BWW Reviews: 8-Track, The Sounds of the 70's

Theatre is magical. It heals. It comforts you. It makes you think. It makes you laugh. What better timing than last Friday for the opening night of 8-Track, The Music of the 70's after the week from hell?

And it was an awful week with the Senate's succumbing to the NRA against the wishes of the majority of constituents, the Boston Marathon bombing, and the fertilizer plant explosion in Texas. The music of 8-Track was mostly about love, peace and social justice, three of the themes that predominated the 1970s. That was a time of free spirits, of changes to improve society, not the bottom line of corporations, when the flower power of the late 1960s started to, well, bloom.

Rick Seeber's show first debuted at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre in 2001. As a show, it is highly entertaining, but slightly flawed. It is the type of show that draws the people who are, at heart, still the product of the 70's. In 50 years, most of those people will not be around, and this show is not going to be a strong candidate for an Encores! production at City Center. In its current format, it's just a concert with vintage costumes. The four performers are identified as Tenor (Teddey Brown), Soprano (Tonya Phillips Staples), Baritone (Greg Rock) and Alto (Liana Young) instead of as named characters. It should be turned into a revue with the meaning of the songs explained. Adding projections which included photos and headlines from the era would have strengthened the show. Few, if any, people under 45 will understand the significance of Helen Reddy's song, "I Am Woman" without knowing that bra-burning and that the origin of the title Ms. were from that era, or that the Norman Whitfield-Barrett Strong song, "War" (as in "War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothin'!") was an anti-Vietnam war. Yes, it that song is still relevant today, and all the more reason why projecting a little history would make the show more interesting to younger people.

Those criticisms aside, the show is definitely worth seeing. The cast is fabulous, and it's a pleasure to have Teddey Brown back at the Cabaret. Tonya Phillips Staples has a glorious singing voice and wonderful dancer. (She is also the show's choreographer.) Greg Rock was thoroughly credible as a young man of that era. Liana Young shines with her song interpretations.

Kudos to the Wig Boys for their various - and believable - wigs and to Barbara Wolfe for her costumes. The performers' appearance changed throughout the show, reflecting the fashions of that era. Laugh about them, if you will, but it was an era of self-expression, not materialism, designer labels, and personal shoppers and stylists.

If you are taking your son or daughter, do yourselves a favor. Explain that 8-track players were funny cartridges before the iPod changed the way we listen to music. Also, please mention that people of that generation made a huge change in society and paved the way for more opportunities for everyone until the middle class became victims of a few people from that era who morphed into the Jamie Dimons and Lloyd Blankfeins of today.

Can't get enough of the music of our lifetime? On June 15, there is Forever Motown. On June 28-29, be sure to catch The Concert That Never Was: Frank Sinatra and Barbara Streisand. In the fall, you can get some Satisfaction: Rolling Stones Tribute (October 5). From October 11-20, Get Rhythm: The Man in Black, a return engagement of a tribute to Johnny Cash. Finally, from December 13-15, there is Night Fever: Bee Gees Tribute, which will return for a New Year's Eve celebration with a post-show dance party and DJ.

Meanwhile, the other 70's shows, 8-Track, The Sounds of the 70's, plays at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre, 269 Golden Hill Avenue in Bridgeport through May 12. For tickets, call 203-576-1636 or visit www.dtcab.com. Also, visit www.8-track.org.

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