For box office information, click on the title of this review.
Let’s get this out of the way right now: at the conclusion of Guys and Dolls last weekend, there was much audiencal (new word; deal with it) whooping and hollering. Many of them proved they could clap and stand at the same time. A great time was had by most.
Good stuff: Things are really perking up in the musical community as far as orchestras go. This is the third in a row top notch pit that I’ve heard. And this was the area I was dreading: several years ago, a Summer Place production which shall remain nameless attempted one of the most beautiful, gentle scores in Broadway history. And it was completely murdered by the orchestra, which should have been tried for terrorism.
Guys and Dolls features the best pit to play there in ten years. They are:
Jim Molina (conductor) – fabulous job.
Justin Kono (associate conductor/drums & percussion)
Suzanne Gillen (flute, piccolo, clarinet, alto sax)
Joe Sanchez (clarinet, alto sax)
Will Brocker (clarinet, tenor sax)
Katie Legel (tenor sax)
Julie Fischer (bass clarinet, bari sax)
Jeff Schweitzer (trumpet 1)
Jeff Kienstra (trumpet 2)
Allison Kane (keyboard 1)
Kelly Hutchins (keyboard 2 – strings)
Kymber Gillen (violin)
Sarah Zilonis (cello)
And Ted Waltmire did a terrific job as vocal director. The choral stuff was sharp and on target.
The godawful stairs from Arsenic and Old Lace were still there, but at least here they served a purpose conducive to the show. The show was briskly paced, the scene changes seemed to go quite smoothly and there was never any point when I was moved to look at my watch, which sometimes happens at community productions of older, longer musicals. It really moved nicely, nicely. Kudos to the director (Timothy Mullen) and to the tech crews.
Singing: The leads all did quite well by Mr. Loesser’s music, and the chorus was extremely strong. Standouts were Christina Romano (Sarah Brown), whose voice was gorgeous, Laurie Kometz Edwalds (Adelaide) who had a belt that could sandblast buildings (note: this is a good thing) and Rick Kominski & Luke Donia as Nicely and Benny. Gerry Riva as Arvide made More I Cannot Wish You not only bearable but moving, which is an amazing feat.
Musically and pace-wise, the show sparkled and is highly recommended. Comedically, not so much. There was, as stated above, much applause. But hardly any laughs. Now, we can do the lazy-ass theatre excuse of, “What do you expect with all those corny old jokes?” Except that the corny old jokes work if you play them right. Example:
I have seen Steve Zeidler before. He is a terrific performer. A very talented man. Nathan Detroit (Kelly Markwell) is introduced to Big Jule (Zeidler), who has several punchlines before they move on to other business. Before each punchline, Zeidler thinnnnnks about it, puffing on his cigar, so the beat is:
Straight line.
Puff.
Puff.
Puff.
Punchline.
Straight line.
Puff.
Puff.
Puff.
Punchline.
…until you’re ready to take the cigar and do rude things with it.
Hey, you know what happens when you take a straight line and a punchline and put in a pause you could drive a truck through? Right! No laughs! They’re called punchlines because you have to punch them. And it’s not Zeidler’s fault – in Act Two, he hits his lines on the head and he’s very good. So the cigar crap was a choice. And a bad one.
And before moving on to the main complaint, let’s take four little ones:
1. There is a bit added with Joey Biltmore which is one of the most stupid and obnoxious things ever stuck in a musical. Not funny. No laughs.
2. “From the moment we kissed tonight, that’s the way I’ve just got to behave!” Interesting, since they haven’t kissed since scene two – and back then she slapped him.
3. If you’re singing one of the most famous scores in history, paraphrasing is probably a bad idea, Sky, Nicely and Adelaide. Or Ted Waltmire, the vocal director. When I want you to correct Frank Loesser, I’ll ask you. You’ve had eight to ten weeks to learn the words.
4. Musicals occasionally have little 16 bar encores on hit songs that function as a segue into the next part of the scene. Here, dumb little encores have been put in, even if the audience hasn’t even thought of calling for any. They just repeat the last 16 bars verbatim, as if your DVD has skipped.
ARRGGHH!!!! I know that mounting a show like this is a huge undertaking, but Jesus Christ, pay a little attention to the characters, their personalities and motivations.
Nathan is being cleaned out by Big Jule in the sewer scene and making wisecracks as his money disappears. Markwell kind of breezily spits out the punchlines, with no emotional impact. Nathan is tense, exhausted, put-upon and those aren’t wisecracks – it’s Nathan expressing growing anger in a way that won’t get him shot. It has to build to the point where he stands up to Big Jule. Here they were just thrown away. The fact that it’s a comedy doesn’t mean that the characters aren’t serious about what they want. Otherwise, it’s just a cartoon.
Markwell and Romano both do the most selfish thing an actor can possibly do in a two person scene – they refuse to look the other person in the eyes. Mullen gives to Romano. Edwalds plays off of Markwell. Neither of them gives anything back. There’s no give and take. Once Adelaide tells Nathan about her lies to her mother, he has to zero in on her and keep hounding her – it’s what helps to drive the scene. Nothing. He’s looking at his shoes.
Sarah is not afraid of Sky. She’s aggressive, not passive. Look – the Havana scene is completely unbelievable if there isn’t a spark there from the beginning that they are both trying to resist. It’s never about two people finally falling in love, it’s about two people finally admitting it. That’s where the tension is. And this is a director thing. Romano and Markwell both seemed like extremely good actors; Romano in particular had a lot of zing in her. But they needed a director to say, “Get your eyes off the table.” Both these actors are fully capable of playing with other people instead of playing with themselves. And that’s not an accidental joke. Being involved with your note cards or your tie is not as interesting as being involved with the person across the stage from you.
Lastly, going on from this point, is the Bullshit Musical Blocking. “Say, why don’t you tell me how you feel, Big Strong Leading Man?” “Say, don’t mind if I do!” Song starts, leading man goes ten feet away and faces out to the audience. ARRGGHHH. My Time of Day. Sky is singing to Sarah! He’s letting her into his life. Look her in the goddamned eyes. “I’ve never been in love before, but you’re two miles away, could you please semaphore?”
I’ll Know – Sky and Sarah are singing about how they could never go for each other, yet they’re getting closer and closer and it culminates in a kiss – which she slaps him for afterwards but doesn’t try to break while it’s happening. He doesn’t just charge her like a friggin’ bull and plant one on (as he does in this production) – it’s tension that builds throughout the song. This director has no concept of or interest in things like that. He is far more adept at moving the crowds and the scenery than in moving any emotions, either from the audience or the cast.
So anyway – if you’d like to hear the songs done quite well and with gusto, head on out to the Summer Place. For once I was disappointed that Sarah and Adelaide only had one number together.
This is not a horrible production. It’s 65% wonderful. Let me mention the chorus again – very good and strong. The leads have great voices. And you might not be as picky as I am. But I saw a lot of acting potential there that wasn’t delivered, so it was disappointing. So go for the music. The voices are terrific and the band is even better.
Let’s get this out of the way right now: at the conclusion of Guys and Dolls last weekend, there was much audiencal (new word; deal with it) whooping and hollering. Many of them proved they could clap and stand at the same time. A great time was had by most.
Good stuff: Things are really perking up in the musical community as far as orchestras go. This is the third in a row top notch pit that I’ve heard. And this was the area I was dreading: several years ago, a Summer Place production which shall remain nameless attempted one of the most beautiful, gentle scores in Broadway history. And it was completely murdered by the orchestra, which should have been tried for terrorism.
Guys and Dolls features the best pit to play there in ten years. They are:
Jim Molina (conductor) – fabulous job.
Justin Kono (associate conductor/drums & percussion)
Suzanne Gillen (flute, piccolo, clarinet, alto sax)
Joe Sanchez (clarinet, alto sax)
Will Brocker (clarinet, tenor sax)
Katie Legel (tenor sax)
Julie Fischer (bass clarinet, bari sax)
Jeff Schweitzer (trumpet 1)
Jeff Kienstra (trumpet 2)
Allison Kane (keyboard 1)
Kelly Hutchins (keyboard 2 – strings)
Kymber Gillen (violin)
Sarah Zilonis (cello)
And Ted Waltmire did a terrific job as vocal director. The choral stuff was sharp and on target.
The godawful stairs from Arsenic and Old Lace were still there, but at least here they served a purpose conducive to the show. The show was briskly paced, the scene changes seemed to go quite smoothly and there was never any point when I was moved to look at my watch, which sometimes happens at community productions of older, longer musicals. It really moved nicely, nicely. Kudos to the director (Timothy Mullen) and to the tech crews.
Singing: The leads all did quite well by Mr. Loesser’s music, and the chorus was extremely strong. Standouts were Christina Romano (Sarah Brown), whose voice was gorgeous, Laurie Kometz Edwalds (Adelaide) who had a belt that could sandblast buildings (note: this is a good thing) and Rick Kominski & Luke Donia as Nicely and Benny. Gerry Riva as Arvide made More I Cannot Wish You not only bearable but moving, which is an amazing feat.
Musically and pace-wise, the show sparkled and is highly recommended. Comedically, not so much. There was, as stated above, much applause. But hardly any laughs. Now, we can do the lazy-ass theatre excuse of, “What do you expect with all those corny old jokes?” Except that the corny old jokes work if you play them right. Example:
I have seen Steve Zeidler before. He is a terrific performer. A very talented man. Nathan Detroit (Kelly Markwell) is introduced to Big Jule (Zeidler), who has several punchlines before they move on to other business. Before each punchline, Zeidler thinnnnnks about it, puffing on his cigar, so the beat is:
Straight line.
Puff.
Puff.
Puff.
Punchline.
Straight line.
Puff.
Puff.
Puff.
Punchline.
…until you’re ready to take the cigar and do rude things with it.
Hey, you know what happens when you take a straight line and a punchline and put in a pause you could drive a truck through? Right! No laughs! They’re called punchlines because you have to punch them. And it’s not Zeidler’s fault – in Act Two, he hits his lines on the head and he’s very good. So the cigar crap was a choice. And a bad one.
And before moving on to the main complaint, let’s take four little ones:
1. There is a bit added with Joey Biltmore which is one of the most stupid and obnoxious things ever stuck in a musical. Not funny. No laughs.
2. “From the moment we kissed tonight, that’s the way I’ve just got to behave!” Interesting, since they haven’t kissed since scene two – and back then she slapped him.
3. If you’re singing one of the most famous scores in history, paraphrasing is probably a bad idea, Sky, Nicely and Adelaide. Or Ted Waltmire, the vocal director. When I want you to correct Frank Loesser, I’ll ask you. You’ve had eight to ten weeks to learn the words.
4. Musicals occasionally have little 16 bar encores on hit songs that function as a segue into the next part of the scene. Here, dumb little encores have been put in, even if the audience hasn’t even thought of calling for any. They just repeat the last 16 bars verbatim, as if your DVD has skipped.
ACTING.
ARRGGHH!!!! I know that mounting a show like this is a huge undertaking, but Jesus Christ, pay a little attention to the characters, their personalities and motivations.
Nathan is being cleaned out by Big Jule in the sewer scene and making wisecracks as his money disappears. Markwell kind of breezily spits out the punchlines, with no emotional impact. Nathan is tense, exhausted, put-upon and those aren’t wisecracks – it’s Nathan expressing growing anger in a way that won’t get him shot. It has to build to the point where he stands up to Big Jule. Here they were just thrown away. The fact that it’s a comedy doesn’t mean that the characters aren’t serious about what they want. Otherwise, it’s just a cartoon.
Markwell and Romano both do the most selfish thing an actor can possibly do in a two person scene – they refuse to look the other person in the eyes. Mullen gives to Romano. Edwalds plays off of Markwell. Neither of them gives anything back. There’s no give and take. Once Adelaide tells Nathan about her lies to her mother, he has to zero in on her and keep hounding her – it’s what helps to drive the scene. Nothing. He’s looking at his shoes.
Sarah is not afraid of Sky. She’s aggressive, not passive. Look – the Havana scene is completely unbelievable if there isn’t a spark there from the beginning that they are both trying to resist. It’s never about two people finally falling in love, it’s about two people finally admitting it. That’s where the tension is. And this is a director thing. Romano and Markwell both seemed like extremely good actors; Romano in particular had a lot of zing in her. But they needed a director to say, “Get your eyes off the table.” Both these actors are fully capable of playing with other people instead of playing with themselves. And that’s not an accidental joke. Being involved with your note cards or your tie is not as interesting as being involved with the person across the stage from you.
Lastly, going on from this point, is the Bullshit Musical Blocking. “Say, why don’t you tell me how you feel, Big Strong Leading Man?” “Say, don’t mind if I do!” Song starts, leading man goes ten feet away and faces out to the audience. ARRGGHHH. My Time of Day. Sky is singing to Sarah! He’s letting her into his life. Look her in the goddamned eyes. “I’ve never been in love before, but you’re two miles away, could you please semaphore?”
I’ll Know – Sky and Sarah are singing about how they could never go for each other, yet they’re getting closer and closer and it culminates in a kiss – which she slaps him for afterwards but doesn’t try to break while it’s happening. He doesn’t just charge her like a friggin’ bull and plant one on (as he does in this production) – it’s tension that builds throughout the song. This director has no concept of or interest in things like that. He is far more adept at moving the crowds and the scenery than in moving any emotions, either from the audience or the cast.
So anyway – if you’d like to hear the songs done quite well and with gusto, head on out to the Summer Place. For once I was disappointed that Sarah and Adelaide only had one number together.
This is not a horrible production. It’s 65% wonderful. Let me mention the chorus again – very good and strong. The leads have great voices. And you might not be as picky as I am. But I saw a lot of acting potential there that wasn’t delivered, so it was disappointing. So go for the music. The voices are terrific and the band is even better.
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