By Tina Arth and Darrell Baker
Broadway Rose general manager/director Dan Murphy is a
self-proclaimed lover of revues, as any look at past seasons will attest. As
reviewers, we find that there are revues, and then there are revues. The
weakest ones often offer up a flimsy wraparound story struggling to support a
series of musical clichés. The best bring to audiences something old, something
new, and a creative flair that makes it all quite wonderful.
The current production of The World Goes Round is a celebration of the works of John Kander
and Fred Ebb (think Chicago, Cabaret,
Kiss of the Spider Woman and several iconic songs we didn’t even realize
were taken from musicals). It is quite wonderful…
Both cast and band are beautifully suited to the demands of Kander
and Ebb’s most powerful, best-known works interspersed with a less familiar
body of quaintly romantic ballads and novelty songs. Jennifer Goldsmith’s wide
vocal range allows her to open the show with a bang - she knocks “And The World
Goes Round” out of the park, and her rendition of “My Coloring Book” explores
every nuance of an already tender and visceral number. In any battle for “best in show” Goldsmith
faces fierce competition from Joey Côté, whose rendition of “Mr.
Cellophane” captures all of the wry pathos of Bert Williams’ “Nobody” – and the
staging of the number (especially the lighting and the band’s oddly appropriate
accompaniment) perfectly complements the song’s quirky and wistful tone.
The competition is just as strong in the novelty
department. The entire cast sparkles (on roller skates, no less!) in “The Rink” – a number that also highlights
the skill of choreographer Erin Shannon. Grace O’Malley’s amazing costume
design helped to make second act opener “Ring Them Bells” a comic tour de
force. Côté’s “Sara Lee” is lively, cute, and well-staged, but still possibly
outmatched by Andrew W. Foster’s hilarious posturing, and Ecaterina Lynn’s dry
delivery, of “Arthur in the Afternoon.” Foster proves that he’s got a great set
of lungs under those pectoral muscles with his seductively dynamic
interpretation of “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”
Among the songs that were new to us, the most
memorable may be “Colored Lights” (from The
Rink). Erin Charles’ poignantly restrained delivery, supported by imaginative lighting, makes this relatively
unknown gem one of the show’s highlights.
The strength of the show’s vocal ensemble shines
most brightly in “New York, New York” when the five cast members, at one point,
are not only singing harmony, they are singing simultaneously in four different
languages. Musical director Jeffrey Childs (who does double duty as the show’s
pianist) has crafted the five already accomplished vocalists into something
that is so much more than the sum of its parts!
If The World
Goes Round is reflective of the kind of musical revue that Dan Murphy wants
to bring to Broadway Rose’s New Stage, then all we can say is “bring ‘em on.”
If you love the work of Kander and Ebb, see this show. If you, like us, are not
familiar with the vast majority of their work, then it is even more imperative
that you take this chance to be charmed by an unbelievable songwriting duo.
The
World Goes Round runs at Broadway Rose’s New Stage, 12850 SW Grant
Avenue, Tigard through March 1.
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