A Little Night Music Stephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); Hugh Wheeler (Book) South Bay Musical Theatre In a rich, reverberating blend of harmonies, an elaborately attired quintet sings snippets of fuller songs soon to come of the on-again, off-again love affairs and marriages we are about to witness: “Unpack the luggage, la-la-la; pack the luggage, la-la-la.” ... … [Read more...] about A Little Night Music
South Bay Musical Theatre
Singin’ in the Rain
Singin’ in the Rain Betty Comden & Adolph Green (Book); Arthur Freed (Lyrics); Nacio Herb Brown (Music) South Bay Musical Theatre I am a sucker for tap-dancing, especially when a stage is packed to the gill with smiling, arm-swinging tappers that uniformly are toe-heel clicking up a storm and singing at the same time in full, fine voice. For that reason alone, I … [Read more...] about Singin’ in the Rain
She Loves Me
A single violin roams playfully through its scales, soon followed by a twittering trumpet with a speech all its own. Winds trip over each other before more instruments start a game of leapfrog as their well-played notes and phrases seem to jump and skip all around us. One of my favorite overtures has just been played beautifully with spunk and spirit by the fourteen-person … [Read more...] about She Loves Me
“1776”
1776Sherman Edwards (Music & Lyrics); Peter Stone (Book)South Bay Musical TheatreThe Cast of "1776"How familiar does this sound: A Congress that seems to get nothing done? A Congress that is divided into two factions that can barely tolerate each other? Committees upon committees where members of Congress meet to debate ad nauseumand decide little? Members … [Read more...] about “1776”
“Gypsy”
GypsyArthur Laurents (Book); Julie Styne (Music); Stephen Sondheim (Lyrics)South Bay Musical Theatre Molly Thornton as Gypsy Rose LeeWhenever attending what NY Times critic Ben Brantley has referred as “what may be the greatest of all American musicals,” "Gypsy," I sit with both hope and skepticism until I hear Rose sing those first few notes of “Some People.” … [Read more...] about “Gypsy”
“Forever Plaid”
Forever PlaidStuart RossSouth Bay Musical Theatre David Murphy, Matthew Hall, Derek DeMarco & Will PerezEmerging through rolling fog out of a giant, neon-lit Wurlitzer jukebox and draped above by a curtain of hundreds of 45s, four men in white tux coats chant solemnly something sounding Latin and holy and strangely peppered with the word “plaid.” ... As … [Read more...] about “Forever Plaid”
