An enchanting "Fantasticks"

PARK CITY — In “The Fantasticks,” boy meets girl, boy loses girl and boy gets girl back. But it’s more — much more, to borrow a lyric — than a simply told fable. It’s a blissful celebration of the art of theater.

The Broadway in the Mountains production, at the Egyptian Theatre through Sunday, is a lovingly crafted tribute to the original staging of “The Fantasticks.” The show debuted in 1960 at Greenwich Village’s 153-seat Sullivan Street Theatre and continued playing there for 42 years, becoming the world’s longest-running musical and creating a record unlikely ever to be equaled.

There is a legion of theatergoers who recount their visits to the off-Broadway landmark, with its half-oval seating arrangement that required patrons to walk across the stage to their seats, with wistful accounts of seeing the iconic roles performed by Kristin Chenoweth, F. Murray Abraham, Glenn Close, Elliot Gould or Liza Minnelli.

This is an enchanting “Fantasticks,” with insightful performances and wonderful music. Director Terence Goodman retains many elements of the milestone production and juxtaposes reality with theatrics. His decisions underscore the whimsical allegory about the romance of a young couple, Matt and Luisa, who find their relationship tested by their meddling fathers and the bandit, El Gallo. Goodman wisely relies on his skilled actors to invite audiences to recall their own memories of this delightful musical or to experience its joys for the first time.

New York actor Dennis Parlato takes a mature approach to the swashbuckling role of El Gallo, the musical’s narrator and puppet-master. Having played the role, after being cast by the show’s creators, in the Sullivan Street production and the New York City revival, Parlato knows the part of El Gallo well. Firmly understanding the half-sentimental, half-cynical tone of his character, the actor makes the philosophical storyteller accessible and familiar. His singing of the tender “Try to Remember” is just right.

The trip to Park City would be worth it alone to bask in the performances of Parlato and four other startlingly talented actors. Jim Dale as Henry, the enfeebled Shakespeare thespian, and Andy Johnson as his sidekick Mortimer, the specialist in dying scenes, milk all the humor in their roles as they participate in El Gallo’s raid to warn Matt of the hardships of the world.

Masterful entertainers Jonathan McBride and W. Lee Daily play the conniving widower fathers who trick their offspring into falling in love. Their Tweedledum and Tweedledee performances wholly embrace their characters’ vaudevillian roots and further delight in their wink-wink additional roles the director has devised.


While it’s to his credit that the director has cast actors the same age as their characters, Gracie Brietic and Taylor J Smith charm and give their all to their roles but ultimately disappoint. To be most effective, the couple’s progression from puppy love affection to become more world-aware with a wise, realistic view of love is readily apparent.

As Luisa, the lovely Brietic is full of wide-eyed wonder in “Much More” and has a lovely voice but her upper register is noticeably weak. Smith makes an appealing “callow fellow,” and his “They Were You” is tenderly sung but “I Can See It” should be more full-throated.

Musical director Anne Puzey leads the exemplary accompaniment of piano, harp and percussion and does credit to the timeless melodies.

The squares of multi-colored confetti tossed into the air are justified at the show’s conclusion. “The Fantasticks” is a show that lives up to its name.

Lea Salonga dazzles at BYU concert

PROVO — Sparkling more brightly than her gold-embroidered gown, Broadway star and international soloist Lea Salonga wowed audiences at two de Jong Concert Hall performances on the BYU campus.

While widely known for her ability to belt out an emotional Broadway ballad, Salonga impressed with the interpretive skills she brought to standards by a variety of composers and her keen, often self-deprecating sense of humor. She also radiated warmth and good cheer to the enthusiastic audiences.

Salonga surprised the audiences with her opening selection of “Feeling Good,” from the 1965 musical “The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd.” But her jazzy interpretation set the tone for the evening of “just fun stuff,” as she later explained.

Following up with Lerner and Lowe’s “On the Street Where You Live,” Salonga’s exquisite technique and commitment to the song was evident. And her rich, creamy vocal tone was also heard in her lush interpretation of the Gershwins’ “Nice Work If You Can Get It.”

Relating that she listens to a wide variety of music, Salonga showed her enjoyment of contemporary songs by covering Lady Gaga’s “Pokerface” and Bruno Mars’ “Forget You.”

The Tony-winner is popularly known for performances as two Disney princesses. To introduce “Reflection” from “Mulan,” Salonga expressed her disappointment at being asked to record a shorter, now-official version. “So now I have to make sure that Mickey Mouse is not in the audience, so I can sing the long, original version,” she said.

Salonga invited an audience member to join her for the “Whole New World” duet from “Aladdin.” “It’s either a train wreck, which is always quite entertaining, or it can be pretty good. Sometimes.”

The evening turned personal as she introduced songs related to meeting her husband and the joy brought by their 5-year-old daughter.

“Blackbird” became a song about romantic timing that revolved around the words:“You were only waiting for this moment to arrive.” The Beatles’ hit was combined with Kander and Ebb’s “A Quiet Thing,” which is about the sweetness of discovering love.

Before an emotional, goose-bump-inducing version of “I’d Give My Life for You” from “Miss Saigon,” Salonga expressed that, after giving birth to her daughter, she now more fully understands the commitment mothers make to their children.

The evening included two “Les Miserables” offerings: “I Dreamed a Dream” and “On My Own,” which Salonga said was her audition song for “Miss Saigon.” After listening to her heart-wrenching version of the Boublil-Schonberg compositions, it’s easy to understand why she landed the career-making role. And why the de Jong audience responded so enthusiastically to her first Utah performances.

Brian Stokes Mitchell makes BYU event spectacular

PROVO — For its annual Spectacular, BYU invited a Broadway leading man to help celebrate “a true Renaissance man” of the university — and the homecoming event became truly spectacular.

Inviting the nationally known Brian Stokes Mitchell to headline the two-evening revue of BYU’s performing groups was not only an inspired decision, it was fortuitous that he accepted. While area guests have previously served as Spectacular narrators, this year marked the first time a performer of his high caliber was the show’s emcee and thrilling entertainer.

And it was befitting as Spectacular acknowledged the contributions by Gerrit de Jong Jr., appointed BYU’s first College of Fine Arts dean in 1925 but also an accomplished musician, linguist and scholar. A brief video tribute to de Jong was projected on the football field-sized screen at the rear of the Marriott Center performing space midway through the show.

Mitchell explained that de Jong “was consumed by a passion for art and he knew that there is beauty within us.”

To began the show, Mitchell soloed with “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” accompanied by the full BYU Philharmonic, that introduced his charismatic stage demeanor along with his grateful, beaming smile. The Men’s Chorus, lankishly choreographed, was invigorated during the ensemble’s “Paint Your Wagon” medley when the Tony-winner joined the massive group to sing “They Call the Wind Maria.”

While acknowledging that he has become “a BFF with the entire Mormon Tabernacle Choir,” after an unprecedented three engagements, Mitchell said that singing with the Men’s Chorus, “that band of brothers, was an experience I will not soon forget.”

In the effusive “Family” segment by the Young Ambassadors, Conlon Bonner and Delaney Westfall were the lead singers on “We Are a Family” and “Love You, I Do,” and Mitchell joined the group to perform “Stand by Me” with the group’s soloist Tim Cooper.

To end the evening, Mitchell showed his affinity for jazz with an expressively phrased Gershwin medley, followed by the little-known Cy Coleman-Carolyn Leigh gem, “It Amazes Me,” that was infused with his trademark joie de vivre. In his rendition of “Make Them Hear You,” the full strength of his powerful baritone was showcased and his “Ragtime” showstopper became a ferocious declaration. For each of these solos, Mitchell was paired with his pianist, the gifted Tedd Firth.

Continuing the theme of an unwavering commitment to a dream, Mitchell encouraged the audience to strive for high ideals as he began “Impossible Dream” from his Tony-nominated Don Quixote role in “Man of La Mancha,” accompanied by the Philharmonic. With his virile, long-sustained high notes that soared heavenward, Mitchell made us believe that the impossible might just be within our grasp.

Expert "Mary Poppins" cast blows in for a jolly holiday

SALT LAKE CITY — To describe the cast of “Mary Poppins,” you’d need the biggest word you’ve ever heard — a word that is something quite atrocious and makes you feel precocious. Yes, it’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

And you’re sure to be charmed.

A spectacle-filled “Mary Poppins” opened on Labor Day weekend at the Capitol Theatre, to the delight of fans of perhaps the most-popular children’s musical movies of all time.

The stage version combines new arrangements of the unforgettable Sherman Brothers’ double-Oscar-winning songs from the Disney 1964 film with new Broadway-style ballads by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The script by Julian Fellowes is an odd mix of Disney’s “chim chim” cheer and the more dour stories of the original author P.L. Travers’ books, but it boasts practically perfect performances, many from actors who honed their roles in New York, along with Disney-style wizardry that delight.

Led by a prim Steffanie Leigh in the title role and Nicholas Dromard as her chimney-sweeping dancing partner, Bert, the cast is uniformly pleasing. As conceived in the original show, Dromard, a superb singer, tap dances horizontally up one side of the stage’s proscenium and then upside down across the ceiling. The same computer-driven, wire-suspended harness flies vocally proficient Leigh off the stage and into the audience.

The script calls for the talented Laird Mackintosh as George Banks to confront the gorgon nanny from his childhood in an new, ill-conceived addition to the story. Mrs. Banks, a spry suffragette in the Disney version, is now a lonely former actress, well played by Blythe Wilson.

The Banks children have much larger roles and are much more bratty than in the movie. Utah County native Talon Ackerman played Michael opposite Camille Mancuso on opening night. Though multiple child actors rotate the obstreperous roles, both on Broadway and in the national tour, Ackerman and Mancuso are troupers and completely in step with the adult actors.

Rachel Izen (Mrs. Brill) and Dennis Moench (Robertson Ay) do nice comic turns as the put upon household staff, and Q. Smith as the evil nanny Miss Andrew is a powerhouse singer.

The big-cast musical numbers, choreographed with great flair by Matthew Bourne, are crowd pleasers, and the Banks’ Cherry Tree Lane home, which reveals like a pop-up book, is nearly as impressive as the original Broadway creation.

“Mary Poppins” is a fun family event. And you’ll impress your children if you can say that magical word backwards. It’s dociousaliexpilisticfragicalirepus.

Pioneer Theatre's "Next to Normal" tackles unusual, universal subject for a musical

SALT LAKE CITY — It’s been called “a brave, breathtaking musical,” “exceptional, hopeful and uplifting” and “the future of American musicals.”

And it’s the only hit musical about treating a psychological disorder.

“Next to Normal,” recently on Broadway where it was honored with Tonys and, uncommon for a musical, the Pulitzer, is being staged at the Pioneer Theatre Company Sept. 16 through Oct. 1.

“It’s a tough subject but it’s also great theater,” says director-choreographer Karen Azenberg. “It’s just too good to not see.”

The characters of “Next to Normal” are not larger than life or stock cardboard cutouts, but our next-door neighbors — their struggles, yes. And also their joys.

“The storytelling is key,” Azenberg adds. “The music of ‘Next to Normal’ has been classified as rock ’n’ roll, and it is really quite brilliantly written and so appropriate. But because of that, it’s easy to get sidetracked from this very truthful story that is told just so beautifully.”

While the storyline can sound like yet another tedious “disease of the week,” Lifetime TV drama, the characters are vividly three dimensional, and there’s no quick-fix solution that fits within a typical format. Also, the plot is not easy to discuss without giving away crucial details that unfold on stage.

Diana Goodman, a middle-aged wife and mother living in suburbia, is manic depressive. Her patient husband Dan has been shepherding her through treatments and therapy, certain she can be helped. They have two children: Gabe, who Diana loves steadfastly; and Natalie, who is full of teenage angst. The only other characters are Natalie’s boyfriend, Henry, and the two doctors who treat Diana.

The names of songs reveal portions of the storyline. They include “My Psycho-Pharmacologist and I,” “Superboy and the Invisible Girl” and “Why Stay?”

“Calling ‘Next to Normal’ a rock musical can have a negative connotation,” says music director Larry Goldberg. “This is not ‘Jesus Christ Superstar.’ Musical shows that have used rock as the only musical style have not been largely successful. This show uses a wide range of musical styles, including classical, folk, waltz and Celtic. The music is used to express the characters’ strong emotions, and the musical styles are used very intelligently.”

The Salt Lake staging of “Next to Normal” is the musical’s only third production after its successful New York run and national tour and a major coup for PTC.

“It’s incredibly liberating to take on a new piece,” says Azenberg. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to look at it fresh and decide how to approach it. And the actors are also able to make their own contribution and own their role more completely.”

Azenberg is also pleased with the caliber of talent she cast for the production.

“This is a phenomenal cast,” she says. “I was completely blown away with the level of talent in this production. I was able to cast my first choice for each of the roles, which isn’t always possible.”

Playing the two lead roles are Judy McLane as Diana and Jonathan Rayson as Dan.

McLane will return to her role as Tanya in the New York production of “Mamma Mia” and has appeared in Broadway productions of “Kiss of the Spiderwoman,” “Aspects of Love” and “Chess.” She earned acclaim for her lead role in the recent “Johnny Guitar” off Broadway.

Rayson appeared on Broadway as Seymour in “Little Shop of Horrors” and in “A Year with Frog and Toad,” and off Broadway in Christopher Durang’s “Adrift in Macao” and “That Time of Year.” He recently released a solo CD, “Shiny and New.”

The remaining cast members have impressive credits. Matt Dengler (Gabe) appeared in the recent Broadway productions of “A Little Night Music” and off Broadway in “The Fantasticks”; Ephie Aardema (Natalie) toured in “Fiddler on the Roof” as Chava and “The Sound of Music” as Leisl; Alex Brightman (Henry) played Boq in Broadway’s “Wicked” for two years; and Ben Crawford (Doctors) performed on Broadway in “Les Miserables” and “Shrek.”

Not your mother's "Oklahoma!"

OREM — Ho-hum. Another opening of another "Oklahoma!" Curly ambles down the auditorium’s aisles and onto the stage rhapsodizing about “a bright, golden haze on the meadow”— but it’s just a painted backdrop. The music is western-tinged, with strumming guitars and harmonicas, and you fear the taped accompaniment won’t serve Richard Rodgers’ sweeping melodies.  As Act 1 unfolds, you sense the actors’ eagerness to establish their characters but play the humor a bit too broadly. Even “Kansas City,” Will’s showpiece first-act dance number, is marred by the actor’s dead mike. His fellow dancers are well-rehearsed and full of boot-stomping energy but the number fails to ignite.

Then the stage is transformed into Judd’s smokehouse, and the theme of the Utah Valley University production becomes clear. You sit up in your seat and begin to fully appreciate the complexities of what is often considered to be a frivolous musical.

"Oklahoma!" is a landmark in theater history. There are musicals before "Oklahoma!" and musicals that after "Oklahoma!" It was the first to fully integrate song and dance to convey both plot and character instead of using song and dance as a diversion from the story. And it’s the first American folk musical. But "Oklahoma!" also introduced themes that Rodgers and Hammerstein would continue to explore—among them racism, sexism and classism. Utah Valley University’s "Oklahoma!" honors the story’s darker impulses to explain the toughness of the country’s early prairie years. The sad juxtaposition between the meager life of a working hand like Jud and the upbeat optimism of the other characters is not diluted here.

As “Pore Jud Is Dead” begins, there is a palpable animosity as Curly enters Jud Fry’s foreboding dwelling. “Lonely Room,” Jud’s solo that was cut from the first cast album and the movie version, feels essential in this production, and the smokehouse scene becomes pivotal. We’re then swept up away in the drama of this "Oklahoma!" well into the show’s satisfying conclusion.

The singing here is generally fine, though firm vocal guidance is lacking—you just can’t fake your way through these songs. While we’re accustomed to Curlys with powerful, booming voices, Robert Fletcher tries a more conversational realism, and to a large degree it works. With his aw-shucks grin and towering presence, the affable actor gives a pleasant performance. Feisty tomboy independence is seen in Julie Garcia’s well-acted Laurie, and the actress has a charming voice. The pair work well together and we feel the joy in their love. Jacob Theo Squire gives a performance of brooding power and skillfully paces Jud’s tricky vocal demands. With her textured voice, Lita Little Giddins plays a pert Aunt Eller.

Ado Annie, Will Parker, and Ali Hakim provide comic relief, but despite the actors’ skills, their roles just don’t seem necessary. Kelly Coombs overplays the amorous Ado Annie nearly into a cartoon character but her strong vocals deliver a wallop. Chase Ramsey lassos each of his scenes as the rope-twirling hayseed Will and robustly executes his boot-scooting choreography. Andrew Hansen has a strong sense of timing and gives us a confident and wily Persian peddler.

Dave Tinney’s direction is secure and his choreography has the right showiness without taxing a less-experienced dancer. The high-spirited “The Farmer and the Cowman” highlights the strong, hard-working ensemble but the staging and costuming don’t clearly tell us who’s a farmer and who’s a cowhand. The innovative dream ballet, danced by the full cast along child actors alternately portraying Laurey and Curly at two additional younger ages, evolves from dream into nightmare with the crack of a whip.

“You cain’t deserve the sweet and tender in life les’n you’re tough,” Aunt Eller advises Laurey. And that punctuates what we’ve learned in this smart, handsome "Oklahoma!"

"White Christmas" snows Pioneer Theatre

SALT LAKE CITY – Christmas is here, and with the festive season comes a variety of effervescent events and stage shows. The 1954 musical film "White Christmas," with its title song holding the record as the all-time bestselling single, is beloved by nostalgic cinephiles and has become a Yuletide favorite.

The stage adaption, christened "Irving Berlin’s White Christmas" to add oomph, was kicked around in various incarnations before sliding onto Broadway for two limited-run Christmastime productions in 2008 and 2009. Audiences came in droves, and the box office toppled all competitors. But critics were not just unkind, they were caustic. While lauding the production values and the seasoned performers, the detractors were as stingy as Ebenezer Scrooge.

I have been very impressed by previous Pioneer Theatre productions. And this breezy "White Christmas" is a largely pleasant diversion from the holiday rush. The show is buoyed immeasurably by Irving Berlin musical masterpieces and is capable of warming its audience. Everyone on stage and behind is clearly trying their hardest to create a magical holiday spectacle, but the show lacks inspired direction and invention from Paul Mason Barnes to overcome the cut-and-paste script. Despite the fine renditions here of the classic American standards, the new or expanded songs are shoehorned in and either overstuff the show or awkwardly restate plot points. Worse, as the actors rush to the next song, nearly all of character development and charm found in the movie are shortchanged or excised completely. For example, why are the male leads at odds but steadfastly remain partners?

The basic elements of the acknowledged thin plot remain. Two ex-soldiers provide a let’s-put-on-a-show-in-a-barn rescue for their former commanding officer. A sister act was scheduled to perform their nightclub act at the general’s near-bankrupt Vermont lodge but the song-and-dance duo brings in its large Broadway company to divert their wartime hero and boost revenue at the inn. Romance and contrived misunderstandings ensue. The resulting show brings snow and success – for both the hostelry business and the two couplings.

Straitjacketed by the threadbare script, the four Equity leads gamely navigate their roles with verve and determination. Tally Sessions plays the level-headed Bob Wallace and Tim Falter is the skirt-chasing Phil. For the most part there is serviceable chemistry between the two, and they offer smooth harmonies and crisp moves, beginning with the rousing “Happy Holiday”/“Let Yourself Go.” Sessions appears more consigned than connected to his character but his is the show’s most underwritten role. Falter, with his broad charm and a voice as strong as his dancing, gives a polished performance and effortlessly makes the role his own. Genuine romantic sparks come from Kaitlyn Davidson’s bubbly Judy opposite Falter, and the pairing is delightful, especially in the “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing.” Backed by the chorus, Davidson and Falter make “I Love a Piano” a crowd-pleasing tap number despite its lackluster staging. An on-stage force of nature, Amy Justman conveys apt stubbornness as the straight-laced Betty, a role she understudied on Broadway. As evident in her role as Susan in the 2006 Company telecast on PBS, her singing is superb, and she inhabits her character. Justman displays sultry charm and wonderfully vibrant vocals in the torchy “Love, You Didn’t Do Right by Me,” and the song then becomes a heartfelt “How Deep Is the Ocean” duet with Sessions.

The role of the inn’s busybody manager has been expanded and concocted as an ex-vaudevillian Ethel Merman Lite, and frequent PTC actress Mary Fanning Driggs makes the most of her brassy comic role. She’s entertaining with her “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy” solo and, with Davidson and Justman, “Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun” is bright and cheery. Dick Decareau amiably plays the grumpy curmudgeon General Waverly and manages to bring poignancy to the wooden role, even when he delivers the painfully sentimental speech near the end of the show. John Shuman steals scenes in a small part, with his “hi-yup” delivery as the droll local handyman, and, with local favorite Anne Stewart Mark, Shuman provides true comic relief in the “Snow” scene. Alexia “Ally” Ioannides is the moppet who plays Susan, the general’s young granddaughter. Like the innkeeper part, the Susan role is rewritten, and she becomes a smitten Broadway Baby. (Except for the general and his handyman, now each of the many characters is in, has been in, or aspires to be in show business.) The cloying Ioannides makes a valiant effort to belt her “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy” reprise.

There are many dance pieces thrown in to spice up the production, and many yearn to approach a Busby Berkeley blockbuster. The 16-member ensemble energetically executes Dirk Lumbard’s choreography, but his work simmers when it should have red-hot sizzle. With multiple set changes, audiences will be impressed by the seamless and quick changes in the scenery, crafted by PTC resident George Maxwell. But not equally impressed with K.L. Alberts’ costume design. Alberts was clearly budget-strapped, and it shows. The costumes needed the lush fabrics and spectacle of sparkling colors that have identified staged White Christmas productions.

Nevertheless, there are those wonderful Berlin songs. Each is showcased by a swinging full-bodied 17-piece orchestra, under Michael Horsley’s musical direction and conducting. The lush orchestrations coupled with wonderful vocal arrangements are a genuine treat. It would take more than a mediocre production of "White Christmas" to make the composer’s musical gifts anything less than a treasure trove.

Seeing the Berlin standards come to life is a prescribed cure for the holiday depressed. And this show may make audiences feel all Christmas-y while humming its tunes as they exit the theater. But, considering its multiple shortcomings in story and staging, PTC’s "White Christmas" will leave musical-theater enthusiasts shivering in the cold.