Moon Over Buffalo

George and Charlotte Hay, fading stage actors, are doing repertory theater in Buffalo, New York in 1955, and are struggling to keep their acting company together. Out of nowhere comes an opportunity to star in a Hollywood film, and they’re desperate to prepare a good show for the director who is coming to evaluate them in one of their performances. But everything goes wrong – hilariously. This production from Sutter Street Theatre has all the elements that made this farce a success on Broadway: constant bickering that builds tension, frantic efforts that lead to comic situations – and a good dose of physical comedy. This well-experienced cast and director bring this show to life, and if you go, you can expect an evening (or afternoon) full of laughs.

Les Misérables (School Edition)

This is my favorite musical. I’ve seen it performed on the stage, seen the movie, and viewed the DVDs of the 10th anniversary “Dream Cast” performance at Royal Albert Hall, and the 25th anniversary performance in 2010. I’ve sung the medley in a chorus and Javert’s “Stars” in front of large audiences. I’ve listened to the soundtrack many, many times. I even have (expensive) tickets for the performance by the touring company coming to Sacramento in June. What might I expect from the School Edition put on by Roseville Theatre Arts Academy?

I expected to be moved again – and I was. For a start, I was not conscious of significant cuts from the original version. Certainly, the bawdy scenes were not cut, and Mme. Thénardier’s language in “Master of the House” wasn’t bowdlerized. The whole show was presented in a fast pace, and with live accompaniment from 7 excellent pit musicians.

The solos were of uneven quality, even for school-age kids, though some were quite good, and performing as Jean Valjean, Alex Crossland’s occasional venturing into falsetto was one of many solo moments on his part and on the part of others that worked beautifully. The same is true of the acting. I saw under-acting and overacting, but there were many times when an actor really nailed the character and the situation. In school-age productions, I love spotting performers with genuine talent and watching them throughout the show, even when they’re not in the spotlight. And it’s especially rewarding to notice – as I often did last night – people in minor parts who, with the stage filled with action far away from them, are still giving their all in presenting their character.

The comic relief in a serious production has an edge in the competition to steal the show. And last night Spencer Peterson and Madi Crossland as the Thénardiers exploited that advantage with over-the-top performances that were pure delight, enhanced by their costumes, make-up and physical humor.

Another major highlight of the show for me was the performance of the ensemble, and the stage was often filled with all 67 of the cast members. The complex action of their crowd scenes was an eyeful. And time and again, their choral sound did justice to the wonderful music they were singing.

And lest I seem to slight the key players, I was genuinely moved – once again – by the Bishop’s kindness, by Fantine’s death, by the Parisian students’ idealism, by the pathos of Éponine’s futile love, by Jean Valjean’s generous impulses – and of course, by the final trio which ends “to love another person is to see the face of God.”

This is an ambitious production, not only for the logistical, casting and staging challenges, but also because it’s a great risk to put on something so familiar to so many. And I have special respect for the effort behind it because this show was also educational. After all, this is the Roseville Theatre Arts Academy, and they were exposing their young charges – many no doubt for the first time – to what many consider the greatest musical of all time. But last night’s large, enthusiastic audience wasn’t thinking about the educational value of the show when they rose to their feet in applause: they had been genuinely entertained, as had I.

Legally Blonde

What is beyond brilliant? What exceeds excellent? I find myself running out of words to describe the productions of the El Dorado Musical Theatre. After having seen the past 10 EDMT shows, I had been looking forward to Legally Blonde, and with all the anticipation, it exceeded my expectations. What makes these productions outstanding time after time is the vision of the creative team, led by Debbie Wilson. It’s a vision that, on the relatively blank canvas of the music and dialog of a pre-packaged show, sees opportunities for creativity in choreography, blocking, sets and set pieces, costumes, props and all the tools of stagecraft – and produces something that is unique, engaging and completely entertaining – every time. One look at the list of the production staff, and you can see that there are dozens of people giving their best to this effort – not to mention the small army of parents and other volunteers. Besides the wonderful cast on stage, there are scores of people who can take pride in this extraordinary production.

This was my first time to see Legally Blonde – in fact, I hadn’t even seen the movie. So the show itself was a delight. I can’t say the tunes were memorable, but with the imaginative staging and professional -quality delivery, I can look back on almost every song (as I review the program) and recall it vividly – with a smile. The lyrics themselves and the dialog were wonderfully witty.

But it is the way EDMT mounts a show like this that makes all the difference. The sets were practically works of art, and there were so many of them, creating realistic backdrops for the action, scene after scene. There were also pleasant surprises throughout: some in the original script (like the cute dogs), and some probably not (the impressive reveal of the girls in the sorority house windows, a recurring golf cart, a marching band, onstage costume changes – no, let’s keep the rest of them surprises). And the pace of the action, especially before intermission, was intense. In fact, it seemed like the choreography was continuous. You couldn’t risk looking away, even during a solo, because something was always happening. And as I’ve said before, the energy generated by those young actors and dancers could light a city.

I can’t say enough about the individual actors. Heather Clark was just amazing as Elle Woods, but I don’t want to enumerate the rest of the cast. To me, they all have star power, and looking down the cast list, and remembering the first dozen or so of the key roles, I can picture each of the actors. And what I remember is strong singing, transparent acting, and exciting dance moves from each of them. Every one drew a strong character that brought the audience into the action. Yes, all these young people have talent, and for it, they deserve a lot of credit. But it's also true that they’ve been thoroughly trained – some for the majority of their young lives – to professional standards. And that’s the bottom line for this and every EDMT production: Legally Blonde is a professional effort in every detail.

Ordinary People

I don’t know what I expected to see in this student-directed production of Ordinary People at Oakmont High School. I can say, though, that I was surprised – pleasantly. I was unfamiliar with this dark drama, and suicide and dysfunctional family relations are not what one might ordinarily expect from a high school production. But what I saw was a tribute to the emerging skill of student director, Leana Coulter and a strong cast. In fact, I don’t remember seeing this degree of emotional intensity at the high school level. Much of that intensity was in the standout performance of Anthony Villanueva at Conrad Jarret, though his fellow actors played well, and I saw some outstanding acting and realistic character development among many of them. Oakmont used this occasion to make a statement about suicide, which was a main theme of the drama, with information about suicide prevention in the printed program and supplementary materials available afterwards. For me, this play was a sobering, well-crafted experience.