The Wild Bride, Bring It On: The Musical and Three Sisters
The British company has brought costumes, scenery, props and superb actors to Berkeley. The director has wisely opted for the less is more approach to this grim fairy tale as she presents a minimalist production with just three men and three women on a stage dominated by a knotted old tree, and a tangle of branches and ladders. This is ultimately a liberating parable. A dreadful fate befalls The Girl (Audrey Brisson) when she is sold to the Devil (Stuart McLoughlin) by her impoverished father (Stuart Goodwin) ("I'm so poor I can't even pay attention"). Because she is too pure, the penniless father must cut off the fiery girl's hands, which remain clean after he's determined to make her filthy. She is doused in a liquid mud bath but her mitts stay gleaming. The Devil allows her to ramble into the world, tracking her like prey until the time is ripe. The Girl becomes The Wild (Patrycja Kujawska), a bestial sprite in the forest with a crown of twigs, whose lithe physicality attracts a kind-hearted kilt-wearing Prince (Stuart Goodwin). He immediately falls in love with her when she's stealing his pears, represented by descendent light bulbs. He even devises a pair of scissor hands for the woman. But the Devil is not through with them yet. Through war and intercepted letters the Devil sends The Woman (Éva Magyar) back into the woods, now with child. She endures seven years in the wilderness with child and her hands grow naturally. I won't reveal the end of this dauntless tale. The tale is told in cunningly arrogant couplets, text and lyrics by Carl Grose. The music by Stu Barker has a beguiling bluegrass/Celtic sound mixed with melodies you might hear in a Cirque du Soleil production. Choreographer Etta Murfitt has devised an expressive ballet to these melodies, which is beautifully executed. Stuart Goodwin is hilarious as the prancing Scottish prince. He also wonderfully plays the very poor father of the girl at the beginning of the production. Tall, flexible Stuart McLoughlin is charismatic as the terrifying Devil and the narrator. Ian Ross completes the male cast and he is excellent as The Musician. Three women give superb performances as The Girl, The Wild and The Woman. They give a tranquil performance form as a backup chorus, and then develop into each playing one phase of the character's bedeviled life. Audrey Brisson is delightfully athletic as the The Girl, overflowing with ecstasy and trusting her deprive father. Patrycja Kujawska is wonderfully acrobatic as The Wild and also plays a dramatic violin when not playing this part. Éva Magyar gives an impressive performance as The Woman at the end of the two-hour with intermission production. The Wild Bride plays through January 22nd at the Berkeley Repertory's Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison Street, Berkeley. For tickets call 510-647-2949 or visit www.berkeleyrep.org Coming up next is Jonathan Moscone and Tony Taccone's Ghost Light opening on January 6th and running through February 19th. Photo: kevinberne.com
The score has pleasant melodies by Tony Award-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights) and Tom Kitt (Tony and Pulitzer prize winning composer of Next to Normal) and solid rhymes by Amanda Green (High Fidelity). The book is by Jeff Whitty, who got his own Tony for Avenue Q. The energy driven aerobic choreography is exhilarating, thanks to Andy Blankenbuehler. His dances include hip-hop moves and traditional Broadway hoofing plus some athletic cheerleading moves that are excellent. The opening dance is enough to knock your socks off, but somehow you wish it could be at the end of the first act since it is hard to beat this dance piece in the following choreographed scenes. The musical is based on the 2000 film that starred Kristen Dunst and is the tale of two high schools: a stronghold of bouncy suburban callousness that is populated by entitled blondes, and a multiracial school of misfits who snub conformists. The music for suburban Truman High School has a generic pop sound while Jackson High School's has a more hip hop blend. Campbell (Taylor Louderman) is the head cheerleader at the wealthier and white Truman High School until a sudden fluke of redistricting forces her to attend nearby Jackson High which doesn't even have a cheerleading squad. Among her fellow students is the fleshy, cheery, eccentric Bridget (Ryann Redmond) who has always been downgraded to the humiliating role of Bucky the Parrot, the school mascot. Campbell finds friends at the school that include the imperious Danielle (Adrienne Warren) who leads a dance crew, sassy Nautica (Ariana DeBose), and La Cienega (Gregory Haney) who happens to be a drag queen. There is even a sub-plot that is a cheerleader version of All About Eve with the "evil" manipulator Eva (Elle McLemore). Although the dancing is lively and energy driven, it seems that all of the sequences begin with the same drumbeats and end with the same pyramids. When they want to push up the energy, the dancers throw a cheerleader higher in the air. There is much too much of these choreographic routines; by the end of the show you are exhausted. The second act seems more together and features more routine if gifted songs like a lovely love duet for Campbell and her new boyfriend Randall played by Jason Gotay. On opening night the sound system blasted the girls' singing in the first act, making many of the lyrics hard to understand. The voices were clearer in the second act. The young girls and guys (none are older than 24) are all talented and lively. Elle McLemore gives an authoritative performance as the super villain sophomore Eva. Her singing voice has a Kristin Chenoweth quality. Taylor Louderman has engaging vocal chops but tones them down when singing the love duet "Might As Well Enjoy the Trip" with Jason Gotay who has a strong singing voice. Ryann Redmond is appealing as the rotund Bridget and she has the best lines ("I'm confused which makes me neurotic and weird, which could lead to my own very special episode of 'Hoarders' by the time I'm 21"). Adrienne Warren as imperious Danielle, Ariana DeBose as the sassy Nautica, and Gregory Haney as drag queen La Cienega give uniquely fetching performances. A lot of calories are burned by the time the 2 hour and 30 minute musical is through. Bring it On: The Musical is on the second stop of its tour. It will be traveling through April 2012. The show has commercial potential, especially with younger audiences; there was an enthusiastic opening here thanks to young girls and boys whooping it up after every song. Bring it On: The Musical plays through January 7th at the Orpheum Theatre. Market Street, San Francisco. For tickets call 888-746-1799 or visit www.shnsf.com. For more information on the tour, visit www.bringitonmusical.com. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical is at the Golden Gate Theatre through December 29. Photo: Craig Schwartz
The Three Sisters score was entirely different from previous scores of Jerome Kern, such as the Princess Theatre musicals of 1917-1918 like Very Good Eddie, Oh Lady! Lady! and later Leave It to Jane, which had deft rhyming lyrics by P.G. Wodehouse. Lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, who later became partners with Richard Rodgers, had great influence over Kern's melodies. It could be said that Three Sisters was a forerunner of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel, even the book itself, since there is a similar romance. The Kern score has two standards one still hears today: "I Won't Dance" (which became popular in a Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire film) and "Lonely Feet." Three Sisters opened at the Drury Lane in 1934 and ran only two months. British critics objected to American writers essaying a British story. Leading London critic James Agate dismissed it as "American insanity." The producers decided not to present it in New York for some unknown reason, perhaps because it was ahead of its time. The plot follows three spirited young women and their romantic adventures during World War I in England. The musical has many scene changes from the circus prior to the war, to gardens of a manor and to a World War I battlefield. Greg MacKellen assembled a large cast of 14 actors/singers, some playing dual roles. Bill Fahrner made a convincing busker in the role of George Purvis. He combined an Eastender accent with a mid English accent that worked fine. His voice shone in "Roll On Rolling Road" and "What's in the Air Tonight?." Danny Cozart was excellent as Gypsy Hood. He displayed a vibrant voice singing "Now That I Have Sunshine" and "Funny Old House." The three sisters were played beautifully by Brittany Danielle, Kate Paul and Riley Krull. The latter was remarkable as elder daughter Tiny, with a sweet voice singing "You Are Doing Very Well." Riley Krull gave an engaging performance as the middle sister Mary with excellent vocal chops singing "What Good are Words?". Brittany Danielle, who portrayed Dorrie the younger sister, had thematic resonance when singing "Lonely Feet." She and her dance partner Michael Kern Cassidy were terrific dancing and singing "I Won't Dance." Both performed the Castle Walk well, as devised by choreographer Zack Thomas Wilde. It is the 11 o'clock number of the show. Michael Patrick Gaffney, Tony Panighetti, Michael Rhone, Peter Budinger, Jessica Powell, Kayla Berghoff, Janice Burgener and Christopher Reber excelled in their various roles. Ron Gasparinetti designed an effective set with a brightly lighted screen (lighting by Ellen Brooks). Costumes by Scarlett Kellum were authentic dress for the period. There was great backup with Dave Dobrusky on piano, Nick Di Scala on Reeds and David Reffkin on violin. Greg MacKellen and the entire company are to be congratulated for reviving an unfairly cast off musical with this large scale treatment. Three Sisters played through December 18th at the Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street, San Francisco. Next up will be The Best of Times The Jerry Herman Salon at the Alcazar Theatre on January 26. It will feature guest stars Klea Blackhurst and Jason Graae. For tickets call 415-255-8207 or visit www.42ndstmoon.org. The company will return to present Sugar April 4 through April 22 and Zorba May 2 through May 20 at the Eureka Theatre. Photo: DavidAllenStudio.com
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