[NEohioPAL]Plain Dealer's Glowing Review of A Grand Night for Singing at Actors' Summit

Mon Sep 23 11:45:10 PDT 2002

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Classic show tunes still show their class 
09/21/02
Linda Eisenstein 
Special to The Plain Dealer

Rodgers and Hammerstein fans, delight: Actors' Summit in Hudson is serving up 
a feast. 

"A Grand Night for Singing" features more than two dozen of the musical 
team's greatest hits, performed by an elegant quartet of audience favorites: 
actors MaryJo Alexander, Maryann Nagel, Wayne Turney and Greg Violand. 

Artistic director Neil Thackaberry has a sure, light touch with the material. 
It's like an evening of comfort food. It might not always inspire, but 
itnever fails to ingratiate and warm. 

Rodgers and Hammerstein shows are classic evergreens. In their day, the two 
were musical-theater innovators. Composer Rodgers set Hammerstein's lyrics to 
evoke period and place. "Oklahoma" features simple folk songs and exuberant 
hoedowns. "Carousel" conjures up hearty 19th-century New Englanders. "The 
King and I" sounds exotically Far Eastern. 

Rather than tossing off sparkling standards to be shoved willy-nilly between 
flimsy book scenes, Rodgers and Hammerstein integrated their songs fully into 
the drama, always moving the plot along. That very integration makes it 
tougher to extract pieces from their shows - one reason, perhaps, that a 
major revue of their work didn't come along until 1994's "A Grand Night for 
Singing." 

Creator Walter Bobbie's solution was to center the evening around love songs, 
with jazzy arrangements. That choice showcases a variety of stages and moods 
- from courting ("Surrey With the Fringe on Top") and ecstasy ("A Wonderful 
Guy") to regret and loss ("Love, Look Away") - with a whirl through family 
life and some comic toe-tappers. 

But the emphasis on love songs sometimes unbalances the show. The first act 
has the biggest hits and the most upbeat material, leaving the second act to 
fizzle with too many second-tier ballads such as "This Nearly Was Mine." 

But the Actors' Summit cast is so winsome and engaging, the audience is happy 
to go humming along for the ride. The women look dazzling in MaryJo 
Alexander's sparkling gowns, and under Marc Baker's direction, the band 
sounds impeccable, although his jaunty tempos occasionally don't let the 
ballads breathe. 

In general, it's the specialty numbers that sparkle: Alexander's wry 
"Stepsisters' Lament" ("Cinderella") and sunny "It's Me" ("Me and Juliet") 
and Nagel's boisterous "I Cain't Say No" ("Oklahoma") and bittersweet "The 
Gentleman Is a Dope" ("Allegro"). There are also clever ensemble numbers 
including "Don't Marry Me" ("Flower Drum Song") and Violand's show-stopping 
"Honey Bun" ("South Pacific"), with the cast scatting on invisible 
instruments. 

Although neither Turney nor Alexander has the voice to make the ballads soar, 
their acting carries the day. Turney's touching "All at Once You Love Her" is 
like a one-act play, and his middle-aged huffing-and-puffing with Nagel after 
"Shall We Dance?" is endearing. 

Eisenstein is a free-lance writer and playwright in Cleveland.  2002 The 
Plain Dealer. Used with permission. 

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<HTML>Classic show tunes still show their class 
 09/21/02
 Linda Eisenstein 
 Special to The Plain Dealer
 
 Rodgers and Hammerstein fans, delight: Actors' Summit in Hudson is serving up a feast. 
 
 "A Grand Night for Singing" features more than two dozen of the musical team's greatest hits, performed by an elegant quartet of audience favorites: actors MaryJo Alexander, Maryann Nagel, Wayne Turney and Greg Violand. 
 
 Artistic director Neil Thackaberry has a sure, light touch with the material. It's like an evening of comfort food. It might not always inspire, but itnever fails to ingratiate and warm. 
 
 Rodgers and Hammerstein shows are classic evergreens. In their day, the two were musical-theater innovators. Composer Rodgers set Hammerstein's lyrics to evoke period and place. "Oklahoma" features simple folk songs and exuberant hoedowns. "Carousel" conjures up hearty 19th-century New Englanders. "The King and I" sounds exotically Far Eastern. 
 
 Rather than tossing off sparkling standards to be shoved willy-nilly between flimsy book scenes, Rodgers and Hammerstein integrated their songs fully into the drama, always moving the plot along. That very integration makes it tougher to extract pieces from their shows - one reason, perhaps, that a major revue of their work didn't come along until 1994's "A Grand Night for Singing." 
 
 Creator Walter Bobbie's solution was to center the evening around love songs, with jazzy arrangements. That choice showcases a variety of stages and moods - from courting ("Surrey With the Fringe on Top") and ecstasy ("A Wonderful Guy") to regret and loss ("Love, Look Away") - with a whirl through family life and some comic toe-tappers. 
 
 But the emphasis on love songs sometimes unbalances the show. The first act has the biggest hits and the most upbeat material, leaving the second act to fizzle with too many second-tier ballads such as "This Nearly Was Mine." 
 
 But the Actors' Summit cast is so winsome and engaging, the audience is happy to go humming along for the ride. The women look dazzling in MaryJo Alexander's sparkling gowns, and under Marc Baker's direction, the band sounds impeccable, although his jaunty tempos occasionally don't let the ballads breathe. 
 
 In general, it's the specialty numbers that sparkle: Alexander's wry "Stepsisters' Lament" ("Cinderella") and sunny "It's Me" ("Me and Juliet") and Nagel's boisterous "I Cain't Say No" ("Oklahoma") and bittersweet "The Gentleman Is a Dope" ("Allegro"). There are also clever ensemble numbers including "Don't Marry Me" ("Flower Drum Song") and Violand's show-stopping "Honey Bun" ("South Pacific"), with the cast scatting on invisible instruments. 
 
 Although neither Turney nor Alexander has the voice to make the ballads soar, their acting carries the day. Turney's touching "All at Once You Love Her" is like a one-act play, and his middle-aged huffing-and-puffing with Nagel after "Shall We Dance?" is endearing. 
 
 Eisenstein is a free-lance writer and playwright in Cleveland.  2002 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission. </HTML>

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