Posts Tagged ‘casey nicholaw’

Thoughtfully Reinvented “Some Like It Hot” Entertains in Style at the Fox

Posted in St Louis Theatre, USA Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , on February 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Some Like It Hot
Book by Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin
Music by Marc Shaiman, Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
Based on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Motion Picture “Some Like It Hot”
Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
The Fox Theatre
February 26, 2025

Tavis Kordell, Matt Loehr
Photo by Matt Murphy
Some Like It Hot North American Tour

Some Like It Hot is a classic American film that has the unusual distinction of having been adapted into two different Broadway musicals. While 1972’s Sugar  was a more straightforward adaptation (which I have seen because my high school performed it in the 1980s), the newer, Tony-winning Some Like It Hot is more of a thoughtful reinvention and recontextualization of the source material, with some clever homages to the original film and a catchy, jazz-influenced score. With a great cast and fantastic production design, this production is a lively, entertaining show with energy, style and a whole lot of heart. 

Taking place at the tail-end of Prohibition in 1933, the action starts in Chicago, as does the film. This time, however, Sweet Sue (Tarra Connor Jones) starts her “all-girl” band after having been arrested in a police raid at a speakeasy, and their tour leads them to California rather than Miami, in an entirely logical change (explained in the show) that also pays tribute to the real filming location of the movie, the Hotel Del Coronado near San Diego. The main characters, Joe (Matt Loehr) and Jerry (Tavis Kordell), are musicians but also song-and-dance performers who grew up together and are looking for a new job. When they accidentally witness a mob hit by new boss, nightclub owner and gangster Spats (Devon Goffman), they go on the run, taking Joe’s idea to disguise themselves as women in order to join Sweet Sue’s band and flee to California and, eventually, Mexico. While on tour, however, “Josephine” and “Daphne” get to know their fellow band members, with Joe becoming attracted to singer Sugar Kane (Leandra Ellis-Gaston), and Jerry/Daphne starting to feel more accepted and at home as Daphne than as Jerry. The situation gets more complicated when they arrive in California and prepare for their performance at the Hotel Del Coronado, where Joe assumes an “alter ego” in order to woo Sugar and the band meets hotel owner Osgood (Edward Juvier), who is instantly smitten with Daphne. Meanwhile, Spats has also arrived in California hoping to silence the witnesses to his crime, and various characters face moments of truth about who they are and what they want to do with their lives. 

The adaptation, while making some clear changes to the original film, is impressively well thought-through, with every change making sense and adding much in the way of character development and advancing the theme of self-discovery and expression. It also recontextualizes the source material to allow for a diverse cast, adding layers of complexity to the story. Also, making the central characters singers and dancers as well as musicians makes sense in the context of a stage musical and lends a level of pizzazz to production numbers featuring some excellent tap-heavy choreography by director Casey Nicholaw. The show also explores issues of racism and prejudice, gender roles, individual identity and expression, and more while maintaining a lively, musical comedy atmosphere and featuring overall upbeat atmosphere and glitzy, glamorous Broadway and 1930s Hollywood style. 

The cast is excellent, led by strong, charismatic and athletically dancing performances by Loehr as Joe/”Josephine”/”Kip” and Kordell as Jerry/Daphne. These two form the emotional core of the show, supported well by fantastic work from Ellis-Gaston as the talented, Hollywood-aspiring Sugar, Jones as the tough-talking Sweet Sue, and Juvier as the kindly, enthusiastic Osgood, who has a secret of his own. There are also strong turns from Goffman as the shady Spats and Jame LaVerdiere as the persistent FBI Agent Mulligan. There’s also a top-notch ensemble who lend much energy and comic timing to the story as well as terrific singing and dancing.

In a technical sense, the show featuring eye-catching scenic design by Scott Pask and colorful, detailed costumes by Gregg Barnes that are in keeping with the era and tone of the production. There’s also dazzling lighting by Natasha Katz and stylish hair design by Josh Marquette. The sound by Brian Ronan is fine for the most part, although there are some issues with volume and clarity on some of the songs. 

Ultimately, this show does what it sets out to do–entertain in style. It’s more of a reimagining of the film than a straightforward adaptation, but that had already been done. Here, Some Like It Hot dazzles with songs, dances, and laughs, but also thoughtfully recontextualizes the source material in a way that makes sense without  changing the overall tone of the story. It’s a lively tribute to the film while also managing to be its own unique thing. It’s a lot of fun, and well worth checking out.

Leandra Ellis-Gaston (Center) and Cast
Photo by Matthew Murphy
Some Like It Hot North American Tour

The North American Tour of Some Like It Hot is running at the Fox Theatre until March 9, 2025

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“Mean Girls” Entertains at the Fox

Posted in St Louis Theatre, USA Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Mean Girls
Book by Tina Fey, Music by Jeff Richmond, Lyrics by Nell Benjamin
Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
The Fox Theatre
February 15, 2022

Cast of Mean Girls
Photo by Jenny Anderson
Mean Girls North American Tour

Mean Girls, the movie, is one of those films that I feel like I’ve seen even though I haven’t. It’s become so ingrained in the culture, especially for people who were high school age when it came out, that it’s been the subject of much quoting and meme-ing over the years since it was first released in 2004. I’ve heard so much about it since then, even though I’m a little older than its main demographic. Now, the tour based on the 2018 Broadway musical, adapted by original film writer Tina Fey along with Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin, is onstage at the Fox, which is my first time actually seeing this story directly. For the most part, it’s an entertaining production that certainly makes the audience happy, and features some excellent performances in its lead roles. There’s also a whole lot of energy, if not necessarily a lot of story elements that haven’t been done before.

It’s a high school story, and as such the musical contains a lot of the typical “high school movie” tropes, with cliques, quests for popularity, teenage romances, and more. The action here centers on Cady Herron (Danielle Wade), a newcomer to North Shore High School after having been raised in Kenya and homeschooled. The story is narrated as “A Cautionary Tale” according the show’s opening number, by artsy kids Janis (Mary Kate Morris) and Damian (Eric Huffman), who take it upon themselves to befriend Cady and help her find her place at the school among its many social groups. Soon, however, she is introduced to the “Plastics”, a group of influential but manipulative girls led by the self-centered Regina George (Nadina Hassan), who along with the insecure Gretchen (Olivia Renteria) and ditzy Karen (Jonalyn Saxer), tries to dominate the social scene at the school. Cady is soon immersed in the world of the Plastics, sitting with them at lunch and being adopted into their group while still trying to maintain friendships with “outcasts” Janis and Damian, as well as trying to court the attention of calculus classmate and Regina’s ex, Aaron Samuels (Adante Carter), to whom she is attracted. Inevitably, Cady learns that all this trying to reinvent herself doesn’t exactly pay off, and lessons are learned by all about the nature of friendship. authenticity, and acceptance.

Mean Girls, as staged on tour, is a fun show with some memorable numbers and an energetic cast, but there’s not much here that hasn’t been done in a variety of high school stories going back decades. Also, for anyone who hadn’t seen the film, the story is somewhat hard to follow especially in the first act because so much of the story is told in the songs, which the uneven sound mixing made difficult to understand. Still, the cast gives their all, with some impressive performances especially from Wade as the likable but conflicted Cady, Carter as the sweet-natured but also conflicted Aaron, and Huffman and Morrissey who are quirky and ideal narrators as Damian and Janis. There’s also a sweetly goofy performance from Lawrence E. Street as school principal Mr. Duvall, and a versatile multi-role turn from April Josephine as Cady’s mom, Regina’s mom, and influential math teacher Ms. Norbury. The Plastics are also memorable, with excellent comic timing from Renteria (the understudy) and Saxer, and a strong sense of presence from Hassan as Regina. The singing is strong throughout, and the dancing, choreographed by director Casey Nicholaw, is enthusiastic and full of energy. There’s a strong ensemble filling out the cast, as well, and all seem to be having fun with this somewhat busy but entertaining story.

Technically, aside from the aforementioned sound issues, the show dazzles. There’s a bright, colorful, and versatile set by Scott Pask, as well as fun and clever video design by Finn Ross and Adam Young and lighting by Kenneth Posner. The colorful costumes by Gregg Barnes, hair design by Josh Marquette, and makeup by Milagros Medina-Cerdeira also contribute to the overall bold and whimsical tone of the production. 

If you’re expecting Mean Girls to be fun and full of energy, you won’t be disappointed. I can’t say anything about the adaptation from the film because I haven’t seen the movie, although this show did make me want to see it. This show isn’t world-changing or deeply profound, but it’s got a great cast, vivid characters, and a fun sense of humor. It’s an entertaining way to spend an evening at the Fox.

Adante Carter, Danielle Wade
Photo by Joan Marcus
Mean Girls North American Tour

The North American tour of Mean Girls is running at the Fox Theatre until February 27, 2022

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Energetic, Character-Driven “Prom” Dances Into the Fox

Posted in St Louis Theatre, USA Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

The Prom
Book by Bob Martin & Chad Beguelin
Music by Matthew Sklar, Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
The Fox Theatre
January 28th, 2022

Kaden Kearney
Photo by Deen Van Meer
The Prom North American Tour

The Prom is a Tony-nominated musical with several St. Louis connections among its producers. It also was made into a Netflix film with an all-star cast. Here, in the show’s touring company based on the Broadway production, there are no “household names” in the cast, but there’s plenty of star power and a lot of energy on stage at the Fabulous Fox, as the story of a small town high school, a teenage girl,  a prom controversy and some (eventually) well-meaning Broadway meddlers comes to St. Louis in a memorable and crowd-pleasing production.

The story starts where this show earned its accolades: on Broadway, as  a pair of egotistical veteran Broadway performers, Dee Dee Allen (Ashley Bruce) and Barry Glickman (Patrick Wetzel) are at a swanky after party for their just opened musical about Eleanor Roosevelt, where they played the leads. When the reviews don’t go so well and their publicist, Sheldon Saperstein (Thad Turner Wilson) tells them their narcissistic image needs improving, they get the idea of doing some kind of good deed to get publicity. Their colleague, perpetual chorus member Angie (Emily Borromeo) looks on her phone and sees a trending story about high school student Emma (Kaden Kearney), a lesbian who has been told that she can’t take another girl to the prom with her, so the school has canceled the prom altogether. The three, along with Sheldon and  “between gigs” actor Trent (Jordan Alexander), decide that they will make Emma their cause, and so they head to Indiana. At the high school, Emma struggles with the idea of being the “face” of a growing controversy and being ridiculed by her classmates and blamed for the lack of a prom. Meanwhile, her intended prom date, Alyssa (Kalyn West), is afraid to go public because nobody knows about her sexual orientation or her relationship with Emma, including her perfectionist mother, PTA president Mrs. Greene (Ashanti J’Aria), who is strongly opposed to the idea of holding an inclusive prom. The school’s principal, Mr. Hawkins (Christopher McCrewell), is on Emma’s side, and is trying to go through legal channels to help, but finds his plans and his life disrupted by the arrival of the actors, including Dee Dee, of whom he is a longtime fan, but who may not live up to his idealistic image of her.

That description is just the beginning, as we learn more about the characters as the story plays out in sometimes predictable but sometimes surprising ways. It’s mostly a broad comedy with a lot of knowing humor about theatre and Broadway actors in particular, as well as portraying inter-generational friendships and lessons in tolerance, communication and, as one upbeat song explains, the biblical ideal of “Love Thy Neighbor”. There’s exuberant dancing choreographed by director Casey Nicholaw, as well as some more humorous and poignant moments. It’s a fun show, with a lot of big, Broadway energy and good deal of small town charm.

The cast is especially strong, and particularly impressive in that there are more than a few understudies performing. Bruce, Wilson, Alexander, and McCrewell were all covering for the principal performers, and all gave excellent performances and wouldn’t be easily picked out as understudies, except that Bruce slightly underplays the over-the-top Dee Dee. The standouts, though, are the terrific Kearney, who shows off a lot of heart, stage presence and a great voice as Emma, and Wetzel, as the larger-than-life Barry, who has some great bonding moments with Emma. There’s also a strong and enthusiastic ensemble to fill out the cast.

Technically, the show is big, bold, and colorful, with dazzling sets Scott Pask that fill out the Fox stage well, as well as excellent detailed costumes by Ann Roth and Matthew Pachtman. Natasha Katz’s lighting also adds sparkle and style to the proceedings, and Brian Ronan’s sound design is crisp and clear. There’s also a strong orchestra conducted by Chris Gurr. 

There are a lot of memorable characters in The Prom, and an overall emphasis on the importance of communication, humility, kindness, and bravery as well as tolerance and acceptance. With a fun, memorable score and a big, enthusiastic cast, it entertains and leaves a memorable impression. It’s a show I had heard a lot about, and I’m glad I finally was able to see.

Cast of The Prom
Photo by Deen Van Meer
The Prom North American Tour

The North American Tour of The Prom is playing at the Fox Theatre until February 6, 2022

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“Aladdin” Entertains in Formulaic Style at the Fox

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 15, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Aladdin
Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin
Book by Chad Beguelin
Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
The Fox Theatre
November 9, 2018

Cast of Aladdin
Photo by Deen van Meer
Aladdin North American Tour

Aladdin is a crowd-pleaser. There’s no question about that when you attend the touring production at the Fox and hear the enthusiastic audience reactions to this adaptation of the popular Disney animated movie. It’s got a memorable score and some classic songs, as well as big, bright, flashy production values and an excellent cast. There’s a lot to enjoy about this production, although there are also some problems.

The show, as presented at the Fox and based on the Broadway production, is essentially like a Disney theme park attraction on stage. It’s not particularly authentic to the Middle Eastern setting–in fact, the Genie (Michael James Scott) makes a point in his introduction of telling the audience that this is a fictional location, and especially stressing the word “fictional”. The cast is very diverse, but the show is definitely not going for accuracy in terms of setting and tone, either. It’s all extremely stylized and played up for humor. The film was also highly stylized, so this is just following that precedent, although this stage version is even more so, somewhat in the vein of a 1950s-style sketch comedy show. The hit songs from the film are all here, from “Friend Like Me” to “A Whole New World” and more. The story is essentially the same as the film, but with some changes—Aladdin (Clinton Greenspan) now has three sidekick-friends–Babkak (Zach Bencal), Omar (Phillippe Arroyo), and Kassim (Jed Feder) who show up from time to time, and villain Jafar (Jonathan Weir) still has his henchman Iago (Jay Paranada), but Iago is not a parrot and the other animal characters from the film have been written out. Princess Jasmine (Lissa deGuzman) is given a little bit more to do and sing. Also, Aladdin is given a little more backstory and some plot points have been changed and rearranged, and the ending seems somewhat abrupt.

I first saw the stage adaptation of this show a few years ago when the Muny presented it, prior to its Broadway run. It was still in the development stages. Seeing it again at the Fox, I’ve noticed a lot of changes made to the script in the meantime, some of which are improvements and others that are more questionable. For instance, Aladdin’s three friends were the narrators in the Muny version, and seemed more of a presence in the story. Here, the narrator role has been given to the Genie, which seems appropriate in one sense since the Genie is such a memorable character. Still, the three friends now seem more like thrown-in characters and don’t seem to have a lot of purpose in the story. Still, this isn’t trying to be deep or challenging. It’s trying to be a big Disney spectacle, and it succeeds at that, for the most part.  It’s big, it’s flashy, there’s an impressive, ornate, versatile set by Bob Crowley, whimsically stylish costumes by Gregg Barnes, and atmospheric lighting by Natasha Katz. It almost looks like an animated film come to life, and director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw’s choreography is energetic and well-performed.

It’s the performances, in fact, that are the real highlight of this production, led by Scott in a funny, high-energy, charismatic turn as the Genie. Actually, with this show it’s worth wondering why they don’t just retitle it Aladdin and the Genie or even the other way around because even though Aladdin has the most stage time, the Genie is really the star. Greenspan is an amiable Aladdin as well, with a strong voice and excellent chemistry with the equally strong deGuzman as Jasmine. Their duet on “A Whole New World” is a highlight, as is the staging of that song, which is a major improvement on the version I saw at the Muny. Weir and Paranada are also excellent, hamming it up with enthusiasm as a pair of over-the-top cartoon villains. Bencal, Arroyo, and Feder do well with their underwritten roles, as does Jerald Vincent as the Sultan. The leads are supported by a strong ensemble that does well with the high-energy dancing and production numbers, as well.

There’s more than a little bit of the commercial about this Aladdin, but that’s not a surprise, really.It has a great cast and memorable songs. It’s a bright, tuneful, energetic show that’s sure to attract a large family audience, and if that’s what you are looking for, you should enjoy it.

Michael James Scott
Photo by Deen van Meer
Aladdin North American Tour

The North American tour of Aladdin is being presented at the Fox Theatre until November 25, 2018

 

 

 

 

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