I found the Ragtime performance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade underwhelming. The setting is lovely, but the lip synchronization is very out at the beginning and I found the performer’s bodies lacking in energy, which is fine when the camera is on their faces but as soon as it pulled out to show their whole bodies… well, it was just dead. It kicks into a higher gear when the camera pans to the ensemble for a chorus or two of the opening number, but even this doesn’t look like a fully energised or committed performance, particularly from the folks in white and the African Americans.

I realise it’s difficult and early for the performers and all that, but… I just didn’t find it as thrilling as I think it should be.

1. Sail Away
2. Good Old Boys
3. Bad Love
4.12 Songs
5. Harps And Angels
6. Little Criminals
7. Randy Newman Live
8. Trouble In Paradise
9. Land Of Dreams
10. Randy Newman

NP: The Kinks – The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society

Scott Joplin

Scott Joplin, The The King Of Ragtime, Was Supposedly Born Near Texarkana, Texas, On November 24, 1868 (Some Sources List 1867).

A Skilled Pianist And Composer, Scott Joplin Started A 20-Year Ragtime Craze, With The 1897 Release Of His Composition,”Maple Leaf Rag,” During The Gay Nineties.

For A Time, Ragtime Was Considered “Negro Tavern And Brothel Music.” The High-Pitched, Tinny Sound Of The Music Was The Source Of The Name “Tin Pan Alley,” The Center Of Ragtime In New York, City.

The Lack Of Recognition Given To Ragtime, As A Serious, Black American, Musical Art Form, Plagued Joplin Throughout His Life. In His Later Years He Spent All His Money Producing The Ragtime Opera, “Treemonisha,” Which He Never Saw Fully Staged. It Had A Short, But Successful Run, On Broadway During The 1970s

“The Entertainer,” First Released By Joplin In 1902, Was Revived In The 1973 Film,”The Sting” And Became A Top 40 Hit. The Movie Soundtrack, Featuring Mostly Joplin’s Music, Sold More Than 2 Million Copies By The End Of 1974.

Scott Joplin Died In An Asylum In New York City On April 1, 1917. He Was 49 Years Old.

“In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It.” — Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

Hugh Gaddy

Create Your Badge

by Onleilove Alston

Naomi Wolf author of The Beauty Myth discusses how images fueled by consumerism are used against women.  Wolf points out that the beauty myth becomes harsher  after times of political gain for women, thus distracting us from the cause of equality. As  Ecclesiastes 1:9 states “their is nothing new under the sun” because in the Song of Songs (a.k.a. Song of Solomon) we can hear the protest of a woman who does not fit into her society’s beauty myth:

“I am black but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tents of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon. “Do not stare at me because I am swarthy, For the sun has burned me.My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me caretaker of the vineyards, But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.”

The unnamed love interest in this Biblical text does not fold under the beauty myth but stands up to it, affirming not only her beauty but her humanity. Colorism is one form of the beauty myth that is a common reality for women around the world; Dalits in India, the color caste system in African-American rap videos, and African women using deadly skin bleaching creams are just a few examples of this social ill.

This video was created by Kari Morris and Onleilove Alston based on scriptures from Song of Songs 1:5-6; 5:7; 8:6b and Music “‘Til We Reach That Day” taken from the Original Cast Album of RAGTIME.  In this video Kari and I wanted to feature women who may stand outside of the beauty myth yet convey a beauty that surpasses society’s norms, we also wanted to show the beauty of women doing justice because “charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30). One way we can fear or reverence God is by being agents of justice in the world, which highlights a true beauty which is not temporal but eternal in value.

As we seek to be women of faith and justice how can we debunk the beauty myth in our own lives and communities? How can men be allies in this effort?

Kari Morris a graduate of  The Actors Studio and Union Theological Seminary is an  actor, writer,singer and executive producer of the film “Two”.

Onleilove Alston is a student at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University School of Social Work. She organizes with NY Faith & Justice and the Poverty Initiative. During the summer of 2008 she served at Sojourners as a Beatitudes Society Fellow. You can visit her blog- Esther’s Call

The new production of Ragtime recently opened at the Neil Simon Theatre, freshly imported from a hailed run at the Kennedy Center in DC.  While the original production was considered bloated & inappropriately over-sized, sadly, I never saw it.  I was still in college when it opened, and didn’t move to New York until after it closed.  Of course, I did buy the soundtrack.  An English major &  fan of E.L. Doctorow, I also read the book (several times).

To start, the music here is excellent.  A well-toned score by Stephen Flaherty is easily the best thing about the show.  It may be a little “dialed up to eleven”, but the lyrics & book are dialed up to 20.  A bit clichéd with every plot development clearly telegraphed, the book is far too concerned with being important.  Terrence McNally is an excellent playwright, whose work has always explored emotional complexity.  Here, he’s a bit overwhelmed by the fact that the characters are essentially stand-ins for archetypes and doesn’t bring the deftness I expected.  That being said, his book & Lynn Ahrens’ lyrics do provide a few more than solid punches.

The show opens with a view of a truly glorious set by Derek McLane.  Although it opens with a prestige shot (above, from the official website), McLane’s set continues a trend of his to have an elegant set support an elegant show (see 33 Variations, The Pajama Game, etc.).  The opening number is considered by a few people to be one of the best.  I enjoyed it, but the whole “stock characters explain themselves” wasn’t exactly what I expected.  I should have, having heard it before, but the staging just wasn’t was I thought I would see.  That being said, it is an enrapturing piece.

There is so much plot to cover, I won’t even bother.  Just read Doctorow’s book & see the show.

As for the performances, Christiane Noll delivers an incredible lead performance as Mother.  The role is probably the most sympathetic character to modern audiences, and Noll doesn’t overplay the part.  As the matron of a wealthy family in Westchester, she has to show a care for the people of color (which was uncommon back then, or so the show tells us) while still balancing an air of middle-class appropriateness.  Noll has a few good songs, including what I consider the best song in the show – Back to Before.  She nails the complicated emotions behind the sentiment of changing times, though I wasn’t happy with the lighting or her stage placement during the number.  Neither the lighting or her awkward place on the stage brought out the power of this “eleven o’clock” number, which makes Noll’s performance all the better.  I fully expect a Tony nomination for her.

Also strong and deserving of a Tony nod is Bobby Steggert, playing Noll’s Younger Brother.  The role is probably the best written and most complicated, and Steggert delivers a winning performance.  He didn’t cede to the easy revelatory nature of the role, and brought out the complex drama of a young man changing as he begins to understand the world.  He shares a great number with Donna Migliaccio’s Emma Goldman as his transformation takes place, and he delivers quite well.  And he’s adorable.

Rounding out the strong performances is Quentin Earl Darrington as Coalhouse Walker, Jr.  Coalhouse is a powerhouse part, and Darrington knocks it down.  While not nearly as shaded as the other lead roles, Coalhouse is a “dialed up to eleven” role that Brian Stokes Mitchell powered through in the original production.  Darrington does his best not to overdo the role, but his knockout voice erupts time and again to showcase the frustration of a man trying to push himself forward with his life.  His dramatic skills are good, but his voice is better.  Depending on who else is in the category, I could see him getting a Tony nomination.

Robert Petkoff delivers well as Tateh, but I felt that he played a bit too close to the last row of the theatre for my taste.  Others felt differently, but that’s my take.  He’s a good dramatic actor playing an outsized role, but something about it felt off for me.  Stephanie Umoh takes on Sarah, a role originally played by Audra McDonald.  She’s very pretty and has a lovely voice, but I never really felt her in the role, and her scenes with most of the other characters just didn’t play right for me.  That said, perhaps a more modern role is a better fit for her.  Ron Bohmer was fine as Father, but the role is so terribly underwritten that fine qualifies as excellent.  Although, from where I was sitting, I kept thinking he was Jason Sudekis from SNL.  Go figure.  The rest of the cast was uniformly good, if a bit anonymous.  Again, go figure.

Although it will likely get trumped by either of the two London imports, A Little Night Music & La Cage Aux Folles, for the Tony for Best Musical Revival, this time, the show doesn’t deserve to get overtaken in public opinion.

Overall, despite my little grievances & issues, I did enjoy the show.  A lot.  Its a great piece of theatre, and deserves a very long run.  The score & sets are enough to   Buy tickets!

Okay, strictly speaking this has nothing to do with designing typefaces. However it does involve playing around with letters, so I consider it worthwhile!

As a Mac user, I’ve had GarageBand for awhile, but never really used it. I thought it was high time for some musical action!

Musical typing in GarageBand

Here are the keystrokes I used to play the basic melody of ‘The Entertainer’ (a ragtime classic from Scott Joplin, c.1902):

sed k d k d k klp; kl; jlk

sed k d k d k hgt hk; lkl

sed k d k d k klp; kl; jlk

kl; kl; klk; kl; klk; kl; jlk

You will probably recognise the tune instantly once you have a listen:

GarageBand is a great way to experiment with sound and music, even if music isn’t your strong point. Unfortunately I only have one and a half songs in my repertoire. Maybe I should start learning piano again. One of the really cool features of GarageBand is the ability to turn your keystrokes into sheet music. You don’t need to know anything about music theory to do this (unless you want to play it again on an actual piano!)

Sheet music sample from 'The Entertainer'

Click to enlarge

Composer: Bethune Murray
Instrument: Piano
Famous Song: No One Knows What a Two Cent Stamp Can Do
Style: Snappy Fox-trot Music.
Home: Chatham Ontario
Year: 1928

Bethune Murray, Chatham musician and composer who earned success in Chicago.

  Bethune, the youngest of the children, is probably the best known of the family. He was one of the first blacks in the Chatham area to receive the A.T.C.A. (a music degree) from Toronto Conservatory of Music and he was also an excellent artist.

  Prior to his move to Chicago, Bethune played the piano for one of the theaters in Chatham in the days of silent film. When he moved to Chicago he met and married Louise Ann De Loache. He had a short-lived, but good band in Chicago called The Canadian Ginger Snaps. The problems of being a bandleader became a burden to Bethune so he began to play solo at the better nightclubs in the Chicago area. He also played regularly at the Chicago World’s Fair (Ida Murray Burks also performed at the World’s Fair with the William Henry Smith Chorus.)

  Bethune was also a songwriter. His most remembered song was “No One Knows What a Two Cent Stamp Can Do.” He wrote the lyrics and music and had it published in 1928.

Source: Ida Murry Burk.
Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society,  177 King Street East, Chatham On. Canada.

Note: The foxtrot is a ballroom dance. In the beginning the foxtrot was originally danced to ragtime performed by a ‘Big Band’.

___________________

The last time Ragtime appeared on Broadway, a whole new theater was built to house the gigantic production. This time, the show comes from a much humbler place and the critics couldn’t be more complimentary – its fresh, relavant and powerful.

Here are what the major publications had to say:

NEW YORK TIMES

The judiciously pared-down production that opened Sunday night at the Neil Simon Theater is a sprinting sylph compared to the opulence-bloated show that went under the same name a decade ago. … Warmly acted and agreeably sung, this “Ragtime” travels light. And if it still sometimes feels like an animated history lesson, delivered by a liberal but square teacher a shade too eager to make the past come alive, the show now neither drags nor sags under its big themes. Read the full review.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The show’s themes and characters are introduced lickety-split in a thrilling combination of song, story and movement that goes a long way toward explaining what musical theater is all about. … There’s not a wasted moment in her production, which is a blessing considering the scope of the lengthy story these creators are trying to tell: a new American century getting ready to explode and make its mark on history. Read the full review.

USA TODAY

The score…is hardly A-list, but the songs are well-crafted and on occasion are genuinely soulful. And Terrence McNally’s book tugs at your heart and conscience with such artful aggression that only an ogre could resist the urge to weep at some points and smile at others. In this new Kennedy Center-based production, which opened Sunday, those assets are exploited by a supple cast under Marcia Milgrom Dodge’s vibrant direction. Read the full review.

VARIETY

No word has been more bandied about in American life the past two years than change. And no show investigates the nuances of that word as it relates to the American Dream — conveying hope, opportunity and success, but also the ugly flipside of pain, division, confusion and violence — more masterfully than “Ragtime.” The 1997 musical not only feels trenchant and timely, but its multistrand story is delivered with fresh clarity and emotional immediacy in director-choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge’s elegant revival … This is big-brain, bold-strokes musical-theater storytelling at its most vibrant. Read the full review.

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Bottom Line: This wonderful musical based on the classic novel by E.L. Doctorow gets a much deserved, stirring revival. Read the full review.

Have you seen the show? Add your review to the comments below!

Are you excited? Ragtime opens on Broadway today. Playbill.com tells us that “Christiane Noll, Robert Petkoff and Quentin Earl Darrington star as the leaders of three tribes that collide in 1906 New York City.” I’ve heard great things about this production and I’ll be seeing it in January.

Ragtime ticket prices are $46.50, $86.50 and $126.50 and are available by using Ticketmaster. For more information visit www.ragtimebroadway.com.

This square grand piano is referred to as the “Scott Joplin Piano.” In spite of what this suggests, this piano was not owned by Scot Joplin, but is most likely one of the pianos Joplin used for practice as a young boy.

 The instrument originally belonged to the J.H. Wilder family of 709 Hazel Street, Texarkana. It remained at this address until 1984. Joplin’s family resided at 618 Hazel Street during his childhood and it is likely that Florence Joplin, Scott’s mother, worked for the Wilder family during that time. According to early Joplin biographers Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis,  Joplin learned to play on a square grand piano. He remembered accompanying  his mother to the homes in which his mother worked and was allowed to play the piano while his mother cleaned.* Given the proximity of the two residences and the coinciding dates, it is likely that this is one of the pianos referenced.

Known as the “Father of Ragtime,” Scott Joplin was born 1868 in Northeast Texas, near what is now Texarkana, AR-TX. He grew up in Texarkana and is believed to have attended the historic Orr School on Laurel Street. The school building still stands in the 800 block of Laurel Street and is used as a community daycare center. Joplin left Texarkana in his teens to continue his musical education. Although he never lived in Texarkana again, it is believed he visited his family here on a few occasions. One of his most impressive works, a ragtime opera called Treemonisha, is set just north of the present location of Texarkana, Arkansas

The piano is made of rosewood and manufactured in New Haven, Connecticut during the 1880s. It is currently on display as part of the Beasley Music Exhibit in the Museum of Regional History. Click here for more information about this display. 

*Source: They All Played Ragtime by Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis, 1974 . The authors based their work on the recollections of Scott Joplin as told to his second wife, Lottie Stokes Joplin.

With the recent release of things like The Beatles Rockband and Michael Jackson’s film “This Is It” I found myself pondering the future state of what we consider to be the most influential music of the last century.  Music has evolved and proliferated so much in the last century that it is hard to predict what the future of music might hold.  And it is hard to know how today’s popular and influential music will be perceived by music historians a century or more from now.

I wonder if Beethoven and Mozart could have ever imagined the kind of music that we listen to today.  And I wonder if, one day, future generations will think of 20th and 21st century music in the same way that we currently think about music from centuries past.  So called classical music is comprised of a variety of styles and subgenres that were probably starkly obvious to musicians of the “classical” age but which, for us, have been melded into one giant genre.  Will our Beatles and Britneys and Metallicas be lumped together as a genre of 20th century popular music by amateur music historians of the future?  I think there’s a good chance that something like that will happen.  Especially if music making continues to become so ubiquitous.  With more and more people making music, music archives will be so jam packed that everyone but the hardcore purists will want to lump things together for simplicity’s sake.

Another thing to consider is the enormous effect technology has had on the evolution of music.  The electric guitar and the drum kit, which now make up the most basic instrumentation of the majority of today’s popular music did not exist until the early 20th century.  I wonder what Mozart would have done with an electric guitar or a synthesizer in his hands?  The device AutoTune is an example of some technology that is currently revolutionizing (for better or worse) the music industry.  Where does music technology go from here?

Will there continue to be social outcries over new kinds of music as they emerge?  I recently watched the film Amadeus in which (if I remember correctly) young Mozart raises some eyebrows by writing a French ballet for the German king (yikes!).  This week the movie Pirate Radio opens, depicting a time in the 60s when England banned rock and roll music.  And who can’t remember a time in the 90s when Eminem or some other rapper was making the news for making controversial music?  Where does music go from here?  What other toes can modern musicians step on?

Needless to say, I have a lot of questions about the future of music.  And few answers.  But isn’t it fascinating to think about?  Just take a look at where we’ve come from and all the marvelous music the ages have created!  Just thinking about it makes me excited to see what music is like when I’m an old man.  Even though I’ll probably hate popular music when I’m old and wish that kids could appreciate “real” music like Our Lady Peace and U2.  I probably won’t live long enough to see my favorite bands enter “classical” status, though.

While I’m excited to see what the future holds, there’s one thing I hope for from future music historians – that they are able to distinguish between musicians like the Beatles and Britney Spears.  I imagine somebody a couple of centuries from now browsing through a catalog of popular music from the 20th century and perceiving that two artists such as the Beatles and Spears are relatively equal in terms of hit songs and media coverage (or something to that effect; I don’t know the exact statistics; and for the record, my personal opinion is that Britney Spears is a speck of dust compared to the Beatles).  To me, it seems a sin to conflate two so obviously different musicians.  But chances are, people a century from now aren’t going to see the difference so clearly.

Those are some of my thoughts.  Let me know what you think about the future of music.  Bonus points if you can name all the musicians in the photos.

Each week, The Broadway Critic will be featuring the news that you don’t want to miss! A lot has happened since we posted about A Million Dollar Quartet and the resurrection of Carrie.

• Yes, that’s right! The Addams Family Musical starts previews on Friday, November 13th, 2009 in Chicago. With a cast that features Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth, Terrence Mann, Carolee Carmello and Kevin Chamberlin, you can be sure that it’s going to be fantastic. (Well, that’s what I thought about Memphis and that didn’t work out.) You can check out this awesome video of The Addams Family getting into costume and make-up for a Vanity Fair photoshoot. It’s all a bit too kooky, mysterious and spooky for the cast to look so much like the cartoon. We are hoping for some great reviews.
• Big news hit twitter like wild fire on Tuesday when it was announced that Denzel Washington was coming back to Broadway. He will be starring in Fences, according to The New York Times. It’s kind of fun to see big Hollywood stars performing on Broadway but only if they are really good. Can Denzel deliver better than Jackman/Daniel do? (Not that the A Steady Rain’s box office has suffered by any means by Jackman/Craig’s performance.) Playbill.com says, “Fences will begin rehearsals this February with an April 2010 opening, Variety is reporting. Denzel has signed on for a 14-week run through mid-July.” Hopefully, he won’t get “mercury poisoning”.
• The producers of American Idiot are searching for a new Johnny, St. Jimmy, Will, Tunny and Whatsername. We are hoping that they are just looking for replacements/understudies, because all five of those characters should not be replaced. We have an idea who will be replaced when it finally gets to Broadway, but we don’t think it will be any of those five (maybe, but not willing to bet on it). The producers have confirmed that American Idiot will go to Broadway, just no one knows when or where. I hope it’s soon. (Be sure to get tickets for closing weekend!)
• It was announced yesterday that Harvey Fierstein will be replacing Chaim Topol as Tevye in the touring production of Fiddler on the Roof. Am I the ONLY one that doesn’t want to see Fierstein play Tevye? Come on… anyone? I think I’ll skip this tour in San Francisco.
• Be sure to check out these pictures from the new production of Ragtime.

Until next week…

Performance: Thursday, November 5, 8:00 PM (17th Preview–1st Frozen Performance)
Lottery, $26.50/Orchestra, Row A

2.5 stars/4

Marcia Milgrom Dodge’s stirring new production of Ragtime strips the musical down to its bare bones.  There are no giant ships, working cars, or fireworks on stage.  The sizeable cast of 40 is left to their own devices, with an industrial set and simple props, to get the absolute most out of the epic musical by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty and Terrence McNally.  The good news is they succeed.  This production is pulsates with energy, emotion, and fire for the material.  The bad news is that when Ragtime is stripped down to its bare bones, you are left with some giant holes and a cop-out of a second act.

This production is my first experience with the material, and admittedly I was nervous going in.  A musical needs to accomplish what it sets out to do, which makes me inherently nervous about ‘epic’ musicals.  Ragtime follows the interwoven stories of three groups: a white suburban family that is reeling with self-identity issues in an everchanging nation, a black Harlem ragtime star wooing his baby’s austere mother, and an Eastern European immigrant widower trying to pave out a new life for his daughter.  These characters are joined by symbols of American promise, including Booker T. Washington, Harry Houdini, Henry Ford, and vaudeville star Evelyn Nesbit.  It is 1906, and we are watching America in its self-discovery; Ragtime sets out to be the great American musical.  It is hard to ever achieve when your ambitions are set so high.  The first act of Ragtime is soaring and passionate; it inspires and triumphs in the human spirit.  In fact, the first act is so good that I did not even care about the lack of substantive character development.  I had completely bought into and accepted the premise that this story is not about any one part, this is the story of a country at its critical moment, and I was loving it.  They had me.

(Spoilers Alert–Skip Down To The Next Paragraph)
Then they lost me.  The second act backtreads on the social critique of the immigrant’s story, and takes the other two stories nowhere.  Act two says nothing that was not already said, and follows up the superb songwriting of the first act with a second half that features only two memorable numbers: the patter number “What A Game!” and the 11 0′clock power ballad “Back to Before”.  The ultimate crime though is the show’s big cop-out of an epilogue that tries to tie everything up by resulting to cliche and turning a grandiose plot line into a fairy tale ending.  It was annoying.

That being said, I was wowed by the production.  Marcia Milgrom Dodge finds a raw power and fragile intensity within the work that ties in so well with the shows themes.  With this interwoven ensemble work, a single dropped performance threatens the entire ensemble, and every the entire ensemble undoubtedly delivers.  The producers should also be thanked for not trying to resort to star casting, which would have thrown this nimble production off-balance.  The ensemble of talented working actors lets the story shine above all else.  Both in their Broadway debuts, Quentin Earl Darrington as Coalhouse Waker, Jr. brings an unbridled power to his role, while Stephanie Umoh portrays Sarah with a melancholy that can break your heart without her saying anything.  Robert Petkoff brings vulnerability with unrelenting strength to the immigrant Tateh.  Christiane Noll is completely satisfying as Mother, and hits every emotional chord dead-on.  Bobby Steggert shines in his turn as Mother’s Younger Brother, taking what could have been a very simplified angry young man to such wonderfully realized level.  Christopher Cox and Sarah Rosenthal are adorable talents as The Little Boy and The Little Girl.

The costume design by Santo Laquasto, reproduced from the original production, bring an amazing contrast to the industrial set by Derek McLane.  Donald Holder’s lighting design emphasizes the high drama, without ever distracting or overdoing it, an simply underscores the mood gracefully.  My only real problem with the production was that I spent every scene with the outlined piano wishing they would have sprung for a real piano on stage to contrast the bare set and provide Coalhouse the chance to play live.  However, that one bit of nitpickiness did not mar my enjoyment of such an elegant performance.

Ragtime is a beautiful show, with some major but non-fatal flaws.  This production brings out the absolute best in the work though, and presents a fully satisfying theatrical experience.

Ragtime plays at The Neil Simon Theatre at 250 West 52nd Street.  A lottery for front row tickets, sold for $26.50 each begins taking names two hours before the performance time, drawing names 90 minutes prior to performance time.

Mehmet Gökhan Çulha, İstanbul Üniversitesi, Cerrahpaşa Tıp Fakültesi, İngilizce Tıp Bölümü, 4. Sınıf

1. Finian’s Rainbow’s – “The Begat”

2. Fela! – Broadway Trailer

3. Ragtime – Behind the Scenes Look

4. Next to Normal – The Understudies sing “Just Another Day”

5. Bye Bye Birdie performing “Sincere” on Good Morning America

by Pat Walker, Local History Archive Research Assistant

From about 1910 to 1914, the ragtime dance craze was in its heyday. Dance halls like the Lindenmeier Lake Pavilion and Ault’s Hall (113 North College Avenue) sprang up to accommodate the demand. With the new craze came new dances — the so-called animal dances like the Turkey Trot, Grizzly Bear, Chicken Scratch, and Bunny Hug.

Not particularly elegant, the animal dances were mostly one step movements, one step per beat, and often included a slouched posture, shoulder shaking, head bobbing, hopping, and a tight embrace that had “proper” society in an uproar. Considering the new dances lewd and immoral, many attempts were made by the “good folk” of Fort Collins to ban the dances — with little success!

Advertisement for a dance, July 1921

William Lindenmeier, circa 1911

Lindenmeier Lake Boat House, circa 1920. The dance room was on the second floor above the boat house.

PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE CELEBRATES ITS

15^TH ANNIVERSARY WITH A

HOMECOMING BENEFIT & REVUE

On November 16th at the Theatre Building Chicago

Porchlight Music Theatre celebrates the company’s 15^th Anniversary with a Homecoming Benefit & Revue showcasing alumni performers reprising their favorite roles from shows through the company’s fifteen fabulous seasons. The benefit will take place at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 West Belmont, on Monday, November 16.

The celebration evening will begin at 6pm. as guests mingle over libations and a buffet with alumni performers sharing favorite Porchlight production stories. The anniversary performance begins at 7:30 p.m. as alumni actors will take to the stage reprising their favorite role. Suzanne Getz, who most recently starred in Elegies during the Finn Festival of the tenth anniversary season, will sing a number from William Finn’s A New Brain. Porchlight presented the Chicago premiere of this show in 2002 and revived it in the Finn Fest of 2005. Getz received an After Dark Award for Outstanding Performance for her role in the 2002 production. Heather Townsend who starred in this season’s Macabaret will reprise her show-stopping “My Husband Makes Movies” from Nine: The Musical. Presented in 2008, Nine earned five Jeff Award nominations including best production and best ensemble. Charissa Armon will sing “Back to Before” from Porchlight’s celebrated and multiple award-winning production of Ragtime. Armon received an After Dark Award for Outstanding Performance and a Jeff Award Nomination for Outstanding Actress in a principal musical role. A host of other Porchlight alums will also take to the stage for this special revue.

The benefit will feature an open bar—beer, wine, and soft drinks—along with a  buffet catered by Bespoke Cuisine. Guests and alumni will be able to bid on a variety of restaurant, spa, and cultural gift certificates at the benefit’s silent auction.

Ticket Information

Porchlight Music Theatre will present a Homecoming Benefit & Revue at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 West Belmont (at Racine), on Monday, November 16. Advance tickets at $40 and $25 (actors’ rate) are currently on sale and can be purchased by calling 773.325.9884 or emailing info@porchlighttheatre.com (leave call back information). Advanced reservations must be made by 5:00 pm, November 14. At door tickets are $50.

Porchlight Theatre Mission

Porchlight is Chicago’s Music Theatre.

By uniting the arts of music, drama, dance, and design we transform stories into thrilling, passionate and relevant events, which affect the lives of artists and audiences alike.

As professionals and leaders in this field, we nurture and develop new artists and works, expanding and redefining the music theatre genre while matching artistic vision with fiscal responsibility.

Things like this happen with bands who’ve been around awhile and have the good sense to record themselves in fortuitous circumstances. Back in 2006, the Asylum Street Spankers – the world’s smartest, most deliriously fun oldtimey Americana band – recorded some live performances at the Saxon Pub in their hometown of Austin. Among the songs were several traditional gospel tunes along with a handful of originals that wouldn’t be drastically out of place, musically at least, in a straight-up gospel set. It isn’t implausible to imagine the band hanging around the dressing room one night after a show after someone put these songs on a boombox, while a  joint made its way around the room. Suddenly percussionist/singer Wammo has an epiphany and turns in amazement to multi-instrumentalist/siren Christina Marrs: “Holy shit, we have a gospel album here!”

As improbable as it might seem at first thought for the Spankers to be doing a gospel album, it actually makes perfect sense when you consider how deep their knowledge of American roots music is. As sacriligeous as the band is, Marrs has an amazing set of pipes and pulls out all the stops here. Likewise, the band’s vocal harmonies are tight and inventive when they’re not being tight and absolutely period-perfect, as with their minstrel-esque version of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

An ancient-sounding  instrumental version of the Blind Willie Johnson blues Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground opens the cd and sets a rustic tone. The standards Each Day, Down by the Riverside, By and By and Wade in the Water each get a fervent, ecstatic treatment which rather than being camp reaffirms the band’s seemingly innate feel for these songs as universal expression of the human spirit that transcend any doctrinaire limitations. Then they do the same thing with a contemporary Christian song (yes, that’s what it is), the Violent Femmes’ Gordan Gano’s Jesus Walking on the Water.

But as expected it’s the originals that bring down the house. Wammo’s somewhat snide Right and Wrong has an ironclad Iraq War-era logic to go along with the stoner humor: “I ain’t got no problem with Buddha, ’cause he’s a huge Nirvana fan.” And his other song here, Volkswagen Thing reclaims a Nazi-era relic as vehicle for the divine. In case you don’t remember it, the Thing during its brief revival in the 70s was  one of the most unsafe cars ever built, a car so rear-heavy that it could pop a wheelie despite being ridiculously underpowered. Satan, on the other hand, drives his Mercedes like the pig he is – and he’s got a Hummer, too. The band closes out this raucous collection with a defiant version of Gershwin’s It Ain’t Necessarily So, a vivid reminder of where they’re really coming from for anyone who might not have been paying attention. Steampunks everywhere, not to mention fans of both traditional and secular gospel alike (the Lost Crusaders and Rev. Vince Anderson especially come to mind) will love this album. The Spankers made it to NYC a couple of times this year and they will doubtlessly be back (they recorded their sensational What? And Give Up Show Business? live cd here), watch this space for details.

E.L Doctorow The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio Present: One of America’s preeminent writers, the author of such epic works as Ragtime, Billy Bathgate, and The March, joins us to discuss his new novel set in 20th century America, Homer and Langley.

www.themusichall.org

I will just state up front that I know there are a lot of people verbally ejaculating over this show, and have been since its run at the Kennedy Center, so I know there is a lot of hype out there. I fel victim to the hype too…or maybe I should say the show fell victim to the massive overhyping that has been done around this show.

*REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS*

I wanted to LOVE it. I truly did. I never got to see the original production. I have the complete original cast recording and love listening to that. I cry like a baby in places listening to that recording. I love Christiane Noll, and had heard lots of verbal ejaculations about her and her performance as well and was excited to see her in the role. (Especially as I’m not normally a huge Marin Mazzie fan…one I don’t get the hype on. I just want to note that as well.)

A friend and I won the ticket lottery last night when two people dropped out of the line for tickets they’d won and the guy pulled my friend’s name. We were off to the far house left side in the front row (I will say if you were hesitant about lottery with this one because of the stage height in the Simon for Hairspray, don’t worry as they have lowered the deck considerably (or moved the pit out a tad…not sure which) so you don’t have to crane to see.), so the extreme angle at which I saw the show might have had some tiny effect on how the show affected me (or didn’t as the case may be).

I do love the score. They really didn’t do much to it, so that was nice.

The staging is minimal, but I don’t mind that. I’d rather have minimal sets than big extravagant ones that tend to make me wonder what they’re trying to hide with the wow factor. It’s three levels. There are travelators and stairs. But it works. The piano and the car are conceptualizations – outlines of the object. Even that didn’t bother me. (The piano felt more like a piano than the attempt at a conceptualized one they use in next to normal, which I love in spite of that one thing that drives me batty about the staging there.)

Some things in the show are lovely. Other things I still don’t get. I really do NOT understand the whole Houdini and Evelyn Nesbit stories. Nesbit and her stupid “WHEE!” is the one thing that I absolutely cannot stand on the cast recording, and it’s even more annoying in person. I honestly do not see what these “stories” (hardly that…intrusions more likely) have to do with the story. They don’t advance the story at all. Well, I suppose the Nesbit one does something for Mother’s Younger Brother, but I think that could be done in a much different and less annoying way.

There are some nice themes in the show, and it’s nice to have it revived at this time. But… I’m just not sure it overall lives up to the themes it could have. At least the way they are played out in this production.

The cast is…servicable.

I do love Christiane Noll, and she’s *probably* the strongest part of this production. I had such high expectations for “Back to Before”, especially because I love Mazzie’s version on the OCR (remember, I’m not a Mazzie fan as a rule), and figured Christiane would sing the hell out of the song. When she actually sang, she was wonderful. Sadly, she did more TALK-singing than singing. And yes, I emphasized the TALK more because there were a few places where there was no singing to it…she was speaking the words. Is this normal or is she already having some vocal issues because of rehearsals and previews? I don’t know. I can let you know after I see it over Thanksgiving. (I tend to have issues with talk-singing anyway…and I don’t buy “it’s an emotional section” as a reason for it. There is another performer who is SINGING a much more demanding role eight times a week, and rarely if ever have I heard her slip into talk-singing. And when she does, the emphasis is still on the singing.) As I said, when she was singing, Christiane was divine. I am also NOT a fan of the whole “be at the back of the stage, then clutch your chest and run forward to emphasize that it’s the emotional climax of the song” staging, and that is done to full effect here. THAT I don’t blame Christiane for…I blame the director and choreographer. Try trusting your audience a little more that we can get that it’s the high emotional point. Don’t cram it down our throats with cheesy choreography and stage movement. Overall, she is excellent. Is she the lock for the Tony that a lot of people are trying to make her? I don’t know. There is still a lot of season to go, and we don’t know what may sneak in. (Remember this time last year no one knew next to normal was coming in at the end of last season.)

Ron Bohmer as Father and Robert Petkoff as Tateh are servicable. Bobby Steggert as Mother’s Younger Brother is very good. Christopher Cox as The Little Boy is excellent for his role, which is largely as narrator. In my opinion, Sarah Rosenthal as The Little Girl could do less of the wide-eyed looking around with a goofy grin on her face and more actual attempts at acting. Again, could be the fault of the director on that one. But give me more than one look, please, whoever is making those decisions. The ensemble is very good as well.

Which brings me to the two newcomers.

Stephanie Umoh is very good as Sarah, but poor thing, she is no Audra McDonald. And she will inevitable be compared to Audra, who won the Tony for that role. Had I never heard Audra, I might well be singing her praises. And as I said, she’s very good. But when you’re reviving a Tony-winning role, you need to do something to make it your own to avoid those comparisons. And at least vocally (as I never SAW Audra in the role) she does nothing different. Her acting is very good. I know some have complained that the role is too short, that you’re just getting to know her, that the role is a plot device. And probably yes…all of that is true to a degree. But I didn’t feel cheated by the brevity of the role. It works. (And honestly, without her murder, you wouldn’t have the rest of the story with Coalhouse.)

Quentin Earl Darrington as Coalhouse Walker, Jr. also has big shoes to fill in taking over the role made famous by Brian Stokes Mitchell. Again, he’s serviceable. His voice is good, and he acts well. My biggest complaint with him comes down to hitting the notes. You should be able to hit the money note in your big 11 o’clock number. And while he eventually found the right pitch, the initial attack on the final note of “Make Them Hear You” was off-pitch enough I physically (not just mentally) cringed. I hope this was a one-time occurrence kind of thing and won’t turn into a Laura Bell Bundy in Legally Blonde kind of thing.

Remember I said I cry like a baby to the original cast recording? I didn’t shed a tear last night. I didn’t even well up. And I’ve been on the verge of tears all week due to a lot of personal crap that’s been going on. I’m not sure if the problem was the production, the actors, or some combination of everything that kept me from getting wrapped up in the story. This may well be a case of being at an extreme angle affecting how I saw the show. I don’t know.

Also? I have to agree with everyone that the only reason to have a little kid run out at the end as Coalhouse Walker, III is for an “AWWWWWW” moment from the audience. It’s cloying and obvious, and I hate that audiences buy into that kind of obvious staging. Does he need to be out for the summary? Sure. But have him already out there with his “family”. It works just as well…probably better.

That said, the production does have its moments. I’m really hoping my disappointment with it is due to the aforementioned overhyping and verbal ejaculating over the show. I had planned to wait and see it for the first time with my parents when they come up for Thanksgiving, but I’m glad I caved and saw it early. Now my disappointment in the difference between the hype and the production is out of the way, so maybe I can see it as it is and not as I’m expecting it. And maybe I’ll discover that last night was a little off and it IS able to live up to the hype.

Overall I give it *** out of 5 at this point.