How do you measure the year’s best moments?
by Linda Chin
The divisiveness that has defined American politics since 2016 (and hasn’t let up in 2020) has left me (and others) feeling anxious, depleted, fearful and hopeless. Theater has provided welcome (albeit temporary) respites from a pounding media headache as well as the longer-acting benefits of keeping empathy and understanding in our narratives and creativity and human connection in our lives. I was particularly grateful for last year’s abundance of productions with music and for the range of musical styles – 90s R&B, 60s psychedelic surf rock, gospel, classic show tunes – and for the musicians (in the orchestra pit or on stage) playing live, and for music’s healing qualities. And watching an ensemble erupt into dance – whether Fosse or gumboot, ballet, Asian-influenced or 21 pairs of tapping feet – can make my mood lighter and gray moments brighter for days.
With great respect for late musical theater legends Harold Prince and Jerry Herman and New England’s abundance of committed theater companies and artists, here is my critical lens on “10 Best Musicals/Plays with Music” and 10 memorable musical moments of New England Theater’s 2019 Season. Here’s hoping that many of 525,600 minutes of this year (+1440 minutes extra for leap year) are filled with lots of love, music, theater, and memorable moments.
BEST MUSICALS/PLAYS WITH MUSIC (roughly in order of when I saw them):
Miss You Like Hell (Company One & ART) – with book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes (In the Heights) and music and lyrics by singer/songwriter Erin McKeown, this musical took us on a cross-country trip with a mother-daughter pair whose relationship, like the road they’re traveling on, was filled with bumps and smooth stretches. Summer Williams directed and David Coleman music-directed the stellar cast and band, featuring Johanna Carlisle–Zepeda (mom Beatriz) and Krystal Hernandez (daughter Olivia). Their strong acting skills and operatic voices helped the simple storyline and feel–good score soar. Their solos shone, and Texas two–step number “Dance With Me” was joyous, Raijene Murchison’s (park ranger) “Yellowstone” was filled with soul, and the title song sung near the end of the show filled the Oberon to the rafters.
Cabaret (Oguinqut Playhouse) – the design elements of this sensational revival (costumes, sets, lighting melded seamlessly, as great musicals do. Under the direction of BT McNicholl, music direction by Bruce Barnes, and choreography by Andrea Leigh, the entire cast sizzled. Shout outs to the quadruple threat actor–singer–dancers in the ensemble who also played instruments in the onstage band; Kate Shindle’s (Sally Bowles) riveting rendition of the title song, and Bowles and Kit–Kat girls’ Mein Herr – each step–by–step polished and precise, and; Veteran actors John Rubenstein and Mariette Hartley for their poignant portrayals of the show’s second love story (Herr Schulz and Fraulein Schneider) – and the sad realization that it is not always possible to marry the person you love.
Matilda (Cape Cod Theater Company/Harwich Junior Theater) – with a director as experienced as James Byrne at the helm, the large company of child and professional adult actors were in good hands. With the resume and poise of an older performer, Grace Olah brought out Matilda’s yearnings to be parented and seen. Olah sings like an angel and dances like a dream, and her dialect is spot on. Brittany Rolfs in the role originated on Broadway by Bertie Carvel usually played by male actors gives a remarkable performance as Miss Trunchbull. Her physicality and mannerisms are spot-on, and her vocal chops reached the rafters in this very intimate theater and raised the bar for everyone else on stage. Most everything I’ve seen here is a pearl.
Billy Elliot (Seacoast Rep) – in an intimate theater on Main Street in Portsmouth NH, audiences were transported to a mining community in northern England, and reminded that working class rebellions, parent-child struggles, and the power of the arts to save lives are universal. Director and choreographer Rachel Bertone has the gift of making musical theater productions a seamless blend of the design elements – costumes, sets, props, lighting, sound and helping every member of the spectacular cast shine. Every seat in the arena-style auditorium is special – in the front rows you’re right in the Elliot’s kitchen or the street riot; in the upper rows you got to see the dance formations performed by the adult and child ensemble.
Mame (Reagle Music Theatre) – Under the gifted direction of Eileen Grace (also choreographer), and music director Dan Rodriguez, this grand dame of a musical came to life with top–notch performances by professional actors Leigh Barrett (Mame Dennis), Maureen Keiller (her “Bosom Buddy” Vera) and Mark Linehan (her southern suitor Beau), and young actor Ben Choi–Harris as Mame’s nephew Patrick. Barrett and Choi-Harris were a perfect pairing and their duet My Best Girl stole our hearts.The first–rate ensemble (including dance captain Taavon Gamble) more than do justice to the title song “Mame”and the festive “We Need a Little Christmas”. Long–time Reagle producer Bob Eagle smartly selected Mame (and La Cage Aux Folles) as bookends for the 51st summer season, and both did right by their creator Jerry Herman, who passed away in December 2019.
Cambodian Rock Band (MRT) – 2019 Steinberg Playwright Award winner Lauren Yee’s brilliantly conceived and beautifully written play tells the story of a US-born and educated Cambodian American woman named Neary, who travels to Phnom Penh to work on the war crime trials and better understand her family history. The Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists, musicians and intellectuals in order to erase culture and killed two million people in total. The ensemble (Aja Wiltshire as Neary, Greg Watanabe as her father, Christopher Thomas Pow, Matthew Yee, Peter Sipla, Eileen Doan, and Albert Park (as prison operator Duch) demonstrated their acting prowess and musical talents, donning instruments and playing the psychedelic surf rock tunes of Dengue Fever. For those who missed it, CRB is making its NY debut (with some tweaks by the playwright and director Chay Yew and a new cast including actor Francis Jue as Duch) in February–March.
Dragon Mama (ART–Oberon) – in this sequel to Dragon Lady and the second work in the Dragon Series trilogy, Seattle-based artist Sara Porkalob tells the story of her mom, a nightclub singer. With a soundtrack of 90’s R&B, force-of-nature Porkalob shows us that not only can she write, produce, play dozens of characters of different ages, genders and ethnicities, but she can also SING. Porkalob is the consummate storyteller, a powerful performer who engages audience members of all generations, and a cultural ambassador. Let’s hope the third work of the trilogy – and the story of the third generation, Dragon Baby – is part of the ART’s 2020–21 season programming and we can continue to see Porkalob live locally before her productions hit Broadway or the big screen.
Pacific Overtures (Lyric) – With its sophisticated score and casting challenges, Pacific Overtures is Sondheim’s least produced work. Spiro Veloudos trod carefully to execute his vision without compromising authenticity and made smart choices, including music director Jon Goldberg, set designer Janie E. Howland (five grand yet intricately detailed panels), choreographer Micheline Wu, and an all–Asian cast of 11 men and women to play over 50 roles, including Lisa Yuen as the Reciter (a role played by legendary actors BD Wong and George Takei). Wu’s traditional dance with a small fan, Kai Chao’s solo “Lion Dance”, and “Welcome to Kajugama” with geishas Karina Wen, Kai Chao, Alexander Holden and a madam (Gary Ng) twirling large paper umbrellas showed contrasting East–West styles, and two songs sung by trios “There is No Other Way” (Wu, Wen, and Elaine Hom) and “Someone in a Tree” (Milardo, Ng, Wen) were lovely.
42nd Street (Umbrella) – Producing Artistic Director Brian Boruta (also the show’s director) made a great choice in christening Umbrella Theater Company’s new performance facilities with this iconic uplifting crowd–pleaser. Umbrella’s new Equity status also allowed the company to snag one of Greater Boston’s leading ladies, Aimee Doherty, to play diva Dorothy Brock. 42nd Street also featured strong performances by Daniel Forrest Sullivan as Andy Lee, Todd Yard as Julian Marsh, and Barbara Pierre as Maggie Jones, but truly, every one of the 21 cast members contributed to this dazzling debut.
Parade (Moonbox) – One of Hal Prince’s lesser known (and lesser produced) works, this musical about Leo Frank, the Jewish factory manager who was falsely accused of raping and murdering a teenage girl in 1913 Atlanta, was not your typical holiday fare, but drew crowds of Greater Boston’s smart and social justice–minded audiences. Phil Tayler (who dazzled in Moonbox’s Cabaret) as Leo Frank and Haley K. Clay (in an impressive professional debut) as Leo’s loyal wife Lucille were beautifully paired. Aaron Patterson (a junior at Boston Conservatory who also shone in Choir Boy) played the factory janitor who betrayed his boss with a depth of understanding beyond his years. Despite the show’s difficult subject matter, Moonbox’ willingness to take a risk on this show Director Jason Modica and Phil Tayler’s enduring love for the story and score (they staged the show when they were students at BoCo ten years before) and the opportunities Parade has provided for artists to bring the story to life, give us cause to be hopeful and excited about the future.
MUSICAL MOMENTS WE’D ENJOY SEEING AGAIN
- “As Long As He Needs Me” – Daisy Layman (Nancy) in Oliver (New Rep)
- “Somewhere That’s Green” – Katrina Pavao (Audrey, Lyric) and Rebecca Gibel (Audrey, Trinity) in Little Shop of Horrors
3. Step–dance sequences – choreographers Yewande Odetoyinbo and Ruka White in Choir Boy (Speakeasy)
4. “Where is Love” – Ben Choi–Harris (Oliver) in Oliver (New Rep)
5. “21 Guns” – American Idiot (Company Theatre)
6. “The Lady’s Paying” – Sunset Boulevard @NSMT
7. “524,600 minutes” – Rent @ Shubert/Boch
8. Starr Busby’s Starbuck and Andrew Cristi’s Queequeg and the ensemble’s “A Squeeze of the Hand” in Moby Dick (ART)
9. Carrie–Anne Ingrouille’s choreography in Six (ART) 10. “Greatest Love of All” – School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (Speakeasy)
