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Only two new musicals can be termed hits.
A id a is Disney’s answer to the enormous
Broadway-West End success of The Lion King, a
show 1 found unwatchahle after the first 10 min
utes. For its new blockbuster Disney has hired the
tired pop-music dynamic duo of Elton John and
Tim Rice to do a rockin’ version of Giuseppe
Verdi’s kitschy operatic masterpiece. The idea is
pretty lamebrained, hut the results are
entertaining— if certifiably
idiotic.
T h e reasons A ida works
have less to do with its writ
ers than its interpreters, as
the book and lyrics are utter
ly forgettable, and Sir Jo h n ’s
score seems like a series o f
songs left over from his last
five or six albums. In typical
Elton fashion, they com bine
infectiously catchy vamps and
hooks strung together without
much subtlety. W hile certainly
no one was expecting anything
remotely resembling Verdian
artistry, it would be nice if the
score reflected the action onstage
with a hit more invention than
simply veering into a minor key
when things start getting a little
heavy.
Undeniably, the score does
provide the show’s talented cast
plenty o f chances to strut their
stuff. W hile leading man Adam
Pascal does little more than a
passable Joe C ocker imitation,
and his acting is nonexistent—
his frequently exposed pectoral
muscles show far more em o
tion than he does— the
show’s two leading ladies are
a force to he reckoned with.
Sheri Rene Sco tt as the
Pharaoh’s daughter goes
from Tori Spelling to soul
ful diva and manages the transi
tion with style, wit and a truly fabulous voice.
Equally fabulous is leading lady and Tony recip
ient Heather Headley, who is a true star-in-the-
making in the title role. Headley’s stunning per
formance is a torrent o f em otion, her powerful
voice tearing out o f her contorting body with
visceral abandon.
This year’s Tony-winning new musical is
Susan Strom an and John W eidm an’s C on tact,
which is not really a musical at all, hut a lame
trio o f modem dance pieces, which is only
inventive if you haven’t been to a dance con
cert or ballet in the last 15 years. I’m a huge
fan of Strom an’s inventive, innovative and
truly inspired work on other shows, hut I have
to admit C on tact is the first disappointing piece
I have seen from her.
Set to a mishmash of hackneyed, prere
corded musical choices, the show gives us
three light-as-air vignettes that are connected
by the flimsiest o f threads: people attempting
to make co n tact— wow! what a concept! And,
what is worse, Strom an’s usually exciting work
seems repetitive and em otionally arid here.
T h e cast, with one exception, doesn’t really
help matters much. Boyd G aines is lightweight
and only has one note in his Tony-winning
turn, and Deborah Yates certainly has an
unforgettable iconic presence in that much-
discussed yellow dress, hut she hasn’t really
much to do.
It is left to the show’s other Tony winner,
the multitalented trouper Karen Ziemha, to
make the evening memorable. Her exquisite
portrayal o f a goon’s repressed wife who finds a
surprising, passionate release through dance is
both liberating and heartbreaking.
t is left to a pair o f musical revivals to pro
vide the current season’s most delicious high
points.
Stroman’s fantastic reimagining of T h e Music
M an proves why she is such a genius (and why
Contact is such a letdown.) In her hands, this gor
geously designed and wonderfully cast revival
dances across the stage with
delirious joy. As she has
shown with her work in
Crazy for You, Showboat and
last season’s Oklahoma! in
London (coming to Broad
way this fall), Stroman is
a master at creating
dance naturally out of
thin air.
The cast of this
sparkling revival is
consistently wonder
ful, hut there is espe
cially fine work from
the lovely Rebecca
Luker as the perfect
Marian the Librari
an, Ruth William
son in a high-camp
tour de force as
the Mayor’s Wife,
and from a superb
barbershop quartet.
The produc
tion’s Harold Hill is
an oddity. Craig
Bierko seems to have
all the elements
needed for a dashing
leading man— great
voice, great looks, great
moves— but for some
reason he seems to be
channeling the role’s
originator, Robert Pre
ston, in a performance
that’s more impersonation
than interpretation. It’s a
shame, hut it certainly
doesn’t lessen the impact of
this wonderful evening.
Equally enjoyable is the current revival of
C ole Porter’s K iss M e K a te, another perfect
example of musical theater. Director Michael
Blakemore and choreographer Kathleen Mar
shall, along with a marvelous design team, give
a polished shine to an old chestnut.
Bristling with energy, the cast tears into the
show as though it were written yesterday. Led by
the magnetic and vastly talented Brian Stokes
Mitchell, Amy Spanger and Michael Berresse,
the sheer panache of this cast lights up the stage.
Watching the audiences at both Kiss Me Kate
and Music Man respond with such unadulterated,
childlike ecstasy was a beautiful example of the
transformative joy of live theater. (Stroman’s
utterly shameless hut totally inspired curtain call
for Music M an would bring out the inner child in
the most hardhearted theatergoer.)
* inally, for an example of the glory of dance,
! head north to Lincoln Center, where you
can’t do too much better than the justly
renowned New York City Ballet. Though the
company is not quite what it was during the glory
days of the Balanchine regime, it’s still a wonder
ful company capable of greatness. The mixed-hill
evening I caught showed off the company with
bravado and was capped by a luminous account
o f one of Balanchine’s most entertaining and
beautiful works, the rapturous Vienna Waltzes.
O ^ ricfay
<5 ai'fy
le sca p e s, 3 -3pm
Enjoy live entertainment from fresh local hands as you break free
and cruise the Willamette.
Portland
tfttsi
$
1
3
p e r p e rso n *
Drink- s and hors uoeuvres are also available for purchase.
Call (5 0 3 ) 2 2 4 - 3 9 0 0 or ( $ 0 0 ) 224*- 3 9 0 1 for reservations.
‘ Guests must be 21 yrs. or older.
■ JON K retzu is the artistic director o f Artists
Repertory Theatre in Portland. H e is spending the
summer renewing his creative juices and directing a
play in C alifornia.
C om m itm ent Cerem onies Available.
G ift certificates m ake ¿real gifts!
V isit www.portlan dspirit .com