28
Jul
2014
Wonderful Town is one of the few musicals whose soundtracks I love without ever having seen the stage version. That is, until Thursday night's performance at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, and what I saw lived up to the high expectations created by listening to the rich, often humorous songs by composer Leonard Bernstein and lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
While traveling to Thursday's presentation of The Wizard of Oz, which features much-loved songs by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, I pondered whether the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre's production would stick closely to the familiar images and characterizations from the equally loved 1939 film version. (As I prefer to see local theatre companies presenting unique versions of theatrical pieces, I hoped the Showboat would avoid copycat staging.) But once I settled into my seat, it took just a perusal of the program to know this wasn't going to be my grandfather's Oz, and a sense of excitement blossomed as I eagerly awaited the metaphorical curtain's opening.
There were moments during Friday's performance of Annie Get Your Gun at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre in which I forgot that I was watching a performance. That is to say, the audience around me disappeared as I became lost in the production, and particularly captivated by Heather Baisley's Annie Oakley. This, for me, was a true escapist experience: I was absolutely taken in by Baisley's fantastic portrayal.
Tight harmonies, effervescent smiles, and pastel-colored dresses are the highlights of the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre's The Taffetas, a jukebox musical featuring songs from the 1950s. Yet it's barely a musical. The production plays out as the titular girls' group makes its national television debut on the Spotlight on Music show - with the Showboat crowd serving as the "live studio audience" for a televised concert - and as there isn't much dialogue, or much plot, The Taffetas is really more of a revue.
