“Daddy Long Legs,” as readers of the novel will know, is the nickname given by 18-year-old orphan Jerusha Abbott to “John Smith,” the anonymous benefactor who has chosen to finance her college education. A trustee at the John Grier Home For Girls where Jerusha has grown up, “Smith” has agreed to pay her tuition as well as a generous monthly allowance on condition that she write him once a month to keep him posted on her progress as a student and would-be novelist. He informs Jerusha, however, that he will never reveal his identity to her nor will he ever reply to her letters.

 
Following its introductory chapter, Webster’s novel is told entirely through Jerusha’s letters to “Mr. Daddy-Long-Legs Smith,” a nickname arrived at from Jerusha’s one glimpse of her benefactor’s elongated shadow. Only in the final letter does the reader learn the identity of the novel’s titular character. For Daddy Long Legs The Musical, Gordon and Caird have chosen to follow Jerusha’s story from both her point of view and that of her patron, and this of course necessitates revealing exactly who “John Smith” is from the get-go. Thus, it is no spoiler to disclose here that Daddy Long Legs is neither old nor gray nor bald, as Jerusha imagines him to be, but instead a tall, handsome young philanthropist named Jervis Pendleton, who happens also to be the wealthy uncle of one of her college classmates. (How very convenient for Jervis when he determines that the time has come to meet the fair Jerusha.)

 Gordon and Caird’s decision to tell their story through the eyes of both characters’ proves to be a wise one. True, the element of surprise is lost, but in its place is the far more tantalizing element of romantic suspense. We very soon realize that Jerusha and Jervis are made for each other, and this knowledge keeps us on the edge of our seats until the moment when, as we all know will happen, Jerusha realizes that the man she has loved on paper and the man she has fallen in love with in real life are one and the same.

Bring your Kleenex, because as many as are the laughs in Caird’s book, your eyes are likely to be wet from start to finish, especially with a score as exquisite as the one Gordon has written, this time brought to life by Broadway’s Kevin Earley and the enchanting Ephie Aardema.

There were a half-dozen years—from 2001’s Carousel at Civic Light Opera South Bay Cities to 2007’s Chess In Concert at the Ford Amphitheatre—that just about every romantic leading man role in just about every major L.A.-area production I saw was filled by Kevin Earley, and rightfully so, his combination of curly-haired boy-next-door good looks and best-there-is voice making him the logical 21st Century heir to the legendary John Raitt and Alfred Drake. The East Coast then called, New York’s lucky gain the West Coast’s unfortunate loss—all the more reason to celebrate Earley’s limited-engagement return and more particularly his commanding work as the stodgy “Daddy” whose heart gets melted by an orphan named Jerusha.

 
As for Aardema, who first won this reviewer’s heart this past spring in The Old Globe’s World Premiere musical A Room With A View, this youngest-ever graduate of New York’s Circle In The Square School Theatre School could not make for a more endearing Jerusha. With the kind of signature vocals that will make her voice instantly recognizable to musical theater aficionados, an instantly captivating stage presence, and a just-right combination of cuteness, vulnerability, and spunk, Aardema makes the part of Jerusha utterly, indelibly her own.

The songs performed by Earley and Aardema are tuneful without being saccharine and complex without being inaccessible, and feature lyrics that are alternately charming, clever, and touching. Tony-nominee Gordon’s score has also undergone considerable fine-turning over the past three years. Act Two’s “I Have Torn You From My Heart,” excised in the La Mirada production, has wisely been restored for Jerusha’s pivotal Act Two hardening of heart. “What Does She Mean By Love?,” added after the Original Cast Recording, has been moved from its Act One finale position to mid-act, in order to keep the end-of-act focus on both characters, and not just Jervis. Also, Jervis’s Act Two preview of “All This Time” has gotten new lyrics as “The Man I’ll Never Be,” the better to differentiate it from Jerusha’s eleventh hour discovery of Daddy Long Legs secret identity. Gordon’s songs remain some of the best of the past few years, his technique of previewing melodies and then bringing them back like old friends a particularly effective one.

Making Gordon’s score sound all the more gorgeous is musical director Julie McBride, conducting the production’s excellent live six-piece orchestra which features McBride on keyboard, richer and more lush-sounding than you’d ever expect a mere six-instruments to be thanks to Gordon’s and Brad Haak’s orchestrations, with additional arrangements by Laura Bergquist.

 
Designer David Farley’s deceptively simple though well-appointed library set does wondrous things as the evening progresses. His costumes for Jerusha are a perfect early 20th Century blend of tweediness and femininity, and Jervis’s duds are deliciously fuddy-duddy as befits the character. Paul Toben once again shows why he’s one of the Big Apple’s brightest young lighting design talents with his exquisite work here. Since most scenes in Daddy Long Legs take place simultaneously in two different locations, Toben has effectively created two different lighting plots for each of these scenes. He’s also conspired with Farley for some design surprises which transport us to unexpected places. Properties designer T. Theresa Scarano completes the production’s Grade A design team. Christina M. Burke is associate director and production manager. Katie M. Dayley is production stage manager.

When a musical moves beyond its original cast and on to new artists, it is a clear sign that,in showbiz parlance, the show “has legs.” With a glowing future ahead of it, PCPA Theaterfest’s production makes amply clear that these will be long legs indeed.

Solvang Festival Theater, 420 2nd Street, Solvang.
www.pcpa.org

–Steven Stanley
August 26, 2012
Photos: Luis Escobar Reflections Photography Studio

Legally Blonde has arrived in picturesque Solvang in an exciting, from-the-ground-up staging that allows PCPA Theaterfest director-choreographer extraordinaire Michael Jenkinson to strut his Scenie-winning stuff without the creativity-limiting constraints of staging a musical on rented Broadway or National Tour sets.

 That’s not to put down the superb work so often done at Musical Theatre West, 3-D Theatricals, Cabrillo Music Theatre, and other Southern California Civic Light Operas whose budgets usually don’t allow them to design and build from scratch the kind of big, expensive sets these multiple-locale proscenium extravaganzas generally require. It’s just that, as a director once told me when helming a musical’s Los Angeles Regional Premiere, “I could be so much more creative if I didn’t have to use a pre-existing set.”

Not only does Jenkinson get to direct and choreograph Legally Blonde without these limitations, the Broadway adaptation of the 2001 movie smash happens to be a textbook example of how to turn a hit celluloid romcom into a nigh-on-perfect musical comedy.

Book writer Heather Hach clearly knows not to fool with success, sticking closely to Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith’s film adaptation of Amanda Brown’s novel, which has jilted UCLA Fashion Merchandising grad Elle (Jessica Crouch) acing her LSATs, winning over the Harvard University Admissions board, and entering Harvard Law School in a bid to win back the heart of ex-boyfriend and future political hopeful Warner Huntington III (Connor Bond), who’s dumped her in favor of Vivienne Kensington (Karin Hendricks), someone “less of a Marilyn and more of a Jackie.” Naturally, Elle finds herself in for a lot more than she bargained for in Harvard’s hallowed Ivy League halls, and in admitting Elle to its student body, so does the oldest law school in the U.S.

Legally Blonde The Musical does pretty much everything right, adding to the movie’s proven crowd-pleasing plot one of the brightest and best Broadway scores in recent years (music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin), one rousing dance number after another, and performances that honor the movie originals without carbon copying them.

As much as any musical in recent memory, Legally Blonde features songs which actually advance the plot rather than simply providing an entertaining musical interlude between stretches of dialog. Listen to the Original Cast Recording and you have Elle’s story told almost entirely in song. That’s not to say that Hach’s book is superfluous. It isn’t. It’s funny, charming, and intelligent—and fills in all the blanks. For once, though, a Broadway musical has songs that are not only tuneful and catchy, they’re also absolutely integral to the show. O’Keefe and Benjamin are also masters of the mini-reprise, song chunks that reappear in medley-like numbers at appropriate moments, like old friends. No wonder this is one score you will likely find yourself recalling even after hearing it just once.

 “Omigod You Guys” opens the show with bang upon bang, introducing us first to Elle’s UCLA Delta Nu sorority sisters toasting an absent Elle’s impending engagement, then to Elle’s pet Chihuahua Bruiser (“He’s not an animal. He’s family”) who tells the gals where to find their soror. She’s at the Old Valley Mall, yip-yips Bruiser, shopping for just the right dress to wear to dinner tonight, because tonight is the night that boyfriend Warner will surely propose. A snooty dress shop employee tries to hoodwink Elle into buying last year’s dress at this year’s price, but she’s no match for the savvy Miss Woods. The dress “may be perfect for a blonde, but I’m not that blonde,” Elle chastises the salesgirl. By the end of the song (yes, we’re still in the show-stopping opening number), Elle has donned the perfect gown and is off to get proposed to, or so she thinks.

 Fans of the movie will be in for few plot surprises in the musical, but in deference to Legally Blonde virgins, no more of the plot will be revealed here than is absolutely necessary. Suffice it to say that the road to a Harvard Law Degree and (hopefully) Warner’s hand in marriage is a rocky one, filled with unexpected twists and turns.

Without giving away too much storyline, here are some of Legally Blonde’s greatest musical moments, so inventively choreographed by Jenkinson, you’ll feel like you’re seeing them for the first time:

•Elle’s “personal essay” to the Harvard Board Of Admissions, in the movie a showy home video, in the musical a splashy production number (“What You Want”) featuring hip-hop DJ Grandmaster Chad and the UCLA Marching Band
•“So Much Better,” Legally Blonde’s answer to Wicked’s Act One closer “Defying Gravity,” as Elle celebrates her first major success as a Harvard law student
 •“Whipped Into Shape,” a taeboe/jump rope aerobics class taught by fitness guru turned accused murderess Brooke Wyndham (Sarah Girard)—begun in her exercise studio, continued behind prison walls, and even extended into her defense team’s law office, featuring some of the most exciting (and physically exhausting) choreography in memory
•Bend And Snap, an R&B celebration of the 99% effective (straight) man-catching move taught by Elle to best buddy/hairstylist Paulette (Elizabeth Stuart)
•Legally Blonde’s title tune, which starts off as the musical’s most beautiful, haunting melody and poignant lyric, then turns into a high energy reprise, fittingly entitled “Legally Blonde Remix,” which includes exciting, hilarious, and entirely appropriate Riverdance moves (you’ll see why).

Hach’s book is about as funny as they come, with great lines like “This is the kind of girl Warner wants. Someone serious. Someone lawyerly. Someone who wears black when nobody’s dead!” and “Thanks for the great tip on the costume party Vivienne. I see you came as last year’s sample sale” and “Whoever said tangerine was the new pink was seriously disturbed!”

Director-choreographer Jenkinson has already proven his imagination and flair in a trio of Scenie winners, 2009’s The Music Man, 2010’s West Side Story, and last summer’s Hairspray, virtually reinventing the two Broadway classics and the more recent smash.

The PCPA resident staff member does the same here, choreographing brilliantly from scratch, making inventive use of DeAnne Kennedy’s fluid scenic design (which cast members maneuver into place without the show’s missing a beat), and eliciting all-around splendid work from a supremely talented cast of twenty-eight.

 
As the multi-faceted titular Beverly Hills blonde, Legally Blonde introduces PCPA audiences to Sacramento native/NYU grad Crouch, whose stellar triple-threat performance would not be out of its element on a Broadway stage.

Supporting Crouch are a trio of PCPA’s busiest and most gifted resident staff members doing standout work in featured roles. The divine Hendricks has great fun sinking her teeth into Vivienne, a character whose arc makes Elle’s snooty rival for Warner’s love far more than just a stuck-up villainess. The phabulous Philpot gives sexy UPS Man a quirky charm, in addition to doubling as UCLA Admissions man Pforzheimer. Street-smart but self-esteem-challenged Paulette is brought to adora-ballsy life by the always marvelous Stuart, veteran of over thirty PCPA productions.

  
Among Elle’s peers are the ever-so swoonworthy Bond as Warner, the GQ model-handsome rat Elle follows to Harvard; the dynamic Cooke as upper class law student and Elle-mentor Emmett, proving that nerdy can be every bit as appealing as a more traditional leading man type; and the terrifically talented threesome of Ahnastasia Albert, Natasha Harris, and Layli Kayhani as Elle’s three best sorority sister chums Margot, Serena, and Pilar, who follow her to Harvard as her Greek Chorus—every “tragedy” deserving one—and provide killer backup to many of Elle’s songs.

PCPA fave Girard vanishes sizzlingly into Brooke, the show’s highest-energy featured role. Michael Tremblay is suitably smarmy as Harvard Professor Callahan, whose “Blood In The Water” could easily be adopted as the American Bar Association anthem. Justin Crabtree, Jessica Kiely, and George P. Scott all make vivid impressions as Elle’s fellow first year Harvard law students Aaron, Enid, and Padamadan.

A number of cast members shine in multiple roles: Billy Breed as Elle’s Dad, Winthrop, trailer-trashy Dewey, Guard, and TV Reporter; Cristina Gerla as Kate and Chutney; Leah Hart Kolb as Saleswoman, Admissions Woman, Cashier, and Judge; Emily Mara as Courtney and Kiki; and Milly Stilliens as Elle’s Mom, Store Manager, Sales Girl, and DA Joyce Riley.

 Jenkinson gives cameo characters Niko and Carlos considerably more than usual to do in this particular Legally Blonde, and the musical is more fabulously gay-inclusive for it, with the divalicious duo of hair-tossing John Keating and finger-snapping Glenn M. Snellgrose II benefitting from the beefing up of their roles.

Add to all of the above the stupendous support of Lucas Blair, Tracey Leigh Freeman, Deanna Ott, Hayley Palmer (as Whitney), Daniel J. Self (as Grand Master Chad), Daniel W. Switzer, and Steven Michael Stone, and you’ve got a cast that could just as easily be seen on the Great White Way.

Musical director Callum Morris deserves highest marks for yet another PCPA hit, and thanks to Elisabeth Rebel’s crackerjack sound design, you’d probably never guess that the production’s fifteen-piece orchestra is prerecorded and not hidden backstage. I loved Emily DeAngelis’s colorful, character-appropriate costumes, and salute her decision not to impose shirts upon the cast’s well-built chorus boys in several particularly athletic production numbers. Jennifer ‘Z’ Zornow’s nickname may well be ‘Z,’ but she scores an A+ for her vivid lighting design. Christine Collins is stage manager.

With closer-by Legally Blondes not arriving till summer and fall of 2013 (and even then, not to Los Angeles county), Elle Woods fans can make no smarter move than to plan a daytrip to Solvang to enjoy its “fine restaurants, quiet tree-lined streets, horse-drawn wagons, Hans Christian Andersen Park, windmills, Danish pastries and dozens of quaint shops” (I’m quoting from CityOfSolvang.com) and then to spend two-and-a-half hours under the stars that will keep you as thoroughly entertained as any Broadway musical in recent memory.

Solvang Festival Theater, 420 2nd Street, Solvang.
www.pcpa.org

–Steven Stanley
July 31, 2012
Photos: Luis Escobar Reflections Photography Studio

After an opening sequence that has Andersen (Broadway’s Kevin Cahoon) attempting to persuade the folks in charge of Denmark’s Royal Theatre to hire him to compose “Swedish Nightingale” Jenny Lind’s (Lesley McKinnell) next opera, My Fairytale earns its title by sending Andersen down a rabbit hole (actually a trunk filled with dolls and figurines) and into a Wonderland of mermaids, emperors (one sans clothes, another minus a nightingale), a snow queen, a saucer-eyed doggie, an ugly duckling, and twenty mattresses atop a pea. Accompanying Andersen on this journey are his statuesque shadow (Erik Stein) and a pint-sized boy (played gender-convincingly by Marisa Dinsmore), the pair seeming to represent the darker and lighter halves of Andersen’s conflicted soul as he endeavors to determine his path in life.

My Fairytale’s Iliad-like roadtrip-through-fantasyland lacks by its very nature the kind of compelling through-line to keep us emotionally involved in its characters’ lives, and the some of the fairytales referenced are considerably more obscure than, say, those in Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods. Still, with the many plusses mentioned earlier in this review, there is much to applaud in this fantasy adventure.

Scott Schwartz’s imaginative direction and PCPA choreographic gem Michael Jenkinson’s spectacular production numbers, stunningly costumed by Alejo Vietti, provide us with one dazzling fairytale sequence after another.  Though “additional music and lyrics” have been credited to James & Adam Price and the Safri Duo, My Fairytale’s best songs are not surprisingly Stephen Schwartz creations, particularly the soaring Act One and Act Two closers, “On Wings Of A Swan” and “Can You Imagine That?” (For those wishing for a repeat listening, the two are featured on Kevin Odekirk’s excellent CD, Unheard.)

With a half-dozen or so Broadway shows to his credit, Cahoon makes for a thoroughly engaging Andersen, a child-man torn between “serious” dreams and a childlike love of the fantastic. PCPA’s very own talent giant Stein makes for an imposing shadow indeed, the perfect sinister complement to Cahoon’s boyish sparkle, and the pair make for a terrific song-and-dance duo. Dinsmore is a young talent to watch out for. PCPA favorites Karin Hendricks, Andrew Philpot, and Sam Zeller excel in various supporting roles. As for the ensemble (Zachary Bukarev-Padlo, Tracey Leigh Freeman, Sarah Girard, Natasha Harris, Jacqueline Hildebrand, Layli Kayhani, John Keating, Nikko Kimzin, Daniel J. Self, Glenn M. Snellgrose II, Jillian Van Niel, and George Walker), they are each and every one a standout in a multitude of fairytale roles and costume treats. Finally, the ravishing McKinnell (a graduate of CSUF’s prestigious musical theater program and a recent Galinda understudy in the Wicked tour) proves herself here a true star-in-the-making, with a coloratura soprano you’d expect to hear on a major opera stage, a stunning stage presence, and the ability to transform herself from Jenny Lind to shepherdess to mermaid to princess to ice queen and back again.

Musical director Callum Morris and musical coordinator Andrew Fox deserve high marks along with live accompanists Kristin Blascyk, Dave Becker, and Jeanne Shumway, though truth be told, I couldn’t tell you which was live and which was prerecorded (by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra).

My Fairytale proves the very definition of “team effort,” its book credited to Philip LaZebnik (with Flemming Enevold, Stephen Schwartz, Adam Price, and Pierre Westerdahl) based on Enevold’s original idea and concept. In addition to Vietti’s costumes, there’s Tom Buderwitz’s clever set design, featuring Andersen’s words in (presumably) his own handwriting, a leitmotif carried over into a number of costumes. Jennifer ‘Z’ Zornow’s colorful lighting design, Walter T.J. Clissen’s crystal clear sound design, and Emily DeCola’s imaginative puppet design are winners as well. (To get an idea of all of the above, I’ve included a greater than usual number of production stills with this review.) Christine Collins is stage manager and Michael Jackowitz executive producer. Additional names (too numerous to mention) complete the production team.

The Danish town of Solvang provides the perfect setting for My Fairytale. Make plans for a day trip from L.A. (it’s not that far a drive) to enjoy its picturesque charms, then stay for a gorgeous-to-look-at (and to-listen-to) evening of theater.

Festival Theater, 420 2nd Street, Solvang.
www.pcpa.org
–Steven Stanley
August 30, 2011
Photos by Luis Escobar, Reflections Photography Studio and by Clinton Bersuch

Hairspray is no exception. Though Marc Shaiman’s catchy tunes, Scott Wittman and Shaiman’s clever lyrics, and Marc O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan’s hilarious book could hardly make for a better adaptation of John Waters’ 1988 cult hit movie of the same name, Hairspray might never have been a 2642-performance smash without its Tony-winning director Jack O’Brien and Tony-nominated choreographer Jerry Mitchell.

In fact, for the first ten or so years of its life, anybody who attended a performance of Hairspray (i.e. on Broadway or on tour) saw O’Brien’s and Mitchell’s original conception, along with the creations of the show’s original Broadway set, costume, and lighting designers.

Not so audiences now cheering PCPA’s exciting regional production up in picturesque Solvang. The songs and words may be the same, but pretty much everything else is new from the ground up, first and foremost the creative work of its brilliant director-choreographer Michael Jenkinson, a man who (at the risk of spouting a cliché) makes the show very much his own.

Hairspray, as you may recall, tells the tale of petite but plus-sized teenager Tracy Turnblad’s dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a 1962 Baltimore version of American Bandstand. Despite those extra pounds and a then shockingly progressive attitude towards integration, Tracy does indeed make that dream come true, leaving her only two more tasks to accomplish: a) making “Negro Day” more than a once-a-month Corny Colins Show event and b) winning the heart of local teen heartthrob Link Larkin. Since Hairspray is the quintessential happy ending musical, there’s little doubt about our pleasingly plump heroine’s success in both endeavors.

Jenkinson’s directorial and choreographic touches are everywhere, from the five-minute show-stopping full-cast opening number “Good Morning Baltimore,” to the addition of a three-member girl group (a la The Supremes or Dreamgirls’ The Dreams) to back up song after song in true 1960s style, to making “Without Love” a fantasy dance sequence in which Tracy’s dream of an integrated world where interracial couples can feel free to love becomes reality, if only in a song. The director-choreogrpher’s smaller touches are too numerous to mention, but serve to make this Hairspray a special one indeed.

This being said, no Hairspray can do John Waters justice without an Edna to fill the movie’s cross-dressing original’s “Divine” shoes, and in the sensational Sam Zeller, this Hairspray hits the bull’s-eye. Looking like the lovechild of Lucille Ball and Jane Russell on steroids, Zeller’s stellar turn recalls Lucy’s comedic genius and Russell’s glamazon looks. Larger than life (as any Edna worth her salt must be) yet never sacrificing the big, blond(ish), and beautiful lady’s tender side, the vocally blessed Zeller makes the part his own—and then some.

Josh Machamer’s charmingly nerdy Wilbur Turnblad is the spouse any Edna would rejoice in calling her own. John Keating gives teen heartthrob Link Larkin a sweet goofiness that proves irresistible. A divalicious Allison F. Rich sinks her claws into Velma Von Tussle with a glare that would freeze a bonfire. Cicily Daniels makes for a powerhouse Motormouth Maybellle, never more so than when she brings down the house with “I Know Where I’ve Been.”

There’s also Jiilian Van Niel’s delicious mean girl of an Amber Von Tussle, Natasha Harris’s delightful dork of a Penny Pingleton, and Ozioma Akagaha’s dynamic fireball of a Little Inez. George Walker melds Dick Clark and Elvis in a winning turn as TV dance show host Corny Collins, and charismatic Sterling Sulieman makes it no wonder Penny falls under his bad boy spell.

Elizabeth Stuart and Billy Breed steal scenes right and left in a bevy of cameo roles including Penny’s Mom Prudy, a butch gym teacher, and a Teutonic prison matron (hers) and Ultra Clutch Hairspray executive Harriman F. Spritzer, Tracy’s high school principal, and Mr. Pinky’s Hefty Hideaway owner Mr. Pinky (his).

As the teenager around whom all the above revolves, a terrific Bree Murphy gives Tracy oodles of energy, spunk, and verve, but comes across too old for the role when surrounded by cast members in their early 20s, and especially in romantic scenes opposite an awkwardly younger looking Keating.

Executing one exhilaratingly choreographed Jenkinson dance number after another are the supremely talented and indefatigable ensemble: Ahnastasia Albert (Brenda), Nohealani Alisa Cambra (Lorraine), Anthony Chatmon (Stooie), Urè Egbuho (Cindy), Tracey Leigh Freeman (Shelley), Layli Kayhani (Tammy), Nikko Kimzin (Brad), Calvin Seabrooks (Gilbery), George P. Scott (Thad), Daniel J. Self (Fender), Glenn M. Snellgrose II (IQ), Steven Michael Stone (Sketch), and Katie Worley (Lou Ann). Performing all those girl group three-part harmonies are the stellar Joanna Jones, Kathryn McCreary, and Katrina McGraw as The Dynamites.

Musical director Callum Morris gets the entire troupe singing splendidly to prerecorded tracks, the show’s fifteen-piece orchestra sounding pretty darn close to live thanks to sound designer Elisabeth Rebel. Scenic designer DeAnne Kennedy has created a colorful multi-location set with a nicely cartoonlike flair, a design which provides plenty of flexibility for Jenkinson’s vision. Frederick P. Deeben’s costumes are vivid, fun recreations of early ‘60s fashions, with special snaps for Edna’s extra-tall plus-size gowns. Jennifer ‘Z’ Zornow lights this all to perfection. Aleah Van Woert is stage manager.

With the marriage equality movement making headlines these days, Hairspray serves as a reminder that not too long ago, interracial couples like Penny and Seaweed faced similar prejudice and injustice. That a musical does so in the most entertaining way possible, and particularly in the fresh new staging being given by PCPA, makes Hairspray much more than just your average, everyday Broadway hit. Anyone who makes the trek up to Solvang is in for a real treat.

Festival Theater, 420 2nd Stree, Solvang.
www.pcpa.org

–Steven Stanley
July 12, 2011
Photos: Clinton Bersuch

A glorious song cycle about facing the “new world” that unexpected life changes can bring about, Songs For A New World was Tony Award-winning composer/lyricist Brown’s first big New York success, one which occurred several years before Parade, The Last Five Years, and 13 were to make him a household name among musical theater aficionados.  

The composer/lyricist was a mere twenty when he arrived in New York with a stack of songs and a dream. Five years later, in 1995, that dream became a reality when Songs For A New World opened at the WPA Theater, directed by Daisy Prince, daughter of Broadway legend Harold Prince. The final product retained many of Brown’s original songs, revised some, and added new ones, including the show’s opening number, which ties them together:

“A new world calls across the ocean. A new world calls across the sky.” More specifically, “It’s about one moment, the moment before it all becomes clear.  And in that one moment, you start to believe there’s nothing to fear. It’s about one second, and just when you’re on the verge of success, the sky starts to change and the wind starts to blow and you’re suddenly a stranger.”

Each of the archetypes brought to life by PCPA’s marvelous cast is facing “that one moment,” whether it’s Melvin Abston’s sailor on a journey to find a “promised land” in “On The Deck Of A Spanish Sailing Ship, 1492” or Melinda Parrett’s angry wife taunting her philandering husband by threatening to take “Just One Step” off the ledge of their fifty-seventh story penthouse apartment. Then there’s Karin Hendricks singing about a woman who feels “the calling of adventure” and the need to escape from the fearful people around her in “I’m Not Afraid Of Anything,” and Jerry Lee in “She Cries,” as a young man longing but unable to break free from a toxic relationship.  For each of them, it’s a moment when “the surface cracks to reveal the tracks to a new world.”

Like most song cycles, Songs For A New World relies on its director and cast to find the thread that links one song to another, and communicate these connections to the audience. Stein writes about his own particular concept in his Director’s Note: “Songs takes two men and two women on a journey. They journey together; sometimes they lead, sometimes they follow.  They journey with friends, family, lovers…. They look for allies, confidants, mentors…, and in doing so they discover they are worthy – worthy to love, worthy to risk, worthy to fail, worthy of success, worthy of trust…. They let go of their agenda and find authenticity.”

From the moment Hendricks first appears at the top step of a platform leading up into the audience and sings the opening bars of “A New World,” Stein’s vision is clear, and one which scenic designer Dave Nofsinger has helped him achieve visually, this striking initial image recalling the masthead of a ship sailing off into uncharted waters. Again and again, Stein and his cast find ways to emphasize the human connections between the “characters” who sing of their hopes, dreams, fears, successes, and failures. A particularly stunning example of this is when Abston sings the show’s penultimate number, “Flying Home,” about a man on his way to meet his heavenly maker. Stein has Abston ascend to the same top step where Hendricks began the evening, but he is not alone.  Each of his castmates follows him, the arm of one connecting with the shoulder of the one ahead. Exquisite!

Brown’s songs provide each of the four cast members abundant moments to shine.

Abston, an L.A. favorite making a noteworthy PCPA debut, gets funky in “The Steam Train” as a young man from a poor family who dreams of escaping his poverty by becoming a famous basketball player.  In “King Of The World,” he is a young inmate longing to break free from prison walls and fulfill his destiny.  In “Flying Home,” he’s a man nearing the end of his life and ready to fly into his Father’s arms.

Hendricks, an enchanting stage presence if there ever was one, lends her lovely soprano to the exquisite “Christmas Lullaby,” sung by an expectant mother to her unborn child, and joins Lee in “I’d Give It All To You,” about a couple who’ve gone their separate ways only to discover that each would give it all to be back together again.  “God knows it’s easy to run, easy to run from the people you love, and harder to stand and fight for the things you believe,” sings Hendricks, echoing the show’s leitmotiv of people at the crossroads.

Lee, a member of the PCPA Class of 2009, makes clear the level of talent being trained in the PCPA Conservatory program, a charismatic everyman with lovely tenor pipes. In addition to “She Cries” and “I’d Give It All To You,” Lee shines in “The World Was Dancing,” about a man who’s run away from a dysfunctional family and from the woman who loves him. 

Finally, the divine Parrett steals the show every time she takes center stage, combining comedic gifts and a wow of a voice.  She’s the pissed-off wife about to jump in “Just One Step” and as a frustrated, German-accented Mrs. Santa in “Surabaya Santa” (think Marlene Dietrich with red feather boa). On a more serious note, Parrett sings of a woman who chooses material possessions over “The Stars And The Moon,” and in “The Flagmaker, 1775,” of a young woman on the home front sewing “one more star” onto the colonial flag as she waits for her beloved’s return from the war.

The evening concludes with the entire cast lending their voices to the inspiring “Hear My Song,” a song which can “help you believe in tomorrow.  It’ll show you the way you can shine. It’ll help us survive all the pain.” Just as the characters they have been embodying have faced unplanned life challenges, so they are telling the audience, can we all find strength in ourselves, and in the community of friends and family who surround and support us.

Kudos to choreographer Michael Jenkinson (and assistant choreographer Rhett Guter), whose imaginative musical staging complements Stein’s vision immensely, and to lighting designer Tamar Geist, who lights the stage’s upstage panels in vivid, rainbow-colored hues which change according to the mood of each song. Talk about gorgeous! Musical director Jordan Richardson on piano leads a superb onstage orchestra, with Kristin Blascyk on keyboard, John Flitcraft on bass, and Ross Sears on drums.  Frederick P. Deeben’s costumes cue us in to each performer’s particular type, whether boy-(or girl)-next-door or urban tough guy or non-nonsense diva.  Walter T.J. Clissen’s sound design makes each voice and musical instrument sound crystal clear.  Aleah Van Woert is stage manager.

It’s been colder-than-usual summer nights for PCPA Solvang theatergoers, sitting bundled up under the stars, but the heat generated by this year’s musical fare has more than made up for the chill.  Following a delightful Curtains and a thrilling West Side Story, this beautiful, moving cycle of Songs For A New World completes the summer season on a gloriously high note.

Festival Theater, 420 2nd Stree, Solvang. 

www.pcpa.org

–Steven Stanley
August 28, 2010
                                                                         Photos: Clint Bersuch, except bottom by Luis Escobar

This updated Romeo And Juliet set on the mean streets of New York City may seem tame compared to the gang warfare flashed on today’s TV screens, but its tragic tale of star-crossed lovers remains as powerful as ever, and one that is played out daily whether by rival gangs in America’s inner cities or by Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East or by Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Only someone with a heart of stone could fail to be moved by the love which ignites between born-in-the-USA Tony and recent Puerto Rican arrival Maria one fateful night at a high school gymnasium—only to be extinguished just a day later on the West Side streets of Manhattan.

The program for the PCPA production of West Side Story now playing in Solvang reads “Entire Original Production Directed & Choreographed by Jerome Robbins,” and many revivals, even the current Broadway incarnation, have Robbins’ iconic choreography “reproduced” by their choreographer. It takes chutzpah and talent in abundance for a director-choreographer to decide to put his or her own stamp on West Side Story—and have it work.  Michael Jenkinson is both gutsy and gifted, and his subtly tweaked production of the Robbins- Bernstein-Sondheim-Laurents trailblazer is about as sensational as it gets.

Jenkinson has clearly been inspired by Robbins’ original dance moves, but those on stage at the Solvang Festival Theater are different enough from Robbins’ to make an audience sit up, take notice, and cheer. One obvious revision is the addition of a trio of Jet girls to “Cool,” the mix adding extra spice to that number and at least one other.

Then there’s Jenkinson’s decision to flip-flop “Cool” with “Gee, Officer Krupke,” moving the latter from its position mid-Act Two to “Cool”’s usual Act One spot, and vice versa.  West Side Story’s original team clearly felt the need of a mid-‘50s audience for (comic) relief from West Side Story’s steadily darkening second act.  Contemporary audiences are more willing to take their darkness black, and by placing “Cool” between the “Somewhere” dream ballet and Anita and Maria’s “A Boy Like That,” Jenkinson keeps the dramatic tension high as events (and one horrible lie) lead to West Side Story’s inexorable, tragic conclusion.

All the excitement of West Side Story’s ground-breaking “Prologue” is there in Jenkinson’s respectful reinterpretation of Robbins’ balletic leaps and bounds and the same is true with the Act One closer, “The Rumble.”  The “Somewhere” ballet’s dream of a world without gang rivalry and hatred has never been more clearly stated, or more moving, than it is here, as choreographed by Jenkinson and costumed, entirely in white, by Jim Tanner.

The current Broadway revival originally substituted Spanish lyrics for English ones in “I Feel Pretty” and “A Boy Like That.”  This was one case where meddling meant middling, a mistake which was rectified when Sondheim’s originals were reinstated some time after its opening.  PCPA wisely sticks with Sondheim, mostly, but even the substitution of “tan hermosa” for “oh so pretty” in “I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and bright,” spoils the effect of Sondheim’s deliberate alliteration, and the same is true for inserting “encantadora” in the place of “oh so charming” in “I feel charming, oh so charming, it’s alarming how charming I feel” which messes with the “charming-alarming” rhyme—and Stephen Sondheim is one lyricist you don’t want to mess with.

Still, when quibbles as minor as these are the only ones a reviewer can come up with, it’s obvious that the production’s director-choreographer and cast know exactly what they are doing—phenomenally well.

Following his starring roles in Camelot and Jacques Brel …, West Side Story makes it three big shows in a row for Zachary Ford, a dynamic Tony who not only sings the part in his distinctive tenor but puts authentic acting chops into it as well.  George Walker and Kevin Kiler both do excellent work as rival gang leaders Bernardo and Riff. A sensational Rhett Guter (Diesel) gets to sing and dance the lead in “Cool,” a song usually performed by Riff, but as West Side Story fans know, Riff doesn’t make it to Act Two.  The charismatic Kiler is joined by the terrific Jet dancers (Guter, Steven Stone as Action, Daniel J. Self as Baby John, John Keating as A-rab, Justin Crabtree as Snowboy, and Aaron Lopez as Big Deal) for the thrilling “Jet Song,” and the multitalented Jet boys get laughs galore in the show-stopping “Gee, Officer Krupke.” 

The Sharks aren’t given quite as much stage time as the Jets (with the exception of Bernardo and Chino, the latter given a fine performance by Brian Conway), but they are equally “fantasticos” as singer/dancer/actors: Glenn M. Snellgrose II as Pepe, Keenan Hooks as Juano, Steven Jasso as Indio, TJ Mundy-Prunchard as Luis, and Nikko Kimzin as Anxious.

The triple-threat ladies make strong impressions as well, especially with the extra stage time they are given in Jenkinson’s West Side Story.  They are Emily Susanne Franklin (Graziella), Jillian Van Niel (Velma), Jillian Van Niel (Velma), Angela Nicholson (Minnie), Louise Tremblay (Clarice), Deanna Ott (Della), Laura Pronge (Pauline), Layli Kayhani (Consuela), Sheena Motlo (Margarita), Leah Hart Kolb (Francisca), Marisa Martinez (Estela), and Kaitlyn Casanova (Rosalia).

In other roles, Billy Breed is a powerful Doc, and Evans Eden Jarnefeldt (Lt. Shrank), Casey Kooyman (Officer Krupke), Natasha Harris (Anybodys), and Jonathan Grunert (Gland Hand) do top-notch work as well.

Finally, there are West Side Story’s two leading ladies, Mindy Lym as Maria and Sarah Girard as Anita, a pair of gifted performers who pretty much steal the show whenever they’re on stage, and never more so than in an impassioned “A Boy Like That.” Put a short black wig and slinky dress on Girard and she’s transformed into a stunning sexy spitfire of an Anita. As for Lym, we Angelinos can only hope that this Bay Area treasure will grace us with her presence in the not so distant future. It’s almost worth the price of gas just to see (and fall in love with) the enchanting Lym, who plays Maria with more guts and depth than I can recall seeing, and sings with the voice of an angel.

Musical director Callum Morris conducts a superb 20-piece orchestra specifically assembled (and prerecorded) for this production, and thanks to sound designer Matt Carpenter and the Festival Theater’s outstanding sound system, you’d almost swear you were hearing them live.

Scenic designer DeAnne Kennedy has created an imaginative, distinctively urban set made of chain link, scaffolds, ladders, and metal staircases which morph (with the well choreographed help of the show’s hard-working ensemble) into West Side Story’s multiple New York City locales. Tanner’s 1950s costumes and Jen “Z” Zornow’s lighting design simply couldn’t be better. Christine Collins is production stage manager.

With a huge cast of thirty-three and orchestrations written for twenty instruments, West Side Story is the kind of show that rarely gets produced in these financially precarious times—all the more reason to spend a day in the Danish charm of Solvang and end it with an evening of glorious song, dance, romance, and heartbreak. This West Side Story is one to remember!

Festival Theater, 420 2nd Stree, Solvang. 
www.pcpa.org

Steven Stanley
July 31, 2010
                                                           Photos: Luis Escobar / Reflections Photography Studio

The musical in question is Curtains, directed with consummate flair by Roger DeLaurier, the first of three musical hits on this summer’s PCPA Theatrefest calendar, staged first in Santa Maria and then under the stars in Solvang.

A hybrid of the Backstage Musical and the Whodunit, Curtains takes a 1959 troupe of song-and-dance performers trying out a new musical in Boston, has the show-within-a-show’s god-awful leading lady get murdered while taking her bows, adds to the mix a police detective with a passion for musicals, and quarantines cast and crew inside the theater till the murderer gets found. The result, while not up there with Kander & Ebb’s Cabaret and Chicago, is still a thoroughly entertaining musical comedy in the classic mode. Heck, it even has a full-length Overture.

The detective in question is Lt. Frank Cioffi (Andrew Philpot) and his prime suspects include hard-bitten producer Carmen Bernstein (Kitty Balay) and her producing partner/hubby Sydney (Evans Eden Jarnefeldt), divorced songwriters Georgia Hendricks and Aaron Fox (Melinda Parrett and Michael Jenkinson), choreographer/leading man Bobby Pepper (Rhett Guter), the murdered star’s understudy Niki Harris (Karin Hendricks), the show’s flamboyant British director Christopher Belling (Erik Stein), Niki’s understudy (and Carmen’s daughter) Bambi (née Elaine Bernstein) Bernét (Natasha Harris), stage manager Johnny Harmon (Jerry Lee), poison-penned drama critic Daryl Grady (Adam Schroeder), and financial backer Oscar Shapiro (Billy Breed).

The musical the Bernsteins’ are producing is an Old West adaptation of Robin Hood (appropriately retitled Robbin’ Hood Of The Old West), and features big, brassy production numbers with titles like “Wide Open Spaces,” “In The Same Boat,” “Thataway!,” and “Kansasland,” all of which allow Curtains choreographer Jenkinson and his talented song-and-dance ensemble to imagine a 1940s/50s Broadway show in the tradition (though not necessarily the quality) of Oklahoma! It even has an Agnes DeMille-inspired number which sends up the revolutionary dream ballets DeMille created for Oklahoma! and Carousel.

Meanwhile, the investigation proceeds, the list of suspects is whittled down by another murder or two (plus a couple of unsuccessful attempts), and some great Kander & Ebb tunes get sung, including the rousing sure-to-be-a-standard “Show People,” romantic ballads like “Thinking Of Him” and “I Miss The Music,” and a Fred & Ginger homage entitled “A Tough Act To Follow.” Among Curtain’s best and wittiest numbers are “What Kind Of Man?,” which has Robbin’ Hood’s producers and songwriters wondering what could possibly inspire a human being to become that monstrosity known as a drama critic; a hilarious funereal dirge entitled “The Woman’s Dead,” “He Did It,” with cast and crew speculating (with flashlights in the dark) about just who the murderer might be; and “It’s A Business,” Carmen’s ode to the cutthroat life of a theatrical producer. Only the drab “Coffee Shop Nights” should have been replaced or cut during Curtains’ out-of-town preview at the Ahmanson.

While the PCPA cast may not have the “name value” of the original production (which featured Broadway biggies like Debra Monk, Karen Ziemba, and David Hyde Pierce, winner of the Tony for his performance as Lt. Cioffi), it does star some of the terrifically talented PCPA pros audiences will remember from last summer’s Les Misérables and The Music Man, particularly Philpot, Balay, Stein, Jenkinson, and assistant choreographer Guter, with Hendricks and Parrett being delightful discoveries for this reviewer.

I especially liked the personal stamp Philpot put on a role so identified with its Broadway star, particularly the contrast between his jaded police detective looks and the enthusiastic musical theater fan (and amateur performer) he soon reveals himself to be. And as for Stein’s reinvention of the gay theater director cliché, the words comic tour de force come to mind, the actor’s outrageously rubbery body language being almost worth the price of admission.

Completing the all-around terrific cast are Michael Feldman, John Keating, Layli Kayhani, Leah Hart Kolb, Mara Leffer (a hoot as murdered Jessica Cranshaw), Aaron Lopez, Corey Monk, Angela Nicholson, Laura Pronge, Daniel J. Self, Jillian Van Niel, Drew Swaine, Louise Tremblay, George Walker, and Brenna Wall—talented triple threats each and every one.

Jenkinson pays tribute to those great ‘40s/’50s choreographers in the production numbers he’s designed for the Robbin’ Hood sequences, with a bit of Busbee Berkley thrown in for the Fred & Ginger-inspired “A Tough Act To Follow.”

Callum Morris deserves applause for his musical direction, with Matt Carpenter’s sound design (and Solvang Festival Theatre’s sound system) making the show’s prerecorded 13-piece orchestra tracks sound almost as good as live.

Frederick P. Deeben’s terrific costumes are a blend of ‘50s fashions for the backstage sequences and Old West gear for the musical within the musical. DeAnne Kennedy’s scenic design and Tamar Guest’s lighting merit thumbs up as well. Christine Collins is production stage manager, Aleah Van Woert is stage manager, and Denise Dumeyer is vocal coach.

Though I wish that there had not been a few instances of Ebb’s lyrics and Rupert Holmes book (PG-13 at their most raunchy) being unnecessarily sanitized, in other respects this production stands up very well indeed to the much higher budgeted Broadway original.

PCPA’s next musical offering in Solvang will be the revolutionary ‘50s classic West Side Story, and the summer’s musical season will conclude with Jason Robert Brown’s very modern song cycle Songs For The New World. For those planning their musical summers a year in advance, Solvang 2011 will premiere another new-to-regional-theaters hit Hairspray and a brand new musical by Stephen (Wicked) Schwartz. In the meantime, there’s Curtains, opening the summer season with bright bouncy musical comedy mystery fun.

Note: Bring along warm clothing and a blanket for this under-the-stars evening. Nights in Solvang can get quite chilly indeed.

Festival Theater, 420 2nd Street, Solvang.
www.pcpa.org

–Steven Stanley
June 23, 2010
Photos: Clint Bersuch and Luis Escobar

Bernstein’s Peter, like the more famous Mary Martin version, played on Broadway in the early 1950s, and in fact ran for twice as many performances as the Martin production did.  Though it lacks Moose Charlap and Jule Styne’s bright, hummable melodies sung so jauntily by Martin, (and later by Sandy Dennis and Cathy Rigby), Bernstein’s Peter Pan is worth seeing if only for a chance to hear little known songs by the composer of West Side Story.  Many of them are vocal showcases for Wendy, portrayed at the Lobero this year by the lovely Ronit Aranof, who sings them in an exquisite soprano.  The motley band of pirates get a couple of other ditties, and Hook (once again the excellent Robert Yacko) sings the biggest applause-getter of the evening, a funny, operatic soliloquy written post-Broadway run for a national tour that never materialized. (The Broadway original Boris Karloff couldn’t sing.)  Interestingly, in Bernstein’s version, Peter himself doesn’t sing a note.

In addition to the wonderful Aranov, new to the production this year is the gorgeous Suzanne Friedline as Mrs. Darling, who also narrates the tale, and imbues her role with warmth and verve.  Yacko is, as he was last year, both dastardly and deliciously funny as Hook, and a fine Mr. Darling as well. In the title role, Corina Boettger (who turned twenty on opening night) is every bit as saucy and spunky as she was in 2008, and it’s nice to see someone in the role who can pass for a young boy.

Jordan Lemmond (as John) and Ryan Dalforno (as Michael) return in fine form as well, Lemmond’s voice an octave deeper.  Once again, Chet Carlin (an amusing Smee), is supported by a motley (and very funny) crew: Miller James (Gentleman Starkey), Greg Sorenson (Cookson), Matthew Tavianini (Bill Jukes), Frank Artusio (Cecco), and Trevor Dow (Noodler). The pirates shine in a well-performed jig, choreographed by Carrie Diamond, and there’s an exciting shipboard sword fight staged by sword master Tim Weske.

Opening night, the production still felt a bit rough around the edges. Some of the ensemble children, especially, need to work on sharpening line delivery and projection.  (Leads are miked, most others are not.) What all the kids have in spades is energy and vivacity, and they are: Olivia DeVenne, Gavin Gaitan, James Gordon, Madison Hall, Olivia Le Sage, Andrew Miller, Jakob Miller, Tessa Miller, Hannah Robinson, Wilson Sherman, Olivia Siemans, Avery Sorenson, and Talya Steinberg. Allison Lewis crawls across the stage in a crocodile suit to amusing effect and Tavianini gets four paws up for his terrific embodiment of Nana, the canine nursemaid. The cast is ably completed by Deborah Bertling (Liza) and Angelica Lawrence (Tiger Lily).

The production has been capably directed by Albert Ihde (who did the adaptation from J. M. Barrie’s novel and play) and cast member James.  Once again, a highlight of the production is its seventeen-piece orchestra, expertly conducted by Alexander Frey. Returning set designer Gary Wissman, costume designer James (wearing yet another hat), and lighting designer Michael Philippi all do first-rate work.  Magic lantern paintings by Diana Leidel introduce scenes with an appropriate early 20th Century look.

Last but not least, it’s a thrill as always to see Peter, Wendy, John, and Michael fly, courtesy of the famed “Flying By Foy” team.

Though Bernstein’s Peter Pan lacks the musical theater pizzazz of its more famous counterpart (it’s rightly described as a play with music), it is bound to entertain young children such as those who watched transfixed on opening night.

Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara. 
www.lobero.com

–Steven Stanley
December 22, 2009
                                                                                           Photos: David Bazemor