Tag: Musical Theater

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Writer and Performer Angela Ingersoll Invites You To “Get Happy” and Experience Judy Garland at the Milwaukee Rep!

In an amazing performance, Angela Ingersoll invites us to celebrate the talent and spirit of American legend, Judy Garland. In a night club worthy, or even better yet, a Carnegie Hall worthy presentation, Ingersoll has created, written, and performs a song filled evening! She recounts Judy’s life, loves, struggles, and triumphs in a very personal conversation with the audience. And besides Judy’s story, we’ll learn about Ingersoll and why she relates to Garland and how she came to put together this show. Done with all of the drama, humor, and music that we should expect.

Get Happy cast and crew courtesy of the Milwaukee Rep

So, yes, this is a close and intimate production…just how intimate? Well, in the Stackner we all feel close to the stage. And Ingersoll is supported by a very adept and agile piano trio of Jeff Hamman on string bass, Charles Heath on percussion, and Chuck Larkin (May 5 – 15) and Jeremy Kahn (May 15 – July 1) on piano. And they are positioned right there behind her. And (spoiler alert), there’s the on stage dressing room where Ingersoll completes one costume change per act during the evening while continuing to regale us with the story.

Angela Ingersoll center, Charles Heath on percussion, Jeff Hamann on bass, courtesy of the Milwaukee Rep

And beyond the apparent physical similarities to Garland, Ingersoll has obviously studied Garland’s physical movements and vocal stylings and gives us an incredible performance. For those of us old enough to remember Garland’s various appearances on mid-20th Century television, the memories will be quite intense. For the rest of us, the show will give us a glimmer of what it might have been like to see Garland in person and the chance to experience an exciting night of song and theater here at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.

Chuck Larkin on piano with Angela Ingersoll, courtesy of the Milwaukee Rep

This show was nominated for an Emmy award after being broadcast on PBS. And it will continue its run at the Stackner Cabaret at the Rep through July 1st. Additional information and ticket info here. Approximate running time: 2 Hours and 10 Minutes including intermission. Recommended Age: 12 and up.

And don’t miss a chance to eat dinner at the Stackner as well. In most cases you will be seated at the same table where you will see the show. Dining information and menu here.

And the online program is HERE!

Angela Ingersoll in Get Happy, courtesy of the Milwaukee Rep
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My Way, A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra!

Frankly, is there anyone who can get enough of Frank Sinatra? From the audience response last night at the Milwaukee Repertory Theaters’ Stackner Cabaret, the answer is NO! And the crowd goes beyond the age demographic you might expect to see at a Sinatra Tribute. The contingent of audience members who were most likely born THIS century were there in force. And the ovation at the end of My Way was sincere and heartfelt!

No, there’s not much story here…just a bit of background on Frank Sinatra and the history of the songs…just more like two solid hours of all of Sinatra’s hits…so every cool song you’ve probably ever heard of plus a number that you might have missed!

screen capture from the Milwaukee Repertory website

So…we have Alex Bechtel, Kara Mikula, Nygel D Robinson, and Tiffany Topol tradings songs, verses, adding harmonies, and swapping instruments as they merrily traverse the Frank Sinatra songbook! Besides trying to guess which Frank nugget they are going to perform next, you have to add who’s going to sing it AND what instrument are they going to play. Of course piano is the anchor most of the time, but we see string bass, flute, banjo ukulele, tenor guitar, saxophone, violin, guitar, and drums at one point or another. oh, and cocktail shaker! Amazing musicianship and slick choreography as they pass off instruments between actors. And of course the vocals are spot on to the mood and theme of each song presented!

Created by David Grapes & Todd Olson | Book by Todd Olson

Original Production Directed by David Grapes

Directed & Choreographed by Kelley Faulkner

My Way, A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra runs at the Stackner Cabaret through May 1, 2022…ticket info and other pertinent data is here! And make sure you check their current COVID policy!

Extra credit reading: My Way program is here.

and a side note: this play brought this to the forefront in my mind. So I dedicate this response to the memory of Jack Covert, proprietor of Dirty Jack’s Record Rack back in the 1970 – 80s. He was a mentor and employer and my front door to the record business that I dabbled in for quite a few years. He was a bit older and was a huge Frank fan and amassed one of the largest collection of Sinatra recordings in the country. He was well known for it in collector circles and even the record company salesman that visited kept an eye open for older arcane recordings. He passed suddenly last year and I miss him.

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The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors At First Stage

A legend has got to start somewhere!

screen capture for the First Stage website

This is just a rocking full on depiction of many a young persons imagination. Silly characters, seemingly fraught one on one confrontations, and music and dance to warm anyone’s heart…and get those toes tapping under the Marcus Center Todd Wehr Theater’s seats (mine were). And quite literally this musical had the kids jumping up and down in their seats. What a fun accomplishment for these players and this theater company.

The backstory? We have the featured three protagonists or champions or eventual opponents…all facing down other characters on their home turf. After not finding anyone able to ‘challenge’ them, they move on from their comfort zones…until the three of them…Rock, Paper, and Scissors square off and find out exactly how the game rock, paper, and scissors works. It’s an amazing journey. And I won’t give away the other characters that they face or how they eventually defeat them. And a legend has to start somewhere!

But besides our three ‘heroes’, we also have the MC who leads us through the story and fills us in on any of the action that they think we might miss…including a number of dad jokes that provoke the requisite number of giggles!

Max Larson (center) and cast in THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS. First Stage, 2022. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

As you can see from the photos that I’ve selected to accompany this article, this is just simply a fun combination of disco, Vegas, futuristic, Sci-fi, wrestling, and Soul costuming…I haven’t see just such a collection of patent leather shoes or lame’ material in years. Completely in sync with the show tunes vibe that The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors maintains for 70 solid minutes. So a special hats off to Jenny Thurnau, Costume Shop Manager for bringing this all together.

Karen Estrada (center) and cast in THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS. First Stage, 2022. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

And as you can see the lighting and imaginative stage really supports the tone and whimsy of the songs and book for this play! Kudos to Jason Fassl, Lighting Designer and Arnold Bueso, Scenic Designer.

And what I said about kids bouncing in their seats was absolutely true…the cast and play totally reach youngsters where they live! And I saw a number of family groups playing rock, paper, scissor as we walked along the Marcus Center grounds on the way to our transportation. The story has ‘legs’.

The highlight of the show that I attended was the MC (Max Larson ) asking a rhetorical question…how do you spell pterodactyl? But before he could answer himself, a young audience member just went ahead and started spelling it aloud. Bravo!! I won’t tell you the dad joke that follows, but Max wasn’t quite able to deliver that punchline before his audience did! What sheer fun!

My other big plaudit goes out to choreographer Molly Rhode who had a lot of different songs and tempos to deal with, a large cast and ‘chorus’, and special one on one dance moves during the various ‘battle scenes’! It all fit and worked far more smoothly that I would have expected with all of the players involved.

Daisha Lafford and Rick Pendzich in THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS. First Stage, 2022. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

But none of this would have worked without the amazing staging by Director Kelly Doherty and of course the story, lyrics, and music from John Maclay and Eric Norden.

The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors runs at the Marcus Center through April 3, 2022 and is recommended for theatergoers aged FOUR and older!!

Here is the Link to First Stage for more information and please pay attention to their current COVID protocols.

Oh goodness gracious, I almost forgot Paper!

Austin Nelson, Jr. in THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS. First Stage, 2022. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

And last but not least: extra credit reading: The Playbill!