BWW Interviews: THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS, THE MUSICAL! Company Talks Transferring This Fringe Hit to the Panasonic Theater

On Thursday, December 18 the Toronto Fringe Hit The Musical of Musicals, the Musical! will open at the Panasonic Theatre as part of Mirvish Production's 50th Anniversary Season.

BroadwayWorld Contributor Alan Aronshtam had the opportunity to talk with the cast and creative team back at the 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Royal Alexandra Theatre back in September.

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The first thing audiences need to know about The Musical of Musicals, the Musical! according to one if it's four stars, Paula Wolfson, is "It's a Musical!"

The Musical of Musicals, the Musical! is a satiric love-letter to musical theatre of the 20th century. Audiences will experience a clever and hilarious story told five different ways, using five of the most beloved musical theatre styles written by Broadway's most famous composers including: Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Kander & Ebb and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Vinetta Strombergs, the production's director, spoke to me about what audiences can expect when they come to see this show. "Well we call it a satirical love letter, or a valentine because even though it's kind of spoofing - it also does it with great love and understanding of the differences between genres."

"So when you know how different styles of musical theatre work, obviously a rock opera like the Andrew Lloyd Webber stuff is going to be very different than the traditional Rodgers and Hammerstein in the glory days."

The Musical of Musicals, the Musical! tells one story using five very different style of musical - and Mark Cassius, Adrian Marchuk, Dana Jean Phoenix, and Paula Wolfson will all reprise their roles from the Toronto Fringe Production.

Strombergs also wants audiences to know - you don't have to be a musical aficionado to love this show. "I think that because a lot of these (musicals) have been picked up as movie musicals, audiences will get it. For example, if you mention Sweeny Todd, most people don't think Stephen Sondheim as a style. However, they have probably seen the Johnny Depp movie and they go 'I recognize that!' "

The cast of this show has to bee extremely versatile, in order to be able to perform all of the different styles of musicals included. Mark Cassius discussed how he changes his voice for each style: "From a vocal point of view, it's stylistic. It (the composer's style) kind of sets a template that you get to use as a guide." Dana Jean Phoenix notes that in order to prepare for each performance "...really making sure that your warming up carefully is important, as well as warming up the high notes and the low notes. It is a huge range to sing."

When and Where?

Panasonic Theatre
December 18, 2013 - January 5, 2014

Tickets are available at Mirvish.com.

Photo by Josie Di Luzio.

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