Comments on the arts scene in and around Lansing, Michigan and beyond
But make no mistake, “Shucked”, the current offering on Wharton Center’s Broadway Series, is a comedy, through and through.
It’s a down home “He Haw” type show that takes place in an isolated corn growing village of (presumably) Iowa. Everyone on stage is dressed in overalls, boots and flannel shirts. And they’re always telling jokes.
It didn’t take long for the audience to understand the vibe and let me just say, there was a whole lotta laughing going on. Non-stop humor.
The country-style music was well played and the songs were clever and likeable, but the centerpiece of “Shucked” is its humor. The puns and jokes come at a lightening clip and you must be very alert to catch them all. How many rhymes and one-liners can be made on the subject of corn (“they lived a life in perfect hominy”) is astounding.
The story centers around cute and perky Maizy (Danielle Wade) who is about to get married to Beau (Jake Odmark). The wedding plans go awry as the town’s corn – the one reason for it to exist – is all dying.
Maizy volunteers to go outside Cobb County to seek assistance on solving this existential problem. Everyone is shocked at Maizy’s brashness to leave the community to seek help. No one has ever left before.
The jokes continue as she goes to Tampa and finds Gordy, a podiatrist (Quinn VanAntwerp) who specializes in corns. Turns out, the doc is a shyster, but she is attracted to him and brings him back to bring the corn back to life.
All the action takes place in a creatively designed, rather cockeyed, barn and the cast is filled with great talent, some of whom were in the original Broadway production.
Although there is only one set and the costumes are standard country fare with very little change, the lighting does a lot to create mood and place.
Miki Abraham as Lulu, Maizy’s cousin who falls in the love with Gordy displays a beautiful voice and lots of personality.
The other mainstays of the play are two narrators (Tyler Joseph Ellis and Maya Lagerstam) who guide us through the plot and pop in and out with scene stealing comic skits and songs.
Danielle Wade is excellent as Maizy and holding the entire shebang together, with a great voice and energetic dancing, although the general choreography of the show is lackluster. VanAntwerp as Gordy adds deft physical humor to his character that gives much needed variety to the show.
Shucked is a very entertaining musical but the music is easily forgotten. It is directed by the Broadway veteran and Michigan native, Jack O’Brien. It is impressive that he created so much fun from such meager material.
“Shucked” continues at Wharton Center through January 26. Whartoncenter.com
Stage plays and movies are totally different animals and to squeeze a play into a movie often changes the original material in unrecognizable ways.
When comparing a movie musical to its stage genesis, the stage play almost always wins. And it also wins in the case of “Wicked”, but not by much.
The current blockbuster musical to screen adaption is the remake of the 20-year-old Broadway musical, “Wicked", written by Stephan Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. Although “Wicked” has been a massive hit on stages throughout the world, the show lost the best musical Tony the year it premiered to “Avenue Q”, a Sesame Street inspired show that few people now remember.
“Wicked” is not taken from the beloved 1939 Judy Garland film but rather the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel of the same name. It’s the backstory of how the witches become who they are.
Since the “Wicked” story is a true fantasy, it opens the door to creating a film that uses all the magic that only a movie can provide. And, boy, does this one jump off the screen with color and creativity.
But what makes this movie superb are the performances of its two stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Most movie musical adaptations fail because the producers cast movie stars to play the leads, rather than real Broadway-type singers. Remember Russell Crowe in the movie of “Les Miserable” and you’ll know what I mean.
Here, both women have outsized talent to deliver the goods and sing most of their big songs live, rather than lip-syncing. Not only are their voices great but they both are sensitive actors who give their characters soul and substance.
John Chu, the director, did a miraculous job of creating a world that exploded with color and creativity. The costumes and hairstyles are unique to each character and are all eyepopping and imaginative.
This is one new release that doesn’t belong on your TV. This over-the-top production must be seen in a real live movie theater for the full effect.
A couple of major creative decisions caused this movie to not reach the “absolutely great” status. This is the first movie musical that couldn’t contain its plethora of ideas and decided to stretch the package into two separate movies. “Wicked 2” will be released for the 2025 Christmas season.
What resulted, is a movie that is 2 hours and 40 minutes long and had so much narrative storytelling, that one may forget they are seeing a musical. There are many side stories that are visually interesting but make the entire spectacle simply too long. Also, many favorite songs (like “For Good”) are not in this segment of the story and will be seen next year.
All the pomp and spectacle, however, sometimes takes away from the intimacy of the story. Director Chu attempted to include everything, even plot lines that speak to political issues of our day, but in the end, made the film overloaded.
The movie could have been tighter and served the story better if it were done in one film.
But despite this slipup, “Wicked” is still a very successful movie.
The big production numbers, like “Popular” and “Defying Gravity” are exciting and beautifully achieved. There is sparkling chemistry between Grande and Erivo, and their voices are beautiful together. Erivo, especially, has a warm, athletic and expressive voice that serves this role perfectly.
From beginning to end, Christopher Scott’s choreography is astounding. It was goofy, unusual, fun and exhilarating to watch. The screen was filled with people of every nationality and body size, which gave the movie a realistic feel.
“Wicked” serves as a perfect and joyous entertainment outing for the entire family, especially the girls in your house.
This season (2024) The Stratford Festival is presenting 12 plays, three of which were written by the Bard. Stratford’s offerings are a true mix of classic theater, Shakespeare, musicals, new plays, modern classics and children’s theater.
With lectures, tours, gourmet meals and picnics by the river, a trip to Stratford hits all the buttons for a great culture- laden get-away. The season normally runs from April to the end of October, but this year the two musicals (La Cage Aux Folles and Something Rotten!) are extended to the middle of November.
On a recent visit, I saw five plays: Twelfth Night, Hedda Gabler, La Cage Aux Folles, Something Rotten! and Romeo and Juliet.
Choosing which plays to see is the first challenge of planning a visit to Stratford (45 minutes northeast of London Ontario). I had my sights set on Twelfth Night partially because I remember so vividly from several years when I saw a raucous and colorful production with Hollywood’s Brain Dennehy.
I see Twelfth Night as the closest that Shakespeare came to writing a musical. The play is not actually written with music, but it lends itself to the playing of songs and dancing and many memorable productions created original music for the action.
So, I was a bit disappointed that director (and long-time Stratford acting star) Seana McKenna, chose to present the play in the traditional way; a stage with absolutely no scenery but with beautiful and evocative costumes. I was expecting a PRODUCTION!
What I found was that when you don’t have a stage filled with a lavish set and props, you must concentrate on Shakespeare’s monumental words.
McKenna relied on her first-rate actors (especially Jessica B Hill as Viola and Andre Sills as Orsino) to deliver the goods, which they did. They took the bard’s words and seasoned them with added nuance, subtle expression and beauty.
It was a well-done play, but I still would have preferred more music and delight.
Stratford’s musicals have become consistently well done and highly popular. This season is no different. When I saw La Cage Aux Folles, there wasn’t an empty seat in the house. The play runs at the Avon Theater, a traditional Broadway-looking theater.
The play began as a French movie, evolved to this Tony award winning musical and later landed as a blockbuster movie called “Birdcage”, starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.
Although La Cage opened on Broadway in 1983, it is still current and edgy. It begins with a chorus of leggy dancers dolled up with sparkles, boas, in high heels. It turns out that these dancers are guys, not gals. We’re watching a drag show.
The production, directed by Thom Allison and Choregraphed by Cameron Carver, is over-the-top color, music and outrageous dancing – maybe too over-the-top. Featured as the diva chorus girl is long-time Stratford character actor Steve Ross. Here, Ross displays great acting and dancing but also wows the audience by creating a character with nuance and pathos.
I wasn’t as impressed with his partner, Sean Arbuckle. He was very good, but he didn’t give his character the depth that Ross found in his character.
The big dancing numbers (and there were many) however were outstanding, and the energy of the performers could not be contained. And the dozens of gowns, sequins, wigs and various paddings was astounding – David Boechler, costume designer.
La Cage is filled with great humor, a good script and OK songs. The audience was ecstatic.
Hedda Gabler is a classic, turn-of-the (20th) century play by Henrik Ibsen, and I had never seen it before. Stratford produced it on their almost new Tom Patterson Theater. Patterson’s unusual elongated thrust stage provides the audience with a fresh perspective in viewing theater.
This new version of the play by Patrick Marber was a stunning production. Directed by Molly Atkinson, it is sparse but surprisingly effective. The set only included a chaise, a few couches and a fireplace.
The play is about social mores and with mental illness. The lead role of Hedda is played from Sara Topham, who was just on Broadway. She was both sinister and regal, as she paraded around in elegant gowns.
Women are usually not portrayed as evil, narcissistic people which gives this play the bite it has. Topham dominates the stage with this character. She commands your attention as she overpowers the men and women in her life.
The play is short, concise and laser focused. The excellent period costumes added greatly to the play and the excellent acting by Hedda’s new husband played by Gordon S. Miller and Tom Camus playing the interesting character of Judge Brack.
Hedda Gabler was a surprising home run for me.
The strongest buzz of the season surrounds the musical Something Rotten! Even the guard at Canada’s border asked me if I’d seen the show, when I told her I had visited Stratford.
Something Rotten! might be the perfect musical to be produced by the Stratford Festival, It takes place during the time of Shakespeare and tells the story of two brothers, Nick and Nigel Bottom, who are obsessed with jealously at the success of Shakespeare. Nick sings the song, I Hate Shakespeare.
They are looking for a way to up end Shakespeare by trying to find out what his next play will be and then steal it. One of the brothers visits a relative of Nostradamus who is a famous soothsayer. What then ensues, halfway through the first act, is one of the longest and funniest and most complex production numbers ever to appear in a musical.
The song is simply called A Musical and features Nostradamus explaining that the next big Shakespeare hit will be a musical. The fortune teller proceeds to explain what a musical is, to his non-believing friend (“You mean, people will pay to see a thing like this?).
The more you know about musicals, the more you will appreciate this zany number. The song goes through snippets and jokes of so many musicals - Chorus Line, Annie, Les Misérables, Music Man, Oklahoma and many more - that it will keep you on the edge of your seat. Costume changes abound and the dancers are not only dancing, but they are acting their characters and are totally engrossed in what they are doing.
Directed by the queen of Stratford musicals, Donna Feore, Rotten! is at the Festival Stage, a wonderful theater space which is nearly in-the-round, so during the play the audience gets to look at one another enjoying the show. In this case, everyone was spellbound and entertained by this number. And when it was done (don’t forget, this was the middle of the first act), the audience jumped to its feet giving the company a standing ovation.
The play continues with non-stop jokes, gags, and songs and a violently funny script. Donna Feore has been away from the Stratford stage for a few years, but she is now back with the best production she has ever directed. Rotten! is filled with Feore’s creative touches and her actors are having simply too much fun to be paid for their efforts.
Without question, if you go to Stratford this season, you must not miss Something Rotten!.
Romeo and Juliet is one of the most popular works of theater of all time. It’s been transformed into a musical (West Side Story), several movies, and is taught in public schools throughout the world.
Maybe because it is so ubiquitous, I had misgivings about seeing it yet again.
In the end, I felt compelled to view it once more because Detroit director, Sam White, was doing the honors and I loved her “Wedding Band” that was on the Stratford schedule last year. Also there has been a lot of excitement concerning Venessa Sears who plays Juliet.
I was so gratified that I made the choice to see R&J again. It was a revelation. Despite that 16th century language, it felt real, current and urgent.
Again, the decision was made to present the play on a bare Festival Theater stage. After all, if the actors are connecting with the audiences as well as the script, why clutter the story with sets, scenery and props?
The one person who was the spark that ignited the play was, as expected, Venessa Sears as Juliet. She was young, vibrant and full of excitement with a huge sparkle in her eyes. Her naïve love for Romeo was believable.
This very talented actress has a breadth of talent. She appeared in. a major role in Twelfth Night and is also a singer, igniting the Avon Theater stage a few years ago in Little Shop of Horrors. I’m sure we’ll see more of her at Stratford.
Of course, the play would not have succeeded if Romeo was not the right match for Juliet and Jonathon Mason was all of that. In the iconic balcony scene, Mason was jumping for joy and for love, and at the end, used his athleticism to pull himself up to Festival Stage’s very high balcony to embrace Juliet.
It’s always difficult to direct a scene that is so familiar to audiences, but Sam White did it beautifully.
The fight scenes were realistic and violent, but the determination of the supporting actors gave R&J its power, especially Glynis Ranney as the nurse and Scott Wentworth as Friar Laurence
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When artist sculptor Claes Oldenburg, 93, died in 2022, I was reminded of the brush Lansing had with the famed pop international artist 50 years ago.
In 1972 the final touches were being designed for the Washington Mall in downtown Lansing that would feature the circular roundabout intersection of Washington and Michigan Ave directly in front of the Capitol. It was decided that a sculptor would be commissioned to create a dynamic work to adorn the centerpiece of the intersection.
A sculpture committee was assembled by the Lansing Fine Arts Council to choose an artist. At the time, Oldenburg was a highly regarded sculptor but had not yet received the international acclaim he received later in life.
The artist’s trademark style also caused a furor in many communities. He designed huge sculptures of everyday objects. One of his best known works is called “Clothespin”, which is a meticulously accurate 45-foot version of a wooden clothespin, that now stands in the city center of Philadelphia. One of my favorites is a massive representation of a round-wheel typewriter eraser which is in the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden in Washington DC.
The film is beautifully and artfully photographed (Matthew Libatique, cinematographer) and is acted with great passion. Bradley Cooper, who wrote, directed and starred in this highly anticipated movie, wanted to get into the heart of the conductor, thought by many to be the greatest musician of the 20th century., and he did so resoundingly.
Cooper plays Bernstein with an uncanny sense of his mannerisms and vocal style. Much has been written about his prosthetic nose, but this, to me, is nonsense. He looks just like Bernstein and sounds like him too. He threw himself into the part, showing Bernstein’s explosive energy and commitment to music and to people.
For 28
years, Lansing’s Peppermint Creek Theatre Company has lived a vagabond
existence.
They have
moved from one theater to the next always looking for the best place to produce
their shows. They have moved from art galleries to floral conservatories to
churches to community rooms.
But despite
the challenge of adjusting to a new venue so often, founder and artistic
director Chad Swan-Badgero always managed to produce challenging plays of impressive
quality. Using amateur actors, they produced superb performances of dramas such
as “God of Carnage”, “Other Desert Cities”, “Venus in Fur”, “Indecent” and
musicals such as “Assassins,”, “Next to Normal”, “In the Heights” and “Parade”.
In the summer
of 2022 something magical happened. Tom Arthur, Pastor of Sycamore Creek Church,
with facilities in south Lansing and Potterville and ardent theater lover,
approached Swan-Badgero after a production he attended about an unusual idea.
He had recently
acquired a spacious church building on Lake Lansing Road with lovely grounds,
space galore and a central location.
Arthur looked at the facility and wondered how the space could serve the
community in addition to being a place of worship.
It’s not too
late.
One of the biggest misconceptions about the Stratford Festival in Ontario Canada, is that
it lasts only about 6-8 weeks.
The fact is you can enjoy world-class theater in beautiful surroundings from April
through October – about six months,
So, there is
still plenty of time to see many of the festival’s performances this year.
I visited in
August, its busiest month, and was surprised by the big crowds everywhere –
hotels were filled, restaurants had lines of hungry customers, and all the
plays had medium to totally packed houses. The Covid doom is officially over.
This season
offers a wide variety of plays – 13 in all - spanning all genres. The one
element of Stratford’s productions that cannot be disputed is their absolutely
stunning sets, costumes, special effects and sound systems. Everything is made
on site (wigs, shoes, armor, scenery, etc.) and no expense is spared.
The year was
1975.
Ken Beachler
(recently deceased) was head of the Lecture-Concert Series at Michigan State University.
He understood that a new concert hall was desperately needed for the future of
concerts and theater at MSU, replacing the current venue; the barn-like,
depression-era Auditorium.
After years
of discussion, the site was chosen that would later become Wharton Center for
Performing Arts, however private donations were needed to make it happen.
Beachler
wanted to plan a flashy benefit concert with big stars to kick off the fund-raising
campaign. Tony Bennett (who was at the
height of his career) along with Lena Horn were chosen to give a concert at the
MSU Auditorium followed by a gala dinner afterwards.
The tickets
were sold, Bennett and Horn were booked, and the town was excited. But one day before the big event was to take
place, a huge rainstorm which caused a “100 year flood” descended on the East
Lansing area and the Auditorium was flooded and unusable. Everyone was
convinced that the event had to be cancelled.
After some
quick deliberations, a stage was quickly built in the Munn Ice Arena (not the
perfect venue for a gala concert), and Tony Bennet and Lena Horn, unfazed by
the disruption, gave a stunning benefit performance on April 19. 1975 bringing Wharton
Center closer to reality than just a dream.
Tony Bennet,
who just died at age 96, has been back to MSU several times to perform at Wharton
Center, the hall to which he donated his talents to create.
Through the
years I have had the privilege of interviewing many great artists, but the conversation
I had with Tony Bennett leading up to his performance in 2001 was the most
memorable. We talked for a long time,
and I found him to be amazingly sincere and authentic. He was warm and
forthcoming and as the conversation continued, we were as relaxed as two old
friends sharing stories.
He spoke
about his days as a singing waiter and how he got into the music business,
starting as a jazz singer in small clubs, and now performing in huge auditoriums.
A true artist, Bennett was also a respected painter, presenting art shows in
many cities throughout the US.
Some
headlines in the press called him a “crooner”, a description I feel sells him
short. Tony Bennett was a musician of great depth. If you listen to how he
interprets “I Left My Heart In San Francisco”, his signature song, you will
hear the melodies handled with the great tenderness and nuance of a virtuoso violinist.
In addition
to his sensitivity with a lovely ballad like “San Francisco”, Bennett could
swing with the best of them with upbeat tunes. His love of the music and of performing for an
audience always shined through.
At age 60 or
so, Bennett’s career began to wane. The standards that he sang were out of
vogue, and rap and hip hop were taking over the music business. He had a talk
with his son Danny Benedetto (Tony’s real last name) who had become a record
producer. Danny was convinced that if his dad were marketed correctly, the
younger generation would “discover” the great singer.
Tony wanted
to give it a try. Danny lined up great
artists to sing duet albums with Bennett (k.d. Lang, Elvis Costello) and he
appeared on MTV with an Unplugged show. His career was reborn with gusto. He appeared on talk shows and when Frank
Sinatra retired, he passed his mantel as best male singer to Bennett. In 2014 Bennett
released an album with Lady Gaga which became a huge hit, and the two became
lasting friends.
In the last
few years, sadly, Alzheimer’s took its toll on Bennett. He was not able to
recognize most people and his memory was gone. But in a very moving “60 Minutes”
program (https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tony-bennett-and-lady-gaga-in-2021-60-minutes/Bennett),
he appeared with Lady Gaga one last time in concert, and the music miraculously
brought his brain back to life again. He
remembered all the words to his favorite songs and sang them with heartbreaking
beauty. It was a powerful display of the power of music, and of Tony Bennett’s
genuine love of performing.
Please read
the review that I wrote of his 2001 concert at Wharton Center.
Tony
Bennett just sings.
He
doesn’t write the songs, doesn’t arrange them, doesn’t play piano or guitar,
doesn’t dance and doesn’t act.
All he
does is sing.
But he
sings so well, that he captivated a filled Wharton Center on Friday night. His
magic of communication turned the Great Hall into a small intimate
nightclub. Bennett brought with him a
quartet (piano, guitar, bass and drums) that had such skill that they were able
to match the great subtlety and sensitivity he brought to each song.
At an
amazing 75 years of age, Bennett has lost little of what he had when he wowed
audiences in the 50s and 60s. In fact,
he sounds better than when he was at Wharton last. In a tribute to women singers,
he sang a shimmering version of Barbra Streisand’s “People” and he held the
final high note for an achingly long time, demonstrating impressive control.
With age,
Bennett’s voice is now a burnished bronze, but he still is able to pull every
nuance from a melody and its lyric. At times, he sang just above a whisper,
caressing each note. But the very next
tune he would belt forth with full power.
He is a
very gracious performer, giving much, well deserved credit to his musicians –
and each one was remarkable. Lee Musiker
had a silky touch on the piano but gave his solos a wonderful harmonic
spread. Guitarist Gary Sargent added the
perfect lead ins for every phrase, and drummer Clayton Cameron was an artist of
the first order. Bennett featured him on a solo using only brushes which was
stunning.
Although
Bennett has been doing this kind of gig for 51 years, it still seems fresh and
wonderful. His upbeat attitude and
personality and obvious love for life, gives his performances a warmth and
sincerity that is rare to hear. This
positiveness, however, seemed to get in the way a bit when he sang the dark
Ellington tune, “Mood Indigo”. Bennett just doesn’t seem to be downhearted
enough to sing the blues convincingly.
The
entire concert was elegant. Bennett
looked smashing in a blue silk suit.
Each musician was individually lit, and the use of light throughout the
show truly highlighted the entire experience, without getting in the way.
Bennett
has beaten all the odds. No one would
have thought that he could be at the height of his career in the year 2001 at
age 75. He has outlasted all of his
contemporaries, and in the end, he sings better than any of them ever did. Most
of the songs he sang were the standards, but he sings each one as if it’s his favorite,
with fresh energy, excitement and meaning.
Tony
Bennett is an inspiration.
There is a
certain joy to hearing outdoor concerts in Michigan during the summer. The
birds and wildlife seem to enjoy the music as much as we do, and the lack of
walls and ceilings seem to allow the melodies to reach out to the entire world,
unobstructed.
The state is
dotted with several beautiful amphitheaters, all designed for performances
under the stars. Some are small stages built in the city or county parks for small
ensembles. Others are professional facilities with sophisticated lighting and
sound systems that seat thousands of patrons.
I recently visited
one the most popular outdoor concert venues, the amphitheater at the Frederik
Meijer Garden and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids. The 1900 seat theater is so
popular that most events are sold out far in advance. The park and the amphitheater
first opened in 1995 and it has become a major tourist attraction in Michigan.
The beauty of the lush gardens and sculptures enhance the listening experience.
I attended
the Lyle Lovett and his Large Band concert in mid-June, which has performed at
Meijer Gardens since the park opened. John VanderHaagen, Director of Communications
for the park says, “It’s like Lyle Lovett is our house band. What a house band!”
When I think
of Ken Beachler, I come up with a single image.
Upon
entering Wharton Center on Michigan State University’s campus to attend a
concert, Ken was at the door to the Cobb Great Hall. He was always impeccably
dressed, had a wide gracious smile and welcomed one-and-all into “his”
house. Because he felt the Wharton Center
was, indeed, his house.
He knew most
by name and greeted each person as if he or she was the most important person
he had seen that day.
Beachler spent his entire life supporting, nurturing, performing, and selling the arts. At age 87, he died recently in his home. Ken was one of the greatest shapers of cultural life in the greater Lansing area.
A version of this article appeared in the Lansing State Journal
MORE
ORCHESTRAS THAN YOU THINK
When Michigan
State University flute professor Richard Sherman first came to East Lansing 30
years ago, he said to himself, “Boy there sure are a lot of orchestras around
here”. And he was right.
Take a 90-minute
drive from Lansing and you will find professional symphony orchestras in Jackson,
Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Adrian, Flint, Grand Rapids, Saginaw, Bay City,
Midland, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Dearborn, Rochester, Warren and Plymouth – an
amazing 15 orchestras.
And that
doesn’t count several more in other parts of Michigan.
The question is: why are there so many orchestras in mid-Michigan?
Over the
years chamber music has occupied a very definite niche. And that niche, for the
most part, is filled with string quartets.
Sometimes you’ll
hear a piano trio (piano, violin, cello) and maybe a violin/viola duet at a
chamber music concert. There are other variations, but you can usually bet that
string instruments will play the dominant role.
And for good
reason. String instruments blend seamlessly
together and the constant motion of the bow arm and the hands on the fingerboard
is always interesting to watch. Also, the music played in chamber music
concerts are usually 18th and 19th century pieces written by the
great masters.
In the last
20 years, however, the Imani Winds has re-written the chamber music dance card.
Here is a chamber ensemble that has created a unique world for themselves,
their ensemble, and their audiences.
First off,
the woodwind quintet is the most troublesome chamber ensemble to prefect. Unlike a string quartet, each of the five woodwind
instruments is totally different from one another. For a woodwind quintet to develop
a homogeneous blend is a difficult challenge.
“Jagged
Little Pill”, now playing as East Lansing’s Wharton Center, is a jukebox
musical based on the songs of singer/songwriter superstar, Alanis Morrisette.
The original
album of the same name was released in the 90s and sold tens of millions of
copies.
Writing a
compelling musical play from a record album is a challenging task. In this
case, Academy Award winning screenwriter Diablo Cody was responsible for the
story.
Although “Jagged”
is clearly a rock show, it is also a serious play. One person warned me, “It’s deep”. I wouldn’t quite agree with the words he
chose, but the show has a subject matter which demands our attention: rape,
drug use, family dysfunction, me-too, adoption, race, gender, sex – I think
I’ve got it all.
The holiday season is a time when acoustic music makes a valiant revival. It’s the one time during the year when screaming guitars and pounding drums take a rest.
Recently I was at a concert of the Lange Vocal Ensemble at Lansing’s St. Paul’s Church. Along with this excellent vocal group were handbells, pipe organ, brass quartet, piano and oboe/English horn. All acoustical instruments and there wasn’t a microphone in sight.
All the sounds of that concert were natural and unadulterated. The voices and the organ especially, blended smoothly together like the ingredients of your favorite cake. One could almost imagine the sound waves and the air all mixing together to produce a beautiful, melded cloud of music.
As I sit in
front of my 50-inch television with surround sound and access to an infinite number
of channels and programs, you may wonder: what could he possibly complain about?
After all, I
clearly remember the TV watching experience of my youth. The high-tech
equipment we owned was a 12-inch black and white TV loaded to the gills with three
channels – ABC, CBS and NBC.
All of the
shows available were from those networks and were only presented once during
the season, with some sporadic reruns appearing during the summer. After hours
(midnight to 8am or so) the TV offered only a weird graphic that was called a
Test Pattern.
TV viewing was
simpler back then and very regimented.
As Michigan
State’s Wharton Center celebrate its 40th
anniversary season, it reminds me how closely my arts and music writing history
at the Lansing State Journal is linked to the opening of that great performing
arts center.
It was in
July of 1982 that I approached Mike Hughes, arts editor at the LSJ, to see if I
could have a stab at writing music criticism for the paper.
Hughes,
always the exuberant and positive observer of the world said, “Sure. Wharton
Center is opening in September, and we don’t have anybody to cover them. You’re hired!”
I was
shocked and surprised. I approached the
LSJ a couple of years earlier but that editor pronounced my writing far too high
brow for Lansing audiences.
What I
didn’t understand by Hughes hiring me so quickly was that I would be hired as a
stringer, a free lance writer. I would
be paid by the article without any long-term contract. This translated to the
reality that any time, if Hughes or the LSJ in general, did not like my
writing, all they had to do was not call me. There was no real commitment on
the newspaper’s part – just an opportunity for me.
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After a two year, COVID-imposed respite, Ontario’s world-famous Stratford Festival is back. And it’s better than ever.
It’s better
because in an addition to the stunningly produced plays, the festival just
opened their newest theater, The Tom Patterson Theatre.
For many
years, the festival had rented a city recreational center located along the
banks of the Avon River and built a 500-seat theater inside that was
deconstructed each year to make room for badminton courts in the winter.
They finally
bought the building, razed it and built a magnificent structure that is
artistic, high tech, beautiful and functional. Completed in 2020, the new Tom Patterson
has been waiting for two years for enthusiastic audiences to fill up the glittering
space with laughter, conversation and applause.
A trip to
Stratford is always more than seeing top quality theater, It is also for taking
in the charming city itself; its lovely gardens, good restaurants,
European-looking downtown area and a picturesque river to walk beside.
It’s about
the plays and the place.
The two-year
pandemic that we are now slowly emerging from, has been stressful to many
segments of society. But one of the
hardest hit has been the arts – especially theater and classical concerts.
For that reason,
we must take our hats off in congratulations to a Lansing community theater company,
Peppermint Creek, for presenting their current production of the challenging musical,
“Fun Home”.
Even though
season schedules have been upended through Covid, artistic director Chad
Badgero was determined to hold on to “Fun Home” and present this important show
to Lansing audiences.
“Fun Home“ is
the Tony Award winning show written by Lansing native Lisa Kron (book and lyrics)
and Jeanine Tesori (music).
I have seen “Fun
Home” performed by seasoned pros on Broadway and the national touring company at
Wharton Center. But there is something very special about watching local amateurs
bringing this show to life in a church auditorium.
