Musical Theatre Mondays

The first time I ever heard a song from Ragtime , I was immediately obsessed. I was in high school and "Your Daddy's Son" would be on repeat for the next few years of my life. But silly me never really put much thought into listening to any other songs from the show or even learning what it was about. But after Saturday's showing of Ragtime and Centerpoint Legacy Theatre, I finally understand what I've been missing out on. Ragtime, with a book by Terrence McNally and music and lyrics by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Aherns, is the story of America at the turn of the century told through the eyes of three different groups of people: Mother, Father and Younger Brother in New Rochelle, Coalhouse and Sarah in Harlem and Tateh and Little Girl as they emigrate to New York from Latvia. Based on the novel of the same name by E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime has historical figures from the time sprinkled throughout the show to give you a feel for what was going on in politics, ent...

The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan is a comedic opera. It tells the story of Frederic, a young man who has just been released from his pirate apprenticeship and is looking to live an upstanding life. Frederic meets Mabel and falls in love, but due to a most ingenious paradox learns that his apprenticeship isn't over and he must remain true to his pirate duties. Will Mabel wait for him? Will the rest of his pirate band find happiness too? I will begrudgingly own up to the following things: 1. I am not terribly familiar with anything Gilbert and Sullivan. 2. I've seen Penzance two other times in my life and struggle to remember the plot. 3. I am afraid of opera because I'm worried I won't "get it" and feel dumb. But it was silly of me to let these things attempt to dissuade me from this production because the production team, with Direction and Choreography by Liz Christensen and Music Direction by Antho...

When you think of the people who really shaped modern American musical theatre as we know it - the list is short, but distinguished. And whether you're looking at said list chronologically or basing it on clout - I would argue that the Gershwin brothers will almost always be at the top. Their romantic comedy gem Crazy for You  (with book by Ken Ludwig) is one of the essentials for any budding or current musical theatre fan and you're in luck because you can see it right now at Centerpoint Legacy Theatre! Crazy for You is a Gershwin brothers classic formula:  boy meets girl, a little comedy, a lotta romance and beautiful music to underscore the whole thing. Bobby Child, a wannabe dancer who can't imagine a life not on stage, is forced by his well-to-do, judgemental mother to foreclose on The Gaiety Theater in Deadrock, Nevada. Once in Deadrock, Bobby discovers the theater owner's beautiful and talented daughter, Polly, a town full of lovable and talented bumpkins, an...

I'm lucky enough to have spent the last few months in rehearsal for a really special production of A Christmas Carol at Centerpoint Legacy Theatre (CPT). With music by Alan Menken (the man behind all your favorite Disney stuff) and lyrics by Lynn Aherns (the woman behind Ragtime and Anastasia ) it is so joyful and catchy. Now I'm always a little emotional when I'm watching something on stage. Sometimes it's from the music, sometimes it's purely just an outlet for how happy I am to be watching the show (or how happy I am for the people that get to be performing it it), but very rarely do I get emotional about shows that I perform in. I think you become sort of desensitized to the story and the touching moments because you've gone through the very rigorous process of rehearsing them over and over and over again. But as I sang the last few lines of our curtain call number during our final dress rehearsal on Saturday, I could barely hold back tears as I sa...