Jazz,
Mark O'Connor's "Hot Swing" breathes new life into gypsy jazz
Who would have guessed that it would take a Seattle-born maestro to truly capture the heart and soul of Romani guitarist Django Reinhardt's "gypsy music?" While on paper it might sound like an unusual notion, Mark O'Connor's two-hour "Hot Swing" performance at the Folly Theater was all the proof needed to transform any naysayers in the audience into Django loyalists - and perhaps just as importantly - O'Connor devotees. A jazz concert often creates an emotional connection between band and audience, but O'Connor accomplished a greater feat at his performance in Kansas City. What originally began as straight-laced, reserved group of patrons eventually morphed into a group of hooting-and-hollering, frenzied fans that begged for an encore. Not bad for a jazz show.
The enthusiastic response was par for the course for a man who once declared he would like to see "an American string revolution." The accomplished violinist and composer wears many hats these days - whether recording his piece "Americana Symphony" with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra or instructing at the annual String Camp sessions - but his recent appearance in Kansas City was driven by a specific mission. O'Connor's presentation "Hot Swing" paid homage to 1930's Roma guitarist Django Reinhardt and French violinist Stephane Grappelli, founders of the influential Quintette du Hot Club de France.
"Hot Swing" also coincided with the 100th birthday celebration of Reinhardt, who before passing away in 1953, helped shape the "gypsy jazz" sound. Oscillating between a traditional, down-home bluegrass session and jaw-dropping jazz virtuosity, "Hot Swing" was never plagued by stagnancy. O'Connor, a powerhouse fiddler who commanded the stage with each solo, was solidly backed by some of the finest jazz players on the contemporary music scene. Included in the lineup were upright bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, the guitar team of Matt Munisteri and Frank Vignola, and vocalist Heather Masse, who joined the instrumental quartet periodically throughout the two sets. Vignola, who in the past has shared the stage with everyone from Les Paul to Donald Fagan, narrowly overshadowed O'Connor with his mind-blowing proficiency at his instrument.
Reinhardt's musical legacy endured with O'Connor's takes on "Minor Swing," "Limehouse Blues," "Nuages" and "Mystery Pacific," which featured rhythmically intense moments of strumming from Vignola. The vocal numbers featuring Masse strayed briefly from the Django-themed evening, but traditional favorites such as "Fascinating Rhythm," "As Time Goes By" and "Misty" were still crowd pleasers. A singer who has appeared on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, Masse delivered a restrained, yet strong vocal performance accentuated by her ability to explore multiple octaves.
For as much attention placed on Reinhardt's musical catalog, one of the most moving moments of the evening arrived with a subject closer to home. Kansas City Star writer and Coda Jazz founder Steve Penn spoke briefly to the audience about Kansas City's own Claude "Fiddler" Williams, whose funeral/burial arrangements were financially aided by Penn's committee. The personal violin of Williams was then presented to O'Connor, who took the opportunity to play a composition he wrote about the late musician titled "Fiddler Going Home." O'Connor's Celtic-derived solo instrumental piece, which was the first song played on William's violin since his death, marked the most heartfelt moment of the evening. Given the fact that the two-hour "Hot Swing" performance was often driven by the lightning-speed hand movements of O'Connor and Vignola, the subdued "Fiddler Going Home" was a welcome supplement to the evening.
O'Connor closed the second set with his own high-energy original, "Pickles on the Elbow," a perfect crescendo for a multi-faceted night of music. While many of the songs on the setlist, including "Pickles on the Elbow," can be heard on O'Connor's album Hot Swing!, additional material from Reinhardt created a more introspective and timely aspect to the performance. Some might argue that the soloing was at times over the top and possibly a bit bombastic, but it's hard to be disappointed in musicians who are breathing new life into the jazz tradition - and awing audiences as a result.
REVIEW
Folly Jazz Series
Mark O'Connor "Hot Swing" Jazz Trio
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Folly Theatre
12th Street and Central
For tickets to other events, call 816-474-4444, or online at www.follytheater.org
Top photo by Jim McGuire
KC Events this week and beyond
Click here to see all the events on the KC Events performing arts calendar.
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KCMetropolis.org's mission is to promote traditional and independent classical music, dance, theatre and independent film. We are very sorry, but we do not cover pop, rock, Christian or country music; we do not cover the visual arts or non-performing arts community events. If you would like to send a press release about an upcoming performing arts event, please send to press@KCMetropolis.org.
KC Events Categories are:
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KC Events this week and beyond
Check out all the events on the KC Events performing arts calendar.
How do you list your events on KC Events?
As an arts organziation or musician, you now have the ability to add and edit your own events.
KCMetropolis.org's mission is to promote traditional and independent classical music, dance, theatre and independent film. We are very sorry, but we do not cover pop, rock, Christian or country music; we do not cover the visual arts or non-performing arts community events. If you would like to send a press release about an upcoming performing arts event, please send to press@KCMetropolis.org.
KC Events Categories are:
Classical Music
New Classical Music
Dance
Theatre
Jazz
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Film,
Top Ten Films of 2009
Yes, I know. Nearly four weeks have passed since the new decade began and I am just now getting out my best of 2009, but hey, better late than never. I'm sure you will agree with my perfect list that begins, obviously enough, with number ten. I would love to hear your feedback!
10. Bright Star - In a seemingly forgotten performance, Australian actress Abby Cornish is brilliant in this tragic, romantic drama that's based upon a love affair that 19th century poet John Keats had during the last months of his short life. Richly written by writer/director Jane Campion, Cornish shines as Keats's "bright star."
9. Taken - Liam Neeson's daughter is abducted in Europe. Worse yet, it's done while he's on the phone with her. However, instead of crying and turning to the authorities, he turns the tables on those responsible, dealing out vengeance with savage precision. There's never a dull moment from beginning to end. One of the most fun cinematic experiences of the year.
8. The Young Victoria - Wonderful costume designs stand out in this drama about the years immediately surrounding the coronation of Queen Victoria, England's longest reigning monarch. Emily Blunt delivers a career-changing performance as Victoria and is a sure bet to receive an Oscar nomination. As an added bonus, the script is fairly accurate with its depiction of historical events.
7. Precious - A dark, intense drama about a Harlem teenager who's pregnant with her father's baby and is abused daily by her despicable mother (Mo'Nique). Her only life line is a teacher who does all she can to show Precious that someone does love her. Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe is surprisingly good, but it's Mo'Nique's unsettling performance that will stay with you.
6. District 9 - Produced by Peter Jackson, the movie is a brilliantly written work of science fiction genius. Filmed with a smallish budget and an unknown cast, the story drips with irony as an alien spacecraft stalls above Johannesburg, South Africa, where its helpless crew is subjected to a new apartheid. The situation explodes when a government worker becomes infected with alien DNA.
5. Up - Pixar churned out another beautifully animated film with dazzling colors and detail, however, what makes Up stand out is its script. Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) fulfills the dream he shared with his deceased wife by traveling to South America in an unusual way with the help of a little boy and a talking dog. Tender and moving, Up still has plenty of fun for kids and adults.
4. Up In The Air - A trio of Oscar contenders brings to life this engrossing drama about a man (George Clooney) whose job is to fly around the country and fire people. His isolated life, which he prefers, gets complicated when he develops feelings for another traveler (Vera Farmiga) and when he's forced to train a newbie (Natalie Keener).
3. The Messenger - Woody Harrelson has never been better in this military drama about a pair of soldiers who inform family members that their loved ones have been killed in action. Ben Foster is a wounded soul who violates protocol and becomes involved with a widow (Samantha Morton), much to the chagrin of his superior (Harrelson) who's plagued by demons of his own.
2. The Hurt Locker - Director Kathryn Bigelow's superb effort ranks with war classics like All Quiet On The Western Front, Platoon, and Glory. Jeremy Renner comes through with a strong performance as a risk-taking, supremely confident bomb diffuser in war torn Baghdad. Never cliché, the story about his three-man squad, and what war does to them, is taut throughout.
1. Inglorious Basterds - This is director Quentin Tarantino at his best with the most imaginative World War II flick ever created. A squad of Jewish Americans, led by Brad Pitt, is dropped in behind German lines to terrorize Hitler's army. Golden Globe recipient Christoph Waltz stands out in a supporting role as an SS officer who takes gleeful pride in hunting down Jews.
Dance,
A passion for dance
Winston Dynamite Brown began dancing at age 8 with no intention of sticking to it, much less making a career of it. He began taking classes at Smith Sisters Dance Studio in South Kansas City, where his mother had attended as a child, as a compromise so he could play football. Once enrolled though, he never made it to the field. Within five years, while attending an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater summer intensive program, Brown realized dance was his destiny.
It was the Ailey camp that allowed Brown to explore new dance forms, including ballet and modern, and discover an environment where he felt at home. Additionally, Brown met Tyrone Aiken, who would become his life-long mentor. Aiken, executive director of Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, was one of his first modern teachers both at Ailey and at the Westport Ballet School, where Brown continued his dance education.
"Tyrone is my mentor in life and in dance," he said. "He is one of the main reasons why I think I'm as successful. ... He's always been there for me."
After finishing his preliminary education at Kansas City Middle School of the Arts and Paseo Academy of Performing Arts, Brown began applying to colleges, including University of Missouri-Kansas City. Brown knew he was not ready to make his way into the professional dance world yet.
"I needed more training, more concentrated training," he said. "And I knew that a conservatory would allow me to do that and teach me the pedagogy side of it, composition, staging, all those things so I could further be a well-rounded artist, not just a dancer."
Being more than a dancer always has been important to Brown, who insists that his favorite part of performing is sharing his passion and giving back to the audience.
Brown decided on UMKC for three reasons: His support base - family, friends and former dance schools - were in Kansas City, he received generous financial assistance from the university and he also was given the opportunity to mature quickly by performing with the Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company. He considers the latter to be a huge jumpstart to his career, which helped him realize what kind of dancer he wanted to become.
Brown favors contemporary dance movement, noting the desired balance between ballet and modern. He appreciates the technical aspect of ballet but thrives on the down-to-earth accessibility of modern dance.
"Fusing those two together is what I love," he said. "I could never be a classical ballet dancer because it just didn't really speak to me and modern dance didn't always have everything I needed, so I liked the fusion of the two."
After graduation, Brown felt prepared to start auditioning to build up his résumé. He continued performing with Wylliams/Henry until 2005 when he got hired with Paul Taylor 2. He spent several seasons with the company before parting ways on the grounds that dance had become more work than enjoyment.
To shake things up he started freelancing with companies such as Deeply Rooted Productions, Metropolitan Opera, CorbinDances and Sean Curran Company. On the verge of giving up dance altogether, Brown traveled to Minneapolis to perform with TU Dance because he had already committed to a contract.
"Being around that energy - dancing and remembering why I used to dance - really reinvigorated my desire, my love, my passion for dance," he said. "And that is what propelled me to continue dancing, that single experience."
Brown said he owes so much to directors Uri and Toni Pierce-Sands for a second chance. They inspired him to push himself and taught him to be flexible and open to new opportunities and styles. He also picked up a couple of mantras from the pair, which he still adheres to every day: "Nothing to prove, only to share" and "In every show your goal is to create, not to recreate."
This new outlook on life led Brown to audition for Pilobolus Dance Theatre last year. Pilobolus, which has a touring company and a commercial group, stand out from mainstream ballet and modern companies. It created a new niche in the dance world by incorporating dance, athleticism, art, projection and music in a way that is edgy, exciting and exclusive.
"It was totally different than any other audition I had gone to and that's the reason I kept going back," he said.
So far, Brown enjoys touring with Pilobolus and experiencing new venues, although he does not love flying. He said he does not have specific plans once his three-year contract expires in 2012. That will depend on his health and what he is inspired to do. There are still companies that he might pursue, including Alvin Ailey, but he also is considering getting his master's degree to be a college dance professor as well as toying with the idea of having his own dance company.
"I never want to dance until I can't," Brown said. "I'm an artist, I'm always going to be an artist, and with that I feel like there are other things that I can contribute to this art form other than being on stage."
Until he takes his final bow, Winston Dynamite Brown continues to learn about himself, as a person and a dancer, while also remaining true to his roots. His parents named him after his godfather Winston, a truck driver whose CB handle was Dynamite. Although the unique name bothered him as a child, it motivates him to work hard and make his family proud no matter where he is or what he is doing.
"I do think that I will always be connected to the arts in some way, if that's through teaching, choreographing, philanthropy," Brown said. "I will always be a dancer at heart, definitely, but I do want to help my art form as much as I can in any transit that I can."
PREVIEW:
Lied Center at KU
Pilobolus Dance Theater
University of Kansas
1600 Stewart Ave., Lawrence, KS
Friday, February 5 at 7:30 p.m.
For tickets call 785-864-2787 or online at www.lied.ku.edu
Classical,
And energy to spare
Welcome back Kansas City Symphony! After two rickety concert weekends, the Symphony returned to top form with Michael Stern back on the podium, a world-class soloist in Gil Shaham and a great repertoire from Stravinsky, Barber, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.
As I sat listening (on the edge of my seat for the majority) I couldn't help but wonder about the programming. It was like a double-billed boxing match between 20th century heavyweight composers. The exhibition match - "The Battle of Neo: Stravinsky's Neoclassical Pulcinella Suite vs. Barber's Neo-Romantic Violin Concerto." The main event - "Quirky Russian Rumble: Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 vs. Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1." Color commentary a la Larry Merchant was provided by master violinist Gil Shaham. Barber wins by KO and Shostakovich by TKO ... I apologize for my thinly stretched pugilist metaphor. Fear not; I have exhausted my knowledge on the subject.
The Pulcinella Suite was performed precisely the way I like it - reverent to the (now spurious) Pergolesi original but whimsical when the Stravinsky-esque passages became predominant. The concertante work of the principal strings was sensitive and emerged out of the ritornello sections with ease. Oboist Mingjia Liu's solos of awkward descending intervals (when, if performed subpar, sounds more like a donkey bray then double reed) and bassoonist Anne Bilderback's nimble arpeggios showcased some spectacular wind playing. Bassist Jeffrey Kail and trombonist Roger Oyster stole the piece with their delightfully charming "Vivo." Kail showcased a rare, sonorous bass timbre and Oyster played the harlequin role of clown quite convincingly in this commedia dell'arte-based piece. Stern's conducting was crisp to negotiate the tricky time signatures and off-kilter entrances.
Shaham commanded the stage during the Barber Violin Concerto. Was it a perfect performance? No. Was it amazingly beautiful, sensitive, lush, and did it make me revel in the glorious sound of a solo violin with orchestra? Yes. Crescendos, from a mere whisper to full throttle, occurred within a fraction of a second. Shaham drank in the orchestra's sound and seemed to channel it through his violin. Mingjia Liu's yearning oboe solo of the second movement was sublime and the fiery orchestral playing in the third had Shaham's bow and fingers flying. It was a great concerto performed by one of the best.
Of all the pieces in the concert, Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 faired the worst. Prokofiev is one of those difficult composers to grasp. He'll write something completely astounding, but before you have a chance to relish it, he's on to a new idea or different orchestration. Sometimes it's delightfully whacky; other times it's overwrought. This concerto is one of Prokofiev's most ADHD pieces. He'd start a lovely gossamer canon between the soloist and the violins but then all of a sudden you find yourself in a thicket of woodwind bubbling or in a hollow viola/bass exposed section. Shaham tried to bring some life into the piece but some faulty intonation in the strings at the beginning seemed to sap the energy from the performance that it could never quite regain.
Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1 in F Minor renewed the energy however. I like a performance that enables you to discover something about a piece. For me, it was realizing that the isolated obbligato piano chords of the second movement correspond to the exposed timpani solo in the fourth. Just one of those "aha" moments I did not pick up having heard the piece before. Speaking of the piano, why was it amplified so far out of the mix? Why was it amplified at all? Surely it's supposed to be a timbre within the orchestra and is not meant to obliterate everything around it. Now the brass section in Shostakovich is supposed to unload a tsunami of sound. They did not disappoint as the dark harmonies erupted into brassy sustained climaxes. The winds with always treacherous unison or octave doublings also performed very well. Kudos to the bassoonists, bass drum, and basses for not over-playing their low rhythms in the final moments.
It was a great evening to be at the Symphony, hearing top musicians performing demanding repertoire. Yes, the program was a bit long but it was musically fulfilling, aesthetically coherent, and above all, enjoyable.
REVIEW:
Kansas City Symphony
Gil Shaham Plays Barber and Prokofiev
Friday, January 22 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, January 23 at 8 p.m. (Reviewed)
Sunday, January 24 at 2 p.m.
Lyric Theatre
11th and Central, Kansas City, MO
For tickets to other events, call 816-471-0400 or visit online www.kcsymphony.org
Classical,
Sasha Cooke awes the Sunflower State
Kansas is proud to be the home state of two of the world's most beloved mezzo sopranos: Joyce Di Donato of Prairie Village and Joyce Castle, who also happens to be on the faculty of the University of Kansas. Local audiences are accustomed to hearing them in recital through the Harriman-Jewel Series and at KU, so it must have been with some trepidation that the young Sasha Cooke took the stage at the Lied Center. She was on the visiting team with her accompanist Pei-Yao Wang, about to perform in a hall where a large number of young hopefuls from Joyce Castle's studio waited eagerly to hear her.
Sasha Cooke sang a well designed program of pieces by Rossini, Berlioz, Mozart, Sondheim and Weill. She led with a set of delightful canzonettas Rossini wrote for his salon in Paris. La regatta veneziana: Tre canzone in dialetto venetian tells the tale in three parts of a young girl cheering for her lover as he races his gondola through the streets of Venice. The accompaniment has an impressionistic feeling as it rolls and races along carrying the singer with it. Cooke's voice resonated startlingly well in the Lied Center. She has a warm and easy style with an underlying spirit that surprised me at times. She perfectly animated her role as if she were in an opera without sets or costumes. I felt that I was in Venice, cheering with her.
The selections she performed from Les Nuits d'Ete, Op. 7 by Hector Berlioz kept the audience basking in the sunshine. The piece, Villanelle, is a sensuous love song and Cooke gave each phrase just the right amount of radiance. The Ghost of the Rose, reminded me of the many songs written from the viewpoint of the flower. They all eventually fade and die juxtaposed against the beauty of an unaware woman. Cooke makes the demise of the rose particularly poignant. My favorite in this set was Absence. Here is Cooke at her best. Her strength is the ability to nurture long phrases with a legato, bel canto, style. She has an effortless sound and a broad spectrum of expressive color. The last piece in the set, The Unknown Island, asked the irresistible question, "Where do you want to go?" Tempting the audience with voyages to Java, Norway and the Pacific, she fulfilled my escapist wish to leave Kansas for warmer climes. Well done, Ms. Cooke.
After intermission, my favorite hormonal teenager, Cherubino, came to life. Singing the famous aria from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Non so piu cosa son, Cooke gave us a glimpse of what her interpretation of this iconic character. Sadly, he was kind of boring. In defense, many mezzos make the mistake of being cartoon-ish in their interpretation, but Cooke's Cherubino was just a little too cool for my taste. Her passionate delivery of Deh per questo istante from La Clemenza di Tito more than made up for it.
"Crossing over" between pop and opera has been an ongoing fascination for opera writers. It is difficult for highly accomplished opera singers to wail like Alanis Morisette and some people think they shouldn't even try. I believe singers should be able to freely interpret whatever genre or style they want, bringing their individual "voice" and skill to the music. Cooke does exactly that with the inspiring and thought-provoking Sondheim songs, Take me to the World and Losing my Mind. Sung with the full voice of a classically trained singer, these songs became more than what they were originally intended to be. Cooke elevates them to the level of American art songs. Unfortunately, she forgot some of the words in the Ira Gershwin/Kurt Weill piece One Life to Live and had to reset in order to finish the piece.
The final piece How long after? was written by Kurt Weill while he was still living in Nazi Germany. The song, Cooke explains, can be interpreted two ways, as a woman lamenting the betrayal of her lover or Germany lamenting their betrayal by Hitler. She didn't hold back when expressing the full range of feelings a desperate person might have had during that time in history. The piece is full of the great boozy chromatic melodies Weill was famous for but feels like something grander in Cooke's lower register. The stride piano accompaniment paints the picture of the derelict German cabaret and Cooke even uses the accusatory "Weil-esk" shout to great effect.
Pianist Pei-Yao Wang is an amazing talent. Her attention to every detail and her own interpretive skill enhanced the program. She plays with a nuanced and highly attuned approach to her partner. I hope to have the pleasure of hearing her in solo recital someday.
The encore was William Bolcom's well-loved Amore, which delighted the audience with its tongue-in-cheek narcissism. Overall, the recital was well-programmed, well-performed and well-received. Sasha Cooke has nothing to worry about in Kansas. She's well on her way to joining the DiDonato/Castle pantheon of world class mezzo sopranos.
REVIEW
Mezzo Soprano Sasha Cooke in Recital
with Pei-Yao Wang, pianist
Sunday January 24, 2010
The Lied Center
1600 Stewart Road, Lawrence, KS
For tickets to other events, 785-864-2787 or online at www.lied.ku.edu
Theatre ,
A tale told by a wise man, signifying everything…
The Event, by John Clancy, directed by Hughston Walkinshaw, and performed masterfully last Sunday evening by John Robert ("Bob") Paisley at the Kansas City Metropolitan Ensemble Theater (MET), was a brief glimpse behind the wizard's curtain in search of the answer to the question: "What is theater?" Truth be told, it also revealed a lot about the question: "What is life?" I took its brevity as an implied challenge to answer with an equally brief critical analysis, for if The Event proves anything, it is this - while words matter, more of them doesn't necessarily carry greater meaning than fewer of them. Now, I have never been a fan of "stars" or "thumbs" (up or down) or other artifice when it comes to such an analysis, but if I were so inclined, I would use all of them for The Event. It was a remarkable, witty, irreverent and poignant introspection.
Readers who have attended other MET performances already know that this cutting-edge theatre carves out, on a shoestring, a formidable place in the Kansas City arts community and with The Event, Bob Paisley has single-handedly proven this again. Armed with the barest of stages - prop-less for about two-thirds of the performance, and only a chair thereafter - Paisley drew in the audience (the "strangers," as they are referred to throughout the monologue) from the first line, and he held them rapt to the last. The famous stage director, Peter Brook, had a powerfully austere vision of "theater" that seems to speak directly to what Bob Paisley was able to demonstrate so eloquently: "... take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him - and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged."
And thus The Event so engages the "strangers," asking them to consider the significance (or lack) of the power of words and the paradoxes those words, in that context, imply. In that mindset, consider this: All you, the reader, are doing at this very moment is reading my words about the words that were spoken by Mr. Paisley, whose words were, in turn, merely words that were written down - prior to mine, and prior to Paisley speaking them - by someone else (Mr. Clancy). What import do such words have? What gravity do they impose on the people - the "strangers" - around them? What consequence do they have outside the walls of the theater in which they are spoken? Much like life itself, The Event provides no answers - and therein, arguably, lies the magic that is theatre. We see theater - and life - all around us, but cogently verbalizing their essences remains forever elusive.
I came away from The Event with one line, in particular, haunting me: "A man, armed with memorized words, can only do so much." Though phrased as a statement, it begs analysis more as a rhetorical question. So - how valid a statement-question is that, really? For if it is true that the pen, as artistic lore suggests, is mightier than the sword, imagine how much more powerful those penned words can be when life is breathed into them by an actor.
Sunday evening, Bob Paisley breathed life into John Clancy's penned words. He carried no sword - but for that hour, he quite possibly may have been the most powerful man on earth ...
REVIEW:
Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre
The Event by John Clancy
Directed by Hughston Walkinshaw
January 24-26, 2010 (Reviewed January 24)
MET Space
3614 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
For tickets to other events, call 816-569-3226 or online at www.metkc.org
Theatre ,
Rodgers and that other guy
Rodgers and Hammerstein are famous for revolutionizing musical theatre. They won 35 Tony Awards and 15 Academy Awards for their numerous collaborations. However, before Hammerstein, there was Hart. Lorenzo Hart and Richard Rodgers worked together from 1919 until 1943, writing some of the most iconic songs of the day, including Blue Moon, Isn't it Romantic and My Funny Valentine.
Quality Hill Playhouse is currently running Rodgers & Hart & Hammerstein, a salute to Richard Rodger's two great partnerships. The first half of the show features Rodgers' collaboration with Oscar Hammerstein; the second half features Rodgers and Hart. J. Kent Barnhart, the executive director of Quality Hill Playhouse, serves as the pianist and emcee for the production.
The comparison of the two lyricists was fascinating. I recognized almost all of the Hammerstein selections, because every high school and community theatre has performed one or more Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. Through his collaboration with Rodgers, and through earlier collaborations, Hammerstein altered the course of musical theatre by creating compelling stories such as Show Boat, Oklahoma, South Pacific and The Sound of Music, instead of writiing songs for vaudeville and musical revues like most theatre of the day.
Rodgers and Hart, on the other hand, are not remembered for their hit musicals. They are remembered for the unforgettable standards they wrote for Broadway and Hollywood. Their songs were recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, to name a few. Hart was famous for penning untraditional rhymes and edgy, clever lyrics.
The singers seemed to enjoy the Hart songs more. From a musical standpoint, they performed each of the songs well, but there was no vibrancy during many of the Hammerstein selections, with a few exceptions. Often, in the theatre world, Rodgers and Hammerstein become synonymous with cheesy and trite; performers need to fight against that impulse if they wish to deliver an honest performance.
I really enjoyed Barnhart's extemporizing. Every few songs he would talk to the audience about what to expect from the next numbers. He was humorous, and the audience appreciated a short break every so often to digest the songs they had just heard.
Alison Sneegas Borberg performed some fun songs. She had a lovely silvery soprano voice, but the versatility to sass it up in the second act with To Keep My Love Alive and Johnny One Note. Borberg has performed at Quality Hill Playhouse in more than 20 productions. She has also been a featured performer with the Kansas City Symphony.
Charles Fugate played the charming male lead, reprising his South Pacific role with Some Enchanted Evening. His rendition of All At Once You Love Her from Pipe Dream, one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's not-so-famous shows, was enjoyable. Fugate has appeared in theatres across Kansas City, including recently "Molina" in Kiss of the Spider Woman and "Charlie Cowell" in The Music Man.
Melinda MacDonald conjured up images of Julie Andrews, even before she sang I Have Confidence from The Sound of Music. She also did a lovely job singing It Never Entered My Mind from Rodgers and Hart's Higher and Higher. MacDonald has been performing at Quality Hill Playhouse for 15 years. Other credits include The New Theatre, American Heartland and the Kansas City Repertory Theatre.
To be brutally honest, I did not love the costumes. The gentlemen looked fabulous in their tuxedos, but the women would wind up on the worst-dressed list for their unflattering gowns, with the exception of MacDonald's second act dress.
Overall, the show was truly fun. I enjoyed comparing Hammerstein and Hart. The music was great. The addition of bass and drums really added something. Although the show is selling well, Quality Hill Playhouse is not above a little self-advertisement. Encouraging the audience to talk up the show, Barnhart said, "You have friends and you have mouths, use them both."
REVIEW:
Quality Hill Playhouse
Rodgers & Hart & Hammerstein
Runs January 22 through February 21 (Reviewed January 23)
303 West 10th Street, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-421-1700 or online at www.qualityhillplayhouse.com
Top Photo: J. Kent Barnhart, Alison Sneegas Borberg
Film,
"Crazy Heart"
Every once in a blue moon, an actors get a role they were born to play. This was certainly true of four-time Academy Award nominee Jeff Bridges, who in Crazy Heart, slips into the soul of an alcoholic, washed-up country singer with the same ease as it takes to put on worn slippers.
Bad Blake (Bridges) has lived the hard life he sings about in the songs that once upon a time made him famous. Relegated to performing in bowling alleys, Blake, with a baggage full of regret and a bottle of beer always within reach, travels in a Chevy truck that's as beat up as its haggard driver.
It's in Santa Fe where Blake meets Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a strong yet vulnerable single mother who interviews him for a story in a local newspaper. Despite Blake's age of 57, Jean develops an attraction for him. Blake also finds himself falling for her and her little boy.
Things look up even more for Blake after he reluctantly works again with his former protégé, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell). We don't know exactly what caused their split, but nevertheless Sweet is now a big country singer, which Farrell does not pull off well, and he attempts to show appreciation to the man who taught him everything he knows.
All of this inspires Blake to write new material for the first time in years; however, the specter of alcoholism is always in Blake's self-destructive life and when it rears its ugly head again, it causes him to hit rock bottom.
Waylon Jennings. Merle Haggard. Johnny Cash. Willie Nelson. They were all a kind of renegade country singer who lived hard lives, battled numerous demons, and wrote/performed honest, personal songs about it all. Thanks to the writing and directing of Scott Cooper, Bad Blake is the epitome of those aforementioned country legends. Yet what makes him unforgettable is the masterful delivery given by Bridges whose seamless performance is one for the ages. Waylon and the boys would be proud.
On a letter grade scale from A being excellent to F for failing, Crazy Heart receives an A-.
Crazy Heart is rated R and has a running time of 112 minutes.
Now showing through January 28 at Tivoli Cinemas
Westport Manor Square
4050 Pennsylvania, Kansas City
Visit www.tivolikc.com or call 913-383-7756 for show times.
Glenwood Arts
9575 Metcalf, Overland Park
For tickets, call 913-642-4404, or online at www.fineartsgroup.com
Local Arts News,
KC Rep’s A "Christmas Story, The Musical!" tops previous revenue records
Within days after its November 28, 2009 opening, the Rep calculated that A Christmas Story, The Musical! already had become the highest-grossing production in the theatre's 45-year history. By the end of its 6 ½-week extended run, 75 percent of all performances had sold out and 31,118 tickets had been distributed. By comparison, gross revenue for the Rep's 2008 production of A Christmas Carol was $663,142, with 25,812 tickets distributed.
"Developing and directing this show was a wild ride," said Rosen. "It was a calculated risk to put our time-honored production of A Christmas Carol on hiatus for a year so we could develop this new musical, but the decision has paid off in more ways than we ever anticipated. The numbers prove that audiences - first timers and long-time devotees of our previous holiday show - loved A Christmas Story, The Musical!.
An experienced producing partnership for A Christmas Story, The Musical! was vital to the success of the show. From the beginning, Rosen and partners Gerald Goehring, Michael F. Mitri and Bartner/Jenkins Entertainment had high expectations for their new musical. "We couldn't be happier with our partnership with Kansas City Rep," said Goehring. "It was exciting to follow the record-breaking box office reports, which were extraordinary given this challenging economic climate."
On October 1, 2009, when tickets to A Christmas Story, The Musical! first became available for the public to purchase, more than $22,000 in sales came in during the first hour and by the close of that day, the theatre had a record-breaking $47,000 in single tickets sales. First day sales for A Christmas Carol averaged about $34,000.
A Christmas Story, The Musical! was produced by Grammy Award-nominated Gerald Goehring (Off-Broadway: the musical Frankenstein and Raisin' Cane with Jasmine Guy. National tours: God's Fool with Jack Klugman), Michael F. Mitri (Off-Broadway: the musical Frankenstein. Film production: I'll Believe You, The Moment, The Dock Porter), and Robert G. Bartner and Michael Jenkins of Bartner/Jenkins Entertainment (Broadway: Guys and Dolls, Tony Award-winning Boeing-Boeing, Legally Blonde and Sweeney Todd. London: Love Song. National tours: Flower Drum Song and Brooklyn).
The show featured a cast of 21 actors, mostly from Kansas City and New York. Eight of the actors were children.
City Classics,
Music and Dance through February 3
Lied Center
Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernandez
Thursday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center at University of Kansas
1600 Stewart Drive, Lawrence, Kansas
For tickets call 785-864-2787 or online at www.lied.ku.edu
The local ballet companies are at rest this weekend, or preparing for upcoming performances, but the Lied Center offers a touring dance program by this interesting sounding group. The brochure says that "simultaneously honoring and recounting the histories of Mexico's ancient civilizations and indigenous cultures, Ballet Folklórico de México is the preeminent folkloric music and dance company in the genre. "Through vivacious choreography, vibrant costumes and mesmerizing rhythms," the information states, "this internationally renowned folkloric company celebrates the diversity of Mexico's rich cultural legacy." Ballet Folklórico de México was founded over half a century ago by Amalia Hernández, and over the years, the company has preserved the traditional folk dances of Mexico.
UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
Faculty Recital: Jane Solose
Sunday, January 31 at 2:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall
4949 Cherry, Kansas City, MO
Free admission
For information call 816-235-2799 or online at www.conservatory.umkc.edu
Jane Solose is the chairwoman of the piano faculty at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. Her performing career has taken her to Korea, Japan, Austria, Hungary, Russia, Canada, and across the United States. She is a past winner of the CBC Canada National Radio Competition and received special commendation at the International Vienna Modern Masters Performers Recording Award Competition. Two of her solo compact disc recordings have been released by Eroica Classical Recordings. Last spring she participated in the World Piano Conference in Serbia. This past summer she performed and presented master classes at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York. In this recital, Solose will perform two pieces by Rachmaninoff, the Prokofiev Sonata for Piano No. 6 in A Major, piano rag music by Stravinsky, and Gershwin's crowd-pleasing Rhapsody in Blue.
The Friends of Chamber Music
Tafelmusik - The Galileo Project: Music of the Spheres
Sunday, January 31 at 4 p.m.
Folly Theater
12th and Central, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-561-9999 or online at www.chambermusic.org
This concert offers an interesting visual as well as aural experience. Tafelmusik, one of the finest ancient music ensembles to be heard anywhere, is offering a concert of the Baroque repertoire, performed from memory, believe it or not, because the works will be performed in the dark. Why? Because accompanying the music will be a series of projected images from the NASA Hubble space telescope, in keeping with the Galileo theme and "Music of the Spheres." The concert was inspired by the 400th anniversary of Galileo's development of the astronomical telescope. According to publicity for the concert, "this event uses images, words, and music (some by Galileo's own father) to explore the world in which 17th- and 18th-century astronomers worked, speaking profoundly and eloquently of the wonders of the cosmos and the achievements of the human spirit." This presentation is not to be offered anywhere else until next year, so this is a unique experience for Kansas City audiences to be the first to enjoy the concert. Tickets are free to those 18 and younger.
Summerfest
Summerfest in Winter!
Sunday, January 31 at 5:00 p.m.
Trinity Lutheran Church
5601 West 62nd Street, Mission, KS
Free admission
For more information visit www.summerfestkc.org
What's this? Summerfest, the summertime classical music ensemble that performs such wonderful concerts in June and July, performing in the winter? So it is. This free concert will feature the works of Mozart, Kokai, Corelli, Kander (that's native Kansas City composer Susan Kander) and more. The performers will include Summerfest favorites Shannon Finney, flute; Mary Grant, violin; Jane Carl, clarinet; Jessica Nance, viola; Alex East, cello; and Tabitha Reist, harp. Although there is no admission fee and tickets are not required, Summerfest is asking for donations at the door to fund Summerfest's year-round outreach programs.
Kansas City Wind Symphony
featuring David Potter, Saxophone
Sunday, January 31 at 7 p.m.
Village Presbyterian Church
6641 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS
Free admission
For more information visit www.kcwindsymphony.org
The Kansas City Wind Symphony under the direction of Phillip Posey and assistant conductor Pat Setser will present a concert Sunday evening featuring guest saxophonist David Potter, who will play Potter a special transcription of the Concertino da Camera by the Jacques Ibert. The concert also will feature Henri René's Passion in Paint, a musical impression of three famous paintings: "At the Moulin Rouge" by Toulouse Lautrec, "The Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dali and "L'Absinthe" by Edgar Degas. Also included is Maurice Ravel's Pavane pour une Infante Défunte, which will feature Andrew Johnson as the horn soloist. Two works by American composers will wrap up the program: The Overture to The School for Scandal by Samuel Barber and Vesuvius by Frank Ticheli.
Auditions,
Upcoming Auditions
MUSICAL THEATRE HERITAGE
Musical Theater Heritage, which produces concert-style musicals at the Off Center Theatre at Crown Center, will be holding auditions for their 2010 season on Friday, January 29 and Saturday, January 30 from 4-10pm. MTH will be offering equity and non-equity contracts, and auditions will take place at their business office located on the 2nd floor of the Livestocl Exchange Building at 1600 Genessee, Kansas City, MO, 64102.
MTH is in their 8th year of producing professional musical productions in Kansas City, and their audience size grew by 100% in 2009. Russ Simmons, theatre critic for The Johnson County Sun, declared MTH's production of Big River as the Best Musical in all of Kansas City in 2009.
For their upcoming 2010 season, MTH will be offering 5 week contracts for their productions of Kiss Me Kate, 1776 (with an all-female cast, starring Deb Bluford), and their growingly popular, annual production of A Spectacular Christmas. Those auditioning should prepare 2 songs, 16 measures each. One upbeat, one ballad. Songs from their upcoming season are welcome. Accompanist will be provided. You may be asked to read from the script.
Detailed information about the rehearsal schedule is available at www.MTHKC.com, and to schedule an audition time, singers are to contact Chad Gerlt at (816) 221-6987, or by email chad@musicaltheaterheritage.com.
THE BARN PLAYERS
Auditions for "Pippin"Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by Roger O. Hirson. Directed by Nathan Norcross. Musical Direction by Kevin Bogan. Choreography by Rachel Plante
AUDITIONS:
Saturday February 20th from 2:00 - 5:00 PM
Sunday February 21st from 1:00 - 4:00 PM
At St. Pius Church, 55th and Woodson, Mission, KS
The audition will consist of singing a 32 bar selection of a musical theatre song of your choice and learning/performing a short dance routine.
Please bring sheet Music or Accompaniment CD (no vocals) in your key - NO A CAPPELLA AUDITIONS...Headshot/Resume (if available) ...Comfortable, yet form-fitting clothing for dance audition.
Invited Callbacks will be held on Sunday February 1st from 4:00 - 10:00 pm. If you are auditioning, please make sure to clear your schedule Sunday evening, as callbacks are critical to putting together the strongest ensemble for this ensemble piece.
Rehearsals will likely begin the first week of March and the show opens April 16th.
For more information, please contact Eric Magnus, Artistic Director of The Barn Players, at emagnitude@yahoo.com or Director Nathan Norcross at nwn0104@gmail.com.
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