[NEohioPAL]Berko review: LET FREEDOM RING (Ensemble)

[Roy Berko]

‘LET FREEDOM RING’ AN AUDIENCE PLEASER AT ENSEMBLE

Roy Berko

(Member, Dance Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times


The arts are representative of the era from which they
come.  They reflect the activities, the attitudes and
the people of a particular time period.  ‘LET FREEDOM
RING,’ Bill Rudman and Eric Coble’s musical review,
stresses the concept of era representation built
around the theme of social conscience as reflected in
the American musical.

Composed of 40-some songs from 75 years of American
musical theatre, they echo lyricist Sheldon’ Harnicks’
belief that the songs are social documents.  “They
tell us who we were and who we are--as individuals, as
members of a community, as citizens of a nation.” 
They are most-often the writings of those lyricists
who had a social conscience and spoke their beliefs in
the words to the songs included in musicals.

Rudman believes that Yip Harburg was the most
politically committed lyricist.  Others might argue
that Oscar Hammerstein, who built his shows with
Richard Rodgers around a social theme expressed in
each show’s major song, eg., “You Have to Be Carefully
Taught” in ‘SOUTH PACIFIC’ and “It’s a Puzzlement” in
‘THE KING AND I.’   That, not withstanding, Rudman and
his co-conceiver, the prolific playwright Eric Coble,
have constructed a generally well-integrated review.  

Integration, blending the songs into a unified theme
with clear transitions, is a major problem with many
reviews.  With the exception of the passage from their
love segment (“Who Cares,” “I Only Have Eyes for You”
and “What Good Is Love?”) into the work segment (“Song
of the Sewing Machine” and “Millwork”) and the first
act finale “The Silent Spring” transition to “Joe
Worker,” the verbal, dance and spoken bridges work
well.  One might also question, however, the choice of
“Joe Worker” which seems to fit better into the work
segment, as an act finale.  Usually, the last song of
an act leaves the audience with unfinished business
which they must come back to solve or is a dynamic
presentation which leaves the audience buzzing..  “Joe
Worker” didn’t succeed on either of those levels.

The Ensemble production, under the apt direction of
Eric Schmiedl, is very entertaining.  David
Shimotakahara’s and Pandora Robertson’s choreography
is outstanding.  In fact, it is the show’s strongest
element.

High point numbers are “Status Quo,” “It’s the Right
Time to Be Rich,” “Everybody Says Don’t” and “A
Wonderful Way to Die.” 

Nancy Maier does an excellent job of piano
accompaniment.  Todd Krispinksy’s scenic design is
attractive and functional.  Steven Schultz’s
projections are purposeful and often include creative
whimsy.

The cast is effective, but uneven.  Placing Mick
Houlahan, a consummate professional singer and actor
on stage with a group of still learning college kids
made for a startling contrast.  Houlahan is confident,
knows how to sing meanings instead of just words, and
can control an audience with a smile or a twinkle of
the eye.  Though the kids try, they just look and
sound like they are close to being ready for prime
time, but not quite there.  This production, with the
likes of Dan Folino, Tracee Patterson, Monica Olejko
and Kyle Primous, would have been astounding.

This is not to say that Hannah DelMonte, Erin Childs,
Javar Parker and Michael Russo are bad, they aren’t. 
They were just outclassed by Houlahan and the
requirements of the material.  

The strongest of the youth quartet is DelMonte.  She
has a pleasant but not outstanding voice, a compelling
presence and lights up the stage when she speaks. 
Childs has an affable voice in the lower registers,
but has trouble projecting in the higher range.  Some
of her acting is shallow.

Parker was inconsistent.  Some of his vocals (e.g,
“Just Don’t Make No Sense”) were excellent, while at
other times he sang without much meaning.  Russo has a
pleasant voice, but little stage presence.  He never
appears completely relaxed, especially in songs like
“The Locker Room” in which he seems to be
uncomfortable with the material.   Often he makes
distracting facial configurations, singing out of the
sides of his mouth.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  ‘LET FREEDOM RING!’ is a sure-fire
audience pleaser.  With a more experienced cast and a
few adjustments in the script, this could have been a
complete winner.

For tickets to ‘LET FREEDOM RING!,’ which runs through
September 17 in the Cleveland Play House complex, call
216-321-2930.


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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