The 1942 Movie That Gave Birth To “White Christmas” Has Arrived As A Stage Musical At Candlelight Dinner Playhouse.
Reviewed by Tom Jones
December 14, 2019
Jim Hardy, Ted Hanover and Lila Dixon are an entertainment trio. They sing. They dance. They entertain. They are very good performers. Their contract in a New York City nightclub is ending, and Jim believes he is ready to retire. He has found a farmhouse in rural Connecticut in foreclosure and snaps up the buying rights. Now he needs to convince his dancing partner, Lila, to accept his marriage proposal and move to the Connecticut countryside where they could become farmers. Continue reading It’s A White Christmas At The “Holiday Inn”→
Bas Bleu Offers AThoughtful Tale Of 1940s Americana
Reviewed by Tom Jones December 8, 2019
In late December of 1940 a young man, Raleigh, and a young woman, May, meet on an overcrowded train heading east from Los Angeles. Although both are from rural Kentucky, they have never met before and are enroute to a lifetime of change. Raleigh is still wearing his uniform, after leaving the service just a few hours before boarding the train. He received a military discharge after having been diagnosed as an epileptic.
Larry Cahn – Much More To This Scrooge Than The “Bah Humbug” Meany Of Productions Past.
Reviewed by Tom Jones November 23, 2019
Arvada Center’s early-holiday gift to the community is a rare treasure.
Everyone knows the story. Everyone knows how it is going to end. But getting there this time around is ingenious entertainment. Director Gavin Mayer and Choreographer Kitty Skillman Hilsabeck and the entire artistic team have put together a “Carol” version of rare excitement. There is so much going on all the time that it was a delightful challenge to know where to look.
Times they are a changing! Or are they? Playwright Alfred Uhry received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1988 for “Driving Miss Daisy, “dealing with the relationship between an elderly Jewish widow and her black chauffeur. Uhry’s semi-biographical play begins in Atlanta, Georgia in 1948 and is based on the later years of Uhry’s grandmother, Daisy.
Early in Act 1, the cast of “Mamma Mia” provides a captivating rendition of “Thank You for the Music.” I have not enjoyed such a “feel good” moment in a musical for a long time. And that is just a part of the show! “Mamma Mia” on stage this season at Boulder’s Dinner Theatre Stage is an entire joy! Continue reading “Mamma Mia” Is A Must-See-Production→
Neil Simon Comedy Arrives At Arvada Center’s Black Box Theatre
Reviewed by Tom Jones
October 13, 2019
Neil Simon’s “Plaza Suite” takes place in Number 719 of the famed Plaza Hotel in New York City. Three different couples inhabit the rooms during the course of a couple of hours in Simon’s clever comedy now on stage in Arvada through November 10.
The couples, each played by the same actors, have nothing in common except being guests (at different times) in the same suite in the Plaza. The audience, however, gets to know all three couples with varying degrees of bemusement during the three-act production.
Award Winning Musical Is Set In The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina
Reviewed by Tom Jones September 7, 2019
Near the end of the
show Merideth Kaye Clark takes central stage as Alice Murphy, providing the
audience with one of the most thrilling and poignant moments in local stage
history. Her character’s life has just
taken a turn for the better and everyone is in awe. “Star” isn’t just “bright.” It is dazzling.
Hugo’s Classic Story Is Set To Music At The Candlelight Dinner Playhouse
Reviewed by Tom Jones
September 6, 2019
That famed Parisian landmark was in the news recently, as Notre Dame suffered serious fire damage and is currently closed for repairs. The Victor Hugo’ famed cathedral story has remained intact, and is now glowing on the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse stage, with a very impressive fire scene of its own.
Dinner theatre has reached new heights with this masterwork production. The set is remarkable, the choral work outstanding, the performers in great shape. This is not the standard for-the-children Walt Disney musical. It is virtually a tragic opera with themes of goodness and evil, haves and have-nots, and accepting others “not like us!”
Popular Theatre Venue Celebrates Music of James Taylor
Review by Tom Jones June 20, 2019
Four remarkably
talented singers combine with an equally professional band to provide a fond
farewell to audiences of Midtown Art Center this month. Their renditions celebrating the music of the
legendary James Taylor, Carole King, and Carly Simon were warmly received by
audience members making their final visits to the theatre.
Candlelight Dinner Playhouse Greets The Jungle Man With Great Enthusiasm
Reviewed by Tom Jones June 6, 2019
It’s a jungle in Johnstown this summer as Tarzan literally swings on a vine into town! And what a Tarzan he is. Tyler Fruhwirth is enormous fun as the young Tarzan, being raised by a pack of gorilla following the death of his parents. He is a young actor – delightful with great enthusiasm.
David Siever and Kathy Leonard Shine As Siblings Who See Life Differently.
Reviewed by Tom Jones June 2, 2019
Hard to believe that the classic Broadway comedy “Harvey” has been around for 75 years! The play is due to celebrate its 75th birthday this fall – but how does one honor a tall white rabbit that only a few can see?
Elaborate Sets And Great Costumes Add To The Magic
Reviewed by Tom Jones May 14, 2019
What a treat. Belle is a beauty, the Beast is beastly, and
Gaston is everyone’s over-the-top egomaniac.
The only persons who like him better than he likes himself are the
audience. Scott Severtson as Gaston is a
crazed delight as he kisses his biceps and struts around the stage with every
girl in the village (except Belle) falling at his feet. He is a remarkable sight.
A Look Again At “My Fair Lady” At Midtown Arts Center
An Update To My Review!
by Tom Jones, May 9, 2019
A few weeks ago I was in the audience for opening night of the marvelous “My Fair Lady” at Midtown Arts Center. I was in awe of the entire production. Staff of the show noted that one of the supporting characters, Michael Lasris, was out of town for that opening night, and could I possibly return later in the run to see him perform as Eliza Doolittle’s father.
Michael Lasris, image by Dyann DIercks Photography
“What do you see?” Painter Mark Rothko is looking towards the audience, as if looking at his recent artwork, asking the audience what we see. He is an egotistical man, believing that he just might be the only living painter with such talent. Owners of the then-new Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City have commissioned the painter to complete a set of very large murals for the restaurant in the 1950s, providing him with more than $30,000 for his efforts.
A few weeks ago I was in the audience for opening night of the marvelous “My Fair Lady” at Midtown Arts Center. I was in awe of the entire production. Staff of the show noted that one of the supporting characters, Michael Lasris, was out of town for that opening night, and could I possibly return later in the run to see him perform as Eliza Doolittle’s father.
Michael Lasris, image by Dyann DIercks Photography
Lasris has become a highlight of nearly every show he has been associated with, either as a performer, director, or choreographer. One of my earlier memories was his on-his-knees dancing as the diminutive Lord Farquaad several seasons ago in “Shrek.” Lasris is older now and probably won’t want to dance “on his knees” in future productions, but is as delightful as ever as Doolittle in this current “My Fair Lady.” It was bittersweet to see him perform, as Doolittle is his final role in Colorado before moving to New York in a few weeks.
For opening night I saw Robert Michael Sanders as the affable drunken father. He was very good, so it was somewhat with caution that I returned to see Lasris this week in the role. No need to worry. Lasris is nearly untouchable as the likeable do-nothing Doolittle who wants “everything” in return…
Also “delightful as ever” are the shows leads – Hannah Marie Harmon as Eliza, John Jankow as Henry Higgins, and H. Dan Harkins as Colonel Pickering. This entire show is every bit as excellent as it was when I first saw it a few weeks ago. Not to be missed.
—–
Reviewed by Tom Jones March 22, 2019
“The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain! She’s got it. By George, I believe she’s got it! Again – The rain in Spain lies mainly in the plain? And where does it rain? On the plain, on the plain. And where’s that soggy plain? In Spain. In Spain.”
Yes, she’s got it! After weeks of sometimes difficult turmoil, the poorly-educated flower market salesgirl has shown she CAN be educated, and CAN learn to speak like a well-born sophisticate. The “she” is Hannah Marie Hartman as Eliza Doolittle. And yes, she’s got it! In fact everyone in the cast has “got it” in this masterful Midtown Arts production of “My Fair Lady.”
Photo Credit to Dyann Diercks
More than sixty years have passed since the show triumphed on Broadway. Curiously, it has maintained its absolute charm and freshness in this MAC wonder.
The excellent skills of Hartman are joined by those of John Jankow as Henry Higgins, and H. Dan Harkins, as Colonel Pickering. The trio are on stage most of the time as Higgins places a bet with Colonel Pickering that he can turn the guttural persona displayed by the lowly Doolittle into a woman of charm and wisdom. They are a trio to behold. The two men educate, but sometimes ignore the object of their effort.
The Henry Higgins role was originated on Broadway by Rex Harrison who needed to “speak” most of his songs. In this production John Jankow is in excellent singing and speaking voice as the professor, as is Dan Harkins as Colonel Pickering. Harkins had the additional responsibility of welcoming everyone to the theatre with the pre-show announcements on opening night. He was particularly good in that role as well, keeping the audience amused and entertained, and reducing time of the sometimes- lengthy pre-show announcements.
Julie Andrews zoomed to stardom as Eliza in the original Broadway production in 1956. That show became the longest-running Broadway musical to that time, and went on to similar fame in London. For the Academy Award winning movie version in 1964 Julie Andrews was overlooked for starring role, with that part given to Audrey Hepburn. The movie’s producers felt that Hepburn would be better-known to the movie-going public. Andrews got her just rewards at the Academy Awards the next year, receiving the Best Performance by an Actress Award for her beguiling charm as “Mary Poppins.”
Photo Credit to Dyann Diercks
It would be difficult to find a better performer to play the role today than the excellent Hannah Marie Hartman. She is convincing as the rough Cockney girl with ambitions to “be somebody.”
While Higgins, Pickering, and Eliza Doolittle are center stage, Eliza’s hapless father “Doolittle” is a wonder on his own. For the opening night performance we saw Robert Michael Sanders as the affable drunken father, understudy to Michael Lasris who normally plays the role. Lasris will be hard-pressed to fill the boots of Sanders whose performance is beyond “memorable.” I may find my interest in seeing Lasris, however, as my excuse to return to MAC for another look as this delightful event.
In fact, what is not to like about this show? The set, the costumes, the lighting, the sound, the choreography, and the recorded orchestra accompaniment are exceptional. (There is no live orchestra.) Where in my bag of adjectives can I find words to adequately report my reaction to this production? The supporting cast members are as effective as the leads. Many in the ensemble take on several roles – always completely in step to the music and always in tune with their British accents.
Director Joseph Callahan has a long track record of excellent performances at Midtown Arts Center. This time around he is displaying his remarkable abilities, directing and choreographing this production of “My Fair Lady.”
While “The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain,” ”the cast is vast and….” completely delightful!
“My Fair Lady” Where: Main Stage of Midtown Arts Center, 3750 South Mason Street, Fort Collins, CO 80525 When: To May 25, 2019 Information: 970/225-2555 www.midtownartscenter.com
Indeed. WHERE is love? Charles Dickens explored the impoverished
lives of London’s lower class in the mid 1800s.
The result was his classic “Oliver Twist.” The tale has received worldwide
fame as dramas, movies, and musicals. It is now in a triumphant musical production
on the Johnstown stage of Candlelight Dinner Playhouse.
Photo Credit RDG Photography
“Please sir, may I have some more?” Such is the never-before-made request of eleven-year-old orphan, Oliver, in line for his daily gruel at the parish workhouse. The request is met with a very loud and angry tirade,”No,” from Mr. Bumble, the greedy workhouse caretaker. Bumble is so angered that he takes Oliver onto the street announcing, “Boy for Sale.”
Arvada Center Provides Zany Tale Of Life In The Bleakness
Of The Yorkshire Countryside.
Reviewed by Tom Jones February 27, 2019
Regina Fernandez is naively cheerful as Emilie, the young English woman who arrives at a home in the Yorkshire Moors as the family’s newly hired governess. Although she knows no one in the family, she was impressed with the kindness and love she felt in letters she received during the application process. She is eager to be of service to the family.
Regina Fernandez (Emilie) and Emma Messenger (Agatha)
Matt Gale Photography 2019
For starters, some persons were already on the stage prior to showtime looking at a large illuminated representation of impressionist painter Edouard Manet’s “A Bar at the Follies Bergere.” I was ready to join them on the stage to see the painting close-up, when I realized that this was just part of the show — a room in an Impressionist art gallery where viewers of the painting were actual cast of “Cosi Fan Tutte.”
Wendy Ishii “Becomes” A Bewildered Alzheimer Victim In Lonergan Drama
Reviewed by Tom Jones
February 8, 2019
Gladys Green is on the cusp of old
age, and is often bewildered with what is going on around her. Her hearing is impaired. Her mind is progressively deteriorating. Wendy Ishii is a marvel as she portrays
Gladys Green, a victim of Alzheimer disease.
Her eyes become wide and wild, as she looks with despair to figure out
what she has become. This is a bravura
performance. Ishii has portrayed a
variety of roles, and this is one of her finest productions. She gets into the skin of the art gallery
owner, and holds the audience spellbound.
Off-Broadway Delight Is Two-Hour Treasure At Midtown Arts Center
Reviewed by Tom Jones, February 1, 2019
Ruby is the standard
naïve talent traveling alone to New York to find fame and fortune on Broadway. Sound familiar? “Dames at Sea” currently on the Midtown Arts
Stage in Fort Collins is the tried and tested Broadway fable that flashed onto
movie screens in the ‘30s and ‘40s. This
delightful little show plays homage to those stories, with every cliché
possible. Michael Lasris provides
excellent direction and choreography for this heartfelt look at the past. Seeing it this season just might be the
remedy we need to face mid-winter blahs.
Image by Dyann DIercks Photography
Paige Smith is a newcomer to MAC audiences, and she is terrific as Ruby, the Broadway star wannabe – with nothing going for her except raw talent. Alisa Metcalf is the ever-threatening diva, Mona, who will stop at nothing from preventing anyone taking stardom from her hands. Sarah Ledtke McCann is in great shape as the “friend to all” chorus girl.
Image by Dyann DIercks Photography
Every Broadway fable
includes guys with over-the-top talent, taking on roles of friend, talented
performer, and all around good (or bad) guy.
In this show Joe Callahan takes on the role of a sailor song-writer,
“Dick.” Callahan is well known to MAC
audiences. He sings. He dances.
His comedic talents are very well-honed.
And his timing is impeccable.
Giving him a run for his money are Tyler Baxter and Tezz Yancey. Baxter plays another talented sailor,
Lucky. Yancey switches caps to play two
roles, the show-within-a-show director, and that of the ship captain.
All six are involved
in staging a little review called “Dames At Sea” set to open that night, only
to find the theatre bulldozed out from under them. They desperately try to find a place to stage
the show.
Image by Dyann DIercks Photography
The world holds its
breath: Will Ruby replace Mona as the
show’s star? Will the show find a place
to open? Will Joe Callahan wow the stage
with his every scene? Will Sarah Ledtke
McCann radiate charm and talent? Will
the audience leave the theatre with great smiles?
This is not a “big”
show, but one with enormous empathy and fun.
Book and lyrics are by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller. Music is by Jim Wise. It originally opened
Off-Broadway in 1968 starring Bernadette Peters as Ruby, and has subsequently found
nationwide audiences. Local theatre-goers
enjoyed a very good production of it a few seasons ago at University of
Northern Colorado.
The six performers
are all very good. Michael Lasris’s excellence
as director and choreographer is obvious throughout, and particularly with the
“Raining in My Heart” antics in Act II. Musical
accompaniment is also excellent. Musical
director and pianist is Victor Walters, with Dean Vlachos on percussion,
Phillip Kramer, on bass.
“Dames at Sea” is a joyful, midwinter pick-me-up!
“Dames at Sea” Where: Main Stage of Midtown Arts Center 3750 South Mason Street, Fort Collins, CO 80525 When: To March 17, 2019 Information: Box Office: 970/225-2555 Tickets:www.midtownartscenter.com
Fredrik Egerman and Desiree Armfeldt have reached middle age. They are at the crossroads, neither completely content with their lives. They have no plans to change anything. A summer weekend in the Swedish countryside with a sun that won’t set is about to change all that.
Photo by Olga Lopez
Stephen Sondheim, America’s most respected living composer of musical theatre, provided audiences with “A Little Night Music” on Broadway in 1973. The show has gone on to worldwide acclaim. Some productions boast lavish sets and large casts. The show arrived this month in Denver with minimal set, but more than makes up for that by providing excellent costumes, excellent voices and excellent direction. Director Kelly Van Oosbree’s clever staging even includes a rotating stage – power-operated by the performers.
Photo by Olga Lopez
Brian Merz-Hutchinson and Susie Roelofsz are sensational as Egerman and Armfeldt. Fredrik Egerman is a Swedish attorney, a year into his second marriage – this time with an 18-year-old girl who prefers to remain a virgin. Desiree Armfeldt is a highly respected actress who spends her time touring the country, leaving her young daughter, Fredrika, in the countryside estate of her ageing mother. This all takes place in a Swedish summer around 1900 when the sun lingers so long in the sky that some claim “It just won’t set.”
Everyone in the cast is in top form as they take on the show’s roles. Egerman is a somewhat stuffy lawyer with great memories of a liaison many years ago with the actress Armfeldt. He takes his young wife to a local performance of the touring company. Seeing Desiree on stage renews memories of his past love for her, and he succumbs to her allure. Their lives are about to change, but not without affecting several others – some deliciously bizarre.
Photo by Olga Lopez
Rachel Turner is in delightful form as the young wife – happy to be married and have nice clothes and to go to elaborate balls; but horrified about losing her virginity. Jeremy Rill is enormous fun as the over-the top self-assured Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm, the military man currently dallying with the actress. His character has an ego as big as all outdoors, but reportedly has the “brain of a pea.” Sparring toe to toe with this army dragoon is his wife, Countess Charlotte Malcolm, brilliantly portrayed by Megan Van de Hey.
Photo by Olga Lopez
Susan Long is the Armfeldt family matriarch – Desiree’s mother, and Fredrika’s grandmother. The country weekend takes place on her estate. She hasn’t much use for her actress daughter, dotes on her granddaughter, and lives in a dreamworld of the past, recounting her various “liaisons” with the rich and famous. Adding even more craziness to the goings-on are Frid and Petra played by Ryan Belinak and Lindsey Falduto, both worldly-wise servants. They are well acquainted with the upper crust, but appear to accept their roles in the lower echelons of society. Lindsey Falduto’s “The Miller’s Son” is especially poignant, as Petra realizes that she can serve the wealthy, but will end up marrying someone in her level of society. On the other hand, Lawyer Egerman’s adult son, Henrik, is a seminary student, with no idea of where he fits into the life of his family, or life anywhere for that matter. Barret Harper is superb on his own, as the bewildered, cello-playing Henrik.
Excellent accompaniment is provided by Deborah Fuller (violin), David Short (cello) with Trent Hines and Angela Steiner (piano) — Hines for first three weekends, Steiner for final weekend.
The musical was inspired by an Ingmar Bergman 1955 movie, “Smiles of a
Summer Night.” Playwright Hugh Wheeler
wrote the book, with Stephen Sondheim providing music and lyrics. The music is
written as waltzes in three-quarters time.
Sondheim was in peak form as a composer and as a lyricist when writing “A
Little Night Music.” This is especially
evident in the “Weekend in the Country” scene where various persons are looking
at attending a weekend party on the Armfeldt estate – some invited, some
not. The lyrics include the Count and
Countess thinking about going (without an invitation), singing:
“A weekend in the country… How I wish we’d been asked. A weekend in the country Peace and quiet. We’ll go masked.”
This is beguiling production.
Everything about it is first-rate.
As the theatre is small, the audience can hear nearly everything said or
sang, and becomes infatuated with the characters, their foibles, their frolics,
and is with them every step of the way.
The show even includes the classic, “Send in the Clowns.”
“A Little Night Music”
Where: The Pluss Theatre, Mizel Arts and Culture Center, 350 S. Dahlia Street, Denver, CO 80246
Frank Sinatra became a legend. Beginning as a scrawny teen crooner from Hoboken, New Jersey, he subsequently ruled the musical world until his death at 82 in 1988. He was virtually adored by music-lovers, looked at with dismay by some others — because of his personal life. He didn’t write his own music; but gave voice to a host of songwriters. He reportedly recorded something like 1,500 songs – some over-the-top wonderful.
About four dozen of the songs he recorded are featured this season at Midtown Arts Center production of “My Way – a Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra” on stage in Fort Collins.
Photo Credit Dyann Dierks
Jalyn Courtenay Webb stars in and directs this tribute. She, too, has become a legend in her time, as the vocal stylist and director of many productions in the area. This year she received the prestigious Colorado Theater Guild Henry award as best performance by an actress for her work at MAC in “Always, Patsy Cline.” But as in the world of sports, even the world’s most successful baseball player doesn’t hit a home run every time he comes to bat.
I am an unabashed theatre fan. I usually get an adrenaline rush each time I await the beginning of a show. Some have criticized me, noting “Oh, he likes everything he sees.” Unfortunately “everything” does not include this current Sinatra tribute.
The Sinatra songs are there; such great memories provided with “Fly Me to the Moon,” “My Way,” “It Was a Very Good Year,” “Summer Wind,” and the list goes on and on. The instrumental background is flawless. The four vocal performers are talented. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to be participating in the same show. There is minimal chemistry between then. Some of the Act One vocal harmonies are wondrous. As the show continued, however, either the performers could not find the pitch, or the sound system let them down. I could understand very little of the spoken tidbits of Sinatra history.
Productions in the MAC Ballroom setting are always problematic as there is no one center of focus. The Sinatra tribute is staged as if in a 1950s nightclub, with the cast sometimes mingling with the audience, with a drink in hand. Sometimes this works. Sometimes it is distracting.
“My Way — A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra” has become a phenomenon of its own, currently playing in dozens of venues worldwide. If you are eager to hear such standards as “All of Me,” “My Kind of Town,” “Young at Heart,” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” rush to Midtown Arts Center this season.
If not, don’t cross the theater off your list of places to go. While the Sinatra tribute is playing in the MAC Ballroom, the terrific “Dames at Sea” is on the main stage.
I saw Bernadette Peters tap-dancing her way to stardom many, many years ago when she created the leading role in New York. I was delighted with a production of it at University of Northern Colorado a few years ago, and already have my tickets to see the MAC version. I’m not going to let my unhappiness with the current “Tribute” dampen my enthusiasm for the theatre. The adrenalin rush will always be there for me.
And all is not lost with “Sinatra.” Old Blue Eyes provided more than one generation happy memories with his incredible styling of some wonderful music. Many in the audience appeared to be enchanted with the memories brought to life on stage at MAC. I learned that the performance I attended was rife with subsequently-repaired technical problems, and that earlier audiences have given the show standing ovations.
“My Way – a Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra”
Where: Midtown Arts Center, 3750 South Mason Street, Fort Collins, CO 80525
When: To March 17, 2019
Information: Box Office: 970/225-2555
Tickets: www.midtownartscenter.com
The 1942 Movie That Gave Birth To “White Christmas” Has Arrived As A Stage Musical At Candlelight Dinner Playhouse.
Larry Cahn – Much More To This Scrooge Than The “Bah Humbug” Meany Of Productions Past.
Wendy Ishii In Peak Form In Award Winning Drama
“Thank You for the Music” – And The Entire Show!
Neil Simon Comedy Arrives At Arvada Center’s Black Box Theatre
Midtown Arts Features Music Of “Old Blue Eyes”
“My Way — A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra” has become a phenomenon of its own, currently playing in dozens of venues worldwide. If you are eager to hear such standards as “All of Me,” “My Kind of Town,” “Young at Heart,” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” rush to Midtown Arts Center this season.