Saint Mary's UniversityConceived by Paul Gilger
director: Judy Myers
music director: Anthony Freeman
costume designer: Janis Martin
choreographer: Christine Martin
lighting designer: Matthew Albrecht
scenic designer: Kit Mayer
stage manager: Michael Dutton
cast: Libby Snyder, Danny Pancratz, Ashely Dillard, Andy Greene, Maria Ciangiola, Stephen DiBlasi, Anthony Freeman
A musical Review of the works of Jerry Herman. Featuring the songs from the following shows, hesitantly put together with the wisps of a storyline.
Milk and Honey (1961)
Hello, Dolly! (1964)
Mame (1966)
Dear World (1969)
Mack and Mabel (1974)
The Grand Tour (1979)
A Day in Hollywood (1980)
La Cage Aux Folles (1983)
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I believe that this was the dullest evening of musical theatre I have ever endured (with the possible exception of the recent production of Camelot with Michael York).
What would possibly possess a producer to open a new summer theatre with a musical review of some lesser known works?! Unless you are more actively involved in theatre, you probably don't know any of the works listed above, with the exception of Hello, Dolly!, and maybe Mame.
However, that wasn't the worst problem here. I happen to know Mr. Herman's music and I was looking forward to hearing some songs that I wasn't readily acquainted with, and still I cringed.
Problem #1, already discussed, choice of show. Problem #2 ... male performers who can't sing. Yes, that's right. A musical review and half of the cast can't carry a tune. They hung in there admirably, but I was embarassed for them and grateful any time it was the women alone on stage.
Problem #3: the script. I know it's difficult to write a story around a set group of songs, but it can be done well. See Crazy For You for a wonderful example. See this for a lousy example. The best, absolutely best, part of the show was in the second act when performer Ciangiola goes through a pregnancy and sings "It Only Takes a Moment", "What Do I Do Now?" and "Tap Your Troubles Away." This was the best (possibly only) acting in the evening, as well as the best dancing.
The dancing. Problem #4. Was there a reason that there wasn't more dancing? How many times can we watch a jazz square? Ciangiola's tapping was wonderful (she easily out-tapped the men) and I would have liked to have seen more of it. Instead, we got a lot of men-lifting-the-girls type of thing, which was also VERY embarassing considering that Ciangiola was hefty and her partner wasn't able to lift her. So why no dancing? Can't they dance? If the men can't sing, nobody dances, and they aren't given any real opportunities to act, what is there?
The costumes were nice. The set was nice. The piano playing was wonderful.
Do I even need to make a recommendation?
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