A Five Star MJ at The National Pulls Out All the Stops in a Thriller of a Musical
MJ
Broadway at the National
Jordan Wright
August 16, 2024
Special to The Zebra
 Roman Banks as ‘MJ’ and the cast of the MJ First National Tour (Photo/Matthew Murphy, MurphyMade) Here’s the lede. Without a doubt this national tour is one of the most spectacular and electrifying musicals this reviewer has ever seen. It’s a ten for dance, cast, production values, musical numbers, orchestration and costumes… and here’s why.
The story of Michael Jackson’s extraordinary career and its influence on all subsequent pop music cannot be understated. From his start as a child singing lead with his brothers as the Jackson Five to his supersonic career trajectory, his passion to create new and exciting music has been rock solid. Above all, he considered himself an artist keeping a firm hand on all production decisions as well as composing most of his biggest hits. He worked with Berry Gordy early on then segued to a recording relationship with Quincy Jones, both of whom told him he would be nothing without them. He proved them wrong at every turn as his star continued to ascend. It was the height of the Motown years and there were appearances on Soul Train and Amateur Night at the famed Apollo Theatre in Harlem that brought the house down. All these career-making moments are played out here through his biggest hits with over a half dozen of the best dancers. Forty!!! of his greatest hits expressed in this musical both in song and dance highlight his massive career.
The story does not gloss over the fraught relationship he had with his brutal father who controlled his boys with threats accompanied by physical abuse or his mother who tried in vain to protect him. It tells of the brothers he drew back into his orbit at the height of his success and his relentless fight for perfectionism. “I like to process my ideas through my body,” he reveals.
 Roman Banks as ‘MJ’ and the cast of the MJ First National Tour (Photo/Matthew Murphy, MurphyMade) Jackson studied the greatest dancers – Bob Fosse and Fred Astaire and the Black duo, The Nicholas Brothers – all evident in his signature moves. The choreography features breathtaking gymnastics, ballet influences and the crispest mime movements. I read years ago that Jackson’s shoes were made by Astaire’s shoemaker. If the shoe fits…
Who can forget his version of “The Robot” that became a huge craze? As a boy he learned the moves from his friend and neighbor, Robert Shields, the legendary White dancer, comedian and Vegas headliner known as the “Mechanical Man”. It became a viral sensation when Jackson introduced the Pop & Lock with “Dancing Machine”. He learned what was then known as the “Backslide” from Black singer/dancer Jeffrey Daniel. When Jackson introduced it, it became known as the “Moonwalk”, and you know the sensation that caused.
The technical aspects of this production are mind-blowing with explosive, head-spinning technical wizardry and video projections that are used to establish the arc of his supersonic rise to fame. The number “Thriller”, replete with frightening creatures, is reflective of his relationship with his “monster” of a father.
Along with the stresses of Jackson’s epic show biz career, worldwide concert tours and eight Grammy wins came injuries, pills and anxiety. None of the highs or lows of his life are left out in this story backgrounded by a female director and her cameraman who are there to make a documentary on him.
 Roman Banks as ‘MJ’ and the cast (Photo/Matthew Murphy, MurphyMade) Starring Jamaal Fields-Green or alternate Jordan Markus as MJ; with Devin Bowles playing Rob and Joe Jackson; Cecilia Petrush as Rachel; Brandon Lee Harris as Michael; Josiah Benson/Bane Griffith as Little Michael; Bryce A. Holmes as Little Michael; Ramone Nelson as Tito Jackson and Quincy Jones (August 13th – August 25th) Josh A. Dawson (August 26th September 8th); Anastasia Talley as Kate and Katherine Jackson; Anthony J. Garcia as Alejandro; J. Daughtry as Nick, Berry Gordy, Don Cornelius, Doctor; Jed Resnick as Dave; Jōvan Dansberry as Tour Dancer, Randy Jackson, Jackie Wilson; Jay McKenzie as Tour Singer, Jackie Jackson, James Brown; Kellie Drobnick as Tour Dancer, Soul Train Dancer; Amber Jackson as Tour Dancer, Suzanne de Passe, Isley Brother; Zuri Noelle Ford as Tour Dancer, Isley Brother, Nicholas Brother; Matteo Marretta as Tour Dancer, Fred Astaire; Croix Diienno as Tour Dancer. Bob Fosse, Newscaster; Jacobi Kai as Keith, Jermaine Jackson, Isley Brother; Brion Marquis Watson as Tour Dancer, Marlon Jackson, James Brown, Nicholas Brother.
Directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, Book by Lynn Nottage, Scenic Design by Derek McLane, Music Supervision, Orchestrations & Arrangements by David Holcenberg, Orchestrations & Arrangements by Jason Michael Webb, Lighting Design by Natasha Katz, Costume Design by Paul Tazewell, Sound Design by Gareth Owen, Projection Design by Peter Nigrini, Wig & Hair Design by Charles G. LaPointe and Make-up Design by Joe Dulude II.
Five stars! Don’t miss it!
Through September 8th at the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information call the box office at 800-513-7540 or visit www.TheNationalDC.com.
Cock-Eyed Irreverence By South Park Creators Spells Utter Hilarity in the Side-Splitting The Book of Mormon at the National Theatre
The Book of Mormon
Broadway at The National
Jordan Wright
March 6, 2024
Special to The Zebra
 Sam Nackman and Sam McLellan (Photo/Julieta Cervantes) Hellfire and damnation figure neatly in the wacky and wonderful The Book of Mormon. With book, music and lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone, creators of the four-time Emmy Award-winning animated series South Park, you’ll luxuriate in all the irreverence you can handle. And then some. Winner of nine Tony Awards, the blowout show is legendary for its comedic take on Mormonism and its 21 unforgettably zany songs plus tap dancing and sequin-clad chorus line.
The story focuses on the bicycle-riding, young men with their skinny black ties and crisp white shirts eager to convert and well-trained in proselytizing. Two-by-two they comb the earth seeking out sin and sinners and spreading “The Word”.
 Sam McLellan and company (Photo/Julieta Cervantes) Elder Price and Elder Cunningham are two of the innocenti. Recently sprung from the church’s Missionary Training Center, they are partnered up for their mission to Uganda where they’ll rendezvous with other eager young evangelists. Two more disparate comrades are impossible to conceive. Price (Sam McLellan – absolutely brilliant comedic actor with a fantastic voice) is massively handsome, completely self-centered, and brimming with untested confidence. Ready to take on the world he is miffed to be conjoined with Cunningham (Sam Nackman who shines in his debut stage role), a portly nerd lacking self-worth and clinging to Price like a limpet mine to a submarine.
Hoping to prove they’ll be worthy in the afterlife, the two unlikely apostles set off on a journey that is so convoluted, so riotous and so ungodly that your hair may stand on end. At a send-off staged by their parents, replete with a dancing witch doctor who references The Lion King, the hapless accolytes are told, “You get out there and you baptize those Africans!”
 Trinity Posey, Sam McLellan, and Sam Nackman (Photo/Julieta Cervantes) Instead, the boys realize converting the whole human race is not as easy as they had been led to believe. They soon discover the natives have their own brand of mythology, and it’s not any more far-fetched than Mormon founder Joseph Smith’s story of the never-before-seen-by-a-living-soul, golden plates he personally excavated in upstate New York. These Mormon-themed side skits are re-enacted hilariously by Joseph Smith (Trevor Dorner) and the Angel Moroni (Sean Casey Flanagan) in dream sequences comparing the origins of the Latter-Day Saints to the natives’ beliefs. But which of these tales are more fanciful?
Warlords and AIDS are on the minds of the Ugandans who have a middle-finger-raised musical response to God in the number “Hasa Diga Eebowai”. Dewight Braxton, Jr. plays the one-eyed General and bloodthirsty warlord who threatens to circumcise all the girls in the village by the end of the week.
 The Book of Mormon North American Tour (Photo/Julieta Cervantes) There’s a sweet love story between the beautiful Nabulungi (Keke Nesbitt) and Cunningham, the most unlikely suitor, who woos her with dreams of a Mormon paradise. In her beautifully sung number, “Sal Tlay Ka Siti” (her African pronunciation of Salt Lake City), she places her hopes in his hands.
Though it takes a village, this is most certainly not The Sound of Music. And Nabulungi’s convincing her tribe to get baptized, isn’t based on truth – Cunningham has convoluted the church’s teachings to suit his ignorance of its contents. “I actually never read it,” he confesses. (If you’re wondering how the Mormon hierarchy reacted to the comedic blasphemy, the quote is, “You’ve seen the play. Now read the book.”) But Cunningham is determined to make Nabulungi his first convert and croons “Man Up”, describing Jesus’ bravery as “growing a pair”.
Credit to Directors Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker plus Jennifer Werner for Direction and Choreography; Scott Pask for the Scenic Design; Sound Design by Chad Parsley; Costumes by Ann Roth; Lighting Design by Brian MacDevitt and the 12-piece kick-ass orchestra directed by Larry Hockman and Stephen Oremus. Twenty-two numbers and a nine-piece orchestra make this musical irresistible.
Highly recommended!!!
 The company of the Book of Mormon North American Tour (Photo/Julieta Cervantes) With Vince Klassen as Mormon; Sean Casey Flanagan as Moroni/Elder McKinley; Trevor Dorner as Price’s Dad/Missionary Voice/Elder McKinley/Mission President; Gideon Chickos as Cunningham’s Dad; Trinity Posey as Mrs. Brown; DeVon Buchanan, Justin Forward and Thomas Ed Purvis as Guards; Lamont J. Whitaker as Mafala Hatimbi; Jarret Martin as Doctor. Ensemble – Jarius Miquel Cliett, Matthew Dant, Justin Forward, Craig Franke, Lars Hafell, Kisakye, Evan Lennon, Joey Myers, Alexis Ijeoma Nwokoji, and Chelsea M. Smith.
Through March 17th at National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004. For tickets and information visit www.TheNationalDC.com.
Pretty Woman: The Musical – A Spicy, Sunny, Splashy Romcom Musical at the National Theatre
Pretty Woman
National Theatre
Broadway at the National
December 14, 2023
Jordan Wright
Special to The Zebra
 (L to R) Chase Wolfe and Ellie Baker (Photo/Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade) Having seen the movie starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere won’t prepare you for this bright, sunny musical that shines a light on both sides of Hollywood – the hotshot millionaires and the nighttime denizens plying their trade on the seamier side of town. “Welcome to Hollywood. Everyone’s got a dream,” sings Happy Man (Adam Du Plessis) who calls himself “Hollywood Boulevard’s fairy godmother.”
Surrounded by “hookers” and set in the 1980’s before the politically correct term sex workers, is our heroine, Vivian Ward (Ellie Baker) who longs to leave “the Life” with the number Anywhere but Here. She’s smart, funny, savvy and sexy and longing for a better life for herself.
 Rae Davenport and The Company of Pretty Woman: The Musical (Photo/Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade) Soon we meet wheeler dealer Edward Lewis (Chase Wolfe), who catches her eye with the number Something About Her. He invites her to his penthouse suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel and pays her to stay with him, and play with him, for six nights. Vivian is wowed by the posh digs as is her best friend and fellow sex worker, Kit De Luca (Rae Davenport).
Much of the comic relief is provided by Guilio (Joshua Kring), a bellboy extraordinaire who becomes one of Vivian’s supporters along with the Mr. Thompson the Hotel Manager who is one of many roles played by top banana Adam Du Plessis.
 (L to R) Chase Wolfe and Ellie Baker (Photo/Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade) The tunes run the gamut from country rock with Freedom sung by Edward, to Tango, Jazz and ballads and, of course the classic Roy Orbison and Billy Dees collaboration Pretty Woman all led by Conductor Shane French who masterfully leads twenty-one numbers. Look for Sarah Wang’s stunner of a star turn in the La Traviata aria.
This frisky musical romance stays bubbly throughout thanks to its high-energy, young cast. Composed by Bryan Adams (Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter and winner of three Academy Awards) and Jim Vallance holder of dozens of Gold and Platinum album awards and collaborator with some of the top recording artists), the musical hits all the right notes thanks to the genius of Garry Marshall icon director of 18 major motion pictures.
 The Company of Pretty Woman: The Musical (Photo/Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade) With Liam Searcy as Philip Stuckey; Charlie Fusari as Landlord; Bethany McDonald as Susan/Ensemble; Devyn Trondson as Rachel/Ensemble; Steven Gagliano, as Fred/Hotel Staff/Alfredo/Ensemble; Hank Santos as Senator Adams/Ensemble; Sarah Wang as Violetta/Ensemble.
Additional Ensemble: Matthew Blum, Brianna Clark, Kerry D’Jovanni, Lauren Esser, Matt Henningsen, Christian Maxwell Henry, Alexandra Kinsley, Joshua Kring, Taylor M. Sheppard.
Two-time Tony Award-winning Director and Choreographer Jerry Mitchell; Original Score by Grammy winner Bryan Adams; Costume Design by Gregg Barnes; Choreography recreated by Rusty Mowery; Direction recreated by DB Bonds; Music Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations by Will Van Dyke; Tour Scenic Design by Christine Peters; Sound Design by John Shivers; Lighting Design by Kenneth Posner and Philip S. Rosenberg.
Super professional production and tons of fun!
Through December 17th at the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004. For tickets and information visit www.theNationalDC.com.
Hadestown – A Sensational Musical Carnival Travels to Hell and Back at The National Theatre
Hadestown
The National Theatre
Broadway at The National
Jordan Wright
June 7, 2023
Special to The Zebra
 Hannah Whitley J. and Antonio Rodriguez and Company (Photo by T Charles Erikson) If you haven’t brushed up on your Greek mythology lately, you may easily be excused. Yet surely you recall the parable of the doomed lovers Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and the goddess Persephone. Hades forced his lady love to live with him in hell for half the year and in sunlight for the other half — a seasonal arrangement that strained their unique relationship. Hadestown, the eight-time Tony Award winning musical, borrows from these myths to create a sensational story of love and loss and the power of dreams.
This colorful, theatrical carnival evokes Thomas Hart Benton’s paintings of everyday American life, the unfettered dancing of Josephine Baker, the ground-breaking jazz of Louis Armstrong, the soft sultry ballads of American folk music and the syncopated rhythms of Basin Street’s Afro-Caribbean diaspora with its familiar syncopated “strut.” It’s a fascinating polyglot of N’awlins’ roots and shoots plunked down into a parable as old as time.
 Nathan Lee Graham (Photo by T Charles Erickson) While it is a wildly exciting piece of musical theater, it also offers up a huge dose of consciousness-raising. Super slick, Hades (Matthew Patrick Quinn), as King of the Underworld, is as ruthless as the early American coal and oil barons, recklessly stripping the earth of precious resources and enslaving miners when union-busting proved deadly.
With his extraordinary, multiple-octave range, J. Antonio Rodriguez as Orpheus sings of his love for the waif, Eurydice (Hannah Whitley) as he despairs of the deplorable conditions of the workers and the destruction of the Earth by power-hungry Hades. Quinn’s magnificent baritone voice is eerily evil… in a good way. Defending his ruthlessness, Hades sings of his need for “The Wall” to keep the haves from the have-nots. “The enemy is poverty. We build the wall to keep us free. To keep out poverty.” Sound familiar?
Hadestown is a social and moral construct cleverly tucked into a musical and written by two women. It has a tender love story (two, in fact) cleverly cached in the universal struggle for freedom from oppression and the quest for basic human rights. Be careful or you’ll miss it, wooed as you will be by the harmonizing harpies (The Fates), the stewpot of Cajun and Creole, the red-hot sexpot Persephone (Maria-Christina Oliveras), Hermes (Nathan Lee Graham) as the slithery, smooth, storytelling dandy, and the dazzling lighting effects.
 Company of Hadestown (Photo by T Charles Erickson) Backed melodically by The Fates (Dominique Kempf, Belén Moyano and Nyla Watson),
heartthrob and guitarist Barasch croons the especially soulful “Wait for Me” to Eurydice before she is cast into the Underworld and into the vile clutches of Hades himself.
As in several modern musicals, the musicians are on stage throughout, affording us a close-up of the shiny glint and soulful wah-wahs of the trombone (Emily Fredrickson who plays a mean solo); the pleasant strains of the violin by Kyung Leblanc; with Kely Pinheiro on cello; Calvin Jones on double bass; drums and assorted percussion by Eladio Rojas; a haunting honky-tonk accompaniment by Eric Kang on upright piano; with Belén Moyano on accordion, an important component in New Orleans Zydeco music. The score is filled with minor chords adding to the heart-wrenching sense of longing and doom.
With the stunning harmonies of the Workers Chorus featuring Jordan Bollwerk, Shavey Brown, Jamal Lee Harris, Courtney Lauster and Racquel Williams.
Music, Lyrics & Book by Anaïs Mitchell with Rachel Chavkin; superb Choreography by Chita Rivera Award– winner David Neumann; Scenic Design by Rachel Hauck; Costume Design by Michael Krass; Lighting Design by Bradley King; Sound Design by Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz; and Dramaturg Ken Cerniglia.
A massive must-see!!!
 Company of Hadestown North American Tour (Photo by T Charles Erickson) Through June 18th at The National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004. For tickets and information visit www.BroadwayAtTheNational.com or in person at the box office.
A Splendiferous Aladdin Wows Audiences at the National Theatre
Aladdin
Broadway at the National
National Theatre
Jordan Wright
April 20, 2023
Special to The Zebra
 Marcus M. Martin (Genie) and Company (Photo/Deenvan Meer) For those in love with fantasy and adventure with a whole heap of razmatazz, Disney’s Aladdin sits at the at the pinnacle of Broadway extravaganzas. There hasn’t been a production with more glitter, more sequins, more light-reflecting crystal beads, bolts of diaphanous chiffon and soaring feathered turbans (what’s the plural of fez?) since the Ziegfeld’s Follies! The pyrotechnics and flashy projections alone make this a must-see. It’s all glitz and glamour set in an exotic imaginary city somewhere in Arabia.
Everything you might expect from a showstopper is all here in eye-popping splendor thanks to multiple Tony Award-winning Set Designer Bob Crowley. Moorish minarets loom over sword-wielding royal guardsmen and whirling dervishes as the handsome ne-er-do-well Aladdin (Adi Roy) encounters Princess Jasmine (Senzel Ahmady). Jasmine is determined to choose her own husband (She’s a liberated woman!) and experience life outside the stifling walls of the castle. To that end she has fled the overly protective arms of her father the Sultan (Sorab Wadia) and found her way to the marketplace among the commoners. Jasmine is one smart cookie and fiercely independent taking no guff from the evil Grand Vizier, Jafar (Anand Nagraj) and his comic minion, Iago (Aaron Choi).
 Adi Roy as Aladdin (Photo/Deenvan Meer) Aladdin and his pals Babkak (Jake Letts), Omar (Ben Chavez) and Kassim (Colt Prattes) live a life of petty thievery while Jasmine is trapped in a gilded cage. Nothing is easy in the kingdom of Agraba, but there’s a lot that’s hilarious. As Genie (played gloriously by Marcus M. Martin) explains in his in his usual wry tone, “Everyone here has zero body fat…” except for Genie who is a full-figured, jive-talking bundle of high-stepping, street-smart exuberance who can nail a medley of Disney show tunes as readily as he can grant three wishes.
There’s drama and frolic and frolicsome drama as Aladdin finds himself in the aurelian ‘Cave of Wonders’ having been sent by the wicked Jafar to fetch the Genie’s golden lamp. Predictably it’s a set up as Jafar plans to do away with our hero and keep the lamp for his nefarious machinations.
 Jake Letts, Ben Chavez, and Roy Colt Prattes (Photo/Deenvan Meer) But wait! Did I mention the magic carpet? Where would we be without a magic carpet to highlight Aladdin and Jasmine’s amorous vows to wed despite all odds? Traveling through the starry sky the pair soar above the stage in a flight of fantasy and wonder professing their love with one of the musical’s most memorable numbers “A Whole New World”.
A splendiferous production! Highly recommended. Bring your kids. Bring all the kids in the neighborhood!
Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin; Book by Chad Beguelin; Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw; Costume Designs by Gregg Barnes; Lighting Design by Natasha Katz; Music Director/Conductor James Dodgson; Orchestrations by Danny Troob; Sound Design by Ken Travis.
 Senzel Ahmady as Jasmine and Company (Photo/DeenvanMeer) Through April 30th at the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20004. For tickets and information visit www.TheNationalDC.com or call the box office at 202 628-6161.
Fosse Classic “Chicago” Featured at the National Theatre
National Theatre
Jordan Wright
November 19, 2022
 Jeff Brooks and Company (Photo/Jeremy Daniel) First you see the hands – the famous jazz hands. Fingers spread wide and pivoting quickly from left to right. A moonwalk bit (a famous Fosse move before Michael Jackson came along) and the swaying of the arms behind the back with fingers again weaving and outstretched – another of famed choreographer Bob Fosse’s signature moves. Bodies slither snakelike across the floor long before “The Worm” dance brole out across the country. Gangsters, conmen, vengeful babes, and jailbirds rule the roost in Chicago, the show that debuted on Broadway in 1975 and has toured the world ever since.
Then you hear it. The sounds of the Roaring 20’s. Opening with the number “All That Jazz” and a ton of dancers, the razzamatazz never stops – throughout the murder scenes, the Cook County women’s prison and the passionate love songs. In this latest revival of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb’s smash hit Logan Floyd plays Velma Kelly with Katie Frieden in the role of her nemesis Roxie Hart, the cheating wife and boyfriend slayer, with Ed Gotthelf in the role of her lover, Fred Casely.
 Katie Frieden (Photo/Jeremy Daniel) The plot isn’t much to write about, suffice it to say it serves as the underpinning for the song and dance. It’s all about the revolutionary Fosse dance routines and the sensual choreography by long legged, hard body dancers in sexy, black leather and lingerie. There’s only one set. It features the 10-piece orchestra on stage and serves as the scene of the prison, later doubling as the courtroom, where Velma Kelly and Roxie play out their rivalry as two vaudevillian murderesses. Their slick-as-a-brick lawyer, the movie star handsome, Billy Flynn (Jeff Brooks) is skilled at flimflamming juries with a sob story geared to spare the chorines the death penalty and grant their freedom.
In this den of gangster iniquity prison Matron “Mama” Morton (Christina Wells) takes care of her girls and her girls take care of her, handing over cash for prison favors. Mama gets a solo with “When You’re Good to Mama” and later in the duet “Class” with Velma.
 Logan Floyd and company (Photo/Jeremy Daniel) Roxie’s cuckolded spouse, Amos Hart (Brian Kalinowski), gives his rendition of the iconic tune “Cellophane Man” about a man so ignored he is transparent to everyone. It’s a classic number.
Aside from the exceptional performances from the hoofers, the singing is weak, the acting weaker and the sound quality is off. The performers have little experience on the legit stage and, I’m sorry to say, it shows in the overall production. Not the quality we’ve come to expect from the National Theatre.
 The Cellblock Tango (Photo/Jeremy Daniel) Original Production Directed and Choreographed by Bob Fosse; Scenic Design by John Lee Beatty; Costume Design by William Ivey Long; Lighting Design by Ken Billington; Music Direction by Cameron Blake Kinnear.
Through November 27th at the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004. For tickets and information visit www.BroadwayattheNational.com.
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