Foothills Theatre Sends Up Classic Musicals and Composers

The Musical of Musicals - the Musical!

Music by Eric Rockwell, Lyrics by Joanne Bogart

Book by Eric Rockwell & Joanne Bogart

Directed and Choreographed by Russell Garrett; Musical Director/Narrator Kevin Ashworth; Set Designer, David Allen Prescott; Lighting Designer, PJ Strachman; Sound Designer, Ed Thurber; Properties Manager, Linda Dolan; Stage Manager, Steven R. Espach

CAST Peter S. Adams, Amy Barker, Rebekah Jacobs, Branch Woodman

Performances through June 3, Foothills Theatre Company, Worcester

Box Office 508-754-4018  www.foothillstheatre.com

(In the spirit of the show, my humble attempt to include Bock and Harnick)

Wonder of wonders, The Musical of Musicals

Foothills has triumphed once again

On stage we are seeing five mini-musicals

Mimicking great music men

Wonder of wonders, The Musical of Musicals

Sends hearts and flowers to each play

With great affection and style oh-so-musical

Parody turns out okay

Mothers and others had a joyful Mother's Day afternoon at the opening of The Musical of Musicals - The Musical! in the New England premiere of the Off-Broadway hit. Employing the tried and true old storyline of "Pay the rent" - "I can't pay the rent" - "You MUST pay the rent" - "I CAN'T pay the rent" - "I'LL pay the rent!" and setting it to the music of five of Broadway's most accomplished composers, Eric Rockwell and Joanne Bogart have created an absolute paean to musical theatre.

The playbill lists the titles of the mini-musicals, the style being parodied, and the names of the four characters, but no song list (you'll have to buy the cd for that). Still, there's no mistaking which Rodgers and Hammerstein show starts the ball rolling as Oklahoma! gets husked in Corn! (ooh, that must smart). Big Willy (Branch Woodman) and June (Rebekah Jacobs) pretend not to love each other ("I Couldn't Keer Less About You") as the smarmy landlord Jidder (Peter S. Adams) threatens to make June marry him if she can't pay the rent. Resigned to this state of affairs, Big Willy says, "Okay, okay, okay!" and June replies, "Don't throw okays at me!" Nuggets like that, sprinkled heavily throughout Musicals, test the audience savvy and reward the connoisseurs in the house.

June seeks advice from Mother Abby (Amy Barker) and, with a nod to both The Sound of Music and Carousel, she counsels the young woman to "Follow Your Dream - until you die" in a Carol Burnett-like mezzo soprano voice. This is followed by a "run of DeMille" dream ballet, "Sowillyquey," and the townsfolk celebrating the wedding with ptomaine-inducing "Clam Dip." Jidder falls on his own knife and dies, the company sings worshipfully about beautiful corn, and everyone else lives happily ever after.

Segue to the darker style of Stephen Sondheim in A Little Complex, about a New York City apartment called "The Woods," with a Sweeney Todd-esque landlord by the name of Jitter (Adams).  With tongue firmly planted in cheek, each actor "plays" an instrument and the diminutive Jacobs schlepping a bass fiddle across the stage is quite the sight gag. The word play is amazingly clever in this segment, but as in the master's work, "it may not sink in till the third or fourth hearing." Jitter is a "madder than a hatter" artist who plans to kill his tenants and coat them with papier mache. In the manner of "I'm Not Getting Married Today" from Company, "Jeune's Patter" describes her crazy mixed feelings about Jitter and Billy.  Abby responds with "We're All Gonna Die" as Barker channels Elaine Stritch. Kudos to the entire cast for their aplomb in singing the challenging Sondheim style.

Next up, Jerry Herman and Dear Abby! Borrowing heavily from Hello, Dolly! and Mame, this mini starts with the star descending the obligatory staircase to the welcoming serenade of her chorus boys.  I'm sure it's no accident that Barker's Abby sounds like Angela Lansbury and Jacobs' Junie Faye a bit like Carol Channing. While the storyline is a little truncated, there are more than a few delicious references to Herman's shows, as when Mr. Jitters asks, "Where's that boy with the bagel?" and Abby bursts into the 11 o'clock number "Did I Put Out Enough?" For the finale, Jitters enters in full drag (a la La Cage Aux Folles), wearing a red gown and a huge feathered headdress, explaining "I am what I am!" and, with a big piano finish, the chorus sings "We're queer for Dear Abby!"

I counted at least eight Andrew Lloyd Webber productions skewered in Aspects of Junita.  The recurring theme "I've Heard That Song Before" alludes to ALW's penchant for, shall we say, recycling his material from one show to another.  In this telling, the landlord is Phantom Jitter, a mysterious opera impresario dressed in a cape and half mask.  He is willing to forego the rent if Junita will sing the opera that he wrote and let him make her a star.  Refusing to sing for the middle classes, Junita is encouraged to run away by the chorus members on (imagined) roller skates.  She seeks solace from her boyfriend Bill in "We Never Talk Anymore," a poke at Webber's sung-through style. Once Junita decides to put herself in the Phantom's hands, she is confronted by the diva Abigail von Schtarr (read: Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard) and eventually meets her demise by chandelier. Be on the lookout for snippets of Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, as well.

Placing a bowler hat on his head, the narrator introduces the final mini-musical Speakeasy which takes place in a Cabaret in Chicago in the thirties during Prohibition. The prolific duo of Kander and Ebb provides fodder from The Rink, Liza with a Z, The World Goes 'Round, and New York, New York, in addition to the two aforementioned "C" shows.  Adams takes the Joel Grey as emcee role, right down to the painted face and suspender harness get-up. Juny with a "J" can't pay her rent, so goes to visit her boyfriend Villy in jail to ask for help.  Of course, he has turned gay while imprisoned (think Kiss of the Spiderwoman) and sends her back to the Speakeasy.  In "Just Don't Pay" the chorus mimics Chicago's "Cell Block Tango" as they repeat, "drip - squeak - Minnelli - screwed" and drape themselves over their chairs as they tell their tales of landlord woes. In her best Garbo-like singing voice, Fraulein Abby encourages Juny to sell her body in "Easy Mark." The moral of this story is that "the world is a dark and evil place that keeps spinning round and round." With Bob Fosse-style choreography and Kander and Ebb music, Juny will make it, "maybe this time."

In addition to great voices across the board, the cast has top notch comedic skills and really appears to be having a lot of fun as they morph from one mini-musical to the next. With a modicum of props and costumes and simple scenery, it is up to them to set the tone of each playlet. Director/Choreographer Russell Garrett moves things along at a good pace, while Kevin Ashworth at the piano smoothes the transitions and adds something whimsical to the proceedings.

Overall, Rockwell and Bogart have taken a lighthearted approach, but have hit their targets with laser-like precision.  If you have limited familiarity with musical theatre, consider this a primer and sit back and enjoy it.  If you have a wealth of knowledge of these songwriters, you'll get extra enjoyment out of catching the references, small and large, to their original shows. The Musical of Musicals - the Musical!  is fun from start to finish - or should I say "Done?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

                               

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