Evita (The SOB Review) - Theater Latté Da, McKnight Theatre, Ordway Center for the Perform-ing Arts, St. Paul, Minnesota
***1/2 (out of ****)
Rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin'...
So goes "And The Money Kept Rolling In," from
Evita. It's an appropriate metaphor for the breathtaking, rapid-paced revival currently being mounted by the Twin Cities'
Theater Latté Da.
Helmed with muscular invention by estimable director
Peter Rothstein,
Evita could very well be his most ambitious work yet.
Evita not only steams across the stage like a speeding locomotive, but it also manages to soar to high-flying heights for this highly innovative theatre company.
Never one to rest on his laurels as one of the Minnesota theatre's premier directors, Rothstein doesn't seem content to let his audience rest either. Indeed,
Evita zips by in a quick two hours and twenty minutes (intermission included). Much of the breathtaking propulsion is set by choreographer
Michael Matthew Ferrell's entrancing tango, in which every actor is summoned to partake.
Fortunately, Rothstein has found exceptional talent to keep up with nary a breath.
As
Evita herself,
Zoe Pappas offers a towering if often overpowering performance. But that seems completely justified given Eva Peron's own commanding reach for fortune and fame. Pappas invites them in as a first-rate triple threat. She demonstrates enormous confidence and competence in finding the Argentine First Lady's subtle shadings. Pappas' vibrant singing voice could easily fill an auditorium ten times the size of the McKnight, and her dancing prowess is one rarely seen in leading ladies.
Yet it's the enormously charismatic
Jared Oxborough whose little touch of star quality grabs hold of you long after you leave the theatre. As Che, Oxborough infuses his narration with so much star power that it's a wonder he's not performing on a Broadway stage. Blessed with natural charm and an intoxicating singing voice, Oxborough makes it seem so effortless. It came as a shock for me to learn that this gifted actor recently graduated from college where he was better known for his agility on the ice (as in hockey). He practically skates circles around the rest of the cast.
While not perfect, there is much to adore about this
Evita -- arguably the best and most satisfying of musical collaborations between
Andrew Lloyd Webber and
Tim Rice. Musical director
Denise Prosek manages to make her quartet sound like a full orchestra.
Rick Polenek's monumental scenic design sets a new benchmark in excellence for the company, supplemented handsomely by
Paul Whitaker's wonderfully evocative lighting. And
Rich Hamson's impeccable costume design ensures that this
Evita is dressed to the nines.
As for the tune referenced at the top?
Well, fortunately for Twin Cities audiences, there is no blink or you'll miss it. Excellent advance ticket sales already came rolling in, enabling
Evita to extend its St. Paul engagement by another two weeks through November 14, 2010.
This is
Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. However, in the interest of full disclosure, please note that I am not only a donor to Theater Latté Da, but I also participate in its community advisory council. Labels: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Denise Prosek, Evita, Jared Oxborough, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Peter Rothstein, Revival, The SOB Review, Tim Rice, Zoe Pappas
The Full Monty (The SOB Review) - McKnight Theatre, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, St. Paul, Minnesota**** (out of ****)If you live in the Twin Cities, I have just two words for you:
"Drop everything."
Sure, go ahead and drop trou and all, but do what you must to see
The Full Monty now playing at St. Paul's
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. In one of those rarest of rarities,
Theater Latté Da's excellent and thoroughly enjoyable production is actually much better than the Broadway original.
Sure there was a relatively mild recession going on when I first saw
The Full Monty on Broadway nine years ago. With the ravages much more isolated to hard-hit rust-belt cities like Buffalo, the show lacked a certain relevance. It didn't help that
Jack O'Brien's direction lacked a desperately needed edge, exacerbated by the incongruity in
Howell Binkley's full-tilt, lit-up "Full Monty" sign at the close of the show.
Fast forward nearly nine years and the economic pain is all around us (with the possible exception of Broadway itself). The truth is, we all now know people like those depicted in
The Full Monty. How depressing, right?
As the worst recession since the Great Depression has too many of us worrying about whether we're next, you wouldn't think a show about desperately unemployed factory workers daring to take it all off just to earn a quick $50,000 would resonate or thrill. Yet under
Peter Rothstein's exceptional, confident direction,
Terrence McNally's book and
David Yazbek's underrated score become even more salient, all the more gripping and certainly more entertaining today.
Rothstein's direction is a marvel unto itself. In what is his best production yet, he strips
The Full Monty down to its grittiest, barest essentials and dresses it up with one of the best ensembles I've seen anywhere this year. Led by
Joshua James Campbell, who's perfect as the down-and-out father Jerry Lukowski, the stellar cast shines just fine on its own, thank you, without any fancy, unnecessary lighting.
Veteran Twin Cities actress
Wendy Lehr is a veritable laugh machine unto herself as the wisecracking Jeanette Burmeister, who assists the unlikely stripping quintet find its legs. Clearly having the time of her life, Lehr practically steals every scene she's in.
Additionally,
Reggie Phoenix scores big as Noah "Horse" Simmons,
Zach Curtis is a big ol' fat delight as Dave Bukatinsky, and as Malcolm MacGregor,
Randy Schmeling once again delivers a virtuoso performance you'd expect to see on a Broadway stage (in fact, this entire production is worthy of the Great White Way). Schmeling's heartfelt, nuanced turn will leave a lump in your throat and tear in your eye.
So again, if you're in Minneapolis, St. Paul or environs, shake your money-maker over the Ordway and catch this sexy, fun and uplifting
Full Monty before it takes off for good on November 8.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Peter Rothstein, Revival, Terrence McNally, The Full Monty
Parade (The SOB Review) - Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company & Theater Latté Da, History Theatre, St. Paul, MN
***1/2 (out of ****)Nearly one decade has passed since the very brief, yet award-winning Broadway run of
Alfred Uhry and
Jason Robert Brown's
Parade was staged at Lincoln Center's
Vivian Beaumont Theatre.
Clocking in at just 85 performances there, I had to wait for the superb national tour with
David Pittu.
But it was worth the wait. I found myself completely swept away by the chilling, yet beautifully told musical about a Brooklyn-born Jew named
Leo Frank who, as transplant to Atlanta, was charged in the 1913 murder of one of his young factory workers, Mary Phagan. It's a story I could never quite shake.
What always struck a nerve with me was its harrowing depiction of America's grapple with bigotry. Whether racism or anti-Semitism, the underbelly of our nation's heritage has included some truly shameful episodes. In
Parade, racism and anti-Semitism collide head-on in the pre-World War I South, where the religious belief in one's heart appeared to trump the color of his skin, allowing the true tale of Leo Frank to become a
cause célèbre.
The tuner was finally performed last year to great acclaim in London, garnering seven Olivier Award nominations. As much as I had hoped to get there, I did not.
Fortunately, thanks to a chance encounter a couple weeks ago with
Peter Rothstein and
Denise Prosek of the Twin Cities'
Theater Latté Da, I learned that their truly inspired little theatre company was performing this amazing, yet rarely seen work. It was my great fortune to take in a performance last evening. Since it is closing tomorrow, all I can say is that if you are presently in the vicinity of Minneapolis/St. Paul, you must do everything you can to see this rousing, stunning
Parade.
Through Rothstein and Prosek's vision, Theater Latté Da has become the Twin Cities' leading company for presenting underperformed musicals. Think of it as a Midwestern version of
New York City Center's Encores! And yet, this dynamic duo manage to conjure up their blend of magic with a fraction of the budget.
While they're short on cash, they're long on dreaming big. Bolstered by Prosek's exquisite musical direction, Rothstein is confidently at the helm in reimagining this musical, making
Parade a stunning, towering achievement, not just for a small fledgling regional theatre, but for theatre, period. They have done the Uhry and Brown work extraordinarily proud and turned it into the type of show that burrows deep into your soul.
Thankfully, Rothstein and Prosek's dreaming extends where it matters most: from designers adept at doing so much with the deceptively simple (like Kate Sutton-Johnson's multi-tiered sets and Paul Hackenmueller's haunting lighting) to an exceptionally strong local cast of 25, guaranteed to take your breath away right down to some of the most minor of roles.
In fact, very early on in this production, you can't help but realize that this is not just some pedestrian group of actors. It's a cohesive ensemble that shines brilliantly throughout, not only in the abundantly talented leads of Leo Frank (Theater Latté Da regular
Dieter Bierbrauer, who, if there is a quibble, it's that he can't shed his waspy looks) and his wife Lucille (
Ann Michels), but especially in supporting roles like newspaper hound Britt Craig (Randy Schmeling) and Frankie Epps (
Brian Skellenger), the boy who had a crush on the murdered girl.
Blessedly short on histrionics, Schmeling practically steals the show with his very real drunken "Big News!" And it's matched moments later by Skellenger's verisimilitudinous anguish in the heartwrenching "There Is a Fountain / It Don't Make Sense" sung pitch-perfect as Mary Phagen is laid to rest -- his performance was so believable, I found myself on the verge of tears. It's a wonder that Schmeling and Skellenger haven't already been scooped up by New York casting directors.
That they are complemented by splendid performances throughout -- including Caroline Innerbichler (Mary Phagan), Nathan Brian (Hugh Dorsey),
Jody Briskey (Mrs. Phagan),
Shawn Hamilton (Jim Conley), Reginald D. Haney (Newt Lee), George Muellner (Old Soldier/Judge Roan) and Kevin Dutcher (Luther Rosser) -- cements Rothstein's reputation, not only as an impeccable reinterpreter of seemingly minor musicals, but as a man capable of attracting and realizing the full potential of his gifted actors.
By far the best Theater Latté Da effort I've yet to see, it's my sad duty to report that there are but two performances left. So if you're anywhere near the Twin Cities this weekend, try not to let this
Parade pass you by.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: Alfred Uhry, Denise Prosek, Jason Robert Brown, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Parade, Peter Rothstein, Revival, The SOB Review, Theatre Latte Da
