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'Kiss Me, Kate' charms and delights at Muhlenberg

By PAUL WILLISTEIN pwillistein@tnonline.com
Kiss Me, Kate" is a fun, sweet, charming musical that opened the 28th season of Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre and continues through June 29 at Muhlenberg College, Allentown.

You can see why they, as the cliche goes, don't write 'em like that anymore. Muhlenberg's exuberant production pops and sizzles with the mirth of a bygone era.

What's wonderful about director Charlie Richter's production is that he returns us to the roots of the 1948 Tony Award-winning original, rather than the 2000 Tony-winning revival, which had a revised libretto and new orchestrations.

Of course, one reason why you don't have Broadway musicals like "Kiss Me, Kate" anymore is because you don't have Cole Porter anymore. The wit, wisdom and double-entendre of his songs are one of the chief reasons to see Muhlenberg's production. Another is the setting and Baker Theater itself. This is a jewel of a show in a jewel-box setting.

"Kiss Me, Kate" is arguably the ultimate backstage musical, with a story within a story compounded by a misunderstanding. It's a jolly, madcap frolic, a musical confection from beginning to end.

Fred (Muhlenberg vocal professor Ed Bara in outstanding form) and Lilli (Muhelnberg senior Sarah Primmer who seems ready for Broadway) are battling thespians offstage and, sometimes, on stage in a production of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" in which they play, respectively, Petrucchio and Katharine (aka Kate).

In the play within the play, Baptista (a nicely befuddled Matthew S. Walczer) must marry off Katharine before Bianca (Muhlenberg comedic standout Rebecca Goldstein) can be given in marriage.

Into the mix arrive Gangster No. 1 (Catasauqua Area High School theater department head Robert W. Fahringer) and Gangster No. 2 (Muhlenberg instructor and area actor-director Bill Mutimer), who mistake Fred as their marker.

High hilarity and some great songs ensue.

Vincent Trovato conducts the 12-member orchestra with panache. Music director Jeremy Slavin has gotten terrific performances from all, and the choral work is especially triumphant. Choreographer Daniel Gwirtzman has some show-stopping pieces, notably Act Two's opening number, "Too Darn Hot," and "Bianca," which include ballet and tap from the talented razzle-dazzle, high-steppin' dance ensemble of Elle Barks, Brittany Beatty, Dana Harringon, Leonardo Altafine, Zachary J. Chiero and Nick Flatto.

Campbell Baird's traditional drops and set pieces are whimsical and retain the unabashedly naivety one images was part of the late 1940's original. His costumes throughout are splendid and gorgeous, especially Kate's gown and Petruccio's vestments in the finale. And Baird's Tweedledee and Tweedledum clown costumes for the gangsters (while retaining their co-respondent shoes) brings down the house. John McKernon's lighting design adds the right nuances.

The supporting cast includes Muhlenberg regular Neil Hever as Harrison Howell and Scott Parkinson as Bill/Lucentio.

At the center of the show are the songs. "Wunderbar" teams Primmer and Bara in lovely harmony. Primmer really shines on "So In Love Am I," later reprised effectively by Bara.

Interestingly, there are a number of Gilbert and Sullivan-influenced patter songs, including the saucy "Tom, Dick, or Harry," rendered even more saucily by Goldstein; "I've Come to Wive it Wealthily in Padua"; "Where is the Life That Late I Led" and the title song.

There are at least three very funny comedic songs, including "I Hate Men" by Primmer, "Always True to You (In My Fashion)" by Goldstein and a side-splitting version of "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" by Mutimer and Fahringer. Indubitably.

One interesting thing about "Kiss Me, Kate" is the double repetition of some of the funniest songs. Just when you think you couldn't applaud or laugh more, out trundle Gangster No. 1 and Gangster No. 2 (Fahringer and Mutimer), or Lois (Goldstein). It represents the unabashed enthusiasm of a trouper and an unvarnished need for approval of the performer.

It's all a balance of wants and needs, after all. That's why you should want to see "Kiss Me, Kate." It just might be the delightful entertainment you need.

Copyright 2008 Times News Inc.

Comic duo runs away with 'Kate'
By Myra Yellin Outwater | Special to The Morning Call

Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre's production of Cole Porter's ''Kiss Me Kate'' is visually outstanding, with sumptuous sets and gorgeous and imaginative costumes.

It is also a musical delight with glorious songs, soaring voices and an ensemble of energetic and engaging dancers.

Charles Richter has staged this Cole Porter musical spoof on Shakespeare's ''Taming of the Shrew'' and life in the theater with a tongue-in-cheek nostalgia. He injects backstage gimmickry and physical references that make this play-within-a-play a tribute to the world of theater.

But what makes this show even more memorable is the stage debut of a new dynamic duo, comedic song and dance men extraordinaire, Bob Fahringer and Bill Mutimer. They light upthe stage, dressed in dark suits, pink-orange carnations in their lapels, hats and white and black wingtip shoes.

These two pros pose, deadpan and deliver their lines with an appealing, almost child-like naivete. Their second-act finale, ''Brush Up Your Shakespeare,'' is a tribute to the days of hoofers, and the result is stage magic.

Richter has been fortunate in the rest of his casting as well. His two leads, Ed Bara and Sarah Primmer, have professional-quality voices. Bara is an imposing and pompous Fred/Petruchio and plays and sings with bravado, particularly in his two solos. Primmer plays Lilli as a grand diva and Kate with a shrewish defiance. She also displays a delightful comedic flair in her very physical ''I Hate Men.''
Rebecca Goldstein is coy and seductive as Lois, the chorus girl turned Shakespearean actor, and adorably eager as Kate's sister Bianca. Ryan Wesley Brown's dance solo in ''Too Darn Hot,'' is an unexpected highlight. His dancing has a languid grace as his long, limber legs interpret the effects of the heat.

Set and costume designer Campbell Baird has created a color palette that makes you gasp with its beauty. Primmer's finale costume design for Kate, a blood-orange gown, should win an award for most stunning gown to be seen on an area stage.

Choreographer and New York dancer Daniel Gwirtzman introduces a world of movement that is both lyrical and visually engaging.

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

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READING EAGLE

STAGE REVIEW: Vibrant 'Kiss Me, Kate' lights up Muhlenberg stage

By Stephanie Caltagirone
Reading Eagle Correspondent

ALLENTOWN - "Kiss Me, Kate" is one of my favorite shows.

It has a Cole Porter score that's filled with romantic, witty, melodic and downright naughty songs. All are memorable and most are standards - "Why Can't You Behave," "Wunderbar" and "Too Darn Hot," just to mention a few.

The book by Bella and Samuel Spewak is pure, giddy fun and follows a company of lovelorn actors performing Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew."

Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre's production of this classic is vibrant in character, costume and dance.

Charles Richter's direction is snappy and sharp, the pacing full speed ahead as he navigates through the broad comedy with ease.

Fred (Ed Bara) pines for his ex-wife Lilli (Sarah Primmer) while flirting with ing?nue Lois (Rebecca Goldstein), whose gambling beau Bill (Scott Parkinson) sets two goons on Fred for his gambling debt.
Bara has a full, rich voice and a lusty bravado. He walks the fine line that makes Fred a great character instead of a boorish oaf. Primmer is a brilliant shrew, sharp-tongued but entitled to it, a good counterpoint to her glorious voice.

Goldstein's wink-and-a-nod sexuality makes her numbers "Why Can't You Behave," "Tom, Dick or Harry" and "Always True to You (In My Fashion)" bright spots in the show, while Parkinson's rakish grin and carefree charm are delightfully apparent.

And Robert W. Fahringer and Bill Mutimer steal the show with their hilarious "Brush Up Your Shakespeare."

Choreographer Daniel Gwirtzman gives Porter's jazzy music proper due with intricate (sometimes a little too intricate) dances and ensemble numbers ("Another Op'nin', Another Show" and "Too Darn Hot") that have always been MSMT's strength.

Candy-colored costumes and a richly textured scenic design by Campbell Baird provide eye-popping eye candy while the orchestra, led by Vincent Trovato, is magnificent, as always.

You won't find a better way to spend a hot summer night.

•Contact Stephanie Caltagirone at entertainment@readingeagle.com.

Copyright © The Reading Eagle 2008

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Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre does it Grand

By PAUL WILLISTEIN Focus Editor

Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre (MSMT) is refocusing its 28th season on two big musicals, rather than two smaller musicals and one big musical.

"Kiss Me, Kate" continues through June 29 in the Baker Theatre, and "The Who's Tommy" runs July 9 - 27 in the Empie Theatre, both in the Muhlenberg College Baker Center for the Arts.

For children and families, "A Year with Frog and Toad," runs June 25 - July 26.

"We've been doing two small shows and a big show," said Charles Richter, MSMT General Director and Founding Artistic Director.

"We thought we might do better if we did two medium to large shows."
"Kiss Me, Kate" represents the height of the traditional Broadway musical. "Tommy" represents the height of the rock musical.

"We did some very good productions of small musicals. But we're better able to use our talent pool. The shows are grander. It's a bit of a more financial risk, but it's one worth taking," Richter said.

Richter especially likes that "Kate" is being staged in Baker Theatre of the Trexler Pavilion for Theatre and Dance.
"The Baker Theater is patterned after a Broadway theater. And 'Kiss Me Kate,' on many levels, is the quintessential Broadway musical, and we're staging it as such," said Richter, who is directing the show.

"We're using classic scene painting. Campbell Baird has done a beautiful set in the classic Broadway tradition of drops and wings. Hopefully, the whole thing will be very nimble on its feet. It's going to be a big show in a very intimate setting." Baker has 350 seats.

Music director is Jeremy Slavin, an MSMT Founding Artistic Director. Choreographer is Daniel Gwirtzman, director of the Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, New York City, and faculty member at The University of the Arts, Philadelphia.

"The audience is in for a fairly high-powered treat. I believe it's the biggest musical we've ever done," in terms of cast size, orchestra size and scenery, Richter said.

MSMT previously presented "Kate" in 1986. Neil Hever, a chorus boy in that show, plays Harrison Howell, the older character man role, a Southern senator, in the new production.

Bob Fahringer reprises his role as Man No. 1, one of the gangsters. "And as far as I can tell, he [Fahringer] looks the same as he did 22 years ago. He doesn't seem to age," marveled Richter.

Bill Mutimer is Man No. 2, the other gangster. Fahringer and Mutimer, who played Tevye and Lazar Wolfe in last summer's MSMT "Fiddler on the Roof," duet again, this time on "Brush Up Your Shakespeare."

Ed Bara, a professional opera singer on the Muhlenberg voice faculty, plays Fred Graham/Petrucchio. Sarah Primmer, who will be a senior at Muhlenberg and played Hodel in "Fiddler on the Roof" and Carrie Pipperidge in "Carousel" two years ago, is playing Lilli Vanessi/Kate.

The original 1948 Tony-winning musical was inspired by Shakespeare's "The Taming the Shrew." The classic Cole Porter score includes "Too Darn Hot" and "So in Love."

Richter noted that while "Kiss Me, Kate" had a Broadway revival in 2000 which used a new script, the MSMT production is uses the original.

Referencing "South Pacfic" and "Gypsy," whose recent Broadway successes are partly attributed to mining their original scripts, Richter noted, "The pendulum is swinging back to doing shows in their original forms."

Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre ticket information: 484-664-3100, www.summerbroadway.org

Copyright 2008 Times News Inc.

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'Kate,' 'Tommy' and 'Frog and Toad' sing in Muhlenberg series

By Diana Morse
Special to the Morning Call

When you think of Cole Porter's ''Kiss Me Kate,'' you may think ''vintage musical.''

You might not use that phrase to describe The Who's ''Tommy,'' that is, until you realize that Pete Townsend's 1969 rock opera celebrates its 40th birthday next year. When Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre Artistic Director Charles Richter decided to produce the show, hoping for a younger audience, he realized he'd seen the future.

He also sees the future in young theater-goers who attend the annual children's production. ''A Year With Frog and Toad'' is the series' most elaborate ever.

Smooching with Shakespeare

Before Richter decided to open the Summer Music Theatre season with ''Kiss Me Kate,'' he made three phone calls.

The first two were to actors Bob Fahringer and Bill Mutimer, who Richter wanted to cast as the show's comical -- and cute -- gangsters, Lippy and Slug.

Fahringer, who played Tevye in last year's production of ''Fiddler on the Roof,'' quickly agreed to reprise the ''Kiss Me Kate'' gangster role he had during Muhlenberg's fifth summer season, 23 years ago. Mutimer, also seen in ''Fiddler,'' also was in.

''They're fabulous actors who can handle these characters, who are a comic core to the show,'' Richter says.

With their agreement, Richter made the final call -- to Daniel Gwirtzman, choreographer and director of New York's Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company.

''[Gwirtzman] is a highly regarded modern choreographer with an affinity toward jazz dance,'' Richter says of the choreographer, who enthusiastically agreed to create jazzy new choreography.

'''Kiss Me Kate' is an old-fashioned musical, and we're basically restoring the original 1948 version,'' Richter says of the production that in no way resembles the recent Broadway revival starring Brian Stokes Mitchell.

''That was a completely reconceived version of the play, and we're kind of purists about these things,'' he says. ''The revival softened the play a bit, for no apparent reason. The original is much jazzier and more grounded.''

The ''musical about a company doing a musical,'' based on Shakespeare's ''Taming of the Shrew,'' stars Muhlenberg adjunct vocal instructor Ed Bara as director Fred Graham/Petruccio and Muhlenberg music and theater double major Sarah Primmer, last seen as Hodel in MSMT's 2007 production of ''Fiddler,'' as Fred's ex, Lilli Vanessi/Kate.

''It's the fun of doing Shakespeare and the subtext of doing something more,'' Richter says. ''Kate, our 'Shrew,' really tears into Fred/Petruccio. We've choreographed some really funny fights.''

Who's on second?

In choosing to produce The Who's ''Tommy,'' Richter says he hoped to draw in a younger audience.

''This is our 28th season, so we thought it might be a fresh idea, until I realized I'm 57, and I remember listening to this show's music during my freshman year in college,'' he laughs.

But Richter says he expects ''Tommy'' to attract an audience of all ages,. He also notes earplugs will be available for those who prefer a little less ''rock'' in their ''rock opera.''

''We've been able to cast this very well,'' Richter says of the show featuring 2008 Muhlenberg theater grad Kennedy Kanagawa as Tommy and lighting by Broadway designer John McKearnon.

The play tells the story of young Tommy who, after witnessing the murder of his mother's lover by his father, falls comatose, responding only to the pinball machine in the local teen hangout. As Tommy's parents agonize, a variety of well-meaning physicians, abusive relatives, and even the local Acid Queen offer their unusual varieties of aid, to no avail. Songs include The Who's hits ''Pinball Wizard'' and ''I'm Free.''

The theater's sound system has been upgraded to accommodate the show's live rock band.

''It's a new age, and ''Tommy'' represents a golden age of rock 'n' roll,'' Richter says.

Frog and toad, together again

Richter says ''A Year With Frog And Toad,'' the musical based on the very human-like best friends from Arnold Lobel's children's books, ''steps up the caliber'' of Muhlenberg's summer theater children's shows.

''This is the most elaborate children's play we'll have put on,'' he says of the show nominated for a 2003 Tony award. ''We have a very lively cast, and [Robert and Willie Reale's] adaptation features a beautiful score. Our version is basically the original Broadway show, reduced by 20 minutes.

''It's suitable for children as young as four, but the lyrics and message will speak to adults as well.''

Richter says children's shows tend to sell, and warns audiences to reserve tickets early.

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

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Theater Review: 'Tommy' loud and clear at Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre
By PAUL WILLISTEIN
pwillistein@tnonline.com

You can hear "The Who's Tommy" loud and clear -- perhaps not as loud as standing in front of a row of Marshall amplifiers, but loud enough for the Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre (MSMT), where the rock opera continues through July 27.

The five-time Tony Award winning 1993 musical, with book by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff, is based on 1969's two-LP concept album by the Who, for whom Townshend was lead guitarist/chief songwriter, and the 1975 movie directed by Ken Russell.

The nearly dialogue-less show spans roughly 1940, with the birth of Tommy Walker, through the World War II London blitz, the rock 'n' roll 1950s, to 1963, the year before the Who began their assault on teen-age eardrums.
The musical fleshes out the story of "the deaf, dumb and blind kid" who "could sure play a mean pinball." Yet this is about spiritual trauma, of talent honed, star born, fans shorn and a boy reborn.

On the huge Empie Stage inside the cathedral of culture that is the Philip Johnson-designed Baker Center for the Arts, songs of the Who's seminal, nearly 40-year-old work are caringly recreated as a kind of rock chamber recital.
The arts center's white exterior, the Empie's white walls and the stage's predominant gunmetal-gray bare scaffolds, the drenching of the stage in white light, along with the concluding scenes' cast in white shirts and dresses symbolize "The Who's Tommy" as a journey toward the light.

Director James Peck's production is coolly-efficient, clean, clinical and reverent. He brings actors on and off stage in lines or angles, on occasion using trapdoors to simulate World War II paratroopers or screaming rock concert fans.

The set by Curtis Dretsch is a series of scaffold tubing. A catwalk slices above the stage, about halfway to the ceiling, giving narrator and dancers space to prance and dance. Set pieces, including the Walker family home, hospital clinic and junkyard, are smoothly moved on and off the stage. Vintage pinball machines, a fantastic mirrored fantasy machine and Lewis Carroll-esque looking glasses add to the charm, glitz and disorientation.

Lighting designer John McKernon floods the stage in swaths of white, then psychedelic orange-yellow-pink, adding shapes to the mix to capture shattered mirror and psyche.
The MSMT production is faithful to Townshend's jagged little grand pop operas. The music is center stage, so it's appropriate that we see the seven-person rock band playing three keyboards, two guitars, bass and drums conducted by Vincent Trovato. Music director Ken Butler doesn't allow the sound to overpower the performers. Sound designer Martin Wootton adds reverb and echo to vocals at the right moments.

Choreographer Karen Dearborn dances us through the decades, from jitterbuggin' jive, to jukebox jumpin,' to frug au go-go. Costume designer Julie Heneghan augments the authenticity, from Great War era drab, to '50s rockers, to '60s mods, to stilt-walker-inspired fantasia, the latter notably for the song, "Tommy's Holiday Camp."

While the acting is good, it's the singing that counts. The harmonies of Gerard Lebeda as Captain Walker and Karissa Harris as Mrs. Walker are lush on "I Believe My Own Eyes."

"Christmas," with an eight-voice red-robed choir replicating Townshend's trademark staccato keyboards a la Philip Glass, is especially stunning.
Elizabeth Wasser as The Gypsy really belts out "Acid Queen." Patrick M. Brady as Uncle Ernie brings a certain menace to "Fiddle About." Brendon Votipka is resplendent as the Specialist in "Go to the Mirror, Boy."

Scott Ward Abernathy as Cousin Kevin, Daniel Lagstein as the 1st Pinball Lad and Dany Guy as the 2nd Pinball Lad provide a stirring, martial "Pinball Wizard."
Kennedy Kanagawa as the Narrator and Tommy makes his mark, first on "Amazing Journey," then "I'm Free" and finally with "We're Not Gonna Take It."
The concluding staging, with Kanagawa, Daniel J. Youngelman as 10-year-old Tommy and Tristan Mitchell as four-year-old Tommy, lifting their arms to the heavens in unison, is a surprising affirmation. It's clear, "The Who's Tommy" is alive and well at MSMT.

Copyright © 2008, The Press

'Tommy' moves, dazzles at Muhlenberg

By Myra Yellin Outwater
Special to The Morning Call
July 16, 2008

James Peck's production of ''The Who's Tommy,'' now at the Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre, is sleek, stylish and elegant.

It is both musically satisfying and visually intriguing. Peck has made this 1993 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical more of an opera than a rock opera. But there's plenty for fans of rock music and The Who, thanks to Ken Butler's musical direction, Vincent Trovato's expert baton and an extremely talented, but not quite so deafening, band.

''Tommy'' is the story of the Walkers and their only child Tommy, who becomes deaf, blind and mute after witnessing his father murder his mother's lover. The story details Tommy's isolation, his abuse by his peers, his parents attempts to cure him and his triumphant recovery as a pinball wizard.

The story is told through a series of episodic events staged on rolling platform sets. Peck has staged each new action with an economy of movement, an artistic sensibility and a sense of humor. Quirky details include staccato singing, a church choir in red gowns, a 12-foot high magistrate and a vaudevillesque stilt walker.

The able cast is led by Equity actor Gerard Lebeda and Karissa Harris, who bring to life Tommy's distraught parents with soaring voices and harmonies.

The three Tommys are also well cast. Tristan Mitchell plays the 4-year-old Tommy with amazing precision and understanding. Daniel Youngelman, who plays the 10-year-old Tommy, is an intuitive actor who brings many nuances to the role. And Kennedy Kanagawa, an energetic performer, triumphs in the final scenes as Tommy is reborn.

Patrick Brady plays the wicked Uncle Ernie more as a nerdy misfit than as a symbol of evil. His stilt walk solo is inspired. As Cousin Kevin, Scott Ward Abernathy dances with abandon as he creates chaos in Tommy's solitary life. Among the standouts in the large ensemble are Gabriel Martinez and Tom Kelleher as two very sleazy ''hawkers.''

Set designer Curtis Dretsch has created a stark, expansive, multi-level, black, white and gray set. Lighting designer John Mc-

Kernon disrupts its sterility with a jarring onslaught of brilliant colors -- blood-reds, sunburst yellows, eerie lime greens. He teases with mysterious mosaics of graffiti symbols, reminiscent of Keith Haring. And in the final pinball scene, he stuns with dazzling displays of mirrored light prisms.

Choreographer Karen Dearborn has created a very personal dance form that is more modern and abstract than her usual Broadway-oriented dancing.

''The Who's Tommy,'' 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday, through July 27, Muhlenberg College, Baker Center for the Arts, Empie Theatre, 2400 Chew St., Allentown Tickets: $34; $30, seniors (over 65); $21, under 17. 484-664-3333, http://www.summerbroadway.org

Myra Yellin Outwater is a freelance writer.
Jodi Duckett,
Assistant Entertainment Editor
jodi.duckett@mcall.com
610-820-6704
Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre raises the bar with vibrant 'Tommy'

By Stephanie Caltagirone
Reading Eagle Correspondent

ALLENTOWN - I am not a big fan of The Who.

Yes, Roger Daltry, John Entwistle, Keith Moon and Pete Townshend are rock gods.

But the first time I saw the musical "The Who's Tommy" years ago, I thought it was an interesting experience, but it was too long. By the second act, I was bored and was left wondering when it was going to end

Once again, Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre has raised the bar for regional theater with its take on this rock opera about a traumatized boy and his influence over those around him.

Director James Peck infuses the show with vibrant energy, drawing from his young cast and the electric orchestra that backs them.

Conductor Vincent Trovato and his seven musicians work magic with Townshend's score, while musical director Ken Butler makes the leads and chorus sound Broadway-bound.

Curtis Dretsch's stage design is spare yet interesting, with exposed structures and a few props that don't detract from Karen Dearborn's vivid choreography.

Much of the music is recognizable and songs such as "Pinball Wizard," "See Me, Feel Me" and "I'm Free" are bonafide rock classics in their own right.

The production's lead actors give amazing performances that rise to the occasion.

Karissa Harris, as Tommy's mother, Mrs. Walker, has an awesome voice that's a perfect match for Gerard Lebeda's Captain Walker. They provide a solid base for the story's narrative.

Scott Ward Abernathy has a wicked gleam in his eye as the delinquent Cousin Kevin and Patrick M. Brady's pedophile Uncle Ernie is creepily unassuming.

The three actors playing Tommy - Tristan Mitchell (Tommy at 4), Daniel J. Youngelman (Tommy at 10) and Kennedy Kanagawa (Tommy as an adult) - all have perfectly matched voices for the role.

But Kanagawa carries the show with his combination of baby-faced innocence and rock-star chops.

Though not typical MSMT fare, "The Who's Tommy" is one of its best.

Copyright © 2008, The Reading Eagle

Theater: 'Tommy' Rocks On

By Myra Yellin Outwater | Special to The Morning Call

Thirteen years ago Equity actor Gerard Lebeda played Magaldi in Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre's production of ''Evita.'' He's back for another rock opera, as Captain Walker in ''The Who's Tommy,'' opening Wednesday.

''I wasn't prepared for the power of the score. Nor did I realize how deep and moving the story was,'' says Lebeda.

''I never saw the stage version and only knew the movie version, but it's amazing to me that Pete Townshend, a rocker, could write such a beautiful and moving narrative and such powerful songs as 'See Me, Feel Me.'

''I never thought that this role would be so meaty and so demanding vocally.''
As the story goes, Tommy is a young boy who, after witnessing his father (Captain Walker) commit murder, becomes deaf, blind and mute. The twist is that he achieves celebrity as a pinball wizard.

Director James Peck was also attracted by the music and the epic themes of this 1960s rock musical.

''It is like an opera! It's almost entirely composed with soaring arias and massive choral numbers, and it traffics in the larger-than-life characters and emotions of opera.

''I think this is one of the great works of rock 'n' roll art. The story depicts such a grim world full of squalor and abuse. The play is sad and angry, and deals with the way that our society tends to scapegoat people who don't conform to norms, but in the end Tommy transcends his upbringing and triumphs.''

The production features an on-stage rock band and a company of 27 voices. Tommy is played by Kennedy Kanagawa.

''The Who's Tommy,'' opens 8 p.m. Wednesday, runs 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays, through July 27; Muhlenberg College, Baker Center, Empie Theatre, 2400 Chew St., Allentown. Tickets: $34; $30, seniors; $21, youth (under 17); one youth ticket free with each adult ticket 2 p.m. Saturdays. 484-664-3333, http://www.summerbroadway.org .

Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call

'Tommy' rocks on
Operatic music by The Who makes stage show a spiritual experience

By Steve Siegel
Special to The Morning Call
July 19, 2008

We are all spiritually deaf, dumb, and blind at some point, and need a good shock to awaken us. That was the message of enlightenment delivered in The Who's 1969 rock opera ''Tommy,'' where songs such as ''Pinball Wizard'' and ''See Me, Feel Me'' became anthems for a generation.

Not so enlightening, but unabashedly shocking, was Ken Russell's 1975 film version of ''Tommy.'' The rather nasty, acid-trip of a film did have some memorable performances, such as a goggle-eyed Elton John on stilts as the usurped Pinball Wizard, a frightening Tina Turner as the Acid Queen and Jack Nicholson as the sadistic medical specialist.

But most enlightening of all is the uplifting and downright spiritual flavor of ''The Who's Tommy,'' the musical version written by former Who lead guitarist Pete Townshend and Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff. Opening on Broadway in 1993, the show won five Tony Awards, and proved that ''Tommy'' can be at home on the stage.

Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre's production of ''The Who's Tommy,'' which runs through July 27, follows the Broadway production in terms of song order and orchestration, but adds some unique elements. The stage is turned into a rock concert arena, with a complex maze of steel rods, scaffolding and a suspended catwalk. A seven-piece rock band is center-stage, and dramatic lighting augments the arena-like atmosphere.

''I think the Broadway production -- which I loved -- was very high tech but lost some of its edge and rough-hewn vitality by being so extravagant,'' says director James Peck, chairman of Muhlenberg's theater and dance department. ''We've gone for a more lean, mean, garage-band way of telling the story.''

The basic storyline is straightforward, if a bit thin thematically. A 4-year-old boy is traumatized after witnessing the accidental murder of his mother's lover by his father; suffers abuse from friends, neighborhood roughnecks, and a sadistic uncle, and finally breaks out of his catatonia to become both a pinball superstar and prophet. The real challenge in mounting a theatrical production of ''Tommy'' is establishing a dramatic flow to material that was never meant for the stage.

''It was very, very hard to produce,'' says Peck. ''The story barrels along -- there are no book scenes to speak of. One of the big challenges was trying to figure out a mechanism to convey the story and give the audience a scenic picture that would tell the narrative. The songs, as amazing as they are, were not meant to be theater songs.''

''When the score arrives, it's just notes on a page, and you have to decide what it should sound like, how it should be sung, who sings what,'' says Ken Butler, the production's musical director.

One notable weakness of the Broadway production that Peck addressed was the ambivalent treatment of Tommy's parents. In the Broadway version, the Walkers virtually disappear from the stage in the second act, only to be unconvincingly reunited with Tommy in the end. According to Peck, Karissa Harris (Mrs. Walker), Gerard Lebeda (Captain Walker), and Kennedy Kanagawa (Tommy/Narrator) worked at length to develop the Walkers' marital as well as parenting relationships.

As a result, the show's emotional content soars in the Walkers' duet ''I Believe My Own Eyes.''

''When Karissa and Gerard sing that number, it feels like the culmination of a long, difficult parent/child/marriage relationship,'' says Peck.

Many roles are physically, as well as musically demanding. Karen Dearborn's lively choreography has Kanagawa bounding across the stage and across the catwalk in ''I'm Free,'' or jumping down from the top of a huge pinball machine in ''Sensation.'' Uncle Ernie, played by Patrick Brady, choral director at William Allen High School, walks on stilts promoting Tommy's holiday camp. Brady even has an on-stage French horn solo in a remarkably joyous Christmas celebration scene.

Although the 1969 concept album is classified as a rock opera, its format more closely resembles an oratorio, with instrumental, choral, and solo selections, and no dialogue between characters. As such the production's religious themes -- finding one's own spiritual identity, forgiveness, and ultimate redemption -- play very well in it. In fact, in a couple of scenes the chorus members are dressed in choir robes. They're in bright red for the ''Christmas'' number, and pure white for the finale, hands waving overhead like evangelists.

Conductor Vincent Trovato conducts a band modest in size but rich in sound, consisting of three keyboards/synthesizers, two guitars, a bass guitar and drums. One keyboardist -- Pamela Wilt -- was the musical director in Civic Theatre's 1999 production of ''The Who's Tommy.''

Says Trovato, ''The most astounding part is the finale, when the entire company and band are doing 'Listening to You.' The music just keeps building and building, until you get this huge climax at the end. It's very uplifting, very white, very pure -- a religious experience.''

''When I first saw the Broadway show, somewhere in the middle of the first act I had this epiphany -- finally, here was my generation finding its voice on Broadway,'' says Butler. ''Yes, there was 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and 'Evita,' but they're different animals -- they're not rock and roll. 'The Who's Tommy' maintains that drive and energy of a rock concert. So when I saw it I thought: 'Someday, I just have to do this show.'''

Steve Siegel is a freelance writer.
Jodi Duckett,
Assistant Entertainment Editor
jodi.duckett@mcall.com
610-820-6704
Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call
 

Romp in the swamp with Frog and Toad; hear some stories

By Kathy Lauer-Williams | Of The Morning Call

There are few kids who haven't curled up to the cozy, reassuring tales of the friendship between Frog and Toad.

Now the lovable characters take the stage at Muhlenberg College in the Broadway musical adaptation of the tales by author Arnold Lobel.

''A Year With Frog and Toad'' will be presented in the Studio Theatre at the Trexler Pavilion for Theatre and Dance as part of Muhlenberg's Summer Music Theatre.

The delightful musical follows the unlikely friends through a year of gentle adventures, from waking up from hibernation to breaking out the sled for the first snow.
The five-member cast is anchored by Tom Kelleher as Frog and Gabriel Martinez as Toad.

Don't expect giant amphibian costumes. The characters use colors and textures to suggest the animals they represent. The handpainted set depicts larger-than-life bog grasses and cattails.

Frog and Toad sing odes to baking cookies, flying kites and planting seeds. The vignettes are strung together with an underlying message of the importance of being a good friend.

The musical, adapted from Lobel's books by his daughter, was a hit on Broadway in 2003 and was nominated for three Tony Awards. The Muhlenberg version is one hour long and designed for children ages 4 to 10.

Copyright © 2008 The Morning Call

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