Review: Little Women, Big Hearts

This Friday I got out of work very frustrated and ready to go to bed, but then I walked into Arthur Miller Theater to see the Department of Musical Theatre Studio Production’s Little Women the Musical. As soon as the show started it was like I was taken back to my own childhood as we explored the adventures of the young protagonist Jo March. Her family, consisting of her mother, her three sisters, her father away at war, and the later addition of their friend Laurie, went through both hardship and joy as Jo grows up with a dream of writing. This story is famous and is a piece of classic American literature. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, has inspired and

moved millions of Americans and has led to the production of a movie, a musical, an opera, and a play. It is such a beautiful story and it always gets to me (I saw the opera last year) because I also have three siblings and I often feel like it is the four of us up on stage. Anyway, enough about yours truly.

The show! The music is original, magnificent, and fun. A large portion of the story takes place in Jo’s childhood, and the music reflects that perfectly. It is bouncy, fun, and sort of quirky sometimes like Jo herself. The lyrics are also cleverly written to reflect the youth and innocence so important to the story. All the actors carry out the scenes of adolescence so well. The funniest things happen and they dance around like mad, but they never break character. But of course, they are fantastic. For those who often visit the campus musical theater scene, these actors are locally renowned for great performances and you may recognize their names; Jane Bruce as Jo, Trevor St. John-Gilbert as Professor Bhaer, Ali Gordon, Samantha Massell and Paige Silvester as the sisters, Katherine Thomas as Marmee, and Harry Katzman as Mr. Lawrence (Full Cast). I preferred this version of the show to the opera, but I have a feeling that the reason is because the musical is a little more cheerful. I remember that the opera seemed really depressing and a little slow, whereas this one seemed to moved faster and, though it was sad, it didn’t leave me sad the entire night. I just cried the whole second act with a friend of mine. No big deal.

I was also excited to finally go the Arthur Miller theater. Last time I went there was for freshmen orientation! I enjoyed the set design of the show, being very open with few props. The set allowed for multiple entrances, giving it a much more interactive feel. The audience was also right next to the stage and the theater donates an almost Shakespearian theater style, taking place right among the viewers.

Although this is my not my favorite musical, I did enjoy it very much and I was so glad to go out and support all of the wonderful performers, especially since it will be my last time seeing many of them. This will also be my last art[seen] post for seven months! That’s right folks! I’m studying abroad this winter in Italy at the University of Bologna! Luckily for me, Italian is my major, which means studying abroad is basically required. But don’t worry. If you will miss me, you can see my blog posts every week because I’m moving over to arts, ink. for the semester as an ambassador abroad! So if you are looking for me online, just check out my weekly blog on the arts, ink. website. I’ll be writing about art in Italy, which obviously isn’t that hard to find.

I hope you are all worker harder than I am on exams, because I know I need to crack down. So with that, I begin yet another paper and I wish you all a wonderful holiday season. Here’s to a new year and a new country!

Sending you love and light,

Danny Fob

(Coffee is on me if you can name the show that my sign off is from!)

Seriously, read my blog at arts, ink.!

REVIEW: Little Women the Musical

Speaking as someone who knows Little Women the Musical, as in memorized the soundtrack, researched the musical history, and followed the actors who have played the roles in the show, the performance of the students of the Musical Theatre department fit the way I’d imagined the show nearly perfectly. It was actually a little spooky how well cast everyone was to their characters:

Jo March, played by Jane Bruce, was absolutely perfect. Quirky, lively, and strong, she played Jo March with perfection. In many incidences throughout the play, I was brought to tears by her emotional and heart-warming vocal performance and gut-wrenchingly truthful interpretation of the character.

Furthermore, the character of Marmee March, the mother of the March sisters, by Katherine Thomas, was equally as impressive. One of my favorite songs of the show is “Days of Plenty,” where Marmee urges Jo to have faith that the death of her sister Beth is not completely in vain, encouraging, “You have to believe, there is reason for hope.” She performed it beautifully and did not disappoint.

All of the characters had amazing chemistry. Laurie, played by Joel Sparks, was dorky, adorable, and lovable. He fit the role perfectly, but in a different way than I’d previously imagined his character. It was for the better, I’d say, that Laurie’s character wasn’t the dashingly handsome hero who won Amy March’s heart but brought the audience to tears when he didn’t end up with his best friend Jo. I felt his interpretation of Laurie was fitting in that you saw, even from the beginning, that Laurie and Jo would never last together, at least on Jo’s end. I think the chemistry between Laurie and Amy overpowered any feelings of disappointment that anyone felt for the lack of union between Laurie and Jo.

The role of Professor Bhaer, played by Trevor St. John Gilbert, was equally as ideal. I felt he really understood how he and Jo fell in love: amongst bickering, arguments, but in the end, beneath a shared, “Small Umbrella in the Rain.”

Even the opening scene was magnificent. They had all the characters flying through the stage, ascending and descending from all sides, and moving set pieces with ease and distinguished flair. I saw the entire play as a story, seen through Jo’s eyes, set in the magical attic of the March household. Perfection.

This musical was tremendous and the entire cast did such a fantastic job. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to see this play performed (finally!!!) and I can now put a proper backdrop behind my favored and well-loved Little Women soundtrack.

Preview: Little Women, the Musical?

Last year I was blown away by the fact that Little Women was turned into an opera, but I went and thought it was fantastic. So when I heard that the musical was being put on this year, I had to go! Maybe next they’ll do the play…or I could read the book! But who has time for that? Maybe one day,

since it is a piece of classical American literature and all. The musical, inspired of course by Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women, is being put on this weekend by the Department of Musical Theatre Studio Production. The story of these four sisters and the trials they go through is sure to be a night to remember and I hope that the music by Jason Howland and the lyrics by Mindi Dickstein will be as memorable for me as that of Bare, which I reviewed last weekend. Maybe I’ll be listening to and singing Little Women for a week too!

This will be a welcome break right before exam week (which most of us will refer to as Hell Week) and I hope you can go out to a show or do something to relieve some of that built up stressing out. I promise, the sound of beautiful voices coming out of some of the sexiest people on campus really does things for the soul. You won’t be let down, because in musical theater, I don’t even think that is possible (unless you’re one of those Sondheim fans that hate everything that he didn’t write).

So here are the details, I know it sucks to have to read through some crazy guy’s thoughts all the time, so here it is laid out ;

What: Little Women the Musical

When:
Thursday 12/8 @ 7:30pm
Friday 12/9 @ 8:00pm
Saturday 12/10 @ 2:00pm
Saturday 12/10 @ 8:00pm
Sunday 12/11 @ 2:00pm

Where: Arthur Miller Theater on North Campus (it’s a great theater, worth the commute)

How much: Student rush $10 BUT HURRY! They’re going fast! They are nearly sold out!

With that, I sign off. Get back to studying!

Sending you love and light,

Danny Fob

(Coffee is on me if you can name the show that my sign off is from!)

P.S. I actually LOVE Sondheim, I’m just not all hipster about him.

REVIEW: Handel’s Messiah

Saturday night I experienced Handel’s Messiah for the very first time. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I knew it was a Christmas tradition, so in the spirit of Christmas I got all dressed-up and went to the Hill, my first time there, to see Messiah. First I must say, the Hill Auditorium is absolutely breathtaking. We sat near the top (with quite a few other students who could only afford the $10 tickets!)–the bulb lights circling the ceiling, and arching down in rows framing the stage, created a beautiful optical illusion that was almost dizzying. It was so nice to have the opportunity to get dressed-up and go out to such a beautiful venue for a change of pace on a Saturday night.

I’m not a musician, so I can’t intelligibly describe how spot-on the performers were, except to say the performance sounded beautiful. The singers were incredibly talented, confidently hitting the highs and lows with precision and ease. The orchestra played perfectly well together, and when the chorale chimed in, belting out praises in unison, it sent chills down my spine.

What I loved most about this performance is that it was a simple, traditional expression of Christmas. From the bare, natural decor, consisting of beautiful poinsettia flowers and a gigantic wreath hanging from the organ pipes, to the simple but elegant dress of the performers, the performance felt historical and classy, with the focus left on the music and the message, with no distractions.  There are many events one can attend during the holiday season that celebrate Santa Claus and gift-giving, snow and decorations, and all of these are loads of fun, but it was refreshing that Messiah got to the heart of Christmas, celebrating the ultimate gift of God’s Son. It was an exquisite reminder of what I’m really celebrating at Christmas.

**Merry (early) Christmas everyone!!**

Take time to celebrate and enjoy the holiday season, amidst the craziness of final exams! 🙂

Review: Better Be at Bare

Fantastic! That’s what I have to say about Basement Arts’ production of “Bare: A Pop Opera.” I had no idea what to expect, but what I saw was great! The show is basically Rent except Catholic Highschool style. Studio 1 was kind of small, but we all managed to fit in and enjoy the show. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack online ever since, I liked it so much. I hope they do it again next year!

The show was off-broadway years ago, which I can understand because it is not the kind of show that can make it on the big stage. It is set in a high school, severely limiting the target audience to a much younger crowd. Though I’m sure many people would enjoy the show,

Driving in your car andautoverzekering vergelijken is something very common.

it does not have as mature of a feel as something like Rent or Spring Awakening. It does have important messages for young people going through situations of depression, addiction, eating disorder, sexual discovery, self-hate, teen pregnancy, and loneliness. These messages come through quite clearly in an exciting, but slightly predictable plot.

What I enjoyed most about the show was the music. The melodies alone prove to be unique and contemporary, with interesting twisting harmonies that are surprising and beautiful. The lyrics are clever and perfectly chosen. They convey a very adolescent language while tastefully delivering the deeper messages of the show. My favorite song of the show, “See Me,” is the main character coming out to his mother on the phone. Peter and his mother are dancing around one word and it really brought many of us to tears. Michael Hartung, Peter, has the most beautiful voice and plays this part splendidly. It was such a heartbreaking performance. I actually believe that Michael rocked this performance to its core. He was amazing and I wish he would sing just one song to me. Any song. At all. I’m actually sending the video to my mom. Seriously, this is how much I loved it….Anyway, didn’t mean to have an outburst. Most of the cast was amazing. I especially like Sister Chantelle. She is so sassy and wise at the same time!

The only complaint I have about this show? I’m sick of all musicals about Gay people ending in the gay guy DYING!!!!! All of them do that! I do not understand! I want to see one happy gay couple end the play together, because in all of them, the gay couple is perfect. Please, if you are a musical writer reading this, right me a happy gay ending!
On an ending note, I had a great time and this coming weekend I am somehow finding time to go see Little Women! I’m really excited, so if you like my posts, keep a lookout 🙂

Sending you love and light,

Danny Fob

(Coffee is on me if you can name the show that my sign off is from!)

PREVIEW: Little Women the Musical [finally!!!]

Not even words can capture how excited I am for this performance. I want to just set up a link that’ll take you to the soundtrack as soon as you click to read my preview so you can hear just how amazing and beautiful the songs of this show are. AND what’s extra exciting about seeing this performance of Little Women is not only because it’s put on by the musical theatre dept. here but because it’s directed by UM alumnus Danny Gurwin who starred in this musical on Broadway as Laurie!!! Do you realize how awesome this show is going to be?! I don’t even think I know how great it’s going to be. The show closed on Broadway after 137 performances (thanks, Wikipedia.org) in spring of 2005, so I was forced merely to memorize every song on the soundtrack to satisfy my cravings for the beauty of this show…until NOW! Hooray!!

Performances will be December 8-11 in the Arthur Miller Theatre. I hope you find time to attend because it is going to be fantastic. Quoting from one of my favorite songs in the show, it is sure to be “astonishing.”

Read more about the performance and buy tickets here: http://www.music.umich.edu/departments/mustheatre/productions.htm