Review: "The Musical Of Musicals (the Musical)" Highland Park Players and "Lend Me A Tenor" Summer Place, and a final word on "Tommy"

A couple of shows are closing this weekend and I wanted to get this out there before they do.  I give a YES to both, one more than the other.  


The Musical Of Musicals (The Musical) - Highland Park Players, Highland Park, IL  Closes 7/24/2010


You have tonight and tomorrow to see this show.  Do so, if you can.  This was the best "muscial" experience I've had this year.  Go here for more info about tickets, location, time, synopsis, etc.  Basically, it's the same story told 5 different ways, as if they were written by 5 different icons of musical theatre.  If you know musical theatre, you have to see this show.  You'll get it at its deepest level.  The puns are hysterical.  If you're not an expert, you'll love this anyway, because what is parodied is so well known, you'll have a blast watching these talented singers send up these musical writers.  And, hey, they found people that could do Fosse-like dancing.  Imagine that!  In community theatre!  I was told it's impossible to find that level of talent.  See it, then, just to see the impossible!  Scott Bussert, Tony Calzaretta, Hannah Rose and Denise Tamburrino give fantastic performances, and are a true ensemble.


It's been said that to parody something, you have to have a deep love and respect for it first, to make it work.  The authors hit it on the head, and director Kevin Wiczer and the cast, including, Robin Giebelhausen as the pianist/narrator, showed just how deeply they love and respect musical theatre.  It's a treat.  Cost me $16.

Lend Me A Tenor - Summer Place Theatre, Naperville, IL  Closes 7/25/2010

I'm giving this a borderline YES.  It started off slow, and really didn't find it's stride until Act I Scene 2.  Actors were stepping on laughs and I'm not sure they anticipated getting any.  My initial notes were, "Where's the energy?  Needs a faster pace."  In general, the acting covered a wide range of experience, and most did a decent job when all was done, but it sure took a long time to get there.  Some never got there, and dragged down the scenes they were in.  Act II was much better.  Dialog started to snap, and the action built to a frenzied finish, as a farce should.  Go here for more info.

Staging at that venue was odd.  Most of the show played on the Stage Right side of the thrust, forcing scenes to be played upstage/downstage.  I sat on the side, so I could see, but it appeared as if views from the center audience section of the thrust were blocked.  They did, however, do a creative job with the limitations of the stage.  Not bad, but not great.  It's a nice distraction for a hot evening.

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I also want to remind you that Bailiwick Chicago has two productions which I give a YES to that are part of in their inaugural season under their new incarnation, one of which is Aida @ American Theatre Company's space which closes 8/1/2010.  Aida is the Elton John/Tim Rice/Disney overblown epic based on Verdi's opera, presented in a space that allows you to focus more on the story than the spectacle.  Strong voices, invested acting and interesting afro-centric choreography makes the experience exciting.  For more info, go here.  I really enjoyed this production.  There were a couple of weak moments, especially the museum scenes that open and close the show.  Just didn't seem to gel.  You can see what they were going for, but it missed the mark.  The song at the end of Act 1 is rousing, and the story is well played.  See it before it leaves.


There is a famous story about a pitch meeting for the movie, Outland.  The story is when asked what the movie was about, the pitch was one sentence:  It's High Noon in outer space.  If I were to pitch F**king Men, the other Bailiwick production, now extended to 8/8/2010, I'd say:  It's gay La Ronde (click to learn more).  Actually, that's how it was descibed to me when I was invited to see it.  La Ronde was one of the first shows I was in when I was in college, so I thought it would be interesting to see this take.  The story is not the same, but the structure of the play is.  Scene 1 has two characters before and after a sexual encounter, one moves on to the next scene with a new partner, the new person in the next scene moves on and so forth, until by Scene 10, you are back to the character who did not move on from Scene 1 with the new person from Scene 9.  So, it's episodic.  When I read the program, I saw it was written by one of my least favorite playwrights, Joe DiPietro, who also wrote I Love You, Your Perfect, Now Change and Over The River And Through The Woods, also episodic, but those are more like sitcoms.  This is not sitcom, but each scene had the same rhythm to it, there was nothing new after the first scene.  Kind of like the TV show House - each episode seems to be structured the same, just a different disease.


Even though the material was somewhat lacking, it's worth seeing this production.  The cast is incredible, and each character is nicely drawn without a hint of dishonesty.  Fully committed and not a false note.  These actors were very strong, and formed a wonderful and true ensemble.  The direction was spot on, and the scene transitions appeared to have been choreographed.  See this for the brilliance of the acting that overcomes a mediocre script, and the fluid flow of the 90 minute show.  You'll find info at the same Bailiwick link.


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Finally, I went back to Theatre On The Hill at the invitation of the director Mike Fudala and co-president Craig Engel, so I could see Tommy the way the show should have been on opening night.


It was better, as one would expect in its fourth and final weekend.  It still started 19 minutes later than advertised, but Mike explained they like to start a little later so that the projected graphics are easier to see, since it would be darker.  I get what he was saying (like when they start a movie at the drive-in and the screen is washed out by the ambient light).  Have they thought of putting the curtain time a 1/2-hour later?  Then you'd start on time.  Just a thought.


There were singers I could hear for the first time, and that was nice.  Cap't Walker has a great voice that I wish I had heard on opening night.  The choreography was still pedestrian, some of the singing was still weak, and I still prefer the original story as conceived in the late 60s, early 70s.  I think this new "Broadway" version was a bit of a sell-out by The Who.  But, that's my take on it.


The show is over and all is quiet on the Hill.  And, if you didn't see Craig Engel's last comment on the Tommy review, here is a portion that speaks to how he cares about the audience.

So thanks to all who took the time to comment. We take this criticism seriously.   So here's the deal. We're doing "Amadeus" in the Fall. Michael and I want every one of our guests to feel important and heard, so if Tommy wasn't the experience you expected, let us know via e-mail. Just go to our website, tothbolingbrook.com and write us a note.   We'll then be happy to offer you a half-price ticket to Amadeus in an effort to make amends.

Now that's community theatre.