She Loves Me Leaves Me Smitten!

She Loves Me is a story of sworn enemies turned lovers that is so sugary sweet it might give you a cavity. But when we attend the theatre, we are asked to suspend disbelief, and after twenty minutes or so you'll be swept into the charming little world of 1930s Budapest and you'll deal with the sugar hangover tomorrow. It's this season's version of On The Twentieth Century, another classic show long overdue for a revival and was also produced by Roundabout Theatre Company. In this, their 50th season, they've brought together Laura Benanti, Zachary Levi, Gavin Creel, Byron Jennings, Michael McGrath, and Jane Krakowski in this Bock and Harnick classic with Scott Ellis at the helm.

The above mentioned players work in Mr. Maraczek's (Byron Jennings) Parfumerie and things are running exactly as planned until Amalia (Laura Benanti) arrives. This charismatic salesgirls butts heads with head clerk Georg (Zachary Levi) from the moment she arrives. Little do they know, they have something very important in common. They've been writing to one another anonymously under the pseudonym "Dear Friend." While they've been hating each other in person, they've been falling in love on the page, and as we've learned from every romantic comedy, love always wins.

Highlights include Benanti's vocally virtuosic "Vanilla Ice Cream," Levi's exuberant "She Loves Me," an astutely choreographed hurricane of actors and props in "Twelve Days to Christmas," and the melodramatic "Ilona" featuring a crooning Creel and a Krakowski crash split. Speaking of Ms. Krakowski, she was born to play the comedic characters in these classic musicals and she absolutely shines in this production. If we could go back in time, I would give anything to see her take on Ado Annie or Carrie Pipperidge.

In addition to outstanding performances, David Rockwell's' set is a star. Forced perspective creates the illusion of a real Budpest street and the opening and closing of Maraczek's Parfumerie is like that of a supersized dollhouse. Appropriate words to describe Rockwell's designs as well as Ellis' staging are 'charming' and 'delightful'. This show is a welcome addition to Studio 54 and anytime we can see such a stellar cast performing the work of one of history's best composing teams, we should all be happy.

Broadway.com | See Sutton Foster as Reno Sweeney! Behind the Scenes at the Anything Goes Photo Shoot

One of Broadway's favorite darlings, Sutton Foster, prepares to play the role of Reno Sweeney in Roundabout Theatre Company's spring production of Anything Goes. In taking on this part, she steps into shoes previously filled by the likes of Ethel Merman and Patti LuPone. Tickets are available now at telecharge.com and the show hits the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in March of 2011. Foster is also joined by fellow Tony winner Joel Grey.

Broadway.com | See Sutton Foster as Reno Sweeney! Behind the Scenes at the Anything Goes Photo Shoot

My Most Memorable Theatre Experiences: #5 Everyday Rapture

I must admit that there were two reasons that I bought tickets to see Everyday Raputre. 1) My good friend is a huge fan of Sherie Rene Scott and wanted somebody to see the show with her. 2) I am a Roundabout Theatre Club Hiptix member so I got really cheap tickets. I had heard about this Sherie Rene Scott person before and while I thought her voice was good, I assumed she was just your generic Broadway belter. Also, I though it was highly narcissistic to co-write and star in your own show and actually have it come to Broadway. Nevertheless, I went to the show, expecting to hear a lot of vocal tricks and riffing and see a lot of camp.

Now we reach the point where I eat my words. My expectations were shattered within the first five minutes and I was completely enraptured, no pun intended, by this tour de force of a performer. I've written  several posts about this show already, including a formal review, so I'll post links to them. 

http://backstagebarbie.blogspot.com/2010/07/what-would-judy-do.html

I'll try not to repeat what I wrote in earlier posts, and now that its been a good four months since I saw the show, I would like to talk about my fond memories. This was a big theatre season for me as I got the chance to see my three Broadway idols, Bernadette Peters, Barbara Cook, and Kristin Chenoweth, onstage in the same summer. But as much as I adored seeing these ladies onstage, none of them gripped me quite the way that Sherie did. Patti LuPone once said that performers are most exciting when they toe the line between in control and out of control, which is the perfect way to describe Sherie in this show. She speaks directly to the audience at the top of the show, telling us she is playing a character also named Sherie Rene Scott who is 50% real and 50% imaginary. This is one of the few musicals I've seen where the book rises to match the music and two elements work seamlessly together to make a cohesive show. Being a one-act, the show moves forward and the momentum is never broken, allowing it reach a climax and eventually a point of catharsis for the audience. The supporting cast is used sparingly, making it the closest thing to a one-woman show since Liza worked the Palace two years ago. Being a singer myself, I have a great deal of respect for good belting and Sherie is a perfect example. It just happens so naturally from good breath control and projection, as opposed to those other belters (I'm not naming names) who sound like their faces are going to fall off when they go for a high F.

I could go on and on about her vocal technique and her acting skills, but what really struck me about Sherie Rene Scott, and the thing I remember most from Everyday Rapture, is how warm and giving she was. I've been to many performances where the actors phone it in, but Sherie's passion and love for the show just radiated throughout the theatre as she put every drop of herself into the performance. I went on such a journey with this character that I felt like I'd experienced a lifetime of her emotions all in an hour and a half. This show actually changed how I feel about theatre and elevated my standards of what makes a perfect musical. I made a big bold statement that Everyday Rapture was the only perfect new musical since Sunday in the Park with George. Check out my reasoning here:

http://backstagebarbie.blogspot.com/2010/09/barbies-big-bold-statement-of-day.html

Oh yeah, and did I cry? There was no eleven o'clock emotional ballad that instructed me to cry, but nevertheless the waterworks happened anyway, and it was during the final number, Up The Ladder To The Roof, an uptempo to be exact. And did I mention that song is also my ring tone? And every time my phone rings, its an Everyday memory of the Rapture.

The Barbie Award for Working Hard For The Money: Miss Sutton Foster

I decided that In addition to Breaking Broadway News, Fun Facts, and Showtunes of the Day (which I plan to keep up with daily now that my life has calmed down) I'm going to start giving out my own version of the Tony Award, which I'll obviously call the Barbie Award. Unlike the Tony Awards which are given out one glorious day a year, the Barbie Award can be given to any performer or person involved with the theatre on any given day for any given reason.

So I'm going to give out my first award, The Barbie Award for Working Hard for the Money, to the busiest lady on the boards these days.

Ever since her Peggy Sawyer-esque moment of breaking out of the chorus to become the star in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Sutton Foster has become Broadway's Sweetheart. Since then she has played featured or leading roles in shows such as Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone, Young Frankenstein and Shrek. She has also release a solo album entitled Wish.

She has been a busy gal since her jump into the spotlight in 2002, but nothing compares to this year. She is currently starring in the Off-Broadway play Trust at Second Stage and it was announced a few weeks ago that she will take on another starring role as Reno Sweeney in Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Anything Goes which lands on Broadway in Spring 2011. Throughout the fall and winter of this year and into 2011 Sutton will be performing across the country in her solo concert series. In addition, she recently performed in an Actor's Fund benefit show of They're Playing Our Song with Seth Rudetsky. And as if she is not busy enough, she is actually scheduled to perform in readings of two upcoming shows. The first is the new musical Bonnie & Clyde co-starring Will Swenson of Hair fame with a score by Rick Crom and a book by her very own brother, Hunter Foster. The second reading she plans to participate in is Nice Work If You Can Get It, a Gershwin review of sorts co-starring Matthew Broderick.

Well, I'm tired just writing all of that so I can only image how Miss Foster must feel! Get some Red Bull girl and keep that energy up...we would love to see some more Broadway hits in your future. And even though the Barbie Award is a huge honor, I'd love for you to win another Tony as well.

What Would Judy Do?

Judy, as in Garland, god rest her soul, could certainly appreciate Everyday Rapture, the semi-autobiographical story of leading actress Sheri Rene Scott. She is a devout fan of Garland and constantly asks herself “what would Judy do?” Everyday Rapture, a part of Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2010 season opened at the American Airlines Theatre with a limited engagement run on April 29, 2010 and played its final performance today.

I caught the evening show last night and I felt so grateful to have witnessed the incomparable Sherie Rene Scott completely in her element. She is known for her crystal clear belt and comedic chops in shows like Aida, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and The Little Mermaid, but who knew she could deliver such a multilayered performance? I had never seen Scott perform live and I must admit that I was skeptical. I was expecting a “Broadway belter” performance, you know the kind I’m talking about, where the singer has to do deep knee bends to get the top notes out and it looks like her face just might fall off? But there were no “defying gravity moments” here and that was quite rapturous in itself.

While Everyday Rapture is indeed a musical, it reads more like a play with music in that the book scenes tell Scott’s story and the songs add sparkle and theatricality. She is one of those very special performers who does not separate her dialogue from the music, but actually continues to act through the song. While she is a fabulous singer with impeccable control, I barely took notice of the vocal technique because her performance was so transcendent. This gal runs the gamut from light ballads on travel trunks and up-tempo numbers complete with magic tricks to Motown anthems with her back-up singers and torch songs, some even performed while lying on the floor.

While this is primarily a one-woman-show, Sherie Rene Scott is supported by two back-up singers, Lindsay Mendez and Betsy Wolfe, or as she refers to them, the Mennonettes. The harmonies created by these three women are out of this world, particularly on the final number Up the Ladder to the Roof. There is also a scene stealing performance by the 16-year old Eamon Foley who plays a crazed fan that uploads his own interpretation of Scott’s My Strongest Suit to youtube. This hilarious segment of the piece depicts Scott’s frustration as she attempts to reach out to this young fan while he refuses to believe the emails are really from her. Foley’s character really gets his idol riled up when he mentions Idina, but Scott quickly reminds the audience that this other beloved Broadway belter was in fact her replacement in AIDA. This delightfully catty comment is exactly what makes Sherie unique and electric, her quirky, and sometimes biting sense of humor.

The subject of the show is Scott’s half-Mennonite upbringing in Kansas and her road to New York City. Her idols growing up were Jesus and Judy Garland, enough said. She opens by stating that a wise man once told her to carry two pieces of paper in her pockets every day, one stating “I am a speck of dust” and one stating “the world was created for me.” She waffles between these two philosophies throughout the show as her Mennonite half taught her to feel insignificant but her other, more theatrical, half leads her to believe that she is special and has the potential to truly shine. In the end, she rips pieces of paper into tiny pieces, showering herself in confetti, as she ultimately concludes that there truly is magic in the world, and specifically in the theatre, if she can only find “it” within herself.

Ever since this piece was rumored to make the move from off-Broadway to Broadway, I have been intrigued by it, partly because I found the idea of an autobiographical show incredibly self- indulgent, and also because I wanted to know what all the fuss was about surrounding this “phenomenal” actress. So I had my doubts, and Sherie Rene Scott, a woman whose talent cannot by confined by two names, proved me wrong, and she did it in a big way. Not only was I floored by her talent, but I totally connected with her story. There is absolutely nothing self-serving about this piece and in fact, she is one of the most giving performers I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. Her story of a small town girl with a big dream and complete belief in herself resonated with me tremendously and based on the mood in the audience, I think she reached many others as well.

I found myself in tears by the final number, which was an up-tempo I must add! Maybe it was because of her character’s ultimate realization of the magic of the theatre, or maybe it was because I felt so honored to have been privy to this woman’s deeply personal story, but either way, the show struck a chord with me and pulled my emotions to the surface. I went into Everyday Rapture having never seen Sherie Rene Scott perform and I left the theatre as an eternal fan, and that is exactly what I told her when she signed my poster at the stage door.