JK's TheatreScene: Once On This Island

Showing posts with label Once On This Island. Show all posts

Friday, March 10, 2023

At This Theatre: Circle in the Square

One of Broadway's most unique spaces, the Circle in the Square Theatre has been home to 10 different productions that we've been privileged to see. The unusual set up of the theater has, in our opinion, forced designers and directors to be extra creative when designing and staging shows here, and largely, they've been successful. The theater is also one of Broadway's most intimate, and we've found that there really isn't a bad seat in the house, and we've sat in every section, front row, back row. This is also the site where some of my absolute favorite shows of all-time have been. Selecting our five favorites was difficult!

At This Theatre:

Circle in the Square

# of shows we've seen here: 10

The shows we've seen here: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Fun Home, Godspell, KPOP, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Lombardi, Oklahoma!, Once On This Island, The Rocky Horror Show, Soul Doctor

Our favorite shows at Circle in the Square:

5. Lombardi: You are probably as surprised as I am that a play about sports - football especially - made this list, but I really loved it. The staging was exciting and the performances were amazing. Dan Lauria and Judith Light were perfection.

4. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee: This one holds a special place in our hearts - Mike was selected as a participant, and made it all the way to the end (at least as far as audience members/participants goes)! And the cast was first rate, including future Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart and nominee Jennifer Simard!

3. Oklahoma!: Everything about this revival was thrilling, including a picnic scene that was so intense I was literally afraid to move for fear that Mary Testa might call me out. And yes, it was "sexy," with the chemistry between Damon Daunno, Rebecca Naomi Jones and Patrick Viall hotter than the chili they served at intermission. And we can't forget Tony Award-winner Ali Stroker, whose Ado Annie was an effervescent delight.

2. Once On This Island: Talk about environmental! A literally elemental design - earth, wind, fire and water - swept us away, and the endlessly creative staging by Michael Arden was as jaw-dropping as it was transporting. A lovely story, an enchanting score, and a brilliant cast including Tony-winner Lea Salonga, Norm Lewis, Tamyra Gray, and newcomers Alex Newell, Isaac Powell and Hailey Kilgore...

1. Fun Home: An important piece of theater, its content was matched by its humor, heart and savvy. There really aren't adequate adjectives to describe this one, but I admired and loved its guts. The staging here, by Sam Gold, was a brilliant use of the full space. The great company of actors (including Michael Cerveris, Judy Kuhn, Beth Malone, Emily Skeggs and Sydney Lucas), including several amazing replacements (including Rebecca Luker and Lauren Patten), was perfectly matched to the glorious book and lyrics by Lisa Kron and music by Jeanine Tesori. In the process, they also gave us perhaps the greatest single show tune of the 21st Century so far, "Ring of Keys."

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Best Songs From Best Scores: 1990 - 1991

Today, we begin a new series, Best Songs From Best Scores, in which we take a look at the numbers from a season's Best Original Score Tony nominees. Of course, "best" is in the ~~eye~~ ear of the beholder, and we are pretty sure you won't always agree with our choices. So, please feel free to let us know what you think via email, Twitter, or comment below!

To get things started, we decided to look at a season that was really an embarrassment of riches. Each score from the 1990 - 1991 season was not only worthy of a nomination, but each would have been worthy of taking home the prize. Thirty years later, each one holds up pretty well, and there are many worthy songs to consider. Here are the ones we like the best:

Best Songs From Best Scores

1990 - 1991

Nominee: Miss Saigon

Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, lyrics by Alain Boublil & Richard Maltby, Jr.

Best Song: Ballad (group): "The Movie in My Mind" - Gigi, Kim & the Girls

After showing what they do to make ends meet in "The Heat Is On in Saigon," the girls under The Engineer's thumb reveal the pain and anguish of their lives as they desperately try to stay alive, and what they do to escape, even if it is only through dreams. The metaphor may verge on the trite, but it is an apt one, given the time period and unavoidable influence of America on every aspect of their lives.

Best Song: Presentation: "The Morning of the Dragon" - The Company

Yes, the visuals are stunning - the giant Ho Chi Minh statue, the advancing gun-toting company in perfect military precision. But the vocals are just as menacing even without the visuals - the halting, chant-like precision of the company vocals sting, and the lyrics are just as powerful, with evocative imagery ("The Morning of the Dragon, truth lit up the street, The tiger we were stalking walked on paper feet, And in the clear white heat of dawn, was gone.")

Nominee: Once On This Island

Music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens

Best Song: Ballad: "Some Girls" - Daniel

Ti Moune has saved Daniel's life and nursed him back to health, and it is love at first sight for both. In this lovely, gentle song, he explains that "some girls you marry, some you love." His declaration has heartfelt honesty, and poignancy, and Ti Moune falls even deeper in love with this charming young man, but does not realize what he means. He can love her, but he can't marry her.

Best Song: Presentation: "The Sad Tale of the Beauxhommes" - Armand & The Storytellers

Even just listening to this song, you can get swept up in the sheer theatricality of this number. An embedded origin story fits right in with the rest of this tropical fairy tale. And it is one catchy number!

Nominee: The Secret Garden

Music by Lucy Simon, lyrics by Marsha Norman

Best Song: Presentation: "I Heard Someone Crying" - Mary Lennox, Archibald Craven, Lily & Company

This song is two-fer, really. It is a great song for developing the wants and needs of the characters, and it is very presentational in the way it builds and adds in the company. What a way to make something specific more universal.

Best Song: Ballad (duet): "Lily's Eyes" - Archibald Craven & Dr. Neville Craven

What a stunning duet this song is! And what a character reveal! That moment when you realize that two brothers loved the same woman... one was married to her and mourns his loss, while the other mourns what he never had. Both are now dealing with the arrival of Mary, and how she reminds them both of Lily.

Winner: The Will Rogers Follies

Music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Betty Comden, Adolph Green

Best Song: Opening Number: "Will-a-Mania" - Ziegfeld's Favorite & Company

This may just be my favorite show opener of all time. Seeing it was breathtaking - the lit up staircase, a loin cloth wearing Jerry Mitchell on a drum... But it is just as effective without seeing it (no small feat). This is another song that ebbs and flows in a gradual building that climbs to a goose bump finish!

Best Song: Presentation: "Our Favorite Son" - Will Rogers, The Wranglers & The New Ziegfeld Girls

This is The Follies, right? So why not a super-catchy novelty number about politics? "The elephant trunk and democrat donkey will be down the drain and sunk, the day the people's victory is won!"

#2578

Friday, January 17, 2020

The Friday 5: 5 Broadway "Rain" Songs

I was rifling through some things the other day, and came across a flyer for Ghost: The Musical and saw this picture. It reminded me of that show's song "Rain" and how much I enjoyed Caissie Levy's performance in that show.

As you probably figured, it got me to thinking about other "rain" songs I like from Broadway shows. My mind wanders a lot...anyway... in no particular order, here's this week's Friday 5.

THE FRIDAY 5:

5 Broadway "Rain" Songs

1. "The Rain in Spain" from My Fair Lady

In high school, I played Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady, and I always looked forward to that number. One of my best friends played Eliza, and I had a serious crush on the guy who played Higgins...