Carrie the Musical: A Review

I went with a good friend to see Carie the Musical (off-off broadway) in NYC today. It was an enthralling production.

Carrie: The Musical is a musical with a book by Lawrence D. Cohen, lyrics by Dean Pitchford, and music by Michael Gore. Adapted from Stephen King's novel Carrie, it focuses on an awkward teenage girl with telekinetic powers whose lonely life is dominated by an oppressive religious fanatic mother. When she is humiliated by her classmates at the high school prom, she wreaks havoc on everyone and everything in her path. Francis X. Clines, in The New York Times (March 2, 1988) noted that Carrie is "Mr. King's carmine variation on Cinderella".

It was a superb production. The sound effects, the music, the score and lighting (oh my, the lighting!) all combine to make a story that is riveting. The entire cast was amazing. Every person had a moment to shine, and boy did they all take that opportunity. Vocally I loved the show, the songs were emotional and memorable. The choreography was sharp and very visually interesting. Did I mention how AMAZING the cast was? It's worth mentioning twice.

The set was minimalistic, as was the furnishings. It suggested aptly a time and place without being bulky. Scenes flowed quickly from one to another seamlessly. What was spectacular was the lighting design - a simple white cross projected signified some of the more religious moments in the show. projections of candle flames suggested much more depth to the scene. Very well done.

The highlight of the show was the destruction scene at the prom. First, the dumping of the blood - was all done with lighting effects, projected over the entire stage, then Carrie was hit with a red spotlight - a very effective technique. Then the choreography of the cast was beautifully timed to the music and
Carrie's gestures with these grotesque contortions as Carrie loses control over her talent and takes it out on her tormentors. The fire is also suggested through sound and the lighting projections over the whole stage of flames. It was amazing and breathtaking. Emotionally tragic, of course, as you know what is going to happen and you keep hoping it will turn around.

The final scene Carrie enters drenched in stage blood which provides the continuity from the previous scene and the end - will leave you in tears.

I would go see it again. It was superb, the kind of musical theater theater draws you in at the beginning of the show and doesn't let you go until the last bar of music.

Hairspray: A Review

Last night a friend and I made the trek out to see Sullivan County Dramatic Workshop's  Hairspray at the Rivoli Theater. It was about an hour and a half ride for us, but the trip was totally worth it. What a charming production!


Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and rhythm and blues. In 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, plump teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight. She then launches a campaign to integrate the show. Hairspray is a social commentary on the injustices of parts of American society in the 1960s.


The musical's original Broadway production opened on August 15, 2002 and won eight Tony Awards. It ran for over 2,500 performances and closed on January 4, 2009. Hairspray has also had U.S. national tours, a London West End production, a UK tour and numerous foreign productions and was adapted for a 2007 musical film.

Highlights of the show include an amazing ensemble with very strong command of the sometimes complex harmonies. Edna Turnblad played by Joseph Jervais was an absolute delight to both listen to and watch. He had great delivery of lines with perfect comedic timing. Penny Pingleton played by Heather Stevens was a hidden gem in the show. I especially enjoyed Rebecca Patterson DaCosta (Motormouth Maybelle), Walter Chilsholm (Seaweed), the Dynamites and the Council. Tracy was adorable, Link handsome and Corny Collins ... exactly what you would expect.

Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now, Welcome to the 60's, The Big Doll House, Big, Blond and Beautiful, and You Can't stop the Beat were all delightful numbers. The choreography was crisp and fun to watch.

The costuming was bright, cheerful and exactly what one would expect stepping back into 1962. The band was wonderful. Lighting was a little dim at times and there seemed to be some issues with the microphones. I love the score for this show, it is full of numbers that will leaving you dancing in your seat, and humming the tunes on the way home.

Overall a wonderful production which I encourage you to go see. They have two more performances - August 13 @ 8pm & August 14 @ 2pm. Tickets can be ordered at http://www.scdw.net/

Into the Wood Auditions

DragonFly Performing Arts announces auditions for INTO THE WOODS, the musical

DragonFly Performing Arts will be holding auditions for Into the Woods on Sunday, January 30th from 4pm to 8pm at DragonFly Performing Arts Center,  473 Main Street in Cairo, NY.   All parts are open. 

Roles are:

BAKER  
Strong actor, good singer, good-hearted man    A flat - E flat

BAKER'S WIFE
Excellent singer and actress, comic timing, determined and patient, drives the play forward    B flat - D

CINDERELLA
Strong singer, moves well, comic timing, beautiful yet awkward and clumsy A - D


CINDERELLA'S FATHER 
Some group singing, seemingly no interest in his daughter's well-being, in one scene
   
CINDERELLA'S PRINCE    
Good singer, good actor, brother, pompous and self-absorbed  -  B flat - D flat

CINDERELLA'S MOTHER
Good singer, in one scene - B flat - D

CINDERELLA'S STEPMOTHER
Good actress, good singer, selfish, mean and nasty  -  G - D

FLORINDA
Good actress, good singer, step-sister to Cinderella, spoiled brat -  E - G

GRANNY
Good speaking voice, fiesty and fierce, may be doubled with Cinderella's Mother - Non-singing

JACK  
Good actor, excellent singer, capable of transitioning from a simple boy to a more grown-up young man - A - D

JACK'S MOTHER
Good actress, strong speaking voice, some singing -  C - C

LITTLE RED RIDINGHOOD   
Good actress, strong voice, pushy, bratty and spoiled - B flat - C

LUCINDA
Good actress, good singer, step-sister to Cinderella, spoiled brat - E - G

MILKY WHITE  
Good part for young child, moves well - Non-singing

MYSTERIOUS MAN
Strong speaking voice, can be doubled with Narrator role - Non-singing

NARRATOR
Engaging, charismatic, strong speaking voice, some singing, may double as Mysterious Man - G - B

RAPUNZEL
Excellent singing voice - C - A

RAPUNZEL’S PRINCE
Good singer, good actor, brother, pompous and self-absorbed - B flat - D flat

STEWARD
Featured role, good singer - C - D

WITCH
Good actress, strong singer, mysterious, mischievous, mother to Rapunzel - B flat - C

WOLF
Strong speaking voice, can be doubled or played by female - Non-singing

The director will be Rita Carver, Artistic Director.  This Emmy Award winner has worked professionally in the Theatre for almost 20 years. She has worked in Broadway Theatre - both on and off, Regional Theatre, Dance and Opera - both American and European. Productions include An American Daughter, Once Upon a Mattress, A Delicate Balance, The Sisters Rosensweig, Guys and Dolls, The Pointer Sisters’ Ain’t Misbehavin’, and Paper Moon.

Ms Carver has been teaching for fifteen years.  Recent schools where she has taught include New York University, SUNY Fredonia, Dutchess Community College, and Westchester Community College.  Other teaching opportunities have been at industry trade shows as well as many articles in trade magazines.

  Ms. Carver won an Emmy Award for her work on the “2000 Sydney Olympics.” She also won an Emmy nomination for the “Montel Williams Show” as well as a Silver Axiem Award.  She won a Silver Axiem Award for “Elmo’s World.”  She is also under contract with Focal Press to write a new textbook for Theatre classes.  Ms. Carver holds an MFA from New York University.

DragonFly Performing Arts, a 501(c)3 corporation, is dedicated to bringing Theatre and the Performing Arts to the youth and community of Greene County.  Ms. Carver  said, “Whether on stage or off, DragonFly is committed to bringing the very best in theater to the youth of Greene County, and the community at large.  Training in the performing arts is not only an exciting activity, but an opportunity for any individual to be creative and confident members of our community.”

All rehearsals and performances will be in Cairo, NY.  Rehearsals begin in early May, with performances June 10-12 and 17-19.  For more information, contact DragonFly Performing Arts at 947-6306 or check out their web site at http://www.dragonflyperformingarts.com/.

Dragonfly Arts offering Theater Classes

DragonFly Performing Arts announces a new array of theater arts classes, available now to area students, both young and old.

DragonFly Performing Arts in Cairo, which is now offering youngsters a Circus Arts course, today is also announcing spring classes in a host of other theatrical skills instruction for those from 8 to 80 looking to ham it up in front of an audience, or apply their new skills on back stage crafts.

Under the guidance of Artistic Director Rita K. Carver, DragonFly presents an instrument for artistic expression and human understanding for students and audiences alike.

"The classes we offer have consistently attracted eager and enthusiastic groups of students,” Ms Carver said, adding, “They show wonderful progress, and many continue to re-enroll as they perfect and improve their skills. We have been very fortunate that our own students have effectively applied their new-found experience and knowledge in many of DragonFly's on-going theatrical productions."

 The circus comes to town with the CIRCUS ARTS class, where youths from 8 to 12 can learn juggling, basic tumbling, falls, and slapstick techniques. They even get to design your own personal clown makeup.

 For those interested in created theatrical scenery, there’s SCENE STUDY, an opportunity to develop an intensive focus on scene work. One scene per two students will be dissected and analyzed. 

One cannot fully appreciate theater without some knowledge of SHAKESPEARE. This course introduces students to the themes and language of Shakespeare's anthology.  There will be an in-depth study of scenes from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" that helps students to understand the historical significance of the play while relating the script to current trends.  Here’s an opportunity to understand the timelessness of Shakespeare and his relevance to modern audiences.

To complete the picture, DragonFly also has courses in STAGE MANAGEMENT and DIRECTING, two key off-stage roles that are essential to creating a successful theatrical production.  Students learn what is required of a stage manager, what is needed to prepare for rehearsals, how to organize a play book and how to call a show. Hands on experience with a DragonFly production is part of the program. Would be directors learn how to break down a script to see what is required, define character development, and prepare for auditions. 

For more information, fees, class schedules and a registration form contact DragonFly Performing arts at PO Box 1224, Cairo, NY 12413, 518-947-6306 or check out their web site at http://www.dragonflyperformingarts.com/  Deadline for registration is March 1, 2011.

Lack of Theatre

This time of the year is crazy. There is a lot of great theater to see, and I have so many shows I want to go to - but with the Holidays upon us, and a new job - things are very busy.

Godspell

Nov 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 2010 at 8:00 PM
Nov 14, 20, 2010 at 2:00 PM

County Players Falls Theatre
2681 W. Main St
Wappingers Falls, NY

Promises, Promises

Nov 12, 13, 19, 20, 2010 at 8:00 PM
Nov 14, 21, 2010 at 2:00 PM

Trinity Players
Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center
12 Vassar Street
Poughkeepsie, NY

A Review: Sam Cooke—Where You Been Baby?

The following is a guest post from Brian Petti, a local playwright and actor. Enjoy!

A Hot Night in Rosendale

ROSENDALE, NY--By the end of Michael Monasterial's one-act musical drama Sam Cooke—Where You Been Baby?, the audience was up on its feet and “Twistin' the Night Away” to a wailing sax and an exhorting vocalist. It was theater as church revival—a punctuation to the career of a preacher's son turned R&B legend.

But oh, what a winding road to get there.

This past Saturday, Passing the Torch Through the Arts offered Sam Cooke, directed by Gordon W. Brown and a 30 minute excerpt from The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, directed by Ron Morehead at Rosendale Theatre. An unlikely pairing, but one held together by fine acting throughout.

Monasterial starred as Cooke, with a cadre of Candi Sterling, Steven Jones and Evelyn Clarke playing a multitude of roles. The play begins with Cooke's death at the hands of a manager of a seedy Hollywood hotel and works its way back to Cooke's humble beginnings as a minister's son, sneaking out of Church choir to dream of a more exciting life. Cooke's platitude spouting grandmother (Evelyn Clarke) joins him and the audience for the narrative ride, acting as his conscience in an apron. Along the way Cooke comes up against his father's judgment, an ill-fated marriage to his childhood sweetheart and the threat of Motown Records, the closest thing there was to mafia to aspiring black artists in the early sixties. He also faces his own destructive behavior.

But there is also success, mostly in the form of performances of Cooke's hits by Monasterial. In the music seemed to be all the joy of the man, and Monasterial captures that essence well. In well-choreographed numbers by Abby Lappen, he performs “You Send Me”, “Chain Gang”, “Wonderful World” and a host of others with a showman's flair. Monasterial's portrait of the man is sympathetic. Cooke comes across as a well-meaning, somewhat innocent dreamer. His grandmother's line, “By the time you know what this world is about, you'll wish you didn't” seems apt. There is another side to this man that is grazed upon in his dealings with Berry Gordy of Motown—Monasterial shows a man in full, capable and strong and willing to defend himself. But even when he abashedly explains his scandalous murder to his Nanna in a touching scene, you see the results of his demons and not the demons themselves.

Evelyn Clarke as Nanna was a crowd favorite as the voice of experience in Cooke's life. Her touching mixture of tenderness and rebuke fit the part wonderfully and gave the play most of its soul. Candi Sterling, playing everything from Cooke's wife to his prostitute, ably fit every character she tackled. Her portrayal of the wife's arc, from wide-eyed country girlfriend to scared, wounded spouse was particularly riveting. Dennis Washington added his wonderful voice to the proceedings, leading the choir as a gospel counterpoint to Cooke's pop songs. Bruce Berky added that great sax and handled sound, while Clarke and Esther Taylor-Evans shared a co-writing credit.

Some of the show's best acting was provided by Stephen Jones. As Cooke's unforgiving father he had the gravity of a man bent on pointing his son toward the straight and narrow, as Gordy he was all smiling malevolence, and as a gushing teenage fan dancing along to Cooke's music he almost stole the show. Whatever Jones portrayed, he committed to it and pulled it off with dignity.

Gordon W. Brown's direction of the show was tight, moving the action along nicely and revealing character along the way. One bit, where Cooke's then-girlfriend grabs money out of his hand before accepting his proposal, got a round of applause from the audience—that's about as effective as direction gets! Monasterial wrote Cooke talking directly to the audience to set up scenes, which is less effective, since many of the scenes would stand on their own without introduction. There was also a looseness to the performance that in its best moments led to a direct connection with the audience, and at its worst indicated that another week of rehearsal was warranted. Some of the key moments in the play just miss because of this lack of precision. However, on the whole the play comes across as both heartfelt tribute and cautionary tale, and there was no denying how much the audience enjoyed it.

The Vagina Monologues, staged simply with three actresses sitting in chairs facing the audience, was a wonderful blend of terrific acting and subtle direction by Ron Morehead. Johanna Tacadena, Dana Lockhart and Laurie Dichiara each performed one of the monologues, and their passion and talent was beautiful balanced. Tacadena's sweet, soulful performance of an inexperienced woman was offset by Dichiara's venerable, yet wounded portrayal of an older lady whose time has passed. Lockhart strikes the chord in her direct, no-nonsense brush with a sexist, controlling husband in “Hair”. This show will be reprised at Arts Society of Kingston in June, and if the sneak peek is any indication it should not be missed.

Brian Petti 5/25/10

Arts Related Summer Camps for Girls

Fun Awaits at Rocky Brook Day Camp! Rocky Brook Camp is held at the Tuckahoe/Eastchester Program Center in Eastchester, NY. Located in southern Westchester County, this center sits on a 3 acre wooded lot with outdoor play areas, pavilion, barbecue pits and the famous "singing steps". Some of the available sessions include:
Fashion Forward
For girls grades K-9 from July 12 - 23
Are you into fitness and fashion? Learn cool fitness secrets and recipes for delicious healthy snacks. You will also design and make your own beach wrap skirt and day bag. Practice the ways of the fashionista and make your own jewelry. This session will end with the runway debut of your new creations.

Take the Stage
For girls grades K-9 from July 26 - August 6
Girls will have a chance to express themselves through a variety of performance arts including, but not limited to, drama, improv, drumming, clowning and music. We will also explore the production end of the arts from costumes to make-up to set design. This session will end with a performance for fellow campers.

For more information on Rocky Brook Day Camp visit camp.girlscoutshh.org and view the summer camp brochure or visit them on facebook.