Soprano Tynan Davis, pianist Cathy Venable and tenor Corey Trahan perform for "Strike Up The Band," at Biedenharn Garden, Oct. 15.

Back when I was attending community college in New Orleans and had my first taste of voice lessons and musical theater, I remember thinking that training to sing on Broadway would probably be easier than training for opera. After all, the expectations for vocal performance surely couldn’t be as high for someone who at the same time was also being expected to act and dance.

As it turned out, the expectations are pretty darn high, and performers are expected to be able to do it all – belt out a show tune or an aria, plus act and dance, all one cue. I did my best with it for a few years and eventually started wondering if maybe just opera training would have been simpler.

But the fact is a good vocalist usually has to be able to give Rodgers and Hammerstein the same professional treatment as Handel. Classical training, therefore, is still the foundation for this, and it often leads to some really outstanding moments on Broadway, as well as off-Broadway.

To this effect, three vocalists came together recently to show off just what operatic talent can do with songs by Cole Porter, George Gershwin and others, for a theatrically-enhanced presentation of popular music from the 1930’s to coincide with a statewide artistic tribute to The Great Depression.

The “Strike Up The Band” event was led by local favorite and tenor Corey Trahan along with soprano Tynan Davis and pianist Cathy Venable, on Oct. 15 in the Fountain Room of Biedenharn Gardens in Monroe.

The unending rain that had poured over the area for the entire week continued into this evening, and I was consequently a few minutes late to the start of the show. But I knew it was going to be good, because as I walked along the sidewalk, I could hear strong singing coming from the interior.

I made it inside and fitted myself into the only standing space left at the rear of the room, and in the direct line of sight to the performers. I felt a little awkward, but Trahan and Davis didn’t seem fazed by the strange journalist, luckily.

The show had been advertised as “theatrically-enhanced,” so I was looking for some costumes or a slideshow of show scenes, perhaps, but there was none of that. I found it to be a show-tune recital, performed by theatrically-experienced vocalists. This was quite sufficient, though, because the vocals were outstanding and gave the older audience more than enough to enjoy.

Trahan’s smooth tenor made a great base for Davis’s piercing soprano throughout the evening. They had started off well and just got better as the show moved on. I spent the first few songs putzing around with camera and video equipment, trying to get good footage of the duo, before finally being able to really listen by about the middle of the show, right around “My Funny Valentine.”

At one point about midway through the set, Trahan looked over his shoulder in the middle of a song, then lost his place and excused himself, only to return seconds later with surprise guest Louis Nabors, the voice chair at ULM, who was met with a loud round of applause before presenting us with his glorious bass on “Old Man River.” He gave this song everything it’s meant to have and really had me feeling like I was watching a very unique event. It’s not often one gets to stand just a few feet away from a voice that strong without paying for front-row seats.

Special guest Louis Nabors, the voice chair at ULM, performs for "Strike Up The Band," at Biedenharn Garden, Oct. 15.

Trahan and Davis, dressed in an off-white ball gown and tuxedo, were accompanied by the extremely capable Cathy Venable, who has served as a pianist for Broadway shows. As a mezzo-soprano also, she gave us a few solos that were perfectly placed between songs by the other two vocalists. I told her after the show that I appreciated her ability to follow the vocalists and be aware of their need to breathe, which non-singing pianists accompanists sometimes don’t take into account.

A highlight of this show without doubt was “Handful of Keys,” from Ain’t Misbehavin, sung as a trio. All three performers gathered around the piano and it looked for a bit like the two main vocalists were just there to help turn pages for Venable as she played and sang, but then all three voices joined together to create the most spontaneous and fun part of the evening. They nailed the timing on this and looked like they were having such a great time that I wanted to join in. Davis hit some very comical high notes, as well.

I really appreciated Trahan’s ability to sing softly for one of my favorite songs, “What’ll I Do,” by Irvin Berlin. It’s so easy to overdo this one, but Trahan kept it at an even keel and took advantage of the small space to show off some dynamics.

Soprano Tynan Davis, pianist Cathy Venable and tenor Corey Trahan at "Strike Up The Band," at Biedenharn Garden, Oct. 15.

Davis countered this once or twice later by singing full volume without the microphone. I was glad she made a move away from the mic temporarily — she didn’t need it, and she used the freedom to really belt some high notes on “Anything Goes.”

The most theatrical moment of the evening was held for the last, as Tynan and Corey shifted into acting mode for selections from “Oklahoma!” They played this off of each other with southern accents and some really amusing expressions, and gave us all something to look forward to if they should ever decide to perform together again.

The audience of over 80 people showed their appreciation with a standing ovation, and the trio of performers then invited all to sing along with “God Bless America,” after which everyone gathered in the reception room for a brief meet-and-greet.

For more information, email info@bmuseum.org or call (318) 387-5281.

Strike Up The Band from Eric Lincoln on Vimeo.

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Rain knocked out the end-of-day crowd at the Columbia Art and Folk Festival in Caldwell Parish, Oct. 10.

This post includes reviews on the Columbia Art Fest,  Doyle Jeter at the Masur and Robin Hood with the Young Troupe at Strauss Theater.

My first point of interest was the 54th Annual Columbia Art Folk Festival in, of course, Columbia, La. I’d post a link to the festival’s website, but there ain’t one. I drove just over an hour from Rayville with my nine-year-old, Nika, to go check out the festival. Given the location, I figured this would be more of a crafts and food event, and I was right. By the time we arrived at about 3pm, the day had turned gray and rain was spattering the street. Since the fair only went until 5pm that day anyway, a few vendors had already begun packing up, and the remaining bands were canceled.

That didn’t stop us, though. We put up our hoods and marched right in and took a quick glance down both directions of the street to see what was up. The whole fair runs about four blocks or so right down the center of the town, which has about 10,000+ folks according to Wiki. I imagine this festival is a pretty big deal for the locals, particularly since it’s been going on annually for half a century.

Jack Thompson works on an Adirondack chair.

The crowd had cleared out but we were able to talk with a few remaining vendors such as J.V.Crain of Crain’s Wood Designs, and also Carmen Head and Tonyah Meredith of Bella’s Boutique. (Again, no online links that I could find.) These folks were sticking it out until the end, which was lucky for me. I was really fascinated by the woodwork by Crain. He took the time to explain to me how his beautifully smooth and tri-toned bowls are crafted. At the Bella’s Boutique tent, which looked like a gypsy encampment with all the tinkling jewelry and clothing billowing about in the breeze, Head and Meredith told me that they were excited about opening their new store in Columbia because there aren’t otherwise a lot of places to shop there for hand-crafted clothing.

Tonyah Meredith, Carmen Head, and Johnnie Fallin of Bella's Boutique at the Columbia Art and Folk Festival in Caldwell Parish.

Other parts of the street were likely a little more enticing when they were busier. There were food tents selling selections such as pork skins, seafood gumbo and beignets — I could go for some of those right now, actually — plus craft tents with more selections of clothing, small home decorations and furniture. I saw one tent that had some some paintings from a small local art guild.

Avery Bailey, five, hangs out at the end of a rainy day at the Columbia Art and Folk Festival.

There was a pleasant atmosphere around all this despite the light rain. I had the feeling that the festival was probably the only thing happening in the area and pretty active during its sunnier moments. I caught a few shots of kids goofing around, plus one of a very cute little girl under an umbrella, which was a nice way to wrap up the trip. I’d run down there again next year if I’m still around, and would take both my nine-year-old and my four-year-old girls with me. I think they’d enjoy it.

And now, onward …

The Masur Museum hosted a talk with local artist Doyle Jeter on Oct. 13. The rain continued bearing down on us all this week, and this evening’s event found me driving the entire distance from Rayville to Monroe in a sleet, then dashing from my car into the back reception area of the Masur just after 7 p.m. to catch Jeter’s talk. I wasn’t sure what exactly he was going to be talking about, but I had a few people tell me I should catch him, so there I was. My ex-wife, Anna, is a painter and was also there with our four-year-old, Emma, who commandeered my notepad and pen to keep herself occupied. I kept having to take it from her to write notes, which became scattered between her pen images of angel people.

Emma's masterpiece. Note the freehand style. The carefully placed rosy cheeks. Genius, really.

Printmaker Doyle Jeter talks with a viewer.

Gaining some quick background on Jeter, I picked this up from the Masur’s site:

Doyle Jeter is founder of Enoch’s Irish Pub, the Eye-20 Group, the 10/20/40 Group, and the Northeast Louisiana Celtic Festival. He has a master’s degree in printmaking from New Mexico Highlands University, and his work can be found in private and public collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His most recent printmaking project is three editions of prints by Lynda Benglis. Works from this collaboration will be on view at Arender Gallery starting October 1.

Work by Lynda Benglis and printmaker Doyle Jeter at the Masur Museum, Oct. 13.

I didn’t know anything about printmaking as an art form, so I was curious to see what Jeter was up to. Printmaking … that’s like screenprinting or something, ya? Or printing photographs? I know all about that. Well, it turns out that it’s none of the above. I’m still not entirely sure I understand it, and I may look up more about the process later if I have time between this blog and everything else, but for now, and after Jeter’s talk, I know that it’s an incredibly time-consuming process that nets the artist one, unique image on paper or canvas, or whatever medium he or she chooses. And it’s time-consuming, as in 40 to 60 hours to create one piece that looks, to my photographer’s eye, like a photograph.

I was a little flabbergasted at the idea of spending that much time on one image. I spend my days shooting and sorting through hundreds, if not thousands, of “prints” of my own. But printmakers such as Jeter would likely be just as taken aback at any close comparison between photography and printmaking. I was comforted to read the Wiki description of the difference, though, which says the printmaker creates not a “print” but more of an “impression.”

This fits with what Jeter explained to the crowd of about 40. We all listened attentively as he told us many stories of his youth and upbringing in different parts of the world, his time in college, and how he came into art, and his thoughts on it, and some more stories of his family and trips he had taken. Jeter said he feels at home here, as well as in New York, Ireland and Puerto Rico, having spent various times of his life in those places.

“Music played a big role, too,” he said. “I remember my mom dancing the flamenco in the house with a rose in her mouth … I think everything that happens in life goes right into your art. The themes come back around.

“Art isn’t the critics or what people say about it. It’s sitting in your studio creating and reaching that moment, that spark of life, when you suddenly know you’ve hit it.”

He spent a few minutes explaining his technique for printmaking, using three pieces of his work as examples, and then spent his remaining time talking about a fourth piece he included from Lynda Benglis, an artist he has great affection and respect for, and who he worked with for some time. As he put it, this is a woman who, even in her sixties, can simply come along and strike at a canvas with a green crayon, and create a masterpiece.

Given the time involved in crafting one single print via the printmaking method, I’m not inclined to take it up myself, based on what Jeter discussed. But there’s something to the physicality of it that I appreciate. As a photographer, I don’t get my hands dirty in the art — there’s no steel to melt, paint to splatter, wood to carve. It’s all visual. In that respect, as I listened to Jeter talk about working “in the dirt,” so-to-speak, with Benglis, I envied the realness of what he experienced, as opposed to the digitized art form I now work in.

I spoke with Jeter afterwards for a few minutes and found out that he’s the founder of the annual Celtic Festival in West Monroe. I’ve been planning to see this festival since I first heard about it, so it was neat to meet the fellow who started it.

The Sheriff of Nottingham gets waylaid by gypsies.

That’s that … next was the Young Troupe’s performance of an energetic and updated version of Robin Hood at the Strauss Theater.

I’m planning to videotape a performance of this for the theater, and also to put a few clips on ArtNELA. Before I can do that, I have to know my cues, so I went to check out the student performance at 11 a.m., Oct. 21.

I was surprised at the energy of this gang of about forty or fifty kids, and even more so at the ability of director Steve Barton to corral it all into a show that wants to leap off the stage and into your lap but manages to keep itself just barely in check. Also, I expected quietly-voiced dialogue by shy kids, but heck no, for the most part these guys and girls fairly shouted their lines to the audience of school students and received a good deal of laughter and applause in return.

The age range of the performers goes from about six to seventeen.

There is a large cast and so much general running about in this show that it’s impossible to take it all in, but the leading actors and actresses do a fine job of keeping the attention where it belongs. Beaux Coleman as Robin Hood seems to be enjoying himself immensely both as a character and an actor, and milks his multiple introductions, which each come with their own soundtrack. Dialogue from his arch-enemy The Sheriff of Nottingham, played by Nathaneal Medlin, is offered with a nonstop, conceited ridiculousness that becomes really, really, really funny simply by virtue of its boisterous continuation. His endless, high-pitched and very unexpected yelp as he discovers Robin in the forest had the kids roaring in laughter.

The hippies go transcendental on Robin Hood at the Strauss Theater, Oct. 21.

A nod goes to Katherine Klagholz for her role as everyone’s favorite maid in distress — at least until she wallops Robin to both sides of the stage and back — and to Maddie Snead, who was very articulate and convincing as the dancing, accented Gypsy who leads the Sheriff temporarily away from Robin, and to Jacob Branson for his appropriately whiny role as the Sheriff’s sidekick, and also to Alyssa Leader who gave us just as spirited a performance as we saw from her in her minor role in Strauss’s Modern Millie recently.

I was quite amused at the shenanigans of the cast overall, as they came into and out of the various scenes, usually with a great deal of running or shouting, but never out of control (an important point). It seemed to me that Barton decided to just favor the group’s energy over the possibility that kids might trip over themselves and come crashing down the stairs at some point while entering from all corners of the theater. I think this was the right choice. The activity and energy really added a lot to the event and gave all the kids in the audience an endless amount of enjoyment, while also keeping the cast very involved physically, a necessity for youth productions.

On more than one occasion, for instance, cast members on stage would point in fright above the audience, and sure enough, the sheriff’s posse would come charging right down from the upper level, or a crowd would come barreling in from the wings. A well-chosen rock music soundtrack overlaid this occasionally, but not too loudly.

There is an amusing turn, too, from a small group of hippies that seem to have time-warped into Sherwood Forest.

The set never changes but serves its purpose well by allowing lots of room for the kids and few distractions, while also giving the audience an idea of three separate locations that include the facade of a two-towered castle. Music that overlaid various scenes was occasionally so low that it just sounded accidental, but I preferred that to the alternative, and otherwise I had no problem either hearing the kids or the music at the right moments.

Director Steve Barton talks to the audience after the Oct. 10 performance of Robin Hood.

No Robin Hood production would be complete without some swordplay and general ruckus. The choreography here between Robin and the Sheriff is handled excellently — adults can see there’s little danger of the kids getting hurt, and at the same time, it’s actually a little frightening to see them going at it and throwing themselves around. The ensemble even gets involved in the mayhem toward the end, and it looks like a  giant barroom fight, then everyone stops and, of course, Robin emerges victorious with a glaring grin. The whole bit made me remember bouncing crazily on a trampoline with my friends as a kid, pretending to be karate experts and doing back-kick somersaults. Fun and a little nutty, really, is what it was — and that’s what this show is.

Recommended for kids, for sure, I’d say six-years and older. I’ll be taking my nine-year-old to see it this weekend.

For info, call the theater @ 318-323-6681.

Next post on ArtNELA: “Strike Up The Band” at Biedenharn Gardens brings in some class-act voices for a tribute to Great Depression-era musicals. Catch the article, photos and video here shortly, as well as in the Nov. issue of Delta Style.

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Co-stars Elizabeth Bennett and William Tatum.

I was waiting as patiently as possible for the new season at Strauss Theater to begin. I had missed the last one, and all the ones before that, because I only just moved up to the Monroe area late last year. Strauss is obviously “the” theater in Monroe, so I had my hopes up ever so slightly that I would discover a gem in the same manner as Le Petite in New Orleans, or Rivertown Repertory in Kenner, La. I had performed myself at both of these theaters in the past, and seen a fair number of shows, too, and can say that they are “the” theaters in that area, if you want to see the best productions.

At any rate, since the Strauss Theater seemed to be the only game in town for Monroe, I figured it either had to be really good, with a lot of local support and enthusiasm, or it would just be a slacker theater with lackluster productions that got by simply because they were, again, the only game in town.

So, I just saw the season opening, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and whoopee baby, it turns out that the Strauss Theater is really good.

Flappers, fer real, on stage at Strauss Theater.

Having come almost a year ago from probably the most theater-saturated city in the South, I’ll admit to some desperation right now to see live theater. I would have been happy with even a fair-hearted attempt at this show, really. But the crew at Strauss showed me such a good time that I’m still laughing about some of it two days later.

Some of the community shows I’ve been to elsewhere are met with a mass exodus at intermission. Even the lavish productions at Tulane Summer Lyric don’t always hold an audience.

That’s something this show doesn’t have to worry about in the least.

The opening number, “Not for the Life of Me,” from Elizabeth Bennett as Millie Dillmount, captured my attention in a big way and really gave the rest of the show something to live up to. Bennett’s voice has that classic Broadway sound, sharp and bright and enthusiastic, handed over with a giant, I’m-giving-it-all-I-got smile. She completely set the tone for the next two hours. Her second act solo, “Gimme Gimme,” was a real show stopper, too, and she gave it just as much energy, if not more, than her opening number.

I'll be checking out the movie soon, since the stage show was so much fun.

The youthful chorus jumped in with Bennett pretty quickly for “Thoroughly Modern Mille,” and thankfully had the stage space to show off the colorful costumes by Marcy and Mary Hall, and some spins, parades, and well-rehearsed choreography by Shawnee Corbin, along with a powerful, polished group voice that filled the room. I was hooked and held my breath in hopes that the whole show was would go at this pace.

Hats off to set designer Scot Baronet for his enjoyable 3D scenes of New York which gave some depth to the stage and went well with the roll-on office furniture. I liked Millie’s use of the office desk as a sort of comical way to scoot around the stage without actually standing up. I also thought the roll-on window ledge was effective, and kudos to Bennett and William Tatum, as Jimmy Smith, for being sure on their feet and their vocals during their ledge-top dance number, “I Turned a Corner.” Tatum, for his part, was well suited as the romantic interest for Millie.

Cast members from "Thoroughly Modern Mille" at Strauss Theater, Sept. 20, 2009. Left to right: Laura Sidders, Amy Medlin, Samantha and Lauren Matherne, and Gayle Frck.

The Hotel Priscilla scenes were a riot, with Jeanine Patton as Mrs. Meers and Josh and Jacob Branson as Ching Ho and Bun Foo. Mrs. Meers, as if her makeup wasn’t enough, had an appropriately rough and twangy Japanese accent to match her later exposure as a wannabe actress, and her “oh, wee-whee” take on “oh, really,” got a laugh on more than one occasion. The brothers performance of their very unexpected Japanese-only duet, a reprise of “Not for the Life of Me,” was hilarious. We kept expecting them to start singing in English, but the fact that they didn’t made it all the funnier, as they just kept going in Japanese or whatever it was, and playing it as though we understood every word.

A song between these three later, “Muquin,” is the closest I’ve ever come to actually watching a really good Saturday Night Live skit, live on stage, from back in the day when SNL was sincerely funny.

The early duet between Bennett and Lauren Matherne, as the petite Miss Dorothy Brown, made me think of the impeccable match-up of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in Wicked. Their voices went together perfectly and they had the smiles and characterizations to match. I couldn’t get enough of either of them.

Melissa Tucker turned in a good, hard-nosed role as Miss Flannery, and she pulls off one of the funniest lines in the show–“my family is known for our elbows,” which I’m laughing at again as I write this.

Gayle Frick deserves a note also for her exceptionally well-sung role as Muzzy Van Hossmere, the classy lounge singer who gives Millie a shoulder to lean on.

From left: Sarah Keyes, Schylar Berry and Allison Tugwell.

Possibly one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen on stage happened during the second act between Matherne and Troy Wold, impeccably cast as the pretentious and sporadically soused boss-man Trevor Graydon. One moment, Wold is dictating to his new stenographer, and the next–and I mean this happened in a blink–he launches into a scene right out of the recent movie, Enchanted, where he is smitten by the blinding beauty of Miss Dorothy and has no other way to express it except through SOOONNGGG!  His delivery was absolutely on target as he stood there with hand-on-heart, and Matherne’s reaction as the lovestruck hummingbird was perfect. The audience was in stitches, watching these two swirl and bound around the stage in ridiculous, squealing, musical bliss.

I was impressed with the “The Speed Test,” which had Millie surrounded by a set of office workers clad in alternating colors of stockings, and everyone tapping at the speed of typing as Millie did her best to maintain her new job as Graydon‘s stenographer.

The music director and choreographer deserve a hand for the excellent dancing and choral parts, which were a good leap better than I had prepared myself for. Getting a chorus together vocally is a challenge, but this group made it look easy, and I was constantly impressed with how big they sounded. I even wondered if they weren’t being embellished by a light overlay of vocals on the recorded music. I don’t think that was the case, however, and it was all the more impressive to listen to them sing as they danced and even did flips here and there.

From left: Morgan West, Charity Wilkins, Jacob and Josh Branson, Amy Medlin, Beaux Coleman and Nathanael Medlin.

I especially appreciated this chorus and that they stayed active during their scenes that were shared with the leading roles. It’s easy to waste an ensemble and have them stand stock-still, but this group added a whole new dimension of realism and production, especially during the Tie-One-On Club party scene and “The Nuttycracker Suite,” and also “Long as I’m Here with You.” They were an integral part of the dancing and acting, extremely energetic, and also kept life in the scenes by interacting as groups in the background while the leads moved into solo parts. I constantly had my eyes going from one part of the stage to another trying to catch all the activity, and was never disappointed.

Overall, the ensemble parts were impeccable and gave me all I could have asked for, and more. Fairly often, the energy of a local theater group can far outshine the road-wearied repetition in a large, traveling Broadway show. I haven’t seen the road version of this show, but it would be tough to outmatch the gusto this cast gives it.

Director Jon Baccarini with Jeanine Patton at "Thoroughly Modern Mille" at Strauss Theater, Sept. 20, 2009.

Director John Baccarini did a wonderful job casting the roles and has managed to find the perfect pacing. It might actually help that they’re using a recorded CD for the music rather than a live band, since this forces the speed to stay where it should, at least musically. But Baccarini never lets the cast slow down, even during scenes where you might forgive it, and this alone does wonders to keep things interesting. There’s an awful lot going on backstage, I’m sure, what with ensemble costume changes and complete walls of scenery dropping down from the ceiling, but we’re kept blissfully in the dark, so to speak. I was surprised at how much happened and how quickly, without some sort of major screw-up.

There were a few flops here and there, of course. The lights went out for a few seconds during the window ledge scene, but Bennett and Tatum wisely kept going and didn’t seem fazed by the interruption; also, I’m pretty sure there was a moment during one of Bennett’s office scenes when a verse of music got skipped, or something odd, but Bennett did such a nice job of looking busy that she made it through this without much damage, and jumped right in with her two toe-tapping chorus girls at her next opportune moment.

This was evening of theater well-spent. Baccarini has it all polished it to an enjoyable and highly entertaining musical, while also leaving room for his cast to convey that footloose, and thoroughly modern, 1920’s feel.

You can still catch this show, Sept. 24-27. Call 318-323-6681 for reservations.

The Strauss Theater’s next productions are Barefoot in the Park in November, and The Adventures of Robin Hood for children in late October.

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Show goodies: a program, DVD and magnet.

BASTROP, La. 6/8/09 | Published in Delta Style Sept. 2009

I spent the last two days trying to re-create this blog on its own domain, and miracle of miracles, I have figured it out at last. Welcome to the self-hosted, official new location. I’m also working on graphics and video. Hopefully those sections won’t take long to put up.

I said earlier that I wasn’t an art critic, but maybe I am, just a little. So here’s an overdue rundown on Jekyll and Hyde … the performances ran for two weeks in July at The Rose Theater, a quaint place in Bastrop, La., where they even have a lighted, scrolling marquee across the front, a classic addition that I haven’t seen often. Something else they offer is free refreshments during intermission. I saw that and started wondering if I had crashed a private party. This is small theater, of course, but with these special touches, it’s obvious there are people who care about its welfare. I’ve seen a lot of community theaters come and go, so it’s nice to see one that’s thriving.

I spoke with the director, Hal Robinson, just before the Saturday performance on July 25.

“The idea to do this show actually came up about five years ago, but we’ve only just recently been able to do it,” he said. “It’s not the kind of show we normally do … It’s taken about three months of preparation, the cast was chosen only about eight weeks ago and we’ve been in production since. I think people have been surprised by how good it is. The voices are outstanding, and we have a great cast.”

A partial cast shot following the July 25 performance of Jeckyll and Hyde at the Rose Theater, Bastrop, LA.

I was happy to see the show for myself. Though I was late getting a reservation, the theater granted me a comp ticket in the balcony. It’s an area that just doesn’t get the same attention as the lower levels; in this case, it meant being in a glaring spotlight from the keyboardist’s music stand about ten feet away. This was a distraction and a blessing–it killed the dark-theater ambiance, but provided lots of light for me to write notes. The keyboardist and single source of music, Charles Fricke, was really on top of his game though, and I appreciated his timing and attention to the dialogue during the show. Live music really makes a tremendous difference.

The chorus is always a part of any musical that I’m curious about, because I’ve been a part of them myself so often. It’s easy to forget when you’re in a crowd that you are just as unique and visible as a main characters onstage. This show had a chorus of about twenty people that was too big for the stage but they handled it well. The highlight was their sound, which was more than I expected and surprisingly well-mixed–credit to the sound engineer, Randy Norman, and the vocalists, because it all worked together, and there were times when the soprano and tenor voices really stood out at just the right moments and at a perfect volume.

Actors Tony Bales and Kathy Marquis in the lobby after the July 25 performance of Jeckyll and Hyde.

The choreographer, Aleta Eley, played it mostly safe with the chorus, and there were highlights such as a full split by one young chorister, and a nicely-posed pyramid at the end of “Murder, Murder.” She introduced some fight action during Hyde’s first murder scene with the Bishop of Basingstoke, played by Steve Barton–the poor fellow–and both actors played this with a good amount of rolling around and physicality. I occasionally wanted to chorus to be more active in various scenes, but there’s always a fine line between them being involved or taking over, particularly in a small theater.

Costumer Marcy Hall obviously put a lot of attention into obtaining or creating period clothing, and saw that everyone knew how to wear it. The bear coat on Hyde during the second act was impressive and made him look three times larger than life.

Leading man Victor Fricke, whose son and father were also members of the cast and crew, gave an excellent turn as Jekyll/Hyde. My impression of him was that of a preacher at the pulpit, begging his followers to believe in him, and as the show moved ahead, this character was the perfect backdrop to Hyde, whose altered appearance quite literally made me a little jumpy. It seemed that fella might get out of hand and start roaming the theater once he was done with the cast. The change from Jekyll to Hyde was really no more than a change in breathing, posture and voice, plus a generous explosion of natural long hair, but Fricke made it totally effective. He managed to get a laugh, too, by slouching over his lab notes and quipping with a sly glance to the audience, “Four-o’clock … and all is wee-e-ll …” while it most apparently was not.

Fricke’s vocals were authentic and strong, and backed up with confidence by the supporting characters. I enjoyed that Fricke really gave it his all a few times, such as “This is the Moment,” and these efforts were likewise applauded by an audience that was especially responsive throughout the evening. There was also a vocal quartet near the end of the first act that received a well-deserved round of applause, with Fricke as Jekyll, Donna Edwards as Emma, Toby Otero as Sir Danvers Carew and Russell Givens as Jekyll’s lawyer, G. J. Utterson.

Charles Fricke plays a bank of keyboards for the July 25 performance of Jeckyll and Hyde at the Rose Theater in Bastrop, LA.

I think I have all that right … the program for the show didn’t feature a scene list, for some reason, so I’m having to go back and forth between my notes and the Wikipedia version to figure out who went where. There were a number of too-long breaks between scenes where a full program might have given fidgety audience members something to read while they waited.

The set was a sparse red floor with four red posts for the first few scenes, and I was happy to see some very nicely detailed pieces roll on later. I really loved the laboratory cabinet, which featured flickering colored lights, a wide selection of beakers, tangled tubes and a real gas lamp. This gas lamp, it turned out, had a higher purpose: it was the catalyst for the entire front of the cabinet to flame up at the end of “Obsession.”

The Rose Theater, Bastrop LA

Crew member Moe Marquis, who built the gas piping for the set, told me that getting the flames to work required someone to be standing near the gas line with a lighter in hand, ready to go. I couldn’t tell that there was anything so straightforward going on during the show, though, and the couple of times that flames appeared, it just looked like Hyde had shot them there out of his hand with a spectacular flourish.

Actors Toby and Dana Otero in the lobby after the July 25 performance of Jeckyll and Hyde.

Outdoor scenes were implied via projected images on the back wall. This would have been aided by some London fog pumped in from the wings, though it might have just obscured everything.

I also enjoyed Mr. Stride, played very confidently by Tony Bayles; Dana Otero as the Madame, who was blessed with some welcome one-liners; and Matt Wilkens as the very scary Spider, who I have written in my notes as “Dark Pimp.” I didn’t know who he was at the time, and that was the best description I could think of. Also, Poole, Jekyll’s butler, played by Roy McCoy, was about as close to a living Igor as I’ve seen, though I couldn’t be sure if he was trying to be amusing or if it was just coming out that way.

Larua Ulrich gave us everything we might have expected out of Hyde’s tortured female interest, Lucy Harris. Her voice was rich and matched her corsetted, hourglass, lady-of-the-night character. Ulrich later told me that she had wanted to play the role since she was ten years old. I had fun watching her pull off her sassy solo during her intro at the Red Rat pub, then the change into some of her softer songs such as “A New Life,” and felt like I had gotten to know her by the time she was sliced and diced by Hyde at the end. Ah, it’s just a fake knife, right? Because that scream sounded real.

The show needed to pick up the pace from the first act, and Hyde whacking his way through bodies in the second act definitely sped things up. By the show’s nature, the most dramatic scenes were entirely Hyde’s. Watching Hyde and Jekyll face off during “Confrontation” was fascinating and must’ve taken quite a bit of solitary rehearsal on Fricke’s part.

“I’d do this kind of thing more often if I had the time,” Fricke told me later. “It’s so much fun.”

Special thanks from me to the cast members who passed along a memento magnet and the DVD. I’ll post a video from that soon.

The Rose Theater’s next production is Alice in Wonderland, Aug 7, 8 and 9.

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