"Some Enchanted Evening" at Artistry

From Oklahoma! to The Sound of Music, composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II collaborated on nine musicals written for the stage, plus one for TV and one for film. A few of them were forgettable flops, but among them are some of the most enduring musicals of the 20th Century. In their less than 20 years of writing musicals together, they reinvented the form. This holiday* season, Artistry is paying tribute to their work with the lovely musical revue show Some Enchanted Evening. With no spoken dialogue, five talented performers tell the story of a group of people stranded at a cozy bar during a snowstorm, entertaining each other (and us) by singing songs. It is, indeed, an enchanting 70 minutes or so, and a great way to close out 2023, with five final performances this Thursday through Sunday.

2018 NYC Trip: "Carousel" at the Imperial Theatre

Show*: 2

Title: Carousel

Location: Imperial Theatre

Written By: Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein (book and lyrics)

Summary: A gorgeous new revival of the 1945 dark but beautiful R&H classic musical about the troubled carousel barker and the woman he loves.

"The King and I" Broadway Tour at the Orpheum Theatre

Last night I finally had the opportunity to see the one musical of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Big Five that I hadn't seen - The King and I, the Tony winner for best musical in 1951. The national tour of the 2015 Broadway revival (also a Tony winner) has landed in Minneapolis for the week, and it's a gorgeous production. Another beautiful Rodgers and Hammerstein score, played by a big and wonderful pit orchestra, luscious costumes and impressive set, and a talented cast that includes the most Asian-American actors I've seen on stage since... Mu Performing Arts and Park Square Theatre's production of Flower Drum Song (another R&H musical) last month. While it's pretty old fashioned (it's not the most feminist piece and suffers from the white savior complex), it is a classic, beautifully presented, and makes for quite the luscious feast.

"Flower Drum Song" by Mu Performing Arts and Park Square Theatre

The crown jewel of Mu Performing Arts' 25th Anniversary season is their gorgeous production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song, with an updated book by Tony award winning playwright David Henry Hwang (who was in attendance opening night). A co-production with Park Square Theatre, it features a fantastic cast of 17 local Asian American actors (many of whom have grown up with and been trained by Mu), a timely story of immigrants in America, beautiful design, and a classic Rodgers and Hammerstein score played by a sparse and lovely five-piece onstage band. It's a production that is made possible because of Mu founder Rick Shiomi's decision to start an Asian American theater company in Minnesota 25 years ago, and the Asian American art and artists that Mu has supported and fostered over the past 25 years.

"South Pacific" at the Guthrie Theater

"Are we just as naive in America, even today, as we stand at the global altar, concurrently rejecting and embracing new faces? In our national mind and on our conscience we can hear the first three notes of South Pacific heralding again and again the foreignness and the familiarity of what we face, the potential and the risk. If music can store energy, it can release it."

Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1949 musical South Pacific is undoubtedly a genius musical score and a sweeping romance. But as the above quote from composer Adam Guettel (grandson of Richard Rodgers) indicates, South Pacific is so much more than just a pretty musical, and was truly ahead of its time. It told a story of interracial relationships 20 years before Loving v. Virginia abolished laws prohibiting interracial marriage. The song "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" is a brilliant thesis on racism and prejudice. When asked to remove the song because "it's untimely and it's not what patrons want to hear when they go to a musical," Oscar Hammerstein replied, "That's what the play is about!" Nearly seventy years later, with issues of immigration and prejudice on the daily news and in every political debate, South Pacific's themes of fear of the other vs. embracing and accepting the other are perhaps more relevant than ever. It's a perfect choice, then, to conclude Guthrie Artistic Director Joseph Haj's first season, and he does justice to this beautiful and meaningful classic with this wonderful production.

"Rodgers and Hammerstein at the Movies" at Orchestra Hall

From "the hills are alive with the sound of music" to "Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain," composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II have given us some of the most memorable and beloved melodies and lyrics in all of musical theater. Most of their creations were made into movies several years after the stage success, allowing even more people to fall in love with them. This weekend the Minnesota Orchestra is presenting a concert of excerpts from seven of their big hits, with clips from the movies shown on a big screen. As a former band geek who's normally too busy attending theater to listen to the orchestra, I revel in the chance to get my orchestra fix in when they do something theater related. It's an absolute thrill to hear this huge full gorgeous orchestra playing selections from Rodgers and Hammerstein's incredible and prolific partnership.

"Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella" Broadway Tour at the Orpheum

This is not your grandmother's Cinderella. Gone is the pretty and powerless young girl whose only goal is to marry the prince. In the updated version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (the only musical they wrote for TV, debuting in 1957 starring Julie Andrews), the would be princess is a smart, thoughtful, confident, and kind young woman who is concerned about social justice, and perhaps most shockingly, good friends with her stepsister. OK so she also wants to marry a prince, but at least there's a little more to this story. If we're going to dress up our daughters as princesses, let's at least instill in them a belief and a confidence that they can do more with their crown than just look pretty and be a bride. In 2015, the world has much more to offer girls and women than that, and it's nice to see this big beautiful Broadway musical at least hint at that. And it is big and beautiful in the grand Broadway style, with Rodgers and Hammerstein's gorgeous music played by a full orchestra in the pit, luscious costumes including some theater magic to create Cinderella's dress transformation, glorious dancing, and a perfect cast.

In the new book by Douglas Carter Beane, Prince Topher is going through an existential crisis, returned from school to rule the kingdom after his parents' death (why are the parents always dead?), but unsure and unsatisfied with his life (see also Pippin). In comes the poor and pretty Ella, who winds up at the ball thanks to her fairy godmother, and before the clock strikes midnight tells Topher about the troubles of his people and that he should do something to help him. In another change to the traditional story, one of the stepsisters is nice, and she and Ella are friends and confidantes - a lovely addition to show that friendship is also a love worth having. She's in love with the cute revolutionary Jean-Michel, and Ella arranges for him to meet the Prince and discuss the issues of the people. Topher not only listens to them just like a regular guy, he also apparently invents democracy, calling for an election for a Prime Minister to advise him on such matters. In the end, it's still about the slipper (done in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way), the love story, the wedding, and the fairy tale, but in this case, the princess saves the prince as much as the prince saves the princess.

the positively dreamy dance at the ball
(photo by Carol Rosegg)

The language used by the characters is definitely more 21st Century than Renaissance era, or even mid-20th Century, which lends a freshness to the story (they even use + instead of & in the title to show how hip and modern the show is). In addition to the sisterly friendship, another lovely addition is the idea of kindness instead of ridicule, which is refreshing in the day of anonymous internet bullying. What if we did all practice kindness, something that seems to come so easily to Ella but can be practiced by everyone if we just put a little effort into it? Even the villains receive forgiveness in the end rather than revenge.

Cinderella and her family in a happy moment of togetherness
(photo by Carol Rosegg)

In last night's #intermissiontweets (follow Cherry and Spoon on Twitter) I wrote "I wanna put on a ball gown and be swept across the dance floor by a handsome prince." True story. The dancing at the ball at the end of Act I is positively dreamy! Impossibly full skirts make it seem like the women's feet never touch the ground as the men twirl and lift them around the stage. This is only one example of Josh Rhodes enthralling choreography. The cast is pretty dreamy too - Paige Faure is an appealing heroine, Andy Huntington Jones makes a swoonworthy Prince, and both have effortlessly lovely voices. Standouts in the fantastic ensemble are Will Blum as the adorkable Jean-Michel, Liz  McCartney as the Fairy Godmother, and Beth Glover, Kaitlyn Davidson, and Aymee Garcia as the evil steps which maybe aren't so evil after all.

And then there's the dress. There are several "how did they do that?" moments of dress transformation which seem truly magical. I knew they were coming and tried to watch closely, but I still couldn't figure out how they do it. I suspect the answer is clever costume design (by William Ivey Long), the most important magic trick - distraction, and practice, practice, practice!

Maybe Cinderella represents something more than just a pretty princess bride, maybe she can be a role model for "every girl who wants to change the world she's living in," as her Fairy Godmother tells her. Either way, Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella is a sweet, funny, charming take on a classic (continuing through this weekend only at Hennepin Theatre Trust's Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis).

"Carousel" at Bloomington Civic Theatre

When Bloomington Civic Theater announced their 2014-2015 season last year, I was thrilled to see that the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic Carousel would be closing out the season. As a musical theater geek, this is one of those shows that you really must see, and I hadn't. But it turns out BCT was not my first Carousel; the Minnesota Orchestra presented a semi-staged concert of it last month. I found the music to be gorgeous and the story to be... challenging. I was happy to have another experience with the show again so soon and more time to spend with it. After seeing BCT's beautiful production, I appreciate this show even more. The music is gorgeous as performed by this spectacular cast and always fantastic pit orchestra, and they nicely handle the difficult issues of the play, namely domestic violence. There's a reason Carousel is a classic, and BCT makes that very clear.

For Rodgers and Hammerstein's sophomore outing as a team (their first being the smash hit Oklahoma!, based on the play Green Grow the Lilacs), they chose to adapt the lesser-known Hungarian play Liliom as Carousel, which was a bit of a gamble due to the darker nature of the story and not-so-happy ending. But the risk payed off; Carousel was another rousing success and ranks among R&H's big five musicals. This is the classic good girl falls for bad boy story, in which the good girl sees the best in the bad boy, and the bad boy tries to be a better person for the good girl, but ultimately fails despite his love for her. In this case the good girl is mill worker Julie Jordan and the bad boy is carnival barker Billy Bigelow. Although perhaps he's not so much bad as putting on a tough front to hide a deeply damaged soul. They both sacrifice their jobs to be together, which unfortunately does not lead to happiness for the pair. Through an unfortunate series of events Billy sees the errors of his ways and tries to make amends with his family.

Because of its themes of poverty and domestic violence, this a difficult story. But I was thrilled that BCT has cut what I see to be the most offensive and potentially damaging line, the one in which Julie tells her daughter that it's possible to be hit hard and it doesn't hurt. It most definitely does hurt when someone you love hits you, in more ways than one. It's hard enough to come to terms with the idea that even though he hits her, Billy and Julie truly love one another, without the implication that the abuse doesn't hurt. Simply removing this one line makes a world of difference, and turns a story that possibly excuses domestic violence into one that tries to get inside it and understand it in the hopes of shedding light on this issue that is as devastating today as it was 70 years ago when the musical was written, or 140 years ago when the story takes place.

And now that we've gotten the difficult part out of the way, let me rave about this cast! Firstly, our Billy, Dominique Wooten. According to his bio this is Dom's first leading role on a Twin Cities stage (although he has been sharing his talent in supporting roles at BCT and elsewhere for a few years), and I cannot think of a better debut. His voice is gorgeous and his performance of the famous "Soliloquy," covering a range of emotions and vocal challenges, is a triumph. He handles the difficulties of the role (Billy isn't really someone you're supposed to like) with grace, and brings out the humanity in this troubled man. He's well-matched in Elizabeth Hawkinson as Julie, her first time on the BCT stage. Her voice is beautiful, and her Julie is strong, compassionate, vulnerable, and completely believable. Becca Hart is also making her BCT debut as Julie's best friend Carrie, and she's a delight. Rounding out the two main couples is Joshua Smith (last year's Sky Masterson), sweet and charming and well-voiced as Mr. Snow. You really cannot ask for better leads than these four, and the supporting cast and ensemble are strong as well. Of special note is ten-year-old Natalie Tran playing the Star Keeper, a role not typically played by a child, bringing a whole new dimension to the role.

Carousel is a show that's heavy on the dancing, with the opening number being an eight minute waltz with no words that manages to convey everything about the setting and characters that you need to know. The second act also includes an extended ballet that introduces a new set of characters. Choreographer Michael Gruber and director Karen Weber nicely structure both of these segments and the cast performs the choreography beautifully, especially the graceful young Megan Carver as Louise.

If you're a musical theater fan who's never seen Carousel, like I hadn't before this year, you really must go see BCT's excellent production of this classic. And even if you've seen it before, it only gets better and richer with repeated viewing. This is a dark, difficult, devastating love story, but when Billy told Julie "know that I loved you" as the voices of the ensemble rose together in harmony on perhaps the most well known song from the show, "You'll Never Walk Alone," real tears rolled down my cheeks. That's the power of musical theater, to make you feel and empathize and learn something you didn't know before. Carousel continues at Bloomington Civic Theatre through May 17 (BCT shows have a tendency to sell out, so you might want to plan ahead - look for discount tickets on Goldstar).

"Carousel" with the Minnesota Orchestra at Orchestra Hall

One of the greatest musical theater composing teams, Rodgers and Hammerstein, had a smash hit with their very first show - Oklahoma!, based on the play Green Grow the Lilacs. For their sophomore outing they chose another play, the Hungarian Liliom, and adapted it into Carousel, which was a bit of a gamble due to the darker nature of the story and not-so-happy ending. But the risk payed off; Carousel was another rousing success and ranks among R&H's big five musicals. Shockingly, this musical theater geek has never seen the show in any form or listened to the score, an omission that is and will be corrected by two productions this spring. Bloomington Civic Theatre is doing the show next month, but first up is Minnesota Orchestra's semi-staged production of it with the full orchestra and a large ensemble cast, directed by Robert Neu. I can think of no better way to first experience this classic piece of music-theater than in this musically rich production, where the focus is on the score, which the orchestra and cast beautifully bring to life on the newly remodeled Orchestra Hall stage.

Being unfamiliar with the story, I found in it familiar bits from other works of theater. At first it reminded me of Porgy and Bess, until it turned a bit Our Town-ish in the second act, although it's also not dissimilar to Oklahoma! in some of the characters and themes (imagine if Laurey had ended up with Jud Fry instead of Curly). This is the classic good girl falls for bad boy story, in which the good girl sees the best in the bad boy, and the bad boy tries to be a better person for the good girl, but ultimately fails despite his love for her. In this case the good girl is mill worker Julie Jordan and the bad boy is carnival barker Billy Bigelow. They both sacrifice their jobs to be together, which unfortunately does not lead to happiness for the pair. Because of its themes of poverty and domestic violence, it's a difficult story, one that I have some issues with (including one particularly disturbing line in which Julie tells her daughter it's possible to be hit hard and not feel it - unacceptable), so I'm glad I have a chance to see it again next month and let it sink in a bit.

But now, on to the best part - the music! As a former bank geek (once a band geek always a band geek?), I'm always thrilled to be in the presence of an orchestra, and don't get the chance nearly enough. Our Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Sarah Hicks, sounds marvelous playing this sweeping melodic score. And the cast, comprised of mostly local talent, is a dream. As Billy, Gabriel Preisser has a gorgeous and resonant voice, and brings out every emotion in the famous "Soliloquy" song. Sarah Lawrence sings beautifully sweet as Julie, and makes us feel her deep love and pain. It's great to see so many familiar faces and voices among the supporting players and ensemble, including the always great Kersten Rodau, Paul R. Coate (overheard in the audience: "Mr. Snow has the best voice"), Kathleen Humphrey, Riley McNutt (providing a bit of comic relief as charming rapscallion Jigger), and Gary Briggle. The finale song "You'll Never Walk Alone" (which I didn't know was from Carousel, or if I did know I'd forgotten it) sends chills down the spine and brings tears to the eyes.

I'm not sure what's "semi" about this staging, other than the absence of large set pieces, which are not missed. The small set pieces (benches, crates, and darling hand-held but almost full size carousel horses) are really all that's needed to hint at the scene, with the dialogue and music and our imaginations doing the rest. There's nothing "semi" about Samantha Fromm Haddow's lovely costumes, which include the working folks' garb, a wide range of carnival costumes, and ballerina Louise's light and flowy dress with matching jacket. Nothing "semi" about the choreography by Penelope Freeh either (who also gracefully dances as Louise), with the ensemble ably performing charming group dance numbers. And the staging makes good use of the area behind and in front of the orchestra.

I now understand what all the fuss is about over Carousel, and I'm glad that this gorgeous production was my first introduction to it. I look forward to getting to know it a bit better at Bloomington Civic Theatre next month. In the meantime, if you can make it to Orchestra Hall this weekend, do so.

"Cinderella" by Mounds View Community Theatre at Irondale High School

There are dozens of community theaters in the Twin Cities metro area performing at high schools and community centers. In this relatively quite summer theater season, I decided to check out my local community theater, which is Mounds View Community Theatre, now in their 31st season. I heard great things about their production of Les Miserables last year (which I missed, in part, because I knew I was going to see a spectacular production at BCT in the fall), so I was curious to check out their production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella this summer. Unfortunately the stormy weather interfered with my plan to bike to nearby Irondale High School, but it was still a fun thing to do on a summer afternoon. The show is quite charming and adorable with several standouts in the cast. Moral of the story: get out and support your local community theater!

The musical Cinderella is unique in that it was written for TV (originally airing live in 1957, starring Julie Andrews), and only arrived on the Broadway stage last year with a rewritten book (and starring Minnesota native Laura Osnes). It tells the familiar story of the poor, hard-working, good-hearted young woman who wins the love of the prince and escapes her unhappy home to live happily ever after. I'm too old and jaded to believe in fairy tales, but even I couldn't help but be caught up in the magic of the show. The set and costumes are bright and colorful, with two-dimensional pieces designed to look like Warner Brothers cartoons, which creates an appropriate fantasy-like world. The Cinderella dress transformation is done simply and effectively and creates a moment of awe and wonder. (Set design by Robin McIntyre and costume design by Cindy Forsgreen.)

Cinderella and her Prince
(Mari Holst and Mason Henderson)

As Cinderella, Mari Holst is truly the star of the show. She just shines onstage, with her beautiful voice and natural, charismatic stage presence (plus, I love a princess with short brown hair - take that Disney!). She's well-matched by Mason Henderson as Prince Christopher (really? Christopher?); they sound beautiful together. Other standouts in the cast include Haley Garland as the Fairy Godmother and Anissa Lubbers and Erika Sawyer as the very funny stepsisters. The ensemble does a fine job, and the littlest members of the cast are the most enthusiastic and fun to watch. And, as always, I was thrilled to see and hear a large live pit orchestra (ah, if only I hadn't given up the clarinet!).

It was fun to see so many kids in the audience. Community theater is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to expose children to theater at a young age, both as audience members and performers. If you're in the Mounds View area, go check out Cinderella, playing through July 27. If not, go see your local community theater. A couple of examples: Minnetonka Theatre is doing Mame and Spelling Bee (and they're also hosting Tony winner Karen Olivo, who now lives in Wisconsin, in an auditioning workshop), and Chaska Valley Family Theatre is doing the comedy Laughing Stock. Theater is everywhere - check your local paper or community bulletin board to find it.

"The Sound of Music" Live on NBC

On Thursday December 5 NBC broadcast a musical live on TV, which hasn't been done (so they say) in 50 years. It was much more common in the '50s; e.g., Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote Cinderella for TV and it was originally broadcast live. I think it's an intriguing idea, even if something gets lost in the transmission. So intriguing that I watched it live (I almost never watch TV live anymore) and live-commented on the Cherry and Spoon Facebook page. You can read my commentary in the bulleted list below, but first, my overall thoughts on the show.

Let me preface this by saying that The Sound of Music is one of my all time favorite movies and musicals. When I was a kid back in the dark ages before cable TV or even VCRs, the 1965 Julie Andrews classic was one of the movies that was constantly on TV, so I saw it a million times as a kid and loved it. In high school, I was in the pit orchestra for my high school production of the musical, and it was such a thrill to play that familiar music on my clarinet and develop a whole new appreciation for it, as well as sit in the pit for every rehearsal and performance. Finally, I spent four months living in Salzburg studying abroad, which makes the movie even more beloved to me because of the nostalgia for that beautiful city, which I was lucky enough to call home for a short period of time. Because of all of these things, I'm extemely biased towards loving any production of The Sound of Music, and this is no exception (which doesn't mean I can't see the faults in this production, well at least some of them).

The good:

• Let's start with the best part of the show - the divinely talented 5-time Tony-winner Audra McDonald as the Mother Abbess. Obviously she sounded beyond amazing in the always-thrilling "Climb Every Mountain," but it was her acting chops that made every one of her scenes a cut above the rest. 

• Carrie Underwood has a gorgeous voice, and sounded beautiful singing these songs.
• Broadway vet Laura Benanti (previously known to me only from her recurring role in Royal Pains, a light and fun show that has the benefit of filming in the NYC area and hiring lots of theater actors as guests) as the Baroness Schrader was so effortlessly good that I was hoping for her to end up with the Captain. Which is also a bad thing because that's not the way the story is supposed to go.
• Recent Tony winner Christian Borle was an absolute delight as Max, one of my favorite characters and the acerbic comic relief in the show. He elevated every scene he was in (although he might have benefited from an in-studio audience, see below).
• Every one of the seven children playing the Von Trapp kids did a fantastic job. Great job by the casting department to find this collection of unknowns that became a family.

• The best scenes were the ones that featured the children, or these three:

• Yes the mountains and the trees looked fake, but that didn't bother me, it almost made it feel more like a classic '50s televised musical. I thought the Von Trapp family home was beautiful, with clever transitions between stages.

The bad:

• There's no way around it, Carrie Underwood is not an actor. I don't blame her, she tried her best to do the job she was hired to do, and I thought the singing part of the job was practically flawless. But when you hire a non-actor to act, you can't really be surprised when you get a stiff and emotionless performance. The most important thing in musical theater is not the music but the story. If you can't feel for the characters and become invested in the story, it doesn't matter how beautiful the music is.
• A big part of live theater is the audience, witnessing something special in the presence of others and hearing their reactions mingle with yours. The jokes and dramatic moments fall a little flat in a completely silent studio, with nothing but thin air to greet the performances.

The ugly:

• Come on, you know me, I'm not going to say anything was ugly!

All in all I think this was a successful experiment (with huge ratings), but like all experiments, lessons must be learned to improve the next iteration. I would love to see NBC do this again next year (they already have the sets and costumes and have figured out the logistics, so it's sure to be much cheaper). My suggestion for casting the leads - look no further than the other actors in the cast. Laura Benanti has played Maria on stage and proven herself in this unique genre, so I'd love to see her take on the role next year. As the captain I would cast Michael Park, who played the party guest who delivered the classic line "I'm not a German, I'm Austrian!" A veteran of TV and the stage, Michael can be funny and charming, as well as stern and forceful, and has a beautiful voice. Audra should continue to play the Mother Abbess as long as she's willing, and Christian should play Max in every production of The Sound of Music ever. And have a big casting call for the kids every year to give fresh new talent an opportunity to shine. Yes, I'd love to see this become an annual event.

So here it is, my live commentary:

• It's time! Turn on your TV, friends, The Sound Of Music is about to start, live from a studio on Long Island! It's been almost 15 years since I've seen it on stage, but before that I was in the pit orchestra for my high school production (clarinet), so we'll see how much I remember about the stage version. If I recall correctly, the show opens with some beautiful chanting in the convent.
• It's Audra McDonald! Here's an awkward stage door photo with her after The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess on Broadway last year, when I said a bunch of rambling gushing things about how much I love her. She's won 5 Tonys.

• One of my favorite lines. "Religious life is no place for the pious." "You mean the pretentiously pious."
• Carrie's a better actor when she's singing.
• It's Vampire Bill! I mean, Captain Von Trapp. I wonder how long before I'll stop waiting for his fangs to pop out?
• Did you catch that, kids? "I wasn't in the Imperial Navy." "Too bad, you could have made a fortune." 
• How cute are those kids? Fun fact: Kurt is played by a young man named Joe West, whose parents Maura West and Scott Defrietas met on the set of the dear departed soap As the World Turns, where she played Carly (and won several Emmys) and he played Andy. Maura is currently appearing on General Hospital as Ava.
• Rolf's kind of dreamy, isn't he? Until he turns into a Nazi. Don't you hate it when the guy you're crushing on turns into a Nazi?
• Here's a difference between stage and movie versions - "Lonely Goatherd" instead of "My Favorite Things." Poor Carrie, each one of those kids is a better actor than she is!
• The hilarious and talented Tony-winner Christian Borle! Perfect casting for Max.
• I have a feeling I'm going to be rooting for Elsa (Tony-winning actor Laura Benanti) instead of Maria to win Georg's heart.
• "I'm not a German, I'm Austrian!" That's the wonderfully talented and super sweet actor Michael Park, three-time Emmy winner and Broadway actor. Here's a photo of Michael and I on the set of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying a few years ago. (For more of that story, see: http://www.cherryandspoon.com/2011/09/how-to-succeed-in-business-without.html)

• Best moment of The Sound Of Music so far - Audra McDonald singing "Climb Every Moment." Chills!!
• I call a foul! In the original stage musical Georg and Maria sang a song called "An Ordinary Couple." "I Must Have Done Something Good" was written for the movie. "An ordinary couple, is all I long to be, for all I want of living is to keep you close to me. To laugh and sing together, as time goes on its flight, to kiss you every morning and to kiss you every night. An ordinary couple." (wow, that came right back to me after 20+ years)
• Response from Jennifer Eckes (who knows a thing or two about musical theater trivia, as seen in Pop-Up Musical): "I think the general consensus is that "Something Good" is the better song, much like "You're the one that I Want" always gets used in productions of GREASE since the movie. Plus it is easier for the singers to sing."
• I lived in Salzburg for four months when studying abroad, so one of my favorite parts of watching the movie is pointing out the geographical inconsistencies (e.g., if you climb the mountains outside Salzburg, you end up in Germany, not Switzerland). I went back to Salzburg a few years ago and took the Sound of Music tour and saw lots of filming locations. The church where the wedding was filmed is not in Salzburg, but a little town outside of Salzburg. Mondsee I think?
• The sets and costumes are quite lovely. The outdoor scenery looks pretty fake, but it's impossible to recreate the beauty of Salzburg in a studio!
• The city of Salzburg. Wunderschön!

• In musical theater, I think it's better to cast a good actor who's not a great singer (Stephen Moyer) than a good singer who's not a great actor (Carrie Underwood). I can forgive vocal imperfections if the emotions of the character are there, but if the character's not there, it doesn't matter how beautiful the singing may be.
• Why is Rolf still wearing shorts when they're all bundled up in coats, hats, and scarves?
• Well that's it folks, the three-hour event that was The Sound Of Music LIVE is over, and we made it through! Thanks for playing everyone, this was fun! I'll have more thoughts tomorrow, but in general I think it was a success, with the exception of the horrible miscasting of poor Carrie Underwood. And it made me realize that a big part of live theater is the audience. Without someone to laugh, applaud, or otherwise react, it falls a little flat. The highlights were Audra McDonald who sounded incredible, and Christian Borle who was just delightful as Max. The kids were all great too, and logistically everything seemed to go off without a hitch. A fascinating experiment in live televised theater. I hope they learn from it (lessen one: cast theater actors) and do it again!

"Broadway Songbook: Rodgers & Hammerstein & Hart" at the Ordway McKnight Theatre

I love the Broadway Songbook series at the Ordway. It's like a college seminar on musical theater history (perhaps like something Rachel would attend at NYADA). The Ordway's Artistic Director James Rocco plays the role of professor, lecturing on the topic and introducing songs (and even singing a little himself). The topic of the first of this season's three sessions is a big one - the popular and prolific musical theater composing teams of Rodgers and Hart and Rodgers and Hammerstein. Rodgers and Hart wrote 28 musicals together, and such memorable songs as "My Funny Valentine," "Blue Moon," and "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered." After Lorenz Hart's struggle with alcoholism and depression tragically got the better of him, Richard Rodgers found a new partner in Oscar Hammerstein. Rodgers (music) and Hammerstein (book and lyrics) went on to write some of the most influential and popular shows in musical theater history, including:

• Oklahoma - who doesn't love this show? I've seen it several times, including once at the Ordway with my favorite Duke, John Schneider, as Curly.
• The King and I - I've never seen it on stage, and only bits and pieces of the movie.
• Carousel - another one I've never seen and would love to - calling all local musical theater companies!
• South Pacific - I saw the 2008 Broadway revival starring Kelli O'Hara, Paulo Szot, Matthew Morrison, and Danny Burstein, and it was one of the most amazing musical theater experiences of my life, an all-around luscious production with a 30-piece orchestra and a huge and energetic cast singing this amazing and diverse collection of songs.
• The Sound of Music - this one is so familiar to me I almost forget it's Rodgers and Hammerstein. I've loved it since I was a kid, and that love only increased when I was in the pit orchestra for my high school production, and later lived in Salzburg for a semester while studying abroad.

Now that the self-indulgent personal reflections are over (I'm sure everyone has their own personal experiences with these musicals, which is what makes them great), on with the show. In addition to James, five talented local musical theater actors lend their voices to this amazing collection of songs, accompanied by the hardest working musical director in town, Denise Prosek. Joel Liestman has performed in every Broadway Songbook I've seen, and is joined this time by Joshua James Campbell (The Glass Menagerie), Jennifer Eckes (On the Town), Connie Kunkle (who appeared at the Ordway in last year's Japan benefit), and Kirby Trymucha-Duresky (several shows at BCT). The five singers take turns singing alone or together, highlighting many of the composers' biggest hits, as well as lesser known numbers. My favorites include:

• Rodgers and Hart's first big hit, a love song to New York City, "Manhattan," performed by Joel and Jennifer.
• Two songs from my favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein score, South Pacific, Josh's lovely rendition of "Some Enchanted Evening" and Joel's emotional "This Nearly Was Mine."
• Two gorgeous Rodgers and Hart songs that have become classics, sung beautifully by Connie ("My Funny Valentine") and Josh ("Blue Moon").
• A couple of entertaining and funny songs by Kirby - "Johnny One Note" from Rodgers and Hart's Babes in Arms and "I Cain't Say No" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma.
• Jennifer's sad and lovely rendition of "He was Too Good to Me."
• A trio by the three women, "Sing for Your Supper" from Rodgers and Hart's The Boys from Syracuse. I was fascinated to learn that "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" from Company (playing at the Ordway next month) is an homage to this song.
• One of the greatest musical theater songs ever written, "Soliloquy" from Carousel. It's such an ambitious (and long!) song with a wide range of emotions and tempos, and Josh sings it beautifully.
• A fabulous montage of favorites from Rodgers and Hammerstein's immense catalog of fabulous songs, including "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" (the first song they wrote), "Edelweiss" (the last song they wrote), "There is Nothin' Like a Dame," "Younger than Springtime," "Lonely Goatherd" (inserted for comedic effect), "Bali Ha'i," "Oklahoma," "Surry with the Fringe on Top," and "Sound of Music" (which gets me every time). Kudos to James and Denise and whoever else had a hand in arranging this medley; it very cleverly weaves together many diverse songs.

My only complaint about this show is that it's too short! It's truly astonishing to contemplate the hundreds of amazing songs that came from the collaboration between these three men. The show could go on for days! But since that's not very practical, this is a nice representative sample of their work. Broadway Songbook: Rodgers & Hammerstein & Hart plays at the Ordway's McKnight Theatre through the end of the month. Check it out if you're interested in a fun and entertaining lesson on three musical theater legends. If you don't already have tickets, call the box office. It's virtually sold out, but they might be able to squeeze you in somewhere. Get your tickets early for the January session, which features the music of Steven Sondheim.