Tag: Sondheim

REVIEW: A Little Night Music

musicalsoup Leave a comment

[Title photo: Cole Newburg (left) and Audrey Graves.]

Of all the entangled romantic comedies in musical theater, A Little Night Music is quite the knot. The Department of Musical Theater completes its 2023-2024 season with Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s musical-operetta surrounding a horny mess of bourgeoisie adults at the turn of the century in Sweden. But it gets better—accompanied is a full orchestra with the most waltz-worthy melodies that string you right along with this troupe’s ridiculous antics.

The plot is quite dense. Desirée Armfeldt (Carly Meyer) is a fading actress touring small theaters across the country. She has a young daughter, Fredrika (Mariangeli Collado), who lives with her grandmother, Madam Armfeldt (Kate Louissaint), in the country. Desirée continuously delays seeing her daughter, preferring her life on tour in the theater. On the other side of town, Fredrik (Cole Newburg) and Anne Egerman (Audrey Graves), the newly married couple (with a quite significant age gap) live with Henrik (Michael Fabisch), the teenage son of Fredrik. He is a seminary student, frustrated and often ignored and mocked by the family with contentious feelings for his stepmother, Anne. One evening, Anne and Fredrick go to the theater, where Anne learns of Fredrik’s romantic history with the leading actress, Desirée. The two share an evening together, until interrupted by Desirée’s current affair, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (Owen Scales). Thus begins a spiral of jealousy and scandal when Desirée invites both couples Count Malcolm and Countess Charlotte (Gabriella Palminteri) and Anne, Fredrik, and Henrik to her mother’s home in the country.

This production was directed by Telly Leung, a graduate of the University of Michigan Musical Theater Department and an active Broadway performer. Direction choices were thorough and aesthetic for a venue that can leave you uninspired. The choice of an electric lime-green floor often took me away from the glamour of these characters’ lives and exceptional music and performances, but thankfully was recovered by costume design right out of an Edwardian-type 1900s Sweden.

The orchestration of the show is near perfect. A full orchestra accompanied the performance tonight at the Power Center, one of the finest pit orchestras I have heard at this University to date (musical direction by the fabulous Catherine A. Walker). A glimmering orchestra underneath some of the most brilliant voices at the University was a perfect end to the semester.  With leading women Carly Meyer and Audrey Graves, there was not a single pedestrian vocal moment. Their attention to virtuosic vocalism as well as navigating Sondheim’s cheeky text was a thrill. Angeleia Ordoñez (Petra) performed one of my favorite pieces of all time—”The Miller’s Son”, a satisfying and sweet song from the audacious maid, Petra. She performed with utmost perfection, providing the most insight into the character of Petra throughout the whole show. The Quintet (expanded to ten for this production), enriched the musical score, serving as an ironic reflection of the two couples’ extravagant lifestyles. A personal favorite performance was Fabisch, accessing spot-on character physicality, brilliantly luscious vocals, and honest comedy—Henrik has never been so adored before.

A weekend in the country with this outstanding cast would be my pleasure, anytime at all.

[Mariangeli Collado (left), Carly Meyer, and Kate Louissaint]

 

April 19th, 2024, 8pm. Power Center for the Performing Arts. Images thanks to The University of Michigan Department of Musical Theater.

REVIEW: Merrily We Roll Along

Angela Lin Leave a comment

Everyone wants success, but at what costs? The storyline of Merrily We Roll Along isn’t anything revolutionary or extraordinary, and the conflicts of the musical are pretty predictable, but the deeper meaning behind the storyline is still profound. Frank Shepard’s desire for money and success ruins the relationships that mean the most to him, and as we see the moments in his life that acted as either subtle pathways or dramatic turning points, we reflect on our youth and hope for a brighter future.

Runyonland Productions took an in-concert approach to this Sondheim musical. Providing a vibrant blast of music onstage, the 12-member orchestra music directed by Brian Rose and conducted by Tyler Driskill brought Sondheim’s score to life. The company’s transition in between the years, the title song “Merrily We Roll Along,” was a catchy melody that conveys the theme of the musical. The entire cast’s performance was pretty spectacular, but if I had to pick just one outstanding number, it would be Emilie Kouatchou’s strong and heartbreaking performance of “Not a Day Goes By,” one of Sondheim’s greatest songs about lost love.

However, all the songs were performed brilliantly, such as Charley’s breakdown on air with “Franklin Shepard, Inc.,” a frantic song with dire consequences. Due to illness, Thomas Laub provided the voice of Charley while Wilson Plonk acted onstage. This unexpected change didn’t deter from the production much, and the performances of both Plonk and Laub are to be applauded. Erica Ito, who played Mary, also sang powerfully and captivated the audience with every note sung and drunken word slurred as she desperately tries to keep her closest friends together.

Liam Allen captured Frank Shepard’s confusion and regret in his later years in a somber way, as well as his selfish vanity and ego in his youth with a relatable aspirational mindset. As he continues to make poor choices that ruin his relationships with his wives and friends, you can see the toll it takes on Frank, who carries less weight on his shoulders with each retrospecting scene.

The very last scenes of the musical captures Frank in his early 20s, an age that many college students can relate to. With a bright-eyed optimism and naive hope, they sing about conquering each day and crafting their lives the way they want. Though the stories of Frank, Charley, and Mary end poorly, “Our Time” is still an anthem of hope for the future. By watching this musical, it is important to recognize that hopes and dreams don’t necessarily evolve in a positively linear path to success. It can be messy, and there may be pain and regrets along the way, but as we can learn from Frank’s life, it’s never too late to take responsibility for your actions and choices, and it’s possible to reach success both professionally and personally without sacrificing one for the other. If there’s one thing to take away from this musical, it’s to never lose sight of what’s important.

PREVIEW: Merrily We Roll Along

Angela Lin Leave a comment

Runyonland Productions, Ann Arbor’s new theater company, is bringing Sondheim’s iconic Merrily We Roll Along to the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater as a staged concert production. The musical revolves around Franklin Shepard, starting with the peak of his songwriting career and moving backwards in time to show the big moments of his life and the choices he and his friends made that led to the present. Showtimes are February 28 and March 1 at 7:30 PM and tickets can be bought online at https://runyonland.ticketleap.com/merrily/.