[NEohioPAL] Berko review: "MURDER BALLAD" CONTINUES HIGH QUALITY COLLABORATION BETWEEN BW & PHSQ

[Roy Berko]

*•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••“Murder Ballad” continues high
quality collaboration between BW & PhSquare*

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

PlayhouseSquare and Baldwin Wallace’s renowned music theatre program and
the school’s arts management program, have come together for seven
consecutive years to present an opportunity for the students to interact
with professional theatrical figures in a real world unique way.

The theatre students get an opportunity to work in the second largest arts
complex in the country.  The arts management students get to collaborate
with the PhSq professional market wizards.   What better educational
experience could a student ask for?

This year the theatrical production moved from the cramped space, formerly
known as the 14th Street Theatre, to the Allen complex’s Helen Stage.  The
Helen is a black box facility which allows for as many configurations as
the mind can conceive.  For MURDER BALLAD, the audience was partially
seated three-quarters of the way around a rectangular performance area.
The remaining patrons were seated at tables.  Against one walls the band
was placed.  A pool table and a long bar were intermingled among the
tables.  The design of the theatre space made the performance appropriately
up-tight and personal.

MURDER BALLAD is a “sexy and dangerous” rock musical which played a
five-week limited engagement in 2012 off-Broadway.  Reviewers called it,
“hot and sweaty,” “energetic and intriguing,” “rough and ragged,“ “sexy and
explosive,” and “sultry.”  In spite of generally positive reviews, the
preview run ended earlier than scheduled.

The story centers on a love triangle gone wrong.  Sara, an Upper West Sider
seems to have it all...handsome and devoted husband, a healthy child, and a
life of luxury.  Unfortunately, she can’t rid herself of her desire for
bad-boy bartender, Tom.

We luxuriate in a strong musical score, listening to such melodies as
“Troubled Minds,” “Turning into Beautiful,” “Mouth Tattoo,” “My Name,”
“Built for Longing,” and “You Belong to Me,” as the plot leads us through
the complications of love, the compromises that people make in the name of
amour, and the betrayals that love can generate in people, while undoing
them.

“Murder Ballad,” is the type of script that Victoria Bussert directs so
well.  It requires creative staging, a fine sense of story development, and
a talented cast.  Bussert is more than capable of the former duo, and has a
treasure trove of “Vickie’s Kids”—the musical theatre students at Baldwin
Wallace University.  As a survey of Broadway casts over the recent years
proves, she picks,  trains and sends out the cream of the crop.

The four performance run of “Murder Ballad” showcased two different casts.
I only saw the “Spades” cast, so my comments will be narrowed to their
performances.  What wonderful performances they were!  I can say, however,
that I have it from a “knowledgeable source,” who was seated next to me at
Moko Café between the two Saturday shows, that the “Clubs” cast was, ”also
good.”

The role of Michael, Sara’s husband, was portrayed by tall and matinee idol
handsome Anthony Sagaria.  He’s much in the mold of Strongsville High and
BW grad, Corey Mach, who recently was in town playing the lead role in
“Flashdance.”  He has a strong singing voice, excellent stage presence and
good acting chops.  His duet, “I’ll Be There,” with Narrator Nyla Watson,
was one of the show’s highlights.

Watson, of powerful voice and imposing presence, controls the stage when
she is belting!  She had some wonderful comic asides that added needed
light moments to the heavy theme.

I would not like to meet Zachary Adkins, Tom, the bartender, in an alley.
At least not the Adkins who made Tom and his menacing baseball bat into a
potential weapon of mass destruction.  He displayed a nice singing voice
and developed a clear character.

Keri René Fuller, a red haired vixen, populated the role of Sara.  Sensual,
sexy and seductive, she had both characters, Tom and Michael, wrapped
around her little finger.

Musical Director and BW student Andrew Leslie Cooper, and his band nicely
walked the musical line between the needed rock intensity and underscoring
the singers.  Special kudos to Jesse Stephen Penfound, the percussionist,
for realizing that this wasn’t a rock concert and a very heavy foot and
pounding hands weren’t necessary to get the needed effect.


*CAPSULE JUDGEMENT”  It’s no wonder that Bussert commented in the program
that “she loves her job!”  Being able to unearth the right script, to  put
her unique touch on a production, and having a dream team of talented
students to work with, would make anyone happy to go to work.  Standing “O”
to all connected with ‘Murder Ballad.”  My only regret was that the show
only ran four performances.  It could have developed a cult following and
run for a long time!  Oh well, there’s the PhSq/BW production to look
forward to next year!*
“MURDER BALLAD” ran April 25th through the 27th, 2014.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
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