'High School'ers Get Ready for Spokane's INB

Big news for fans of Disney's High School Musical. WestCoast Entertainment landed the live stage show based on the mega-hit Disney Channel movie, and it comes to the INB Center April 29-May 4. I misspoke on the air - I said that it was the concert version. Boy was I wrong. This is a fully-staged version, similar to what Spokane Children's Theater just produced, but with professional performers and the full Disney budget behind it.

According to the website highschoolmusicalontour.com Spokane is one of only a dozen or so cities booked so far. Those other cities are much bigger than Spokanloo, including D.C., L.A. and San Diego. I'd say Best of Broadway landed a pretty impressive deal for Spokane kids.

And a personal note of thanks to WestCoast for NOT announcing before SCT's production of High School Musical ended. I have no clue if that was even an issue, but the timing honestly couldn't have been better. I know a couple of kids who wanted to go to SCT's show but couldn't get tickets, and SCT had a sold-out show. Sure it was a little community theater production but the kids in the audience and on the stage seemed to have a wonderful time, which in my opinion is what really counts (again, I could be wrong but I'll say it anyway.)

Dirty Rotten Fun

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a hoot. Of course I'm talking about the stage version visiting Spokane this week. Beyond the cute plot ("My Fair Scumbag"?) and the why-am-I-laughing-this-is-soooooo-gross moments, there is a lot to like about this production. Jeff Essex is completely charming as Andre. The ensemble is extremely strong, and each lead has at least one fabulous moment.

And now for something no other theater blogger or reviewer will touch on because it's such a theater geek thing. This production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a must-see for every director and would-be director in town for one simple element: the scene changes. I swear I wanted to applaud the ensemble for their well-timed, entertaining execution of an excellently-choreographed and interesting transition. In my big-mouthed opinion, THAT is what a scene change is about. It's a mini-show in itself, with singing (okay, they're do-do-do-ing, but it sounds GREAT) and characterizations (I loved the gossiping maids) while moving set pieces.

Not to say that it's a brand-new thing to area theaters. Specifically, Kathy Doyle-Lipe used the same idea in the Spokane Children's Theatre staging of Pinocchio several years ago that won a place at the national community theater awards (AACT). Which goes to show that a fabulously-thought out transition from one scene to another can do more than keep an audience totally engaged in the production. It can enhance the overall show to the point where it becomes one of the best things the audience has seen in a while. Kudos to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Thanks for your Support of Spokane Public Radio

Wednesday was the final day of the Fall Pledge Drive, and Matinee listeners did a wonderful job. Thank you for your support, Matinee listeners raised more than $1000 for KPBX in that hour. (If you still haven't donated, please consider making a pledge today.

Why pledge for something you can hear for free? Cladwell B. Cladwell of Urinetown would say giving it away isn't a good business plan. But that's the principle behind public radio. Public radio stations like KPBX don't air commercials to pay the bills. (Underwriters do support programs, but they get a 10-second announcement with none of the "buy now" stchick.) There are no parent organizations - no universities or school groups to foot the bills. This is community public radio. Without public radio, there would be no local voice for musical theater. After all, KPBX has been the gathering place for the region's artistic folks since 1980.

I would have posted the playlist of pledge-drive show songs sooner but my computer's motherboard decided to die. Gotta love technology... Thanks to Scott Davis for the loaner computer!

Sep 19: Fall Preview

Songs from shows that are on their way to area theaters this fall.

Lake City Playhouse: now through Oct. 6
Man of La Mancha [Original Broadway Cast] , The Barber's Song Golden Helmet - Gino Conforti, Richard Kiley, Irving Jacobson MCA
Man of La Mancha [Original Broadway Cast] , I'm Only Thinking of Him - Mitch Leigh MCA

Civic Theatre: September 29 - October 28, 2007
South Pacific (in Concert from Carnegie Hall), I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair - Reba McEntire Decca Broadway
South Pacific (in Concert from Carnegie Hall), Happy Talk - Lillias White Decca Broadway

Best of Broadway: September 25-30, 2007
Movin' Out, Movin' Out -Anthony's Song - Michael Cavanaugh Sony

Best of Broadway: Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007 - 8pm
Chad Mitchell Trio, Mighty Day - Chad Mitchell Trio Varese Sarabande

Best of Broadway: Oct. 30 - Nov. 4, 2007
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels , Here I Am - Sherie René Scott Ghostlight
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels , Chimp in a Suit - Gregory Jbara Ghostlight

Spokane Children's Theatre: Oct. 6 – 28
High School Musical, Breaking Free - Zac Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens Disney

Christian Youth Theater: November 2-4, 9-10
Little Women: The Musical, Days of Plenty - Maureen McGovern Razor & Tie/Ghostlight

Civic Theatre: November 16 - December 16, 2007
The Christmas Schooner, We All Have Songs - Company Louisa May Alleycat Music

Civic Theatre: October 21, 2007
Into the Woods [London Cast], Our Little World - Julia McKenzie/Mary Lincoln BMG

Best of Broadway: Nov. 27 - Dec. 2, 2007
Wedding Singer, Grow Old With Me - Stephen Lynch Sony

Best of Broadway: December 18-19, 2007
Jesus Christ Superstar (Original Motion Picture Soundrack) , Gethsemene - Ted Neeley Decca U.S.

Spokane Children's Theatre
The Velveteen Rabbit: Nov. 23 – Dec. 15

Actors Repertory Theatre
Souvenir: Nov 23 - Dec 8

Aida

Elton John's musical began its Spokane stop last night at the INB Center. Aida's production values are great -- a mature cast with strong singing, acting and dancing, fabulous set and stage lighting.

Amneris must be a fun character to play, with elements of Julie Brown's song "I'm A Blonde." Not quite a ditz, but certainly choosing to not be cerebral, her stereotypical growth through the show was nicely played. Aida was just as stereotypically strong, but a few nuances here and there. Both actresses have nice singing voices, and carried their solos and group numbers well. Ramades, well, he was the love interest baring his soul, and his chest, frequently. His acting was a little overwrought for me, and he's got the rock singing style down... which means I could barely understand him.

That's not really his fault. The lyrics almost always get lost in a rock style. Wailing, whining, scooping, slurring, it's all part of the music. It's hard to understand on the cast albums, too. For example, "Fortune Favors the Brave" becomes "farton fayva duh baaaaaaaay." Considering how many times that refrain is sung at the beginning, it's a good thing that it's printed in the program. The staging of course makes the song's intent pretty obvious, but as a wordsmith I love the nuances of lyrics; ya don't get that with Aida, even though Tim Rice ("Sir Tim to you") is pretty clever with a phrase.

And I admit, I'm not a fan of the script. I don't know much about the plot twists in the opera, or how they're presented, but having major plot elements spin on a dime based on one line that comes out of left field is pretty ridiculous. But that's not the fault of this production.

I truly loved the set. A two-story set with balcony, and large window filled with pyramid-shaped panes, clean and smooth lines. Six moving pedestals with ancient-looking statues changed the look enough to distinguish new scenes or locations. Excellent lighting effects through the window changed the moods effectively (I's a sucker for blue sky and realistic clouds). (I have to say I felt sorry for the (new?) spotlight operator who had trouble getting the tight focus on the actor's head and shoulders only. I hear from my lighting-designer husband that it's very tough to get it right from that distance.)

This production incorporated several modern elements into the costumes and props, something that I hear wasn't done in the original production. They were frankly distracting. It's an interesting concept, and they might have worked if the prologue/epilogue were different. The show opens and closes in the present, and in between we are supposed to be transported to the ancient Nubia of the museum exhibit. How can we do that with AK-47s and blue jeans?

Aida is what Jesus Christ Superstar would have sounded like if Tim Rice had written it with Sir John's music instead of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. The emotional elements are the same -- scenes of the ill and downtrodden begging for their leader to save them; Amneris could have been singing I Don't Know How To Love Him instead of I Know the Truth; the guys all showing off for their leader; the Pharaoh handing down a sentence of death... Different plot, different characters, different love triangle, but similar motivations.

Overall, I'm glad I saw it, I don't need to again.
Photos and positive reviews of this tour are at theaidatour.com
And a terribly honest review online here.

WestCoast Best of Broadway Season '07-'08

Silly silly silly Janean. I only picked two of the eight Best of Broadway shows announced as coming to town this next season. I didn't pay enough attention to which shows were Equity and which were non-Equity (the actors are not paid according to union rules, so they are therefore less expensive. As a rule, they are considered the "B" tours, or less quality. That's not necessarily true, but higher chance than not.)

I don't mean to be biting the hand that feeds me -- literally. WestCoast Entertainment put on a lovely luncheon to announce their upcoming musicals, and yours truly was invited. But frankly, for a 20th Anniversary rollout, the delicious lunch on the stage of the INB Center was the best thing about the gathering. My table companions were unimpressed overall.

The best surprise: A special one-night concert with the Chad Mitchell Trio. No kidding! Chad is from Spokane, and still lives here (he performed in Civic Theatre's A Child's Christmas in Wales and was an absolute delight). Mike Kobluk and Joe Frazier met Chad at Gonzaga, and they were a nationwide sensation among folkies in the 1960s. The luncheon featured a great montage of appearances on TV shows of the '60s, including Ed Sullivan. The one concert takes place Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. This is an EXTRA add-on.

Actually, half of the announced shows are add-ons at this point. Nothing was announced for after March 30. My guess is that the April and May shows are still in negotiations. Rather than announce and then change direction, as had to happen last season (the planned Little Shop tour shut down), I would hope they're make arrangements and will make future announcements. Otherwise, we've got a season of four shows for $177.

The pre-picks: Movin' Out (Sep 25-30), and Riverdance.

More on Riverdance: The tour will swing up our way after going through Portland, on its way up to Alberta. Jack Lucas said they worked hard to convince Riverdance to stop in Spokane, and I'm glad they did. This is reportedly the final tour of Riverdance. (or at least the production company is going to give it a nice long break) I will admit that I have watched the video several times and listened to the music, but have never sat in a theatre to watch them live. Considering how much I love to watch the Haran Irish Dancers perform, I think I've been missing out. Performances Jan. 18-20. Again, this is an ADD-ON show.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: I thought I'd put this in the pick list, but on second look, I hadn't. I'm very glad this is on its way to Spokane. (We almost saw it in New York last year, but messed up our timing, saw something really bad instead.) I never saw the movie this is based on, but I enjoy the cast album. So I guess I'll have a shock at the start: composer/lyricist David Yazbek wrote a new opening number for this tour, called "The Only Game in Town." Ironically, the song it replaces is called "Give Them What They Want." I hope this isn't an omen of not getting what we want out of this tour. Performances are Oct. 30-Nov 4

Jesus Christ Superstar: The only reason I didn't pick this as a show coming to town is that Ted Neely's "Farewell Tour" has been going on for a while. I thought the 60-year-old might be finished with singing Gethsemane by spring. I should have checked his Wikipedia site -- it's listed there as continuing into 2008 (open-ended). Neely and Superstar was last here in '93 (the first date my hubby and I went on together) and, according to our Wiki friends, is a "stripped-down version with staging and set limited to a few risers." It comes through Spokane Dec. 18-19. This production's booking is done by Troika Entertainment (same group associated with Cats, Chicago, Joseph and Movin' Out)

Speaking of producing companies, this season includes an early start in a first national tour -- HIGHLY unusual. The Wedding Singer began its stage life in Seattle's 5th Avenue before hitting Broadway. It was charming and got a little notice in its eight or nine months on Broadway, mostly because of lead Stephen Lynch. The Road Company is the booking agency, responsible for several A-list tours, specifically Wicked. (Talk about wanting to get in on their good side!) Perhaps the Wedding Singer creatives are fond of the Northwest. In any case, the '80s-style musical comes to Spokane Nov. 27-Dec. 2.

Gypsy is the most ... ambiguous of the productions listed. It's being touted based on its solid score by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim lyrics. Whereas most of the video montages publicizing the tours showcased the Broadway stage productions they are based on, this montage featured clip after clip of the film versions (visible at Phoenix Entertainment's site).
I was hoping it was because the production would be based on this summer's Encores series at New York's City Center, which will have Patti LuPone play Mama Rose for a special one-month production this summer.
Phoenix Entertainment -- the group also behind the current television show looking for the next leads in Grease -- is then sending the production on tour, but NOT with LuPone. Rumor has it that Kathy Halenda will portray Mama Rose. She's not a big name, hence the focus on the show itself. Maybe that'll be a refreshing change, seeing Mama Rose as a stage mom and not as a celeb portraying a stage mom. Rumors also say the set pieces and costumes, etc. are coming from the 2003 version with Bernadette Peters. That'll come Feb. 21-24 next year.

The other add-on show finishing the announced season is ... Mamma Mia. Wait, didn't we just bop to this staged concert to ABBA tunes a year ago? Jack Lucas said that WestCoast thought it was too early too, but the producers really really really really wanted to come back to Spokane. (So "back by popular demand" refers to the producers? Do they need to fix their set? Do they want to take a group photo on the carousel or the wagon slide? Was there an untapped audience here who learned about the first showing too late? Will it spark a new debate on jukebox musicals? We'll find out Mar. 25-30 '08.

I'm really surprised that Light in the Piazza and Sweet Charity are not on the list. The main reason is that they are both booked by Network Productions, the same group that shopped around Annie and Hairspray, and is about to bring Rent. Who knows, maybe we'll have some new announcements before too long.

What will Best of Broadway bring to Spokane?

At noon on March 28, the Best of Broadway series is announced. This is the 20th Anniversary of the series, managed by WestCoast Entertainment. An anniversary like that usually means something special. They have big shoes to fill -- the 2005-06 season had The Lion King. That was the "next level" from the technical extravaganza of Phantom of the Opera. So where will they go?

If I had my say, it would be up. Defying Gravity up.

Wicked would be a coup for lil' ol' Spokane. Cities are vying for the attention of Stephen Schwartz's popular musical (pun intended. Oh rats, now I've got that song stuck in my head.) It keeps getting invited back for return engagements, and it's only been running on Broadway since '03. The tour began in Chicago, but was so popular it never left. Now there are open-ended productions in Los Angeles, Chicago, and London, aside from the original Broadway. The tour is announced for fall '07, but considering that the current tour started in Seattle this past September, and there are no announced dates between Boston in early fall and Florida in March, could we have a November run? Or February '08? In the words of another witch, "Possible. Very very possible.*"

So what are my GUESSES? Based on past seasons and what I know is out there... Here are the most likely eight shows.

Camelot with Michael York. Gotta have one of the classic Lerner & Loewe or Rodgers & Hammerstein in the mix.

Sweet Charity, probably right after Molly Ringwald finishes her run in this Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields blast from the past.

Movin' Out, the dance show based on Billy Joel music. It'll be in Alberta November and early December, so I wouldn't be surprised if it swings down here for the early January slot.

Riverdance. The river is flowing again, and again it'll be up in Alberta in February '08. They might have arranged a March dance spectacular date.

The Light in the Piazza. It's a beautiful tone poem of a musical, especially the Italian songs. The most romantic, serious, old-fashioned musical on Broadway in the past few years. Not a song-and-dance spectacle (a nice change of pace), a beautiful and fascinating story told through music.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Silly, edgy, as is all of William Finn's shows (think Falsettos).

TicketsWest also brings a young-children family friendly show to town each summer. Last year it was Dora the Explorer's Pirate Adventure (RIGHT before my daughter started learning about the exciting Hispanic heroine, and now she wears Dora shoes, Dora jammies, Dora dress, colors Dora books ... you get the picture). This year, Nickelodeon is producing Dora's cousin Diego in a live show, based on the spinoff cartoon show "Go Diego Go." Our kid isn't interested in Diego's show, but she does love his sidekick Baby Jaguar, and the two episodes she's seen Diego in. Dora appears in the live show to keep everyone's attention. Looks like this might be one show she's interested in seeing.

Remember, these are my GUESSES. We'll find out tomorrow afternoon. (By the way, Bobo will probably beat me to listing them on his blog, since I'll be away from the computer most of tomorrow.)

In related news, when Disney brings its ice show to the Spokane Arena, the show will be "High School Musical On Ice." Disney had a smash hit with their cable channel's original movie musical about, well, a high school musical. It's big. Extremely big. The same way that Wicked is big. (Hm, same audience, in fact.) So it is the next ice extravaganza -- skating to the soundtrack of the original movie. (They're doing two sequals of the movie, which is why I stress the 'original.')

Confirmed dates in the region:
Stomp: Portland's Keller Auditorium, Jun 19 - Jun 24, 2007
Camelot: Portland's Keller Auditorium, Oct. 2-7, 2007
Spamalot: Seattle's Paramount Theatre, Oct. 10 - 28, 2007 AND Portland's Keller Auditorium, Aug. 22 - Sep. 2, 2007
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Portland's Keller Auditorium, July 10 - 15, 2007
Sweeney Todd: Portland's Keller Auditorium, Apr. 8 - 13, 2008
Avenue Q: Portland's Keller Auditorium, Jun. 24 - 29, 2008
Phantom of the Opera: Portland's Keller Auditorium, Aug. 13 - Sep. 7, 2008

* Into the Woods, particularly as played by Bernadette Peters.