Fresh Voices - The Musical of Musicals: The Musical!
Guest Blogger: Liz Beck, Senior RMU
I adore musicals.
I love Les Miserables. I have Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat committed to memory. I know every word of every song from The Lion King. Please, don’t ask me what my favorite soundtrack is—even though it’s probably Evita—because I won’t be able to choose. Musicals provide us with wish fulfillment that’s unmatched by stage plays. There’s just something so damn satisfying about watching people break out into song and dance choreographed routines, and as a rather cynical person, I truly enjoy the happy, shiny endings musicals offer.
Since I love musicals, it makes sense that I loved The Musical of Musicals (The Musical), the latest venture at Off the Wall Productions. The show takes the basic plot of a gullible woman who owes rent to her crook of a landlord and retells it in the styles of five different famous composers and duos—namely, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Kander and Ebb. Even if you’re unfamiliar with any of these names, odds are, you’ve probably seen or heard something from one of their musicals, because they are perhaps the most popular and well-loved in the world of theatre. These composers fall into very distinct categories due to the unique styles of their music and story telling, and The Musical of Musicals (The Musical) sits right in the niche they all form. The show highlights the strange and oftentimes humorous ins and outs of musical storytelling in a very endearing way; it pokes fun at the happily ever afters, it easily confronts the obnoxious amount of singing that occurs in most musicals, and it openly mocks the nonsensical plot development we musical lovers have come to accept without question. This show parodies musicals perfectly, putting the very elements that make musicals so ridiculous on display. But, all joking aside, the show places six phenomenal actors and actresses on a stage and flawlessly flaunts their vocal and acting chops. In nearly every song throughout the show, I was blown away by the vocal ranges of these actors alone, and that’s not to mention the ability of the cast as a whole to slip in and out of character faster and more gracefully than I would’ve thought possible.
All praise aside, I made a point to say I adore musicals because I have a subsequent point to make; if you do not like musicals, this show may not be for you. If you don’t like singing Broadway cast recordings in your car—ahem, I’m looking at you again, Evita—there’s a good chance you may miss some of the allusions that form the foundation of the humor in this show. As a fan of musicals, I wholeheartedly recommend going to see it, because I can’t overstate how clever it really is. It’s full of puns and melodies that provide an undercurrent of popular musicals, most of which only make you feel more at home if you recognize them. But if musicals are not your cup of tea, you might want to sit this one out. That said, if you do like musicals, and if you are as obsessed with them as I am, don’t pass this up.
I adore musicals.
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| Brittany Graham, Gavan Pamer - Photo: Heather Mull |
Since I love musicals, it makes sense that I loved The Musical of Musicals (The Musical), the latest venture at Off the Wall Productions. The show takes the basic plot of a gullible woman who owes rent to her crook of a landlord and retells it in the styles of five different famous composers and duos—namely, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Kander and Ebb. Even if you’re unfamiliar with any of these names, odds are, you’ve probably seen or heard something from one of their musicals, because they are perhaps the most popular and well-loved in the world of theatre. These composers fall into very distinct categories due to the unique styles of their music and story telling, and The Musical of Musicals (The Musical) sits right in the niche they all form. The show highlights the strange and oftentimes humorous ins and outs of musical storytelling in a very endearing way; it pokes fun at the happily ever afters, it easily confronts the obnoxious amount of singing that occurs in most musicals, and it openly mocks the nonsensical plot development we musical lovers have come to accept without question. This show parodies musicals perfectly, putting the very elements that make musicals so ridiculous on display. But, all joking aside, the show places six phenomenal actors and actresses on a stage and flawlessly flaunts their vocal and acting chops. In nearly every song throughout the show, I was blown away by the vocal ranges of these actors alone, and that’s not to mention the ability of the cast as a whole to slip in and out of character faster and more gracefully than I would’ve thought possible.
All praise aside, I made a point to say I adore musicals because I have a subsequent point to make; if you do not like musicals, this show may not be for you. If you don’t like singing Broadway cast recordings in your car—ahem, I’m looking at you again, Evita—there’s a good chance you may miss some of the allusions that form the foundation of the humor in this show. As a fan of musicals, I wholeheartedly recommend going to see it, because I can’t overstate how clever it really is. It’s full of puns and melodies that provide an undercurrent of popular musicals, most of which only make you feel more at home if you recognize them. But if musicals are not your cup of tea, you might want to sit this one out. That said, if you do like musicals, and if you are as obsessed with them as I am, don’t pass this up.
May 6-7, 12-14, 19-21 @ 8:00pm
Matinee: May 8 & 15 @ 3:00pm
Book by Eric Rockwell and Joanne Bogart
Music by Eric Rockwell
Lyrics by Joanne Bogart
Directed by Robyne Parrish
Musical Director: Nancy Gordon Galluzzo
Ryan Patrick Kearney* Robyne Parrish*,
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