"Musical of Musicals' at Walnut Studio 3 (2nd review)

Unlike satire, which comes out of anger, pastiche comes out of love. The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) is definitely the latter, so it faces the difficult comedic task of hitting its target without drawing blood. It succeeds, keeping the humor specific but affectionate.

The show comprises five mini-musicals, each on an identical theme. A pretty young thing (Sarah Gliko) can't pay the rent demanded by her slightly (and sometimes not so slightly) sinister landlord (Craig Fols, who also directed). Advice and help comes from her boyfriend/suitor/lover (Carl Clemons-Hopkins) and wise older woman (Rebecca Robbins). The fifth member of the versatile cast is Alex Bechtel, who accompanies on piano, sings backup, and provides the necessary narrative bridges (as well as serving as the production's music director).

The vignettes play out according to the plot expectations of different masters of musicals: Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Kander and Ebb. Each section features songs that evoke the target style, both melodically and lyrically, while commenting on that style in the lyrics. (Sondheim's lyrics sometimes rhyme and sometimes — don't; Kander and Ebb have a proclivity for lyrics in other languages.)

The creators, Eric Rockwell (music) and Joanne Bogart (lyrics), obviously know their Broadway history. Each piece is based primarily on one or two trademark classics but refers to the rest of the creators' oeuvres in punny asides, clever props and sly dance gestures. Musical of Musicals thus simultaneously evokes, critiques and honors its subjects, a fairly complex task for one subject, let alone five.

What makes the show such fun— and so remarkable— is its intricate construction, a necessity in a show that moves so briskly and covers so much ground. Each vignette runs about 15 minutes, with three or four songs (and perhaps a dance interlude), and then we're on to the next. The cast is all-purpose: Someone will exit in character and re-enter to provide "crowd" for a crowd scene.

The audience must do its part as well; the pianist/narrator reminds us that we're expected to applaud the star's entrances and exits in the Jerry Herman vehicle, or those of the special effects in Andrew Lloyd Webber. (We were slow to react to our first couple of cues, but responded promptly after that.)

The performers shift their singing and dancing from style to style with ease, moving from the full-bodied sunniness of Rodgers and Hammerstein to the cerebral menace of Sondheim to the contrapuntal decadence of Kander and Ebb. Both Robbins and Clemons-Hopkins possess wonderful Broadway voices, and Fols fills the role of the older heavy as if it was written for him. Oh wait, it was— Fols collaborated in the show's original production, back in 2003.

The staging was cleverly designed to make the most of the intimate-verging-on-claustrophobic space of the Independence Theater, which seats about 80 around three sides of the performance area. Like the costuming, the props were sketchy and suggestive, conveying the heart of the subject while designed for quick changes.♦


To read another review by Steve Cohen, click here.