Tag Archives: Musical Theatre West

Sweeney Todd – Musical Theatre West

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Phenomenal!!! I walked out of the theatre like. giddy fan boy!

This musical is almost tied with Urinetown as the show I’ve seen the most (I’ve seen 5 different productions of Urinetown and now 4 of Sweeney – once with Norman Large (EEEE) at Riverside Community Theatre; once with John Massey Jr directing, musical directing and starring as Sweeney at STAGEStheatre; and once at the Ahmanson with it’s Tony-award winning “artistic” rendition). Does the movie count as the fifth time? ;-D

This was hands-down one of the best large stage productions of Sweeney Todd I’ve ever seen. The set design, the lighting, the dancing, the singing, the acting – it’s all absolutely phenomenal. It’s no small wonder that the director (who has been in several productions of Sweeney as The Beadle – including the first National Tour) was able to pull this off, but even today it’s still a masterful stroke of Sondheim’s brush that this show is as rich and vibrant as it was almost 30 years ago (as evidenced on the DVD recording). The stars of the show are definitely Norman Large as Sweeney and Debbie Prutsman as Mrs. Lovett, but equal applause goes to the rest of the cast who function as Greek Chorus, assorted people of London-town, and stage hands – moving set pieces while the leads strut about giving us the play. Their vocal power and gaunt stares only enhance the dark, brooding melancholy that is Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

The Andrews Brothers – Musical Theatre West

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A most amusing musical with a 4 person cast, from the guy who brought us the The Marvelous Wonderettes (Roger Bean). Chronicling the madcap mayhem that ensues when three brothers have to double duty their stage hand duties and perform on stage at a USO show when the Andrews Sisters get chicken pox, this is a highly enjoyable jukebox musical featuring the greatest hits of Patti, Maxine and Laverne. I hate that the program isn’t in show order, but just a list of the songs used because there were some REALLY GOOD medleys that I would love to hear again (luckily the author’s website has the accurate song listings…yay!). Starring David Engel, Stan Chandler and *Patrick* as the brothers and *Peggy* as Peggy Jones the pin-up girl, the show has lots of energy and is really funny. Not to mention great music…it was torture to have to sit and listen instead of being able to dance. I highly recommend checking this show out.

The Full Monty

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I have loved this musical ever since David Sidoni (of Newsies and OCHSA fame) played “Big Ass Rock” for a warm-up at Orange County Song and Dance Summer Camp many years ago. And I’ve been waiting to see it ever since I chose not to go to the national tour at OCPAC back in 2003 (long story about surgery and not sure I would be able to sit down in a chair for that long a time). It’s been gone for 4 years! I’m so grateful to Music Theatre West for producing it!

The show is absolutely genius. I just love David Yazbek’s music and lyrics. And the story is very thoughtful as well. It deals with men not able to be men in their lives (being unemployed makes it kind of hard to bring the bread home) and finding courage to do something that not many people do…strip. It also shows people dealing with relationships and how those are built/maintained. More than anything, I absolutely loved that part of it. It’s really summed up in the song “You Rule My World (Reprise)” where Dave’s wife, Georgie (Tammi Tappan Damiano, another fabulous performer from the SoCal) and Harold’s wife, Vikki (Tracy Lore) reveal their deep love for their husbands despite the adversity (Georgie just found out that Dave is stripping and not cheating and Vikki found out that Harold’s been unemployed for 6 months and hiding it by buying expensive things).

John Bisom played Jerry Lukowski perfectly. It was especially funny to me when Dave (John Massey Jr.) called him Fabio in the song “Man” because Bisom played the Fabio character in “The Thing About Men” a couple of years ago at MTW.

John Massey Jr. is absolutely hilarious as fat b@$t@rd Dave Bukatinsky who has to deal with his obesity. And seeing the show, I never realized that while Harold (David Engel) is singing “You Rule My World” to his wife, Dave is singing it to his stomach! Kind of kills just listening to the song for me now, but that’s because I’m weird and perverted. No not like that. Jeez you guys are sick.

David Engel continues to amaze me with his versatility as an actor/performer. He’s literally the greatest thing to come out of Southern California since…I don’t know, happy cows.

So it’s not like you can see it now (I saw the last show), but I highly recommend seeing this show if you get the chance. I give an R-rating strictly for the foul language (more than 1 F-bomb means R) because the nudity isn’t really that bad. You see lots of butt and guys strutting around in thong’s, but beyond that at the very end of the show (where they go all the way) there’s really bright lights behind them eclipsing anything revealing, so unless you truly mind seeing a guy’s butt, this show is for anyone who’s ever had trouble with a relationship.