Cirque du Soleil’s ECHO Wows Audiences in its US Premiere at the Lerner Town Square.
Echo
Cirque du Soleil
Jordan Wright
September 12, 2023
Special to The Zebra
 Cirque Du Soleil Welcome back, Cirque! It’s been a minute and we’ve missed you and your magical universe. Not since their production of Volta in July of 2019 has the famed troupe set up their blue-and-white tents in Tysons Corner at the Lerner Town Square. Echo is the US premiere of their highest-sold show in all of Cirque history.
 (Photo/Jean-François Savaria) Emphasizing the symbiotic relationship between Nature and the Environment through the importance of the human connection, is the theme for this 100-minute extravaganza. Expect jaw-dropping high-wire acts, eyeball-popping acrobatics, out-of-this-world juggling feats, rooftop-reaching teeter board leaps and flips, and an astonishing array of the sort of spectacular acts you’ve come to expect from this wildly creative Canadian production team and its super talented artists from around the world.
 (Photo/Jean-François Savaria) Our two playfully curious leads are the young girl, Future, and her bestie, an adorably cute fox. The pair, who frequently race through the audience in pursuit of each other, are dressed in matching cloud prints. Together they explore a giant cube housing multiple compartments and where our inquisitive pair discover their new-found friends – cream-colored, frolicking animals. Oh my! The Cube is designed to open in random configurations to reveal a number of fantastical things like Ohmygosh! a high-wire slack-rope pair of daredevils or movable squares out of which pop different characters and props. The most awe-inspiring is a massive 50-foot – I’m guessing the height here – fully-articulated man who gingerly holds Future in the palm of his hand.
 (Photo/Jean-François Savaria) Since the show is enhanced by atmospheric New Age music with a stronger rhythm for the most electrifying acts, Echo’s musicians and singers perform in all black costumes with felted antlers. The soothing mood music contrasts seamlessly with lighter-themed circus music that accompanies a pair of cleverly comical clowns. Some of the acts are so breath-taking they are nearly indescribable. A gasp-inducing, two-man tumbling act, unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, beggars description. Ditto for the death-defying aerial acts – two women suspended by their hair, spinning wildly high above the stage. Keep a sharp eye out for the avian drones that fly high above the crowd, a contortionist that defies the known constraints of the human body and listen for the pulsing backbeat percussion that urges the artists onward to the top of the tent. The agility, grace and power are off the charts!
Highly recommended. See it and bring everyone you know!
 (Photo/Jean-François Savaria) Through October 22nd under the big top at Lerner Town Square at Tysons II. For tickets and information visit www.Tickets.CirqueduSoleil.com.
A Farmer’s Wife Finds Passion and Purpose in America’s Heartland in The Bridges of Madison County at Signature Theatre
The Bridges of Madison County
August 20, 2023
Signature Theatre
Jordan Wright
Special to The Zebra
 Mark Evans (Robert Kincaid) and Erin Davie (Francesca Johnson) (Photo by Daniel Rader) Readers will remember Robert James Waller’s wildly successful 1992 best-selling novel on which Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman bases this 2013 musical adaptation and followed the eponymous 1995 film starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. With music and lyrics by the brilliant composer, Jason Roberts Brown, it garnered two Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Orchestrations in 2014.
Coming off his recent success with Pacific Overtures, Signature Theatre’s recently appointed Associate Artistic Director Ethan Heard directs this sweeping love story focusing on the indelible integrity of the score performed by its two leads, Erin Davie as the beautiful Francesca Johnson and Mark Evans as her lover, Robert Kincaid.
 Rayanne Gonzales (Marge) and Christopher Bloch (Charlie) (Photo by Daniel Rader) The story is set in America’s heartland where iconic covered bridges can still be found and where Robert’s National Geographic assignment leads him to Winterset, Iowa to find and photograph all six of them. Francesca, a post-war Neapolitan transplant to America is married to “Bud” Johnson (Cullen R. Titmas) and the farming couple have two children, Michael (Nolan Montgomery) and Carolyn (Julia Wheeler Lennon). When Francesca begs off a family trip to Davenport for the Iowa State Fair, she revels in her solitude and friendship with neighbors, Marge (Rayanne Gonzalez) and Charlie (Christopher Bloch) in “You’re Never Alone”. Soon she is very much not alone when hot and hunky Robert turns into her driveway to ask directions to one of the covered bridges. In “What Do You Call a Man Like That?” she reveals stirrings of a fire she had tamped down after 18 years of marriage. Their subsequent 4-day forbidden love affair is a story of intense passion and the sexual reawakening of a woman who sacrificed her emotional needs to devote herself to farm and family.
 Marina Pires (State Fair Singer) and the cast of The Bridges of Madison County at Signature Theatre. (Photo by Daniel Rader) Davie’s and Evans’ perfectly complementing voices prove irresistible in Brown’s lush score. Their duets on “Get Closer/Falling Into You” and “Before and After You/A Million Miles” are magical. And I was pleasantly delighted by Marina Pires who holds multiple roles as Marian, Chiara, State Fair Singer, Ginny and Waitress. Her delivery of “Another Life” is outstanding.
Between the rapturous love scenes on a quilt-covered brass bed, neighbors Marge and Charlie provide the levity as they examine their own marriage and their indelible connection to each other. Yes, marriage takes a healthy dose of humor!
Backed by Conductor William Yanesh’s 12-piece orchestra, this moving musical will steal your heart.
Music Directed by Laura Berquist; Choreography by Kelly Crandall d’Amboise; Scenic Design by Lee Savage; Costume Design by Kathleen Geldard; Lighting Design by Jesse Belsky; Sound Design by Eric Norris.
Highly recommended.
 Mark Evans (Robert Kincaid) and Erin Davie (Francesca Johnson) (Photo by Daniel Rader) Through September 18th at Signature Theatre in Shirlington Village, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call the box office at 703 820-9771 or visit www.SigTheatre.org.
The Kennedy Center’s Moulin Rouge is a Maximalist’s Wet Dream
Moulin Rouge
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Jordan Wright
August 6, 2023
Special to The Zebra
 The cast of the North American Tour of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, (Photo/Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade) Moulin Rouge! – The Musical! is a maximalist’s wet dream. Glitz and glamour exude from all pores in this celebration of Paris’s bohemian underworld. The best way to enjoy this glorious extravaganza is to surrender to its magnificent excess, of which there is plenty. Directed by Alex Timbers with lavish costumes by Catherine Zuber and eye-popping sets by Derek McLane this explosive production stuns even the jaded eye. A massive blue elephant and the famous Moulin Rouge windmill frame the stage while the Eiffel Tower and Paris’s glittering night sky form the evocative backdrop.
Apart from the Champs Elysees boulevardiers whose lives entangle with Montmartre gigolos and prostitutes, the production’s glitz comes in the form of megawatt circus-atmosphere lighting design by Justin Townsend, flouncy petticoats and sexy dancewear set to vivid choreography by Sonya Tayeh. Add an erotic, jaw-dropping tango and the iconic cancan and you have a grand theatrical fantasy.
 1047 – Gabe MartÍnez as Santiago and Libby Lloyd as Nini (Photo/Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade) Leading lady Satine’s (Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer) illicit lover Christian (John Cardoza) writes a rock opera to woo her and it’s the start of their amour as well as the musical pop rock snippets that weave in and out of the dialogue. It’s a spectacular tribute to lyricists everywhere. The playbill lists none of the musical numbers of which there are over a dozen mostly in snippets. Their rhythms and arrangements are re-imagined and delivered to the recipients as dialogue, but I recognized most of them and you will too. The audience reveled in the songs that backgrounded their own love stories hearing songs like “Burning Down the House”, “Let’s Dance”, “Lady Marmalade”, “Royals”, “Diamonds Are Forever”, “Rolling in the Deep”, “Material Girl”, “Firework”, “Bad Romance”, “Chandelier”, “Your Song”, “Sympathy for the Devil” (of which we had not one drop – sung for the cruel Duke of Monroth (Andrew Brewer) whose aim is to control Satine and keep her as his lover.
Themes of La Boheme and Cabaret weave in and out of this glamourous den of iniquity. Think Satine as Mimi, but based on famed French cancan dancer, Jane Avril, and celebrated in Toulouse-Lautrec’s famous posters promoting the venue and its star performers
 The North American Touring Company of Moulin Rouge! The Musical (Photo/Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade) Harold Zidler (Austin Durant) as the ringmaster of this circus of chanteuses and chanteurs. Zidler touts the ambiance as a place where dreams come true and carnal desires are realized. Drawn from Baz Luhrmann’s and Craig Pearce’s eponymous motion picture, it tells the love story of Satine, the nightclub’s leading lady and Christian, a poor (yet extremely handsome!) budding American songwriter who comes to Paris to cavort among the revolutionaries. It is where he falls in league with Toulouse (Nick Rashad Burroughs on the night I saw it played beautifully by Denzel Tsopnang) and Santiago (Gabe Martinez) who are struggling to write a musical. They join forces and soon the trio pitches Christian’s musical to Satine at the Moulin Rouge where love blooms.
I would like to personally thank both John Cardoza and Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer for their magnificent voices. And they should personally thank me for not running up to the stage at curtain to hug them both.
Book by John Logan, with Nicci Claspell as Arabia; Kamal Lado as Pierre; Gabe Martinez as Nini; Harper Miles as La Chocolat; Andrés Quintero as Baby Doll and a bevy of extraordinary dancers!
Highly recommended. C’est fantastique!
 Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer and the North American Touring Company of Moulin Rouge! The Musical (Photo/Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade) Through September 24th at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20566. For tickets and information visit www.Kennedy-Center.org or call the box office at 202 467-4600.
Freaky Friday – The Musical – A Solid Winner at The Little Theatre of Alexandria
Freaky Friday
The Little Theatre of Alexandria
Jordan Wright
July 26, 2023
Special to The Zebra
 (L-R) Sofia Cruz and Kristina Friedgen. (Photo/Matt Liptak) Having seen and loved Disney’s Freaky Friday when it premiered at Signature Theatre seven years ago in its debut from film-to-stage production, I have been beside myself to revisit this wonderful musical collaboration between composer Tom Kitt and lyricist Brian Yorkey. Kitt, best known for his scores of If/Then, Next to Normal, SpongeBob SquarePants and Jagged Little Pill draws from a panoply of musical themes and rhythms to create indelibly catchy tunes – the kind you find yourself humming all the way home. Yorkey partnered with Kitt on Next to Normal and If/Then and both men are stalwarts of the Broadway musical scene. Blessed by top-notch crew and cream-of-the-crop local talent, Director Joanna Henry has made the best of this engaging and heartwarming musical.
The bizarro premise of a mother and daughter switching roles for one day after an accident with an hourglass may be familiar to those of you who recall the movie that opened in 1976. Based on the novel by Mary Rodgers, it starred the adorable Jody Foster as the daughter and Barbara Harris as her mother. A later version in 2003 had the ever-talented Jaimie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as the mother/daughter duo.
 Patrick Byrns, Luke Martin, Joshua Mutterperl, Tucker Eskew, Michelle Stein, Kai Avila, Hannah Taylor, Eileen Parks and Sofia Cruz. (Photo/Matt Liptak) Single-mom-with-issues Katherine (Kristina Friedgen) and her feisty daughter Ellie (Sofia Cruz) magically switch roles for a day. Katherine, who is about to marry the adoring Mike (Paul Caffrey) wants to shed the day-to-day responsibilities of parenting an angsty teen, and Ellie has had it with the restrictions and emotional upheavals of being a high schooler with a helicopter mom. When the roles are switched and Katherine takes Ellie’s place, she experiences the day-to-day bullying and body shaming her daughter endures and Ellie sees the daily grind of running a catering business while raising two kids without a father.
 Tucker Eskew, Patrick Byrns, Kai Avila, Luke Martin, Sofia Cruz, Naja Bates and Eileen Parks. (Photo/Matt Liptak) Eighteen glorious numbers, backed by Conductor Christopher A. Tomasino’s sixteen-piece band, fill the two acts, giving us a diverse score of touching ballads, 50’s rock styles and Latin beats sung by a cast with big, expressive voices. Stefan Sittig’s choreography is seamless even with a couple dozen actors on stage at the same time. It’s a massive cast who morph into their quirky roles with aplomb. Shining above all others is Sofia Cruz who manages not only to inhabit her role as if born to it, but Kristina Friedgen who brings both sweet emotion and the manic desperation of a mom at her wit’s end. In the same category of excellence is Lourdes Turnblom as Katherine’s Catering Assistant, Torrey, who dials up the wit’s end confusion while trying to decipher why Katherine is acting like a child and Ellie is bossing her around. And endearing as heck is Joshua Mutterperl as Adam, the high school cutie and scavenger hunt list master with a secret crush on Ellie – or is it for her mom’s sandwiches?
It’s everything we want from musical theater – laughs, beautifully sung, funny or meaningful tunes, and characters you can relate to. Special kudos to Costume Designers, Judy Whelihan and Robin Worthington, who perfectly capture the funky-cool energy of teen styles and grown-up outfits.
Highly recommended.
 Kiril French and Kristina Friedgen. (Photo/Matt Liptak) With James Campione or Kiril French as Fletcher Blake; Naja Bates or Eileen Parks as Savannah; Peter Fannon as Grandpa Gordon/Mr. Blumen/Parker’s Dad/Señor O’Brien/Security Guard; Brandy Reece as Grandma Helene/Gretchen’s Mom/Mrs. Luckenbill/Mrs. Time; Brenda Parker as Catering Staff/Danielle/Savannah’s Mom/Ms. Meyers/Officer Sitz; Michelle Stein as Hannah; Hannah Taylor as Gretchen; Patrick Byrns as Catering Staff/Louis; Tucker Eskew as Catering Staff/Student; Lourdes Turnblom as Torrey/Adam’s Mom; Eileen Parks as Florist/Laurel/Catering Staff; Luke Martin as Student/Fish Vendor/Dr. Ehrin/Pastor Bruno/Well’s Dad/Officer Kowalski; Kai Avila as Catering Staff/Wells.
Book by Bridget Carpenter; Hair and Makeup by Natalie Turkevich; Lighting by JK Lighting (Jeffery Scott Auerbach and Kimberly Crago); Sound Design by Alan Wray; Set Design by Myke Taister; Dance Captain Eileen Parks.
Through August 12th at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For tickets and information call the box office at 703 683-5778 or visit www.TheLittleTheatre.com
Tony Award-winning “Best Musical” 1776 Celebrates Our Nation’s History with a Bang at the Kennedy Center
1776
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Jordan Wright
July 2, 2023
Special to The Zebra
 “Sit Down, John” – The National Tour Cast of 1776. (Photo/Joan Marcus) John Quincy Adams on celebrating America’s Independence Day – “It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward.”
Opening at the Kennedy Center in time for Fourth of July celebrations, 1776, the Tony Award-winning “Best Musical”, recalls the struggles our forefathers endured to create a document as powerful, as meaningful, and as long-lasting as the Declaration of Independence, separating this newly minted, hodge-podge of colonies from the tyranny of Great Britain. This was the birth of the future of America.
From the moment the cast appears onstage changing out of day shoes into brass-buckled pilgrim shoes, rolling up short white socks over leggings to create knee breeches, and topping the ensemble with brocade frock coats, we know we’re in the room where it happened – that would be the Second Continental Congress convening in what was then our nation’s capital, Philadelphia.
 Gisela Adisa as ‘John Adams’ (Photo/Joan Marcus) All the superstars are there – John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson – plus lesser-known representatives from the original thirteen colonies. In this august setting we witness the fights (some were physical), the legal arguments raised and the staunch opposition from the southern states where plantation-owning aristocrats fought mightily to hold onto slavery.
John Adams (Gisela Adisa) considered a rabble-rouser, the skirt-chasing B. Franklin (Liz Mikel) and the politically conflicted T. Jefferson (Nancy Anderson) are in favor of seceding from British rule and are willing to support General George Washington encamped in New York and suffering heavy losses at the start of the Revolutionary War. Whether you’re a history buff or not, it’s as exciting as a cage fight. The main thrust of the musical is Adams’ singular ability to challenge the preponderance of naysayers. Oh, the arm-twisting, wrangling, dealmaking and high-minded debates! As Franklin tells Adams, “Don’t worry, John. The history books will clean it up.” And did they ever!
 “Momma, Look Sharp” – (Left) Tiffani Barbour as ‘Andrew McNair’ and (center) Brooke Simpson as ‘The Courier’ and the National Tour Cast of 1776. (Photo/Joan Marcus) Like the old TV show, “You Are There” hosted by Walter Cronkite, 1776 puts you firmly into the heart of that crisis. A very fine cast with a wide array of extraordinary voices (Just when I thought I had a favorite, another one blew me away.) and lovely violin playing from Nancy Anderson. Did you know Jefferson played the violin? His wife, Martha (Connor Lyon’s stunning operatic voice on “He Plays the Violin”) thought it was a turn on. You have to wonder if Sally Hemmings felt the same. And you can’t help but be moved by the emotional number, “Momma, Look Sharp” referencing death on the battlefield.
Oneika Phillips in the role of John Hancock, President of the Congress and in charge of the proceedings, is brilliant at herding cats which is the only metaphor I can think of to describe the rag-tag do-nothings whose singular motive is preserving the status quo and their reverence for King George III.
How they ever formed a perfect union is beyond the reckoning of every American History scholar, but seeing this musical and separating out those true patriots who were determined against all odds to see the nation become whole, will provide some insight and a whole lot of entertainment.
 Liz Mikel as ‘Benjamin Franklin’ (Photo/Joan Marcus) Directed by Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus with a company of artists representing multiple races and diverse gender identities. Additional cast – Karole Foreman as Robert Livingston of New York; Gwynne Wood as George Read of Delaware; Dawn Cantwell as Col. Thomas McKean of Delaware; Jill Marie Vallery as Cesar Rodney of Delaware; Tiffani Barbour as Congressional Custodian, Andrew McNair; Julie Cardia as Stephen Hopkins of Rhode Island; Brooke Simpson as Abigail Adams/Rev. Jonathan Witherspoon of New Jersey; Shelby Acosta as Charles Thompson of New Jersey; Joanna Glushak as John Dickinson of Pennsylvania; Shawna Hamic as Richard Henry Lee of Virginia; Kayla Saunders as Joseph Hewes of North Carolina; Lulu Picart as Samuel Chase of Maryland; Kassandra Haddock as Edward Rutledge of South Carolina; Ariella Serur as Judge James Wilson of Pennsylvania; Anissa Marie Griego as Roger Sherman of Connecticut; Sav Souza as Dr. Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire and Candice Marie Woods as Courier.
Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards; Book by Peter Stone; Set Design by Scott Pask; Costume Design by Emilio Sosa; Lighting Design by Jen Schriever and Sound Design by Jonathan Deams.
Happy Fourth of July! It’s the perfect musical for the whole family.
Through July 16th in the Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information call the box office at 202 467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.
The Lion King Roars into Town at The Kennedy Center
The Lion King
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Jordan Wright
June 27, 2023
Special to The Zebra
 Darian Sanders as Simba (Photo/Deen-van-Meer) In its opening number Disney’s The Lion King quite literally roars onto the stage with a procession of African wildlife racing down the aisles. With Elton John and Tim Rice’s epic score, it’s one of the greatest, most electrifying, openings of any show. Seeing it nine years ago on the Kennedy Center’s massive Opera House stage first opened my eyes to the wizardry of Director Julie Taymor’s puppeteering where near life-sized creatures stun even the most jaded theatregoer. The wow factor is jaw-dropping. These exquisitely conceived creatures – giraffes borne on stilts, a massive elephant and baby, whirling birds held high aloft on bamboo poles – stream down the aisles of the Kennedy Center’s Opera House in a fantastical African menagerie. Taymor, who studied Bunraku, the Japanese style of puppetry in which manipulators appear openly, and wayan kulit, the art of shadow puppetry, has magnificently incorporated these concepts into this spectacular production. As in the original production, Taymor also serves as Costume Designer and Mask & Puppet Designer along with Michael Ward.
It is expected that by now (the animated film version premiered in 1994 and in 1998 the stage version garnered six Tony Awards) that you are familiar with the story of the Simba (Darian Sanders) King Mufasa his wise and loving father played by Gerald Ramsey whose superlative voice cradles the emotions in “They Live in You” when he explains to young Simba, Mason Lawson (or Jackson Hayes), how his ancestors reside in the stars; Scar (Peter Hargrave), the evil uncle plotting to steal the throne from Simba; Rafiki the shaman (Gugwana Dlamini) and Zazu (Nick LaMedica) the Red-billed Hornbill. They all inhabit Simba’s life on the plains of Africa, along with the strong-willed Nala (Aniya Simone or Jaxyn Damasco), Simba’s childhood friend, Pumbaa (John E. Brady), the gassy warthog, and Timon (Nick Cordileone) the wise-cracking meerkat. Add hordes of stampeding wildebeests, a pride of lionesses and laughing hyenas (I counted 20 of the creepy beasts) lampooned by Pumbaa and Timon in the famous song “Hakuna Matata” meaning “no worries” in Swahili.
 Circle of Life Cheetah and Giraffes ©Disney (Photo/Joan Marcus) Even if you’ve seen it before, and it’s been making the international circuit well-nigh on 25 years, you should see it again because this production is bigger in so many ways. Let’s run the math. There are 38 cast members, scads of crewmembers, more than 300 costume changes, 573 lighting cues, and 17 orchestra members with 3 conductors and 15 musical numbers. I couldn’t help wondering… where do they all stay during its 5-week run?
Lyricist Tim Rice and Composer Elton John’s score is fabulous. The goosebump-inducing “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” is one of John’s biggest hits as is “Hakuna Matata” that kids adore. Some of the most beautiful and haunting moments are the Afro-spoken chants with the emphasis on Afro-cultural dance and movement. Hans Zimmer won an Oscar, two Grammys and a Golden Globe for the original film score and Soweto émigré, Lebo M, known as the “voice and spirit of The Lion King”, contributed the gloriously rich African rhythms and melodies.
 Darian Sanders as Simba and Khalifa White as Nala ©Disney (Photo/Matthew Murphy) Taymor’s costumes, using the vivid colors of tribal kente cloth, juxtapose Set Designer Richard Hudson’s backdrops of grassy savannas and cerulean skies, while in desert scenes she employs the earthy shades of patterned Malian mud cloth to accentuate Hudson’s parched earth-colored sets.
The Lion King is a lavish feast for the eyes and a paradise of music for the ears and an even more pumped-up version than the original. I’d gladly swing from a baobab tree limb to claim it as one of my favorite musicals ever.
Highly recommended!!!
 Company of The Lion King on Broadway. Circle of Life ©Disney (Photo/Matthew Murphy) With Allison Danielle Semmes as Sarabi; Martina Sykes as Shenzi; Forest VanDyke as Banzai; Robbie Swift as Ed.
Lighting Design by Donald Holder; Sound Design by Steve Canyon Kennedy; Hair & Makeup Design by Michael Ward.
Through July 29th at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information call the box office at 202 467-4600 or visit www.Kennedy-Center.org.
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