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REVIEWS
Performances make musical a 'Favorite'
By Ruby Nancy, "The Quad City Times"
The best part of
My
Favorite Year, St. Ambrose University's theatre department's fall
musical, is its nostalgic tone.
Or is it the
wonderful libretto?
No, wait: it's the
comedy. Or maybe...
My Favorite Year
has so many things going for it that choosing just one might not be so
easy. The nostalgia is a tangible presence, fostering a bittersweet look
back at a coming of age remembrance. The music by Lynn Ahrens and
Stephen Flaherty is great, too, ranging from cheerful and sassy tunes to
intense, impassioned pieces chock-full of regret and company numbers
written in rich choral style. And the show is funny, too.
By what My
Favorite Year has going for it the most, out of its long list of
possibilities, is the confident comedy of Christopher L. Bright, a
transfer student who makes his Quad-City area debut as King Kaiser, the
comedy hour demagogue whose blustery demeanor and gruff posturing are
classic turns in the world of broad humor. Bright succeeds in large part
because he has no shame--a must in this sort of comic role. He loses his
pants on the opening number, and before intermission has also delivered
a full-blown rant with a bagel in his hand, shaken his fanny at the
audience to make a point to an employee and appeared in more than one
ridiculous costume. And we have plenty more things to see in Act Two.
His warm voice and
strong presence on stage combine well with his willingness to toss out
dignity for a laugh--and they make you hope he'll be on stage again
soon--but Bright's performance is also only one of several at the heart
of this successful show.
Dan Hale stars as
Benjy, a young comedy writer on the live TV show that features Kaiser,
and Hale's work is also excellent. As both narrator and central
character, Hale almost never leaves the stage, and his energetic
performance helps keep the show on pace.
As Alan Swann,
the has-been movie star Benjy idolizes, Ted Stephens III also turns in
superb work--giving an emotionally charged performance that careens from
comic to tragic with stunning accuracy--and he has a couple of solo
numbers that are incredibly intimate and powerfully moving. Stephens
also brings considerable talent to a couple of big dance numbers that
feature Swann.
Large set pieces,
wide-ranging costumes and a continuous stream of light cues keep a
good-sized crew and tech staff busy (and with excellent results), plus a
small orchestra playing well adds a layer to musicals like this one that
recorded music could not.
My Favorite Year
mixes important themes with wide-ranging comedy--another must-see show
on one of many local stages.
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