Musical Theater – Page 17 – an intuitive perspective

November 13, 2022

Beehive: The 60s Musical at the MKE Rep

If you are considering seeing Beehive, “STOP, In The Name Of LOVE”, and buy your tickets right now. This is a fun show…and if you know the lyrics to any of these songs you will be singing along. But I took a bit of license here with my opening sentence. “Stop In The Name Of Love” isn’t actually one of the numbers performed in this review but I urge the creator and director to correct that oversight post haste…I had worked out the choreography for it from an old Supremes video!

Photo by Michael Brosilow and courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater

So what do we have here? We have an ensemble of six singers/dancers enthusiastically entertaining us with thirty-four songs that represent the best memories of female music stars from the 1960s! And everyone of the women featured here take their turn as the soloist with any number of their peers providing the backing vocals and harmonies…so the music just keeps moving forward and the energy never flags as the hits keep on coming!

So: the songs here represent the most talented and most popular ‘girl groups’ and solo artists of the period. Starting with the silly Shirley Ellis hit, “The Name Game” then rolling into Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party”, we also are reliving the thrills we got back in the day from the Supremes, The Ronettes, The Chiffons, The Angels, The Crystals, and more…and I loved everyone of them.

And for those of you who followed certain songwriters, these hits also represent some of the best output from Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Jeff Berry and Ellie Greenwich, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Phil Spector, and the Motown triple threat, Holland, Dozier, and Holland!

But despite being titled Beehive, this isn’t limited to ‘girl groups’ with piled up hair. Near the end of the first act, creator Larry Gallagher signals the later 60s shift in pop music and pop culture with the iconic anthem, “You Don’t Own Me” by a revitalized Lesley Gore. From then on we feel the effects of the British Invasion and the renewed influence of blues on rock and roll…and the rise of the big voiced big presence female vocalists…Tina Turner, Grace Slick, and of course, Janis Joplin.

Photo by Michael Brosilow and courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Sarah Lynn Marion as Janis

So this is an incredible experience in music and music history for those of us who lived it but even if you don’t know every song and every lyric, this is a lot…and I repeat…a lot of fun!

The only regret I have is the cast didn’t have time to perform the entire song because they nailed the performances and feel of the original material in a very dramatic fashion. But if they’d done that, it would be a five hour show instead of two hours and fifteen minutes.

The cast really did an amazing job of bringing these songs to life. The cast: Jackey Boelkow, Tess Marshall, Sarah Lynn Marion, Jamie Mercado, Desiree Tolodziecki, and Amaya White. They switched roles so many times, that I can’t tell you which actor took on which singer…so watch closely and carefully…but absolutely, no one disappointed. And director Laura Braza did an outstanding job in keeping everyone in motion and upfront and singing! And to choreographer, David P. Roman, hats off to you, beehive and all!!

Extra Credit Reading: Beehive The Program

Beehive, The 60s Musical runs through January 15, 2023, at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Stackner Cabaret. And I recommend making reservations for dinner at the Cabaret before the show as well.

More info and tickets here:

November 11, 2022November 11, 2022

PSA: First Stage Celebrates The Holidays with Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer: The Musical!

Milwaukee, WI – November 9, 2022 – Come celebrate the holidays this year with First Stage and the return of their heartwarming production of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER™: THE MUSICAL!, based on the 1964 television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and stage production directed and conceived by Jeff Frank and First Stage. The live, musical version of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER™ will be directed by Artistic Director Jeff Frank and features all the colorful characters audiences know and love, a thrilling adventure story combined with an unforgettable holiday musical score by Johnny Marks, including the catchy “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” theme song. From fleeing the Abominable Snow Monster to saving Christmas, join Rudolph and his friends, Hermey the Elf and Yukon Cornelius, as their adventures remind us that what makes us different can also be what makes us special. Don’t miss this wonderful holiday tradition that speaks to the little misfit in all of us!

From Artistic Director/Director Jeff Frank: “What fun to return to Christmastown and visit Rudolph and friends once again! Who knew when we launched the premiere production in 2012 that it would serve as the model for subsequent productions – including a national tour! This joyful holiday tale will once again come to life at the Todd Wehr Theater courtesy of some clever staging, the remarkable design work of Brandon Kirkham, and our incredible production department who crafted this piece with such care and detail. Rudolph, Hermey and the Toys remind us all that there is a place for everyone. There really is no such thing as a misfit – just a world that needs to learn to welcome people as they are. No one should have to worry about covering up who they are to seek acceptance. We need to make the effort to move beyond first impressions to take the time to really listen to one another and find a deeper understanding of folks. After all – it turns out that even the Bumble is misunderstood. From the incredible music of Johnny Marks to the adventures with the Bumble, to the lovable inhabitants of the Island of Misfit Toys, to the hilarious antics of Yukon Cornelius, to the heartwarming storytelling of Sam the Snowman – RUDOLPH has something for the entire family to celebrate this holiday season. Come home for the holidays together at First Stage.”

And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows! The beloved TV classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer soars off the screen and returns to our stage this holiday season. From fleeing the Abominable Snow Monster to saving Christmas, join Rudolph and his friends, Hermey the Elf and Yukon Cornelius, as their adventures teach us that what makes you different can be what makes you special. Don’t miss this wonderful holiday tradition that speaks to the little misfit in all of us. Performance runtime is approximately 70 minutes, which includes a brief intermission. Suggested for families with young people ages 4+.

Tickets start at $32 – Tickets may be purchased at firststage.org or through the Marcus Center Box Office, in person at 929 N. Water Street in downtown Milwaukee or by phone (414) 273-7206 or toll free at (888) 612-3500. The number for TDD (for deaf and hard of hearing patrons) is (414) 273-3080.

October 4, 2022October 7, 2022

Lake Country Players present : Cabaret!!

Life is a cabaret, old chum. A quote that anyone with an interest in theater or has seen the movie version of Cabaret or heard the Liza Minnelli recording is certainly aware of and may have actually sung or hummed the tune when you read the title for this blog post. Director Kimberly Laberge paraphrased it in her bio in the program as Enjoy the Cabaret, ole chum…and the production of Cabaret that she has unleashed at the Lake Country Playhouse invited us to enjoy it at every turn. And we did!

This was my first visit to Lake Country Playhouse, a little jewel of a theater housed in a former Masonic Temple in downtown Hartland WI. At my estimate of 100 seats, it is a pleasantly intimate space where everyone in the audience will feel like they are front row! Although this is great for the audience, given the size of the cast of Cabaret and the often energetic and boisterous activities of the cabaret, it is a challenge for a director and choreographer to wrestle. Particularly with a rather shallow stage, front to back, and I don’t imagine a lot of room in the wings. So bravo to Kimberly Laberge, choreographer Jackay Boelkow, stage manager Trinity Sullivan, and set constructor Adam Harrison for mastering this space and bringing Cabaret to life!

But here we are, in the Cabaret, the Kit Kat Klub, a seedy little dive with peeling wallpaper and a ‘proscenium’ arch with out any facade…just the structural two by fours. With just enough space behind the proscenium to accommodate the house combo, a patient lot of musicians who were in place well before the action begins and while the patrons were being seated. And they were the wholly appropriate accompaniment for the singers and dancers to come, thanks for music director Ashley Sprangers. This minimal set is incredibly suited for the content of the play and makes the majority of the stage available for the actors and the action. Again, props to Trinity Sullivan, set designer.

And on to the cabaret. One of the key issues with any play is casting…and given the era of Weimar Germany and the denizens of the Kit Kat Klub, casting Cabaret has to be a unique challenge. But here Laberge found an amazing and diverse ensemble to present us with a Cabaret we can all identify with and enjoy!

One of the stand outs here is Viktoria Feely as Emcee. Having grown up in a world of Joel Grey, I felt that this is an amazing casting choice, going against expectations but exceeding in delivery. Feely has all of the requisite moves and is just amazing as she transforms from the brash and impertinent Emcee of the early acts to the sad and broken character we see as the play comes to an end. She gives us the complete spectrum that the role inspires and cleanly exhibits the underlying emotions that the play itself explores. And you knew she was giving her all throughout the play…in every single scene she was in…and that was a great bit of the play. I hope that we see Feely in other productions in the near future.

And one of the other real treats here, is Maggie Wirth as Fraulein Schneider. An older woman renting rooms to make her living. She can be direct when conducting business, harsh with an unruly tenant, but easily swayed by an honest face. Her love story with Herr Schultz is touching and apparent in Wirth’s manner and the attentions she pays to Schultz. And her delight in the fresh fruits that he brings to her from his shop go beyond the pleasure of some fresh fruit. And Wirth brings it to the songs that are her’s and her’s alone. She really brought Fraulein Schneider out as a major character and a delight to watch.

And of course, you can’t have a successful Cabaret, without a Sally Bowles! And Laker Thrasher brings us the saucy, provocative, sexy, and sometimes questioning Sally. And of course their interaction with Clifford Bradshaw is a key element of the other love story in the play, and Thrasher plays it true. And yes, they are in exquisite voice, every bit the chanteuse!

And don’t let me forget the men here. Ezekiel N. Drews as Clifford Bradshaw, the American novelist, convinced us he was the soft hearted and maybe a bit naive American somewhat lost in a Europe he didn’t quite understand and lost in his own desires that he also didn’t quite understand. Kyle Kramer gave us the tender and thoughtful Herr Schultz . He clearly showed us the feelings that Herr Schultz had for Fraulein Schneider, even before she was quite aware of them.

One other player that I want to mention is Shana Quandt as Fraulein Fritzie Kost. Besides her outstanding work as part of the dance chorus at the Klub, her verbal sparring with Fraulein Schneider about the visitors to her room were a welcome bit of humor against some of the more sober topics presented in Cabaret.

And how do you costume sixteen characters in period pieces…several costumes per actor actually…and keep them original…and unique…and keep up with costume changes. I don’t know but oh my goodness, but costume designer Cas Mayhall certainly does. If you take a few moments and look at the photos, you’ll see exactly what I mean. Aren’t they just simply amazing? The costuming here certainly helped deliver the story just as well as the actors.

Now, this entire cast has to be one of the hardest working stage crews around. As the scene shifts from club to rooming house to train station and back, as actors move on and off the stage, they take the couches, tables, benches, and seats with them…and then back again…during brief between scene blackouts. Again kudos to Laberge, Boelkow, Sullivan, and cast for making this all work.

I missed opening weekend so if you plan on attending there is only one weekend left. And it was a full house at the Sunday matinee that I attended. Click here for performance and ticket information!