(L to R) Laura Dreyfuss as Zoe and Ben Platt as Evan in the world-premiere musical Dear Evan Hansen at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater July 10-August 23, 2015. Photo by Margot Schulman.
A good indicator that this is a production in flux is the playbill’s last minute insert – – the list of the 16 musical numbers in the show and the characters that sing them – – decisions undoubtedly made after the printing. But if you watched the much-beloved, now-cancelled Smash, you’d know that was a key aspect of the TV show’s story line. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are the show’s musical team and lyricists who are both alumni of the romantic drama that focused on the angst of creating a hit Broadway show.
In this coming-of-age musical written by Steven Levenson and directed by Michael Greif, Evan Hansen (Ben Platt, best known as the endearing star of the Pitch Perfect films) is an socially tormented teen, raised by a single mother (Rachel Bay Jones) in the age of social media. An outcast at school, his psychologist prescribes anti-anxiety meds and the self-examining exercise of writing letters to himself. But that alone won’t curb the bullying and cure his aimless life until the day Connor Murphy (Mike Faist), a fellow outcast, takes his own life and a series of seemingly unconnected events converge to give Evan a purpose and an imaginative explanation for his broken arm. “You play who you have to play,” Jared tells Evan.
(L to R) Michael Park as Larry, Jennifer Laura Thompson as Cynthia, Ben Platt as Evan and Laura Dreyfuss as Zoe in the world-premiere musical Dear Evan Hansen. Photo by Margot Schulman.
The show has all the elements necessary to captivate – an absorbing story, tremendous cast, catchy, emotionally affecting tunes (backed by a 16-member choir, each described as “Additional Voice” in the program), the brilliant Music Director Ben Cohn with orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, and a hot topic. The problem is it’s overly long causing it to drift into a number of obfuscating side stories. Even though Jennifer Laura Thompson and Michael Park are terrific as Connor’s bereaved parents and Laura Dreyfuss is engaging as Zoe Murphy, Evan’s love interest, and notwithstanding that Will Roland and Alexis Molnar hit all the right emotional and comedic notes as Evan’s pals. But the show loses momentum as the characters’ roles are overly fleshed out and side stories stretch into distractions. Another bump is the annoying repetition of lyrics and all too frequent use of falsetto called for in the songs. And although an intriguing device, Connor’s ghost, who haunts Evan and becomes his raison d’être, is more reminiscent of Ebenezer Scrooge than a reality check for Evan, as it eats up a great deal of the plot.
(L to R) Ben Platt as Evan, Michael Park as Larry, Jennifer Laura Thompson as Cynthia and Laura Dreyfuss as Zoe in the world-premiere musical Dear Evan Hansen at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater July 10-August 23, 2015. Photo by Margot Schulman.
Instead, enjoy Set Designer David Korins’s furnishings drifting onstage via half-moon tracks and Projection Designer Peter Nigrini’s fantastic backdrop of text messages and emails projected onto a series of two-story sliding scrims and spilling out onto the stage floor. The messages serve to remind us of the influence of Facebook and Twitter on teens and the impact of the typed word to enhance or endanger their lives in a single keystroke. Can you say “going viral”? The story has more sociological and psychological messages than Dr. Phil and Days of Our Lives combined.
Still despite the thought of tweaks and cuts, you can rest assured its message will captivate Millennials and Generation Z’ers raised in a world of student warehousing, cyber-bullying, secret email accounts and electronic devices. There is an important story to be told here. It just needs work.
Through August 23rd at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St., SE, Washington, DC 20024. For tickets and information call 202 488-3300 or visit www.ArenaStage.org.
“Carnival Del Barrio” (Cast) – Photos by Keith Waters / Kx Photography
Do you speak Spanish? No problemo. I’ll bet you can translate most of the words and phrases that have found their way into our everyday lexicon. Gracias, te amo, buenos dias, piragua (a shaved ice treat. Okay, that one was new to me.) and dozens more that you didn’t know you knew. Be prepared to test your skills at In the Heights, now at The Little Theatre of Alexandria. It’s Latino immersion served up in high energy by a fantastic cast. Quiara Alegria Hudes, who wrote the book for Conceptualist/Composer/Lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda, allows us a heart-warming glimpse into the lives of Latino immigrants and their assimilation into American culture – New York style. It’s a tale familiar to every immigrant who has faced the frustrations and hardships that beckoned them to American shores and a show that achieved four Tony Awards and one Grammy for Best Musical Show Album.
Set in the barrio of Washington Heights on the northern tip of Manhattan, a community settled over the past half century by immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba and assorted Hispanic Caribbean islands, the musical is written in hip-hop, rap and rhyme – en Español, pero con Inglés, tambien. Spanning the three-day Fourth of July weekend, it tells the story of a determined, close-knit culture and the love stories of Benny (Carl Williams) and Nina (Christy Fischer) and Usnavi (Andres Alejandro Ponce) and Vanessa (Chelsea Crane). Think West Side Story without the gangs.
Left to Right: Carl Williams (Benny), Andres Alejandro Ponce (Usnavi De Le Vega), Chelsea Crane (Vanessa), Joey Ledonio (Sonny), Patricia Targete (Female Community), Jacqueline Salvador (Carla) – Photos by Keith Waters / Kx Photography
Living under the shadow of the George Washington Bridge, Usnavi, the owner of a small bodega that serves the neighborhood, works alongside his cousin, Sonny (Joey Ledonio). Together they dream of a better life for themselves and their adored Abuela Claudia (Mary Ayala-Bush), matriarch of their family. Down the street Daniela (Tahara Robinson), Carla (Jacqueline Salvador) and Vanessa ply their hairstyling skills in the Unisex Salon while Vanessa dreams of escaping to the West Village. Across the way husband and wife, Camila (Janice Rivera) and Kevin (Sean Garcia), run the struggling Rosario’s Car and Limousine service. Benny, who eloquently raps road conditions to the drivers on the two-way, falls hard for their daughter, Nina, a scholarship student at Stamford and the hope of the neighborhood. It’s a “beans and rice” life for most of them.
Twenty-five musical numbers underpin this high-energy production, punctuating the action with breakdancing, rhumba and catchy Latin rhythms. LTA has done a tremendous job casting all 22 super-talented dancers and singers, more than a few of whom raised the roof – – most especially the riveting and hugely talented, Ponce; the powerhouse voice of the diminutive Crane, Usnavi’s love interest; the sass and comedic timing of Robinson who kills it in “Carnival del Barrio”; the cool hipster vibe and beautiful voice of Williams, who duets with Fischer’s dulcet tones in “Sunrise”; and Garcia, who lends operatic pathos to “Alabanza”.
Left to Right: Joey Ledonio (Sonny), Andres Alejandro Ponce (Usnavi De La Vega) – Photos by Keith Waters / Kx Photography
Raves for Choreographer Stefan Sittig, a veteran of over 60 productions and multiple WATCH Award nominee, who drives the cast to nearly pop the floorboards in “The Club” an all-out dance-a-thon brilliantly lit by Ken and Patti Crowley to echo a Diego Rivera painting; and Director, Frank D. Shutts, who bravely takes on a musical that stretches LTA’s typical audience to embrace the edge.
Highly recommended.
Through August 15th at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street. For tickets and information call the box office at 703 683-0496 or visit www.thelittletheatre.com
Once, the show that won eight Tony Awards in 2012, is a poignant love story set in Dublin where Girl (Dani de Waal) meets Guy (Stuart Ward) on open mic night in a rundown pub. She’s a piano-playing emigrant from Czechoslovakia. He’s a lovelorn, guitar-playing, vacuum cleaner repairman who’s lost his sweetheart to the lures of New York City. The rest of the cast, brilliantly talented musicians, singers and dancers, are the onstage orchestra who, when not dancing or interacting on center stage, sit in full view of each other in rows on each side of the one-set stage. Shakespeare would love this.
Although this is a musical, it is a quantum leap from the razzle-dazzle shows we have come to expect from Broadway. Irish playwright Enda Walsh gives us a story with pure Celtic heart and soul, and Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova fill it up with memorable music and meaningful lyrics. Oh well, there is Guy’s goofy number “Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy”, a paean to Girl and reference to his mundane day job.
There is plenty of dry humor and tongue-in-cheek wit, the sort we expect from Irish theatre, but here often unexpectedly delivered by the Czechs who speak in English with Czech accents while Czech translations are projected above the stage.
This show is for you too, with tremendous performances by Evan Harrington as Billy, the beefy, and romantically inept, pub owner who plays guitar, percussion and ukelele; Dani de Waal on piano as Girl; Stuart Ward on a mean guitar as Guy; Scott Waara on mandolin as Da, Guy’s supportive father; John Steven Gard as Eamon a role that calls for him to play piano, percussion, melodica and harmonica; Benjamin Magnuson as the soft-hearted bank manager on cello and guitar; Alex Nee as Andrej on electric bass, ukulele, guitar and percussion; Matt DeAngelis as Svec, the wild and crazy, former heavy metalhead who rocks out on guitar, mandolin, banjo, drum set and percussion; Tina Stafford on raging accordion and concertina as Baruska; and the fantastic musical talents and duets of Erica Spyres on violin and percussion, and Erica Swindell on violin.
Back to the story, a romance played out in evolving vignettes to the tune of fierce Irish jigs, tenderhearted ballads and soul-stirring folk rock. Though we wonder if they’ll ever get together, fifteen musical numbers keep us guessing and provide tension to the plot. The show won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album, and though you may be more familiar with the bittersweet music of “Falling Slowly” and “Leave”, be prepared to take out the tissues for “Gold”, an a cappella showstopper in the second act. Sung by the entire company the goosebump-inducing tune fills the theatre with hope and longing and the sense that no matter where our star-crossed lovers end up, we have seen one of the most exquisitely electrifying musicals of our generation.
Highly recommended.
Through August 16th at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information call 202 467-4600 or visit www.Kennedy-Center.org.
Dan Rosales takes flight as Peter Pan in PETER PAN at the Threesixty Theatre. Photo credit: Jeremy Danie
“Do you believe in fairies?” The audience, primed for a night of wonder and magic, seized on the age-old qualifier with resounding approval. Author J. M. Barrie would have delighted to hear them echo his fantastical query of yesteryear.
Notwithstanding the enthusiasm, there’s nothing old fashioned about this production except the bygone tale of a boy who refuses to grow up. Produced by Norton Herrick of Herrick Entertainment and Charlie Burnell of Threesixty Entertainment, this techno-modern Peter Pan got its start in Kensington Gardens in London, the very same gardens that feature a statue of Peter Pan in the neighborhood where the Darling family, Wendy (played by Annapolis native Sarah Charles), Michael (Scott Weston) and John (John Alati) and their Mother (Hannah Jane McMurray) and Father (Stephen Carlile) resided with their canine governess, Nana.
Flight to Neverland Flight (L to R) Tinker Bell (Jessie Sherman), Michael Darling (Scott Weston), Peter Pan (Dan Rosales), Wendy Darling (Sarah Charles), and John Darling (John Alati) in PETER PAN at the Threesixty Theatre. Photo credit: Jeremy Daniel
This spectacular theater experience will wow all comers with its 360-degree CGI (computer-generated imagery) projected backdrop system, the first of its kind in the world. The footage surrounds the audience with breathtaking images – – from Big Ben and Buckingham Palace to the gabled rooftops of Victorian London, and on to the island of Neverland, where the feral and free Lost Boys, Captain Hook (Stephen Carlile) and Tiger Lily (Porsha Putney) live and where jungle scenes and pirate ships complete the total immersion into Peter’s world.
Hook (Stephen Carlile) and his pirates in PETER PAN at the Threesixty Theatre. Photo credit: Jeremy Daniel
This is a unique experience that goes beyond the hype that usually accompanies such major productions. Yes, it is in the round and yes, there are some breathtaking aerialists, most especially two ravishing mermaids that twirl and hang on swaths of silks. And if that doesn’t keep you at the edge of your seat, there are swashbuckling sword fights and dizzying feats of flying by Peter (Dan Posales), Tinker Bell (Jessie Sherman) and the children. No not your children, The Darlings, of course. At times it appears so realistic that one little girl, sitting behind us and witnessing the swaggering menace of Captain Hook, asked her parents, “Is he acting?”
In fact he is, along with 19 other actors and a host of puppets who bring this beloved tale to life in a way never achieved before – – not by Disney, by Broadway or TV.
Porsha Putney (Tiger Lily) and Dan Rosales (Peter Pan) in PETER PAN at the Threesixty Theatre. Photo credit: Jeremy Daniel
Thom Southerland directs the high-energy action and seven-time Olivier Award winner William Dudley continues the magic with clever set designs that achieve the seemingly impossible through the use of rotating trapdoors that swivel 180-degrees to reveal everything from treacherous rocks to home furnishings and the shipboard trappings of the Jolly Roger. Benjamin Wallfisch and Howard Herrick composed the original music with tender ballads, Irish jigs and Tiger Lily’s exotic dance. Gypsy Snider, co-founder of the Montreal-based circus company, Les 7 Doigts de la Main, created the breathtaking choreography.
Highly recommended for all ages.
Performances through August 16th in the Threesixty Theatre at Tysons Corner Center, 8200 Watson Street, Tysons Corner, VA 22102. For tickets and show time information visit www.peterpan360.com or www.Ticketmaster.com.
THE BOOK OF MORMON National Tour Company Photo credit Joan Marcus
Hell fire 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.
The story focuses on the bicycle-riding, young men with their skinny black ties and crisp white shirts who are eager to convert and skilled at proselytizing. Two-by-two they comb the earth seeking out sin and sinners and spreading The Word.
Elder Price and Elder Cunningham are two of the innocents. 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 hard to conceive. Price (David Strand) is handsome and self-centered, brimming with untested confidence. Ready to take on the world he is miffed to be conjoined with Cunningham (Cody Jamison Strand), a portly nerd with no sense of self-worth who clings to Price like a limpet mine to a submarine.
Monica L. Patton, David Larsen, Cody Jamison Strand Photo credit Joan Marcus
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 risks catching fire. At a send off staged by their parents, replete with a dancing witch doctor who references The Lion King, the hapless lads are told, “You get out there and you baptize those Africans!”
Instead the boys realize converting the whole human race is not as easy as they had been led to believe. They 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-seen-by-a-living-soul golden plates he personally excavated in upstate New York. These descriptive, Mormon-themed side skits are re-enacted hilariously by Smith (Christopher Shyer) and the Angel Moroni (Daxton Bloomquist) in dream sequences designed to compare 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”. David Aron Damane plays the one-eyed General and bloodthirsty warlord who threatens to circumcise all the girls in the village by the end of the week.
7 Denèe Benton, Cody Jamison Strand Photo credit Joan Marcus
There’s a sweet love story between the beautiful Nabulungi (Candace Quarrels) and Cunningham, the most unlikely suitor, who woos her with dreams of paradise. In the beautifully sung number, “Sal Tlay Ka Siti” (a heavily accented pronunciation of Salt Lake City) she places her hopes in his hands.
But this isn’t The Sound of Music, though it takes a village. And Nabulungi’s convincing of her tribe, 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 convert the girl and croons “Man Up”, describing Jesus’ bravery as “growing a pair”.
Credit to Directors Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker; Scott Pask for the scenic design; Ann Roth for costumes, Brian MacDevitt for lighting and the 12-piece kick-ass orchestra directed by Adam Laird and David Truskinoff. Many of the talented performers from the first Broadway production are in this touring company making it just as bawdy and blasphemous as the original.
Highly recommended. But you already knew that if you’ve tried to snag a ticket.
Through August 16th at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information call 202 467-4600 or visit www.Kennedy-Center.org.
“Epic Bromance Upends Noted Family” might be the modern-day header for the tale of Tartuffe and Orgon, the paterfamilias of a 17th century, bourgeois family. Or it might read, “Priest and His Slimy Sidekicks Fake Poverty to Con Pernelle Clan – Maid Claims Teen Daughter Was Used as Barter”. I can’t resist one more. “Phony Preacher Tricks Prominent Businessman Who Nearly Loses His Entire Estate”.
Suzanne Warmanen (Dorine), Lenne Klingaman (Mariane), Sofia Jean Gomez (Elmire), Gregory Linington (Cleante,) and ensemble members Stephanie Schmalzle, and Maria Leigh. Photo by Scott Suchman.
In Molière’s timeless story of piety and politics the con artist, Tartuffe (aka “The Hypocrite”), brings down one of the town’s most prominent families with his fire and brimstone brand of religious fervor. As slick as a whistle, the devious flimflammer insinuates himself into the home and gullible heart of Orgon (Luverne Seifert), despite protestations from his household who see right through the hustle. “He has made me a new man without friendships or emotion,” Orgon boasts to his family, dismissing their pleadings and offering up his betrothed daughter, Mariane (Lenne Klingaman) as sacrificial lamb.
In the second year of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Comedie Française repertory series, Director Dominique Serrand has brought us a supremely elegant production of the play, one that is guaranteed to make your hair curl and your funny bone twitch. Serrano is also the Co-Scenic Designer with Tom Buderwitz, and the two have created a divinely muted set for the comic drama using as inspiration the symmetrical Palladian architecture of Paris’s Hôtel des Invalides, and the exterior design of the Église Saint-Gervais to evoke an aura of piety.
Lighting Director Marcus Dilliard uses the one-day timeline of the play by moving the lighting across the stage from east to west, coloring the set with the pale, cool light of day with rays of light pouring in through tall windows, and culminating in the honeyed amber tones of sunset. It is very effective and lends a compelling air of urgency to the family’s dire circumstances.
Sofia Jean Gomez (Elmire) and Steven Epp (Tartuffe). Photo by Scott Suchman.
Steven Epp plays the convincingly, deceitful Tartuffe. With his tight-as-a-drum body and spare priestly garments, he looks like an Anderson Cooper version of a Calvin Klein model recently sprung from a torture chamber. Epp’s riveting portrayal of the holier-than-thou, priest-without-a-conscience is enhanced by his ability to quickly morph from insinuating charmer, who proves his devotion through self-flagellations and submissive prostrations, to backstabbing villain. Seifert, as the duped husband and father Orgon, in thrall to the machinations of Tartuffe, gives a commanding performance infused with bluster and swagger.
Luverne Seifert (Orgon) and Sofia Jean Gomez (Elmire). Photo by Scott Suchman.
But amidst all the guile and terror inflicted on the family by Tartuffe, let us not forget what a card and social commentator Molière is. The circumstances he devises are as dark as the comedy is light – – and Suzanne Warmanen as Dorine, the wise and sassy servant, renders it brilliantly. When accused of defaming God by using a handkerchief as a bookmark between the pages of Elmire’s bible, Dorine replies, “If a handkerchief can insult God, God needs more confidence!” Oh yes! She has his sanctimonious number straight out of heaven’s gate.
Elmire (Sofia Jean Gomez), the clever wife of Orgon, has her own way of handling the impostor. In one sexually charged scene designed to prove to her husband that Tartuffe is nothing more than a fraud, she calculates an elaborate seduction to which Orgon is witness. Gomez is electrifying bringing both fire and ice to the character of Elmire.
Not to be ignored are Tartuffe’s henchmen led by Laurent (Nathan Keepers). The duo lends a deliciously evil air to the entire proceedings, lurking around corners and perching above the action, all the better to eavesdrop or threaten.
Sonya Berlovitz informs the costuming with a freshly, spare modernity by eliminating the distractions of heavily ornate brocades and embellishments and creating clothing that takes on meaning and symbolism, at the same time reflecting hilarity (as in Valere’s floral pajamas), solemnity (Orgon’s newly adopted priestly raiments and the plain, grey garments of Tartuffe) and social import (Elmire’s lavish blue gown and billowy red silk robe). The result lends more power to the story and drama to the players.
Highly recommended.
Through July 5th at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Sidney Harman Hall at 610 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004. For tickets and information contact the box office at 202 547-1122 or visit www.ShakespeareTheatre.org.
