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The Wiz is Wondrous

Well I got a chance to chat with friend of The Matinee Tony and Grammy Award winner Alex Lacamoire when I went to see The Wiz which is playing at New York City Center as part of their summer Encore series. Alex as the musical director, along with Thomas Kail, director, and Andy Blankenbuehler, choreographer, has brought something very special to the New York stage. These three worked together in the same capacities on In the Heights which won the Tony for Best Musical in 2008. I call them the holy trinity. It seems everything they touch is golden. (Alex also worked with Andy on the dance arrangements for 9 to 5 which is currently on Broadway.)

The Wiz performers are electric. There's not a slacker on the stage. Not that there weren't standouts. Grammy winning singer Ashanti makes her NY stage debut as Dorothy. She plays the part with childish innocence. I thought she played it graciously low key, leaving the big performances for those playing stronger characters. Her voice is angelic, a joy to the ears. The big performances are by LaChanze who plays Aunt Em and Glinda the Good Witch, Dawnn Lewis as Addaperle the Good Witch of the North and Tichina Arnold as Evillene The Wicked Witch of the West. All give incredible performances and own the stage. And the gorgeous Orlando Jones as the Wizard is a neon green bundle of energy. The Scarecrow (Christian Dante White), Tinman (Joshua Henry) and Lion (James Monroe Iglehart) are all well-cast. One other performance that stood out for me was Juson Williams as the Gatekeeper. He steals the scene as he pompously hands out the green glasses to Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion as they enter the Emerald City. It's a small part but very memorable. He also plays one of the adorable Munchkins who wear inverted laundry baskets covered with the laundry that has blown in from the tornado. The laundry baskets conceal stools that enable these average-size actors to move freely on stage and appear munchkin-size. They also wear fright wigs adorned with clothespins. And the yellow brick road is depicted by the dancers wearing yellow high tops. All very clever. The choreography is spectacular. Andy Blankenbuehler is the new Fosse. His work has such a modern signature look to it. I would say he's probably my favorite living Broadway choreographer. The tornado ballet is absolutely amazing with the dancers embodying the storm. And not only is he good at creating the moves, he's great at casting his dancers who are the cream of the crop, including one of the finalists from last year's tv show "So You Think You Can Dance" the fabulous Will (William B. Wingfield). The score is wonderful including "Ease on Down the Road", "Everybody Rejoice" and "Home". And our Alex conducts on an elevated platform and is on stage throughout the show. I've said it before, I'll say it again, he is one of the nicest show biz people I've ever met. One of the nicest people I've ever met, period. I can only wish for him an incredible career.

It's a shame that this is a limited engagement since it's one of the best musicals I've seen in recent months. It's definitely Broadway-worthy and hopefully we will be seeing it there. I would love to take my daughter to see it. I did take my 11 year old friend, Evan, and he loved it. (There are pictures of Evan with Alex, Ashanti and Juson on The Matinee Gallery, page 16.) So if you're planning a trip to NY between now and July 5th, run and get your tickets before it whizzes on down the road.

Haunted at the Royal Exchange

This is a brand new play. We went in to this one with an air of excitement as quite by chance we bumped in to friend of the show, Sue Jenkins, who told up she had heard it was excellent. It would appear her sources were spot on. The stage was constructed out of a perspex allowing some interesting projections and uplighting. The theatre is set in the round at the Royal Exchange which must have set someo challenges as there is i full size door in the plot. They got around this by. . Yes you guessed it. . . Making it out of perspex. The outer ring of the stage revolved and proved very effective as a platform for introducing the characters to the right stage position. There are quite a few extra bits hidden but i will let you spot them yourself when you see it. The play itself has a great mix of comedy and serious moments. Brenda Blethyn is superb in her role as an ex housewife thats finds herself having to be the main bread winner. The story twists and turns right up to the last minute leaving you with the feeling that you understood it but dont ask me to explain it. All the cast were superb. This one is a must see.

Songs of sister act is nuntastic

Rowetta starred in this concert style musical. The london community gospel choir were outstanding. The whole show has had a revamp with more audience participation, including a rather funny segment where three nuns get up and sing from the audience. Ok maybe i should explain that you are encouraged to come dressed as nuns. Rowetta is a very generous performer. Costantly bigging up the whole cast but she does stand out with a superb voice that sent shivers down my spine. A word of warning. If you go expecting to be sitting down for most of the show you will be in for a shock. The audience was up on their feet before the first number was up. And the interval was a chance to sit down and rest. Madame Aries seemed to enjoy herself and i dont know who sang more. Her or the people on stage. Strongly recomended

High school musical at the lowry

It was cheesey kitch and a bit silly. But they do all of the above very well. The sound was a bit off but the audience of mainly youngsters loved it. Actually it was very entertaining. High energy wins over high art when disney comes to town. Go and see it and try not to smile.

Updating the Matinee technology

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West Side Story 2009

It's been 52 years since the then 40ish year old Arthur Laurents wrote the book for West Side Story. This time the 91 year old has also directed it. I've seen the movie countless times, know the entire score backwards and forwards so there's a special place in my heart for this play which takes place in the gang-ridden streets of New York City in the 1950's depicting the turf wars between the Anglo Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks and the impact it has on the Anglo Tony and the Puerto Rican Maria who are torn between ethnic loyalty and intense love for each other.

I'll cut to the chase. Is it good? Yes. Does it live up to the original? Not exactly. I'll start with what I loved about it. The original Jerome Robbins choreography was lovingly recreated by Joey McNeeley, himself a Robbins protege, and is as breath-taking as ever. The dancers are superb. I loved Karen Olivo as Anita. She's one of those electrifying presences like Idina Menzell or Kristin Chenoweth, people who you would go to see in anything. The Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim score is one of the best ever written. The sets of the mean streets of NY are fabulous. Where I feel it falls short is the casting for the most part. I'm not going to point fingers, but aside from Karen Olivo and a couple of the Puerto Rican girls, the singing and speaking voices were not strong or dynamic enough. The original Broadway cast album is so imprinted in my mind that I couldn't help but compare the voices with those of the original cast. And the songs and dialogue in Spanish are a mistake in my opinion. While the use of Spanish is an earnest attempt at making it more authentic, the audience, especially those not familiar with the story, lose a lot. My husband said he wished the pajama party scene in Maria's bedroom had been in English. He said he thought it was probably very funny but most of the audience didn't know what was going on. Two of the songs were done in Spanish as well. "I Feel Pretty" and "A Boy Like That". "A Boy Like That" was sung by Anita to Maria chiding her about the love for this man who just killed her brother. Those were important lyrics to the story.

Should you see it? Absolutely, it's classic Broadway. There's more good about it than bad. Jerry, Jade and I all enjoyed it very much, even with the flaws. But after you see West Side Story, go see "In the Heights" which is a more relevant look into the lives of Latino immigrants in the New York City of today. Sure, there still are the occasional turf wars but New Yorkers are so used to new and different ethnicities moving in and most of us have embraced the differences. To me, it's one of the things that makes New York City so wonderful, the diversity.