[NEohioPAL] Berko review: THE WORLD GOES ROUND @ Porthouse

[Roy Berko]

**


**

*
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
*

*
*

*Delightful THE WORLD GOES ROUND at Porthouse*



Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)



Musical reviews are a collection of songs which are performed as a single
production.  They usually contain no story-line, per se, but highlight
either a theme such as patriotism (e.g., WELCOME HOME:  A PATRIOTIC
MUSICAL), a person (e.g., WILL RODGERS FOLLIES), a body of work by a
performer (e.g., COME FLY WITH ME, the songs of Frank Sinatra), or the
writings of a particular song writer or writing team (e.g., SONDHEIM ON
SONDHEIM).



THE WORLD GOES ROUND is one of the latter, an evening of songs conceived by
John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics), which were written for their
Broadway shows.  The duo wrote such hits as CHICAGO, CABARET, FUNNY LADY,
and KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN.



For a review to be more than escapist enjoyment, requires a talented cast
who can both sing and dance, a fine musical director who can develop strong
musical arrangements, and a creative director and choreographer.  Fortunately,
Porthouse has such a team.



The cast for THE WORLD GOES ROUND, composed entirely of college students,
is generally fine.  Lauren Culver, who has an excellent singing voice, well
interprets *And the World Goes ‘Round* and *Maybe This Time*.  She, like so
many in the cast, sing meanings, not just words, thus making the songs
purposeful, even out of the context of the script for which they were
written.



Lisa Kuhnen makes *Cabaret* into a life affirming anthem, while creating a
clear story in *Colored Lights*.  Jennie Nasser’s *A Quiet Thing *and *World
Goes ‘Round* were well sung.  Jack O’Brien showcases a fine voice in *Sometimes
a Day Goes By* and displays the right amount of pathetic appeal in *Mr.
Cellophane*.



Sam Rohloff and Nathan Mohebbi display excellent dancing skills.  Anastasia
Arnold and Lisa Kuhnen are delightful in *The Grass is Always
Greener*.   Rohloff,
Culver and MacKenzie Duan create a well-blended and compelling medley of *We
Can  Make It*,* Maybe This Time, *and* Isn’t This Better*.  Kyle Kempf
showcases a fine sense of humor and timing in *Sara Lee*.



Other highlights were *Yes*, *All That Jazz*, and *Me and My Baby*.



Musical director Kevin Long not only has his orchestra in good tune, but
his arrangements are enveloping.



The star of the show, however, is not seen on stage.  The highlight is Sean
Morrissey’s creative directing and choreography.  Each segment has its own
approach.  He doesn’t repeat dance moves or styles.  The staging is casual
yet well honed.  The cast interprets songs well in form and word meaning.



*CAPSULE JUDGMENT: Musical reviews tend not to be my favorite form of
theatre.  I prefer storylines.  But, more productions like  THE WORLD GOES
ROUND, as directed and choreographed by Sean Morrissey, could make a review
lover out of me.  Go to Porthouse. Sit back and relax, and let the talented
and well directed cast carry you away on a fine musical trip to Kanter and
Ebb’s Broadway.***



The show runs until July 21 at Porthouse Theatre, on the grounds of Blossom
Music Center.  For tickets call 330-672-3884 or go online to
www.porthousetheatre.com.



NEXT UP AT PORTHOUSE:  THE SOUND OF MUSIC, from July 26 through August 12.


 Roy Berko's commentaries and reviews appear on coolcleveland.com,
neohiopal.com,artsamerica.com,

and broadwaynews.com.  His blog is: www.royberko.info


•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.neohiopal.org/pipermail/neohiopal-neohiopal.org/attachments/20120712/4f3aff1d/attachment-0004.htm>