"Make Me a Song" - A Composite Hit
This time around, TheaterWorks of Hartford achieves what many thought impossible -- staging a musical revue which is enlightening, bold, fun, adept, and thoughtful. "Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn," blazing brightly on all burners, demonstrates the positive power of collaborative theater.
There's little madness associated with the method of Rob Ruggiero, who created and directed this show. Longtime Associate Artistic Director at TheaterWorks, Rob, for several years, has been directing shows for Julie Boyd, who founded and energizes the wonderful Barrington Stage Company, which has relocated in Pittsfield, MA. Boyd has a fine eye for talent -- both on stage and off. A couple of years ago, she brought Finn and others to Sheffield. The musician and writer Rachel Sheinkin came up with "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" which moved to Broadway. During August, 2005, Boyd highlighted Finn's "Elegies." This past summer, Finn was curator of BSC's Musical Theatre Lab. Ruggiero gets around as he drives from Hartford to the Berkshires (and also finds himself flying away to guest-direct at various theaters elsewhere). Credit Rob for bringing Finn's music to TheaterWorks.
Yes, but what about the performers? All have been cast in plays either in Hartford or the Berkshires? Get it? Sandy Binion appeared in BSC shows "Elegies," "Falsettos," and "No Way to Treat a Lady." Joe Cassidy starred in "The Last Five Years" and "Master Class" at TheaterWorks. Adam Heller, in TheaterWorks' "Art" and "No Way to Treat a Lady," was part of the brilliant ensemble acting and production team which brought Finn's "March of the Falsettos" and "Falsettoland" to Hartford Stage years ago. Sally Wilfert was superb in both "The Last Five Years" and "Goblin Market" at TheaterWorks. Further stirring this creative drink is musical director Michael Morris. Based at the Hartt School Theater, he directed "The Last Five Years" at TheaterWorks. John DiPinto is at the piano and I've yet to discover John's previous linkage to either TheaterWorks or Barrington Stage. Trust me: he, too, is an asset.
Finn's musical numbers feature "Passover" or "Why We Like Spelling" or "I Went Fishing With My Dad" or "Republicans" or "Heart and Music." He looks into the AIDS epidemic, sailing, the joys, sorrows, and difficulties of teaching, breakfast.....Finn is soulful, funny, philosophical, light-hearted. He writes ballads, love songs, parodies, and spiritual melodies. He's emotional one moment, laughint the next.
Alejo Vietti, wardrober, allows the actors to dress casually -- in jeans or cargo pants, with shirts that are comfortable and appropriate. It is, as Heller (the comedian) once notes a living room atmosphere. At times, the audience is enouraged to join in song. Luke Hegel-Cantarella opens up the stage and thrusts it a bit forward so that there isn't a hint of a fourth wall separating performers from patrons.
"Make Me a Song," filled with vitality, gives one inklings of shows for which Finn has written. At the beginning of the second act, nine tunes from the "Falsetto" plays are featured. Titles like "Four Jews in a Room Bitching" (complete with doors that open and shut), "The Baseball Game" and "Unlikely Lovers" mark this sequence as an unforgettable highlight.
This one closes in two weeks and I highly recommend, dear reader, that you find your way to the basement theater in Hartford. This is terrific stuff.
There's little madness associated with the method of Rob Ruggiero, who created and directed this show. Longtime Associate Artistic Director at TheaterWorks, Rob, for several years, has been directing shows for Julie Boyd, who founded and energizes the wonderful Barrington Stage Company, which has relocated in Pittsfield, MA. Boyd has a fine eye for talent -- both on stage and off. A couple of years ago, she brought Finn and others to Sheffield. The musician and writer Rachel Sheinkin came up with "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" which moved to Broadway. During August, 2005, Boyd highlighted Finn's "Elegies." This past summer, Finn was curator of BSC's Musical Theatre Lab. Ruggiero gets around as he drives from Hartford to the Berkshires (and also finds himself flying away to guest-direct at various theaters elsewhere). Credit Rob for bringing Finn's music to TheaterWorks.
Yes, but what about the performers? All have been cast in plays either in Hartford or the Berkshires? Get it? Sandy Binion appeared in BSC shows "Elegies," "Falsettos," and "No Way to Treat a Lady." Joe Cassidy starred in "The Last Five Years" and "Master Class" at TheaterWorks. Adam Heller, in TheaterWorks' "Art" and "No Way to Treat a Lady," was part of the brilliant ensemble acting and production team which brought Finn's "March of the Falsettos" and "Falsettoland" to Hartford Stage years ago. Sally Wilfert was superb in both "The Last Five Years" and "Goblin Market" at TheaterWorks. Further stirring this creative drink is musical director Michael Morris. Based at the Hartt School Theater, he directed "The Last Five Years" at TheaterWorks. John DiPinto is at the piano and I've yet to discover John's previous linkage to either TheaterWorks or Barrington Stage. Trust me: he, too, is an asset.
Finn's musical numbers feature "Passover" or "Why We Like Spelling" or "I Went Fishing With My Dad" or "Republicans" or "Heart and Music." He looks into the AIDS epidemic, sailing, the joys, sorrows, and difficulties of teaching, breakfast.....Finn is soulful, funny, philosophical, light-hearted. He writes ballads, love songs, parodies, and spiritual melodies. He's emotional one moment, laughint the next.
Alejo Vietti, wardrober, allows the actors to dress casually -- in jeans or cargo pants, with shirts that are comfortable and appropriate. It is, as Heller (the comedian) once notes a living room atmosphere. At times, the audience is enouraged to join in song. Luke Hegel-Cantarella opens up the stage and thrusts it a bit forward so that there isn't a hint of a fourth wall separating performers from patrons.
"Make Me a Song," filled with vitality, gives one inklings of shows for which Finn has written. At the beginning of the second act, nine tunes from the "Falsetto" plays are featured. Titles like "Four Jews in a Room Bitching" (complete with doors that open and shut), "The Baseball Game" and "Unlikely Lovers" mark this sequence as an unforgettable highlight.
This one closes in two weeks and I highly recommend, dear reader, that you find your way to the basement theater in Hartford. This is terrific stuff.
posted by Fred Sokol at 5:49 AM
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