of Motown: The Musical; Beautiful: The Carole King Musical; Memphis; Sister Act; The Scottsboro Boys and The Lion King with voices and moves to die for.
Book by Dominique Morisseau. Based on the book “The Temptations” by Otis Williams with Patricia Romanowski. Music and lyrics from The Legendary Motown Catalog featuring the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra led by Jay Crowder.
Highly recommended!!!
Through January 16th at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information for future shows call 202 467-4600 or visit www.Kennedy-Center.org.
Beautiful – The Carol King Musical
Kennedy Center
December 17, 2021
By: Jordan Wright
 Four Friends Big News: Sony Pictures has announced that the film adaption of Beautiful will be produced by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Paul Blake.
Where were you when you first heard The Righteous Brothers sing “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” or “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles? Maybe you were dancing cheek-to-cheek with the one you loved. Or maybe you were groovin’ to “Locomotion” by Little Eva or “Up on the Roof” by The Drifters – all these songs written by Brooklyn-born Carole King and her then husband, Gerry Goffin. Working for music producer Don Kirshner, known as “The Man with the Golden Ear”, their partnership produced hit after hit keeping them on the pop charts throughout the 60’s.
During their early career lyricist Gerry and the precociously talented composer Carole churned out hits at Aldon Music, a music publishing house and hit factory in New York’s Brill Building, where they worked side-by-side in friendly competition with fellow hitmakers, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann.
Beautiful tells the story of their romance, marriage and tumultuous breakup and chronicles their struggles and successes, ending with Carole’s solo career, which broke the pop mold with the release of her first album – the four-time Grammy Award-winning, “Tapestry”.
This latest national tour opens with Carole on piano at Carnegie Hall. She is singing “So Far Away”, accompanying herself and showing confidence with her trademark masses of wavy, golden hair and gowned in a blue-flowered maxi dress.
It was not always so for the shy, yet ambitious, teen who wrote songs for the top Black artists of that era. The story then takes us back to the beginning of Carole’s career, when as a whip-smart sixteen-year old Carole bucked her Jewish mother, Genie, to peddle her tunes in the Big Apple where she has an auspicious meeting with Kirshner.
A medley of hits from the 50’s includes some of the greatest and most memorable hits from that era – “Poison Ivy”. “Love Potion #9”, “Yakety Yak” and “One Fine Day” to name just a few. The Drifters make an appearance dressed in their flashy sharkskin suits and skinny ties and The Shirelles in their beaded gowns performing their greatest hits. Little Eva who was plucked from obscurity (she was Carole and Gerry’s babysitter) and the fictitious Janelle Woods, a glamorous pop singer who becomes Gerry’s extramarital lover.
In this musical evolution of Carole’s life there are 27 numbers backed by a 6-piece band, which sounds like an entire orchestra. That’s just fine as you’ll most likely be singing along under your mask, tapping your toes and recalling your first dance, first kiss or heaven forbid your first breakup. For me the goosebumps kicked in with “Some Kind of Wonderful”. Gerry and Carole’s first duet, and The Righteous Brothers big number, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”.
Scenic Designer Derek McLane captures the mood with a wall of instruments and mid-century modern furniture in Carole’s home and office. Lighting Designer Peter Kaczorowski tricks out the musical numbers with hundreds of neon lights.
Sara Sheperd clones Carole as sincerely as humanly possible, especially letting loose her powerhouse voice on her biggest hits – “Natural Woman” later covered by Aretha Franklin and Mary K. Blige – and “Beautiful”. The musical reflects Carole’s coming of age as an independent composer and soloist who emerged from pain and loss to find joy and recognition as an artist in her own right.
A must see musical!!!
Starring Sara Sheperd as Carole King; James D. Gish as Gerry; Matt Loehr as Don Kirshner; Sara King as Cynthia Weil; Rachel Coloff as Genie Klein; and Ryan Farnsworth as Barry Mann.
Book by Doug Mcgrath; Words and Music by Gerry Goffin & Carole King and Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil; Sound Design by Brian Ronan; Costume Design by Alejo Vietti.
Through January 2, 2022 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information visit www.Kennedy-Center.org.
 Carnegie Hall  The Drifters  The Shirelles
Jordan Wright
February 3, 2020
How do you make a story about a woman having a nervous breakdown palatable to musical theatre audiences? First, you make the characters poignantly identifiable – Dan, a loving husband and father devoted to keeping his family intact; Natalie, a teenage daughter living in the shadow of her dead baby brother and fighting her own demons; Henry, her boyfriend committed to seeing her through her pain; and Gabe, the ghost of the dead child who haunts Diana in her darkest moments. Such a deeply emotional story might seem highly unlikely to resonate with theatregoers, but it does. Thanks in large part to the unforgettably beautiful score by Composer Tom Kitt with Book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, the show is impossible to resist.
 Brandon Victor Dixon, Rachel Bay Jones, and Michael Park – Photo by Jeremy Daniel Ignoring the needs of her family, Diana is prescribed more and more pills to dull the memory of her loss 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.
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 Khamary Rose, Rachel Bay Jones, and Brandon Victor Dixon – Photo by Jeremy Danie As she slowly descends into a manic state, Diana begins to question the pills, the therapy, and even her psychiatrist, whom she once pictured as a rock star. “What happens if the break was not in my mind or my blood, but in my soul,” she asks Dan after another “visit” by Gabe. While Dan wonders, “Why would you want to remember the things that hurt you?” In her manic state questions like these are impossible to contemplate, even more difficult to explain.
 Maia Reficco and Ben Levi Ross – Photo by Jeremy Daniel Thirty-six numbers turbo-charge this sing-through with joy and pathos, passion and pain performed by some of Broadway’s biggest Tony, Grammy and Emmy-Award-winning stars. I would see it again and again.
Starring the extraordinary Rachel Bay Jones (Original Heidi Hansen in B’way’s Dear Evan Hansen) as Diana; Brandon Victor Dixon (Emmy and Grammy nominated Judas in NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live) as Dan; fierce vocalist and newcomer Khamary Rose as Gabe; Maia Reficco as Natalie; Michael Park (Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen) as Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine; and Ben Levi Ross (National Tour of Dear Evan Hansen) as Henry.
 Rachel Bay Jones and Michael Park – Photo by Jeremy Daniel. Highly recommended. Five stars!
Directed by Michael Greif (Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen, Rent, Grey Gardens, If/Then and War Paint); Choreography by Sergio Trujillo; Music Direction by Charlie Alterman; Scenic Design by Mark Wendland; Scenic Design Adaption by Paul Tate dePoo III; Costume Design by Jeff Mahshie; Lighting Design by Cory Pattak. Part of Kennedy Center’s Broadway Center Stage with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra conducted by Charlie Alterman.
Through February 3rd at the John F. 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
Jordan Wright
January 26, 2020
Sadly, the last performance of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake came on the night before press night, put off till the second to the last performance. So, though you won’t be able to see this ballet in Washington, DC, it’s worth a trip to New York’s City Center where it will be performed through February 9th.
 Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures ~ Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Photo by Johan Persson Like many others familiar with Sir Matthew Bourne’s company, New Adventures, and his modern adaptations of classical ballets, I have become a rabid fan. (Don’t tell him I used his title. He’s very modest.) Last year at the Kennedy Center I went totally gaga over his interpretation of Cinderella set in racy London in the 1920’s. https://whiskandquill.com/cinderella-a-new-adventures-production-the-kennedy-center-for-the-performing-arts.
In Bourne’s reimagined Swan Lake, The Swans and many of the other dancers are male. Females include the Queen, the Moth Maiden, Princesses at the Royal Ball, a smattering of nightclub participants, and The Girlfriend. As the consummate Brit, Bourne uses wonderfully opulently British symbolism – sometimes with reverence, though ofttimes tongue-in-cheek as in his nod to the current Queen’s infatuation with Corgis (a mechanical dog prances behind her), the elegantly dressed servants, in tailored black uniforms, and a massive bed with royal crest where we first encounter the Prince.
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For balletomanes who swoon at Bourne’s dazzling productions – here we enjoy the eye-popping elegance of his sets, the 1950’s-1960’s era costumes from sweeping silk dresses with cinched-in waists to Mod period minis and baby doll dresses – these aspects of his highly styled productions are excitement enough. Against the plot of the Prince’s descent into madness and his ultimate rebirth as a fully-fledged swan, they continue to be revolutionary.
 Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures ~ Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Photo by Johan Persson As dramatic as this story is, there are some lighter moments including The Butterfly Dance, led by a buffoon in lederhosen who chases after the enchanted butterflies with a net while creepy wood nymphs break up their fluttering fancy, and a hilarious scene in the Royal Box when the Prince brings a young floozie as his guest. The Queen is appalled when the girl’s cell phone goes off during the performance as she tries to cozy up with the Queen with chocolates and utterly inappropriate conversation.
When ultimately the Prince is ostracized, he plans his suicide by pasting his note on a streetlamp. There he encounters the lead swan who both lures him and later sadistically rejects him. It is a dance both tender and feral. In one of the most dramatic encounters of the ballet, the swan engages in a ferocious battle with the other swans to win his love.
 Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures ~ Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Photo by Johan Persson This 2018 revival of the 1995 original production features new designs, new lighting design and revised choreography. It is one of the most spectacular ballets you will ever witness – one barely recognizable as the Swan Lake of tutus and feathered headdresses. In this magnificent incarnation, the power and force of the dances achieved through male swans is a mind-blowing game-changer.
Highly recommended.
Director and Choreographer, Matthew Bourne; Music composed by Tchaikovsky; Set and Costume Design by Lez Brotherston; Lighting Design by Paule Constable; Sound Design by Ken Hampton.
Seen while on tour at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts www.KennedyCenter.org , this production now heads to New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street, New York, New York 10019. For tickets and information visit www.NYCityCenter.org.
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