[NEohioPAL] Rave Review for A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING at Actors' Summit

[Neil Thackaberry]

*‘A Grand Night for Singing’ lives up to its name*

By Kerry Clawson
Beacon Journal staff writer

 Published: October 14, 2013 - 09:12 PM

*A Grand Night for Singing* is a sophisticated, polished musical revue that
celebrates one of the most enduring partnerships in musical theater —
Rodgers and Hammerstein.

This 1994 show, playing at Actors’ Summit in Akron, puts a fresh, at times
unexpected spin on scores of this duo’s classics, featuring sparkling
musical arrangements by Fred Wells. Directed by MaryJo Alexander, the cast
of five includes returning artists Hope Caldwell and Shani Ferry as well as
three Actors’ Summit newcomers: Laura Best, Jay Hill and Justin Williams.

Actors’ Summit produced this show — an homage to composer Richard Rogers
and Oscar Hammerstein II — in 2002 at its previous location in Hudson,
featuring a cast of four. That production was directed by Alexander’s
husband, Neil Thackaberry, and included Alexander in the cast.

Alexander’s personal history with the show is an asset in the theater’s
latest endeavor — a nimbly paced production with fluid, graceful
transitions between musical numbers. The singers are highly invested in the
music and work well together vocally in numerous groupings between men and
women.

The talented Ferry has animated expressions in *The Surrey With the Fringe
on the Top* as Hill sings to her in this courting song. Hill’s singing
erred on the flat side in this tune but he held his own with the cast
throughout the rest of the show.

The revue’s bevy of musical numbers includes hits from *Carousel, State
Fair, Oklahoma, Cinderella, The King and I, South Pacific, The Sound of
Music, Allegro, Pipe Dream* and *Flower Drum Song*.

High points of the show include surprising spins on gender, with the
mellow-voiced Williams singing *We Kiss in a Shadow* with remarkable
feeling. Normally a love duet, the song worked well as a male solo for
Williams, a dynamite singer.

Male soloist Hill also brought new meaning to *Maria* from *The Sound of
Music*, creating the interpretation of a man smitten by a woman named Maria.

This Rodgers and Hammerstein revue runs just under 90 minutes, without an
intermission. The show features simple yet effective choreography by Julie
Goncy Shullo and impeccable piano playing by musical director Deborah
Ingersoll.

My favorite tune was the wonderful jazz rendition of *Kansas City*,
featuring the whole company. Other standout numbers include Caldwell
singing a heartbreaking *If I Loved You* from *Carousel*; the rich-voiced
Best in *Something Wonderful* from *The King and I*, a perfect tune for her
operatic style; and the wonderfully lush harmonies of the whole cast in *Some
Enchanted Evening* from*South Pacific*.

The revue has elements of humor too, ranging from the Andrews Sisters-style
backup singing and simulation of band instruments in *Honey Bun *to the
sassy ladies’ attitude in the clever combo number *Many a New Day/I’m Gonna
Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair*.

Audience members who want to get their fill of Rodgers and Hammerstein
music and hear it performed very well will want to see *A Grand Night for
Singing*.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or *
kclawson at thebeaconjournal.com*.
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