David Clarke - Page 29

In March 2011, Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone's joyfully irreverent, soulfully blasphemous, and wholly scandalous comedy THE BOOK OF MORMON took Broadway by storm, going on to win 9 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Score. The musical quickly developed a ravenous parish of fans that simply couldn't get enough of the bawdy spectacle, and left many around the nation counting the days until the First National Tour kicked off. After a short two-and-a-half year wait, Houston audiences are getting their chance to experience the production, and judging by last night's reaction, we couldn't be more enthusiastic or pleased. Now holding a coveted spot as one of the best musicals I have ever seen, this show was definitely worth the wait!

A fascinating organization, Houston Arts Partners, is on the rise in Houston. Ready to fling the doors wide open on their third annual conference, the group is going above and beyond to foster long lasting partnerships between the worlds of public education and arts administration. This year's conference, titled Arts Work, is co-chaired by Bob Bryant, Executive Director of Fine Arts for Katy ISD, and Shelly Power, Associate Director for the Houston Ballet. As the conference has grown over the years, each side has embraced its importance. Notably the first conference was held at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. For it's second year at it was held at both the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and at University of Houston. This year, it'll be held at the Houston Ballet Center for Dance. Many important and invaluable sponsors donate time, money, effort, and energy to ensure this event happens. Silver Sponsors for this year's conference are Houston Ballet, Boeing, Bank of America, and Jim Benton of Houston, the conference's caterer. There is a large number of Bronze and Booth sponsors as well. For a full list of sponsors please click here. [http://www.hapconference.org/#!sponsorships/c46c] To get the inside scoop on this years activities, I recently spoke with Troy Scheid, Arts Education Initiative Specialist for Houston Arts Partners, Shelly Power, and Bob Bryant about what attendees can expect from this year's event.

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL, or the ultimate party bus, is headed towards Houston. With our ears to the ground we can hear the faint pulse of the poppy disco beats filling Denver audiences with joy. Soon the splashy, feel good musical will be mirthfully leaving Houston audiences dancing in the aisles. Last week, while the bus was stopped in San Francisco I chatted with Gillian Austin, the shows' Wardrobe Supervisor, about the amazingly audacious, memorable, and vastly impressive and Tony Award winning costumes, which were designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner who also won an Oscar for their costumes design for the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Mystery, murder, espionage, blackmail, sexual scandal, madness, and a ghost are prized dramatic ingredients. Often when these elements are brought together, the world is plagued by some lowbrow, low budget B movie that airs incessantly on SyFy. However, using these elements, William Shakespeare gifted audiences with HAMLET, his keenly written revenge tragedy potboiler that premiered around the time that the House of Stuart took control from the House of Tudor in England (roughly 1598-1603). Giving what many consider the crowning jewel of drama written in the English language a modern facelift, Classical Theatre Company (CTC) is opening their season with a production of HAMLET that is informed by Edward Snowden and the NSA scandal. Taking time out of his busy schedule CTC Artistic Director and Director of HAMLET JJ Johnston chatted with me about his upcoming production of the cherished title.

The Texas Repertory Theatre Company is opening its ninth season with Larry Shue's THE NERD, a comedic play in two acts. The simplistic comedy had its world premiere at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in April 1981, and it starred Larry Shue in the role of Willum Cubbert. Glowing press and strong word of mouth eventually enabled the play to open on Broadway, where it played 441 performances from March 22, 1987 to April 10, 1988. Plot wise, there really is not much here. The play centers on the fact that Willum Cubbert was saved by a man named Rick Stedman when they were both in Vietnam. However, Willum was unconscious when his life was saved, so he and Rick have never met. Through ongoing correspondence the ever-grateful Willum has promised to welcome Rick with open arms should he ever come to Terre Haute, Indiana. Out of the blue, Rick turns up at Willum's home and proves himself to be the houseguest from hell.

As a fan of S.R. Bindler's acclaimed and quirky 1997 documentary, I closely followed the creation and development of HANDS ON A HARDBODY. Previews for the initial La Jolla Playhouse production begin in April 2012, and it officially opened on May 12. The musical was well received by critics and audiences alike in California, generating buzz for it transfer to Broadway. The entire La Jolla cast reunited for the New York premiere of the show, which started previews on February 23, 2013 and officially opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on March 21, 2013. Sadly, the well-reviewed small show had a hard time finding an audience and had its final Broadway bow on Saturday, April 13. However, Ghostlight Records excited fans and those of us who were interested in the project when that announced they'd be recording an Original Broadway Cast Recording on that same fateful Saturday in April.

The stage musical of TARZAN may be Disney's biggest Broadway flop. The company reportedly sunk anywhere between $12 million to $15 million into the overinflated musical. The problem that may reviewers and audiences had with the show was that the often-repeated stunning visuals ceased to be astounding after about the first 10 minutes of the production. When I saw that the Pearland Theatre Guild was producing the musical, I initially thought that the community theater group must have been completely out of their minds to program such an ambitious and notoriously unsuccessful musical. With the allure of the macabre, I was drawn to the production thinking I'd see a train crash into a sinking ship. To my surprise, the Houston premiere production was rather buoyant and wholly entertaining.

My research indicates that the average temperature highs in July in Vermont are in the low 80s, making Annie Baker's lines about discomforting heat in THE ALIENS almost farcical during Horse Head Theatre Company's presentation of the peculiar play. Always presenting works in non-traditional spaces that perfectly serve the scripts being produced, Horse Head Theatre Company is producing THE ALIENS in Boheme Cafe & Wine Bar back lot. Throughout the evening, unplanned but organic atmospheric noises only heighten the experience. The gravel crunches underfoot of patrons in the parking lot as they approach the metal folding chairs arranged in rows. The hum of many conversations sneaks in from the nearby outdoor seating area of Boheme, and so do noises associated with its food truck. The stage is an elevated platform made to look like the back door of the Vermont coffee shop where the play takes place, the parking lot serving as a realistic environment that this stage exists in. Horse Head's creative team has a knack for finding unusual locations and crafting events worth every penny of admission.

Nadim Naaman is a London theatre star that has really made the West End his home address. He made his West End debut as Rolf in THE SOUND OF MUSIC at the London Palladium. Since then, he has been the cover Raoul in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Anatoly in CHESS, Armand in MARGUERITE, and Andrei in THIRTEEN DAYS. He also performed in the cast of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA 25th ANNIVERSARY at the Royal Albert Hall and has sung backing vocals for Elton John, Rod Stewart, Britain's Got Talent, and the Madagascar 3 soundtrack. He is currently playing Charles Clarke in the UK professional premiere of Maury Yeston's TITANIC at the Southwark Playhouse and will be joining the West End cast of ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS in September. Additionally, on August 23rd his jazzy soft rock and pop debut album WE ALL WANT THE SAME will be released.

For me, the appeal of avant-garde pieces of theatre is never knowing exactly what you're in for when the houselights dim and the show begins. For Houston audiences, Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company specializes in these kinds of productions, and their current presentation of Dawn King's FOXFINDER is no different. The play is set in a somewhat dystopian England. Heavy rains, floods, and illness have plagued the Covey farm for about six months and caused them to fall behind their government mandated production schedule. William Bloor, a foxfinder, is sent to the farm to investigate if Judith and Samuel Covey are suffering from contamination. What transpires during William Bloor's visit to the Covey farm invites audiences to explore the power of propaganda and belief as the characters' lives are permanently altered. The absorbing drama was the winner of the 2011 Papatango writing competition and earned Dawn King the Most Promising Playwright award at the 2012 Off West End Awards.

One of the most fun and entertaining aspects of the summer is the big, splashy musicals that get produced all over the nation. Last night, I was invited to attend the final dress rehearsal of Fort Bend Theatre's SHREK THE MUSICAL. The company is bidding a fond farewell to summer with a gargantuan production that is bond to entertain any who venture out to see it. This musical, featuring a Book and Lyrics by acclaimed playwright David Lindsay-Abaire and Music by Jeanine Tesori is based on the 2001 DreamWorks film SHREK and the 1991 William Steig book SHREK!. SHREK THE MUSICAL got mixed to positive reviews when it opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre. It earned eight 2009 Tony Award nominations and won for Best Costumes. All in all, the show enjoyed a successful 12-month run. After its Broadway run, the creative team has tinkered with the show for its notable First National Tour and London productions. The current licensed version most closely resembles the London production of the show.

With [TITLE OF SHOW] receiving mostly glowing reviews for its London premiere, I couldn't help but hope that the creative team that took the quirky, meta-musical from Off-Off-Broadway, to Off-Broadway, to Broadway (Jeff Bowen, Hunter Bell, Susan Blackwell, Heidi Blickenstaff, Michael Berresse, and Larry Pressgrove) are taking a few moments to arrive at the intersection of Now (not the past or future), Here (exactly where they are), and This (whatever it is they're doing) to be truly present and enjoy this moment of their lives a little more clearly. All of this brought me around to the cast album for their sophomore show NOW. HERE. THIS., which was funded by a highly successful Kickstarter campaign. Living in Houston, I completely missed the premiere of this show; however, everything that made [TITLE OF SHOW] so endearing is present and improved upon in the semi-autobiographical musical's cast album that is as entertaining as it is empowering and uplifting.

50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL first spurt onto the solar plexus of the music theater scene on August 22, 2012 during the 2012 Edinburg Fringe Festival. Edging past SPANK! THE FIFTY SHADES PARODY by premiering about two months before its competition, 'The Original Parody' has received glowing reviews in Edinburg, Chicago, New York City, and the other markets the show has played. With a sturdy and somewhat ravenous fan base, recording a cast album was definitely a logical progression. As this musical will soon be playing in my neck of the woods, I was excited to get a chance to experience the music from the show. As I listened to the songs, I found them entertaining but not highly memorable.

Stephen Sondheim's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC holds a special place in my heart. A particularly impressive production at a community theatre was my first time to see a Stephen Sondheim musical staged, and it began my love affair with the man's music. The Tony Award winning and successful 1973 musical features a score written entirely in schmaltzy waltz time signatures and has a delightfully soapy plot derived from Ingmar Bergman's 1955 Swedish film Sommamattens leende (In English: Smiles of a Summer Night). In 1977, a film version of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC was released, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Lesley-Anne Down, and Diana Rigg, with Len Cariou, Hermione Gingold, and Laurence Guittard reprising their Broadway roles. While the critical reception to the stage musical was glowing, the critical reception of the film was notoriously underwhelming. Despite this, Jonathan Tunick received an Oscar for his orchestrations of the memorable, lovely, and tuneful score, which is magnificently preserved on Masterworks Broadway's digital and CD re-release of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (Original Soundtrack Recording).

Last week, I had the opportunity to drop in on the cast of Horse Head Theater Productions upcoming presentation of Annie Baker's THE ALIENS. Drake Simpson empathically said that the group is excited to present the Houston premiere of the play. Annie Baker is an up and coming and award winning playwright, who had her Houston premiere with Stark Naked Theatre Company's production of her first full length play BODY AWARENESS. Her second play CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION shared the 2010 Obie Award for Best New American Play with her third play THE ALIENS. Annie Baker's THE ALIENS was also a finalist for the 2010 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. In March 2013, Annie Baker was awarded the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize at Houston's Alley Theatre for her fifth play THE FLICK. Needless to say, the enthusiasm surrounding this Houston premiere is high, and the cast was thrilled to chat about Horse Head Theater Company's upcoming production of THE ALIENS.

The Back Porch Players are dedicated to presenting theatrical works that deal with the ideas of identity and social responsibility. They also uphold that the art form of theatre is a powerful teaching tool. They are currently producing Robert Anderson's TEA AND SYMPATHY, which had its Broadway premiere at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on September 30, 1953. In its original Broadway production, it ran for over 700 performances and was adapted for film in 1956. However, the play wasn't given a major New York City revival until 2007, when The Keen Company produced the show at the Clurman Theatre. Even though the play is nearly 60 years old, it remains incredibly relevant and extremely powerful.

When Jonathan Larson's RENT moved from the New York Theatre Workshop, its Off-Broadway home, to the long dark Nederlander Theatre on April 29, 1996, a swarm of hype surrounded it. The rock musical had already won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and would become the biggest surprise of the 1995-96 Broadway theatre season. Its Broadway run gained glowing reviews from the press and prestigious awards, such as the Tony Award for Best Musical. RENT quickly became the musical to see. It appealed to the MTV generation as well, bringing in scores of youths who had never fallen for the art form before. The show was the OKLAHOMA, SOUTH PACIFIC, and CAROUSEL for a whole new generation of theatergoers. RENT found more success in multiple National Tours and international productions. The material was adapted into a mildly successful musical film in 2005, which starred many members of the original Broadway cast. Eventually, it became harder and harder for the show to fill the 1,173 seats at the Nederlander Theater. RENT closed on September 7, 2008 after a 12-year run of 5,123 performances.

As the dog days of summer needlessly drag on in Houston, enveloping the city in oppressive heat, Michael J. Ross' MJR Theatricals | Music Box Musicals is presenting LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Roger Corman's notorious 1960 low-budget horror-themed comedy The Little Shop of Horrors serves as the basis for this cult favorite and classic musical. The cherished musical premiered on May 6, 1982 at the Workshop of the Players' Art (WPA) Theatre. It went on to garner critical acclaim Off-Broadway when it opened on July 27, 1982 at the Orpheum Theatre. The Off-Broadway production enjoyed 2,209 performances across its 5 year run. Its popularity and notoriety lead to the 1986 film adaption of the musical as well. 31 years later, the musical is still a favorite among producers and audiences alike, and MJR Theatricals | Music Box Musicals' production easily proves why.

Imagine a darkly ambient realm where angular architecture rises from the shadows and is adorned with three half ovals curtained in sheer white fabric. In this simplistically austere setting, every surface is painted black and gives the impression of some ambiguous but wholly recognizable cabaret. Out of the ether, six shapes emerge. In an assortment of solos and group pieces, these figures sing intensely haunting and puzzling music. Some songs are rigorously jazzy and mesmerizingly chromatic, leaping through major and minor chords with seemingly crazed affectation. Other songs are tuneful and familiar, playing off of bluesy gospel traditions that are tinged with pop sensibilities. This is the world that Adam Guettel, most widely known for the 2005 Tony Award winning musical THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, and Bit of a Stretch Theatre Company have created with the Houston premiere of MYTHS AND HYMNS.

Since we're living in Houston, I promise I won't be upset with you if you tell me you don't know who Mary Testa is. What you first need to understand is that the theatrical gods divinely intervened in her creation. Imagine if Bette Midler and Patti LuPone had a child and named her Mary. Got it? Good. Now, you're beginning to understand why Mary Testa is a theatrical tour de force. With two Tony Awards and other various New York theatre awards under her belt, she has proven herself to be a phenomenal talent that you should not miss.