"And the World Goes 'Round" at Jungle Theater

Legendary musical theater composing duo John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote over a dozen musicals for the American stage, from their early success Cabaret in the 1960s, through their final collaboration Scottsboro Boys, premiering after Ebb's death (with a pre-Broadway engagement at our own Guthrie Theater). And the World Goes 'Round, now playing at the Jungle Theater, is a musical revue of their songs, taking its title from the movie New York, New York. Surprisingly, I've only see four of their shows (including their two most recent ones which are not in this collection), so many of the songs were new to me. It was a delight to hear the work of this talented composing team performed by a fantastic cast of seven.

There's very little dialogue or context for the songs, just one hit after another. Director John Command notes in the playbill that he learned from Liza Minnelli (Kander and Ebb's muse) "to perform every song as if it were 'a one-act play!'" He accomplishes that here, as each song tells a story, whether funny or tragic, and makes me want to see the full musicals from which they came.

the cast of And the World Goes 'Round
(photo by Michel Daniel)

Music director extraordinaire Raymond Berg leads an onstage six-piece band that sounds impossibly smooth. The whole show has a bit of a swanky, jazzy feel, including Bain Boehlke's rich set design and the choreography that's reminiscent of the original shows. The talented cast includes Bradley Greenwald (who memorably played the Emcee in Frank Theater's gloriously seedy production of Cabaret four years ago), Tiffany Seymour, Jon Whittier, Therese Walth, William Gilness, Emily Rose Skinner, and Betti Battocletti.

Highlights include:

• The title song, which is nicely woven throughout the show and occasionally serves as transitions between songs.
• A super high energy performance of the song "Coffee in a Cardboard Cup*," a song I love but didn't know it was Kander and Ebb!
• All of the Chicago songs, including and especially "All That Jazz."
• Mournful love songs were paired together and a bit overlapped, including Bradley and Bill singing "I Don't Remember You" and "Sometimes a Day Goes By," and Jon, Therese, and Emily singing "We Can Make It," "Maybe This Time," and "Isn't This Better!"
• A rousing Act I ending number "Life Is" from Zorba, which continues "what you do when you're waiting to die, life is how the time goes by!"
• Bradley's delicious performance of the title song from Kiss of the Spider Woman (calling local musical theater companies - please stage this show and cast Bradely as the lead!).
• A very funny double duet of "The Grass is Always Greener" from Woman of the Year by Tiffany, Emily, Bill, and Bradley.
• A super jazzy version of "Cabaret" featuring the entire company, unlike I've ever heard it sung before.

And the World Goes 'Round is a cleverly staged homage to two of our greatest musical theater composers, beautifully performed by cast and band - a perfectly pleasant evening of musical theater (continuing at the Jungle through May 24).


*You can get Dunn Brothers coffee in a cardboard cup at the concession stand for only a dollar - best coffee deal in town!

"All Shook Up" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

The New Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is the largest professional dinner theatre in the country, and one of the best. It has recently come under new ownership, led by long-time Artistic Director Michael Brindisi, which is committed to making it successful as a business and a theatre. I've attended just about every show on the mainstage in the last five years or so; my sister lives nearby so it's a good excuse to go visit her. While there are some shows I like more than others, they always do a great job and have a talented core group of actors, singers, and dancers. I've recently realized that the Chanhassen is like the comfort food of musical theater. And that's not a bad thing, I love my mac & cheese (just had some on a stick at the MN State Fair today!). Like comfort food, a show at the Chan leaves you feeling warm, happy, and satisified. But there's usually nothing risky or edgy, nothing that will push the envelope of musical theater (see The Scottsboro Boys currently playing at the Guthrie). I believe there's a place for that, and I hope the new Chan is successful.

Truthfully, All Shook Up is not one of my favorite shows I've seen at the Chan. It's a jukebox musical, which is not always a bad thing - my personal favorite is Jersey Boys, which has a great story in addition to all the great songs. Unfortunately the book of this show is not strong. It reminds me a lot of the last show at the Chan, Footloose (a bad boy, or "roustabout," comes to a town where dancing and fun is forbidden, and brings music back to town), with a little bit of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night thrown in (girl dresses up as a boy to get close to the boy she likes, mistaken identities and mayhem ensue). But on the plus side, the cast is great and there are some nice arrangements of all the old familiar Elvis songs everyone loves, and the cast fills them out beautifully. Rico Heisler is strong as the Elvis figure, Chad, and newcomer to the Chan Laura Rudolph, as Natalie, has a clear beautiful voice and good stage presence; I look forward to seeing more of her. Scene stealer Jay Albright plays Natalie's father Jim, and as usual, brings a little extra something to the role. He has the uncanny ability to break your heart and make you laugh at the same time! If Aimee K. Bryant (proprieter of the town hangout and Jim's love interest) was auditioning for the role of Motormouth Maybelle in next year's Hairspray, she won it in my book! Another scene stealer was Emily Rose Skinner as Miss Sandra, the woman every man falls in love with. The band was on stage which is always fun to see, and the dance numbers were fun and lively.

I'm looking forward to next year's shows at the Chanhassen - Jesus Christ Superstar (I recently saw a list of the top five rock musicals, and this was the only one I haven't seen, so I feel like I should!), and Hairspray (one of the most infectious and happy musicals, with a little depth too). Also coming soon at the Fireside Theater is I Do, I Do, which in its previous incarnation ran for over 20 years. This production stars two Chan faves Keith Rice and Norah Long, so I hope to check that out too.

So if you're looking for some good quality musical theater comfort food (and some actual comfort food too - dinner is served before the show and dessert at intermission), check out one of these shows at the Chanhassen.