In August, I was privileged to work with the Summer Youth Intensive once again at Wheelock Family Theatre. With John O’Neil on my left and Sophie Rich on my right, how could I go wrong? I directed/choreographed Once on this Island, Jr. for 24 8-14 year olds. A wonderful, wild ride. And the icing on the cake was my daughter assisting me and my son playing a small role at the end. Fabulous.

September came and the rest of the year was like a train on fire for me. I taught my First Year Seminar at Wheelock College once again – Critical Thinking Through Movement – and met a wonderful new group of freshmen. The class is a pleasure to teach and my group of young women was truly special. While doing that, I performed in The Phantom Tollbooth for the Wheelock Family Theatre. WFT has become a second family to me and I worked with so many wonderful people that I dare not try to list them all. I played several roles though the Undersecretary of Understanding was my most prominent. During the process, I was lucky enough to meet the author, Norton Juster. As The Phantom Tollbooth was one of my favorite books as a child, this was really special for me. And as if it couldn’t get better, I got to have dinner with Sheldon Harnick. Yup, the Sheldon Harnick of Fiddler and She Loves Me fame. He was a co-writer of the play and happens to be a Northwestern Alum – my alma mater too. It was a wonderful, fun, entertaining, enlightening evening. Thank you, Jane Staab!

This past fall I took part in two benefits. The first was a reading of MOMologues to benefit Metro Stage. I was so pleased to help out and even more pleased to read these wonderful words. The monologues in this piece hit me like no others. They really speak to me as a Mom. Thank you, Lisa Rafferty for allowing me to add them to repertoire. AND I get to be a part of the maiden reading of MOMologues 3, The Final Push in January of 2012. Excellent! The second benefit was one dear to my heart – UpStage Lung Cancer. This year I took on a little more responsibility and directed/choreographed. It really was just a bit more of a hand in shaping the evening. It was a wonderful night that raised money to research early detection of lung cancer – an important cause.

As soon as Phantom Tollbooth closed, I went into A Christmas Carol at the Hanover Theatre in Worcester. I choreographed for my second year and once again played Mrs. Fezziwig. It was a wonderful cast and crew and a beautiful way to share the holiday season. The weather co-operated and with Brad Peloquin behind the wheel much of the time, the commute to Worcester was a breeze. Thank you to Troy Siebels and the folks at Hanover for having me as part of the family once again.

And now, it’s a new year. I’ll start my spring course at Wheelock soon and teach my class at Brandeis University. I’ll do the reading of MOMologues… and relax. No major projects until the end of March when I will choreograph and play the role of Pam in The Full Monty at Stoneham Theatre. Then I choreograph Avenue Q for the Lyric Stage and then back to Stoneham to work with Kathy St. George and Scott Edmiston on Dear Miss Garland. But for now… some family time. Happy New Year!

A good Mommy day ends like this. My son wanted to have someone over to play. But when he got home from school he was tired and didn’t remember that he wanted a friend over until 4pm. When he started to well up with tears because it was too late, I suggested we call and ask a friend to play and have dinner. As luck would have it, he was available and did come over. Not only did I make my son smile, but I got to hear two boys laughing and cheering and squealing the whole time I made dinner. I watched this friend eat two helpings of my stir-fry – with tofu thank you very much. Then I listened to them and my daughter figure out math problems with my incredibly wonderful, geeky husband as they ate ice cream.

Sometimes, it all just works out.

“The World Goes ‘Round”: the Candor Never Ebbs
by Jack Craib, New Rep Reviewer

To call New Rep’s current production “The World Goes Round” a nearly perfect summer evening’s entertainment would be an understatement. It’s a show for all seasons regardless of temperature, but this show is hot. Twenty years ago, this compilation of songs by composer John Kander and the late lyricist Fred Ebb was created, with input by Kander and Ebb themselves, by librettist David Thompson, director Scott Ellis, and choreographer Susan Stroman. The genius of their collaboration lies in the fact that, unlike other “and then I wrote” shows, this consists not of a string of tenuously related show tunes, but a carefully constructed series of vignettes, each song or medley managing to convey a more or less complete story or mood. The show survives as a tribute to the first twenty-nine years of the body of work by Kander and Ebb. Thus there are no echoes from their later works; there is no “Steel Pier”, no “Curtains”, and especially no “Scottsboro Boys”. There are twenty-nine numbers from their extraordinary output for Broadway, films, television and even an industrial show, running the gamut from mega-hits like “Chicago” and “Cabaret” to the lesser-known “Zorba”, “The Rink” and “The Happy Time”. Above all, this show illustrates how these two men, throughout their careers, emphasized the downtrodden and the unsung….until they made them soar in song, the truth of their characters always flowing.

Kander and Ebb, like many of their contemporaries, wrote primarily for women who need no surname introduction (Barbra, Chita, Gwen, and most frequently, Liza), so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the women in this company, all familiar to New Rep audiences from previous appearances, have the best opportunities to shine. And shine they do, but often in surprising ways. Leigh Barrett confirms her status as a true Broadway belter, but she also gets the chance, in such numbers as “My Coloring Book” (the first song the team ever wrote), to create several very moving quiet moments. Shannon Lee Jones, remembered for her contribution to New Rep’s previous production of “Cabaret”, while exhibiting solid talent in songs like “A Quiet Thing” (from Liza’s first show, “Flora the Red Menace”) exceeds expectations as a comedienne in another Minnelli number, “Arthur in the Afternoon”. The most pleasant shock, given her prior serious roles at New Rep, is the comic artistry of Aimee Doherty, who equals the comedy chops of Leigh Barrett in their duets of “Class”, unforgivably dropped from the filmed version of “Chicago”, and “The Grass Is Always Greener” from “Woman of the Year”. The latter song is a good example of how a number can alter its meaning when not heard in the original context of its source but still be hilarious.

The men in the company have a tougher time. The title song from “Kiss of the Spider Woman”, sung by De’Lon Grant, is meaningless out of context (and, curiously, was included in the 1991 original “And the World Goes ‘Round” even though it was to be another year before “Spider Woman” opened in London and two years before its opening on Broadway), as is the number “Marry Me”, sung by David Costa, who at least gets to sing the unforgettable “Mr. Cellophane” from “Chicago” and the haunting “Sometimes a Day Goes By“ from “Woman of the Year“. The other men in the company who provide the music for the magic are Musical Director Todd C. Gordon on electronic keyboard (sadly, not a piano), Brian Grochowski on bass, and Jim DeLorey on percussion (and kazoo). There is a fourth excellent woodwind musician who is uncredited in the program. The technical contributions by Erik D. Diaz (scenic design), Deidre McCabe Gerrard (costume design) and Deb Sullivan (lighting design) are all first-rate.

When all is said and done, however, the success of this production rests squarely on the shoulders of Director and Choreographer Ilyse Robbins (with an occasional homage to Bob Fosse). Without her consistently fluid overall approach, as well as her countless amazing little touches, this could easily have been a flat and dispassionate bunching of disjointed star turns. It’s hard to believe that this is only her second professional directing effort, much less that, according to the background information from New Rep‘s website, she accomplished this with just two weeks of rehearsal. Thanks to her vision and the talents of this impressive cast, the sweat never shows, but the heat sure as hell does.

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Leigh Barrett and Shannon Lee Jones in ’The World Goes ’Round,’ continuing through July 31 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown.   (Source:Andrew Brilliant / Brilliant Pictures)

The World Goes ‘Round

Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb; Conceived by Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman, and David Thompson; Directed and Choreographed by Ilyse Robbins, Musical Direction by Todd C. Gordon; Erik D. Diaz, Scenic Design; Deidre McCabe Gerrard, Costume Design; Deb Sullivan, Lighting Design; Joe Stallone, Properties Design; Lisa Wondolowski, Production Stage Manager

CAST (in alphabetical order): Leigh Barrett, Woman One; David Costa, Man One; Aimee Doherty, Woman Three; De’Lon Grant, Man Two; Shannon Lee Jones, Woman Two

Performances through July 31 at New Repertory Theatre; Box Office 617-923-8487 or www.newrep.org

Perfect for a warm summer night, a quintet of local favorites sizzles in New Repertory Theatre’s production of The World Goes ‘Round, the award-winning musical revue of Kander and Ebb. Leigh Barrett, Aimee Doherty, David Costa, De’Lon Grant, and Shannon Lee Jones combine their considerable talents to give voIce To twenty-nine of the beloved duo’s songs and stroll down a memory lane lined with Broadway classics. From the opening title song through the “New York, New York” finale, the hits keep on coming from The Happy Time, The Rink, Chicago, and Cabaret, and that’s just for starters.

John Kander (composer) and the late Fred Ebb (lyricist) began working together in 1962 and had their first hit with “My Coloring Book,” recorded by Barbra Streisand, and collaborated on their first Broadway musical Flora the Red Menace in 1965, in which Liza Minnelli made her first appearance on the Great White Way. In 1991, choreographer Susan Stroman, director Scott Ellis, and librettist David Thompson conceived The World Goes Round to celebrate the contribution (so far) of Kander and Ebb to American musical theatre. With approximately a dozen stage shows, numerous film scores, and music written for television to choose from, the creative trio crafted a revue that focuses on the characters and stories in these wonderful songs.

Ilyse Robbins makes her New Rep directorial debut and also choreographs, with assistant choreographer Maurice E. Parent. One would expect a musical directed by a choreographer to contain interesting stage movement and artistic dancing, and Robbins succeeds in making the show visually dynamic. Costa (Dance Captain) proves himself to be a suave song and dance man, tripping the light fantastic fantastically in “Sara Lee,” strutting his Fosse-esque stuff in three numbers from Chicago, and later coupling with Doherty after her graceful solo waltz as a woman considering a marriage proposal. Robbins finds a variety of clever ways to employ props and keep the ensemble in motion, notably in “Coffee in a Cardboard Cup,” “Me and My Baby,” and “Ring Them Bells.”

Dance and movement aside, The World Goes Round is first and foremost about the collection of songs. Barrett is in fine voice and emotionally acts out a story arc from the wistful remembrances of “Colored Lights” to the jaded heartbreak of “My Coloring Book.” Jones sings, dances, and mugs with Grant in “Arthur in the Afternoon.” Barrett and Doherty are a riot doing their best low-life impressions in “Class,” and “The Grass is Always Greener” gives Barrett and Jones another chance to show off their comedy chops. The men sing “I Don’t Remember You” (Grant) and “Sometimes a Day Goes By” (Costa) back-to-back in a beautiful and moving arrangement. Each member of the cast displays their versatility with a mix of comic and dramatic selections, and these are but a few of the highlights.

Musical Director Todd C. Gordon on keyboard and his fellow musicians (Brian Grochowski on bass, Jim DeLorey on percussion, and Louis Toth on reeds) are seated upstage on the art deco set designed by Erik D. Diaz and blend in as a key component of the company. Diedre McCabe Gerrard designs mostly simple and elegant dresses for the three women and puts the men in suits, but tie-less for a semi-casual appearance. Deb Sullivan’s lighting design helps set the mood, and Joe Stallone meets the challenge of providing diverse props, from baby carriages to a shopping cart full of Sara Lee products.

It is a delight to spend an evening in the theater that is pure pleasure. After all, it is summertime and the living should be easy. Thanks to New Repertory Theatre and Ilyse Robbins and company for getting it right.

Director/choreographer Ilyse Robbins gets maximum comic effect from songs like the fabulously naughty “Arthur in the Afternoon.” Dynamo Shannon Lee Jones proffers a girl’s best “secret to happiness” while the dashing De’Lon Grant reveals some outrageous, muscular musical timing. Jones then knocks “All That Jazz” out of the ballpark and Grant shows his vulnerable side with the Spider Woman’s “Kiss.”

Speaking of comic gold, chanteuse Aimee Doherty reveals her considerably talented funny bone in the ensemble romp, “Coffee in a Cardboard Cup” and “Class” with Leigh Barrett. Then she turns the tables on “How Lucky can You Get.” Barrett can do it all and she breaks your heart big time in “Colored Lights” and again in “My Coloring Book.”

David Costa, too, can bring a tear to your eye in his sad sack “Mr. Cellophane,” then get lots of laughs with his delicious “Sara Lee.”…not to mention the laughter Robbins gets from the staging. Her clever choreography and Todd Gordon’s musical direction make this revue much more than mere cabaret. It’s the best of both worlds: You can see your favorite numbers from lots of Kander and Ebb shows and all in one magical evening.

The World Goes ‘Round. Music by John Kander. Lyrics by Fred Ebb. Conceived by Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman, and David Thompson. Directed and choreographed by Ilyse Robbins. Music Direction by Todd C. Gordon. Scenic Design by Erik Diaz. Costume Design by Deidre McCabe Gerrard. Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan. Properties Design by Joe Stallone. Presented by New Repertory Theatre at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown, MA, through July 31.

By Alyssa Hall

Aimee Doherty and Leigh Barrett singing the tune Class in New Repertory Theatre’s THE WORLD GOES ‘ROUND. Photo: Andrew Brilliant / Brilliant Pictures
Following the lead of the smooth, jazzy, and personal songs in The World Goes ‘Round, New Repertory Theatre’s endearing production of the John Kander and Fred Ebb revue stays refreshingly understated, focusing on the talents of its five-person ensemble. The conceivers of the show mix comic and dramatic songs, solos and group numbers, and lesser known tunes with expected classics such as “All That Jazz.” The result is a well-paced evening that impressively showcases the range of local, powerhouse performers like Leigh Barrett and Aimee Doherty.

While The World Goes ‘Round doesn’t have a plot, much dialogue, or even named characters, it does contain stories, funny and touching vignettes of ordinary lives. Sometimes songs link to form a short narrative, such as a man’s proposal to a reluctant woman. Other times, only similar musical styles, design choices, and performances keep the show cohesive.

The costumes, set, and lighting are not particularly imaginative (singing “color it blue” results in the lighting changing to blue), but their elegant simplicity suits the intimate and polished production. Scenic Designer Erik Diaz’s streamlined, Art Deco-esque platform upstage (complete with a “K&E” bandstand section for the musicians) sets up multi-level action that enhances the retro feel of Kander’s jazzy music.

Similarly, Deidre McCabe Gerrard’s costumes, mainly sophisticated evening wear, are a suave touch. In comic songs, Gerrard’s outfits add visual comedy to already funny lyrics; For example, the stark contrast between a housewife’s pink, velour tracksuit and her famous friend’s gown and mink in “The Grass is Always Greener” enhances the awkwardness of the moment.

The designers wisely set the mood without distracting us from the show’s real attractions: Leigh Barrett (Woman #1), David Costa (Man #1), Aimee Doherty (Woman #2), De’Lon Grant (Man #2), and Shannon Lee Jones (Woman #3). The ensemble adeptly shifts from individual to group pieces, from funny to poignant, and from dances with props to five-part harmonies sitting still. Their easy chemistry allows for both relaxed silliness (like jerking about the stage in an exaggerated way as over-caffeinated coffee drinkers) and for convincing love scenes.

Leigh Barrett especially impresses with her acting range, sometimes, as in “The Happy Time,” transitioning between amusingly absentminded and heartbreakingly wistful in the same song. Aimee Doherty also stands out with her stage presence and powerfully accurate voice, managing with her earnest enthusiasm to make potentially obnoxious characters, like the rich girl who sings about how fortunate she is in “How Lucky Can You Get?,” endearing even before her doubts about her happiness are exposed.

Choreographer Iyse Robbins paces the show well, knowing when to liven it up with choreography utilizing the whole stage and when to let the actors sit still and put their voices and expressions at the service of Ebb’s moving and witty lyrics. The cast executes her fun choreography—with frequent use of props both expected (top hats, money-lined jackets) and unexpected (baby buggies, a shopping cart stuffed with Sara Lee pies)—with exuberance and ease.

As the title song “The World Goes ‘Round” points out, however, life includes both good and bad (“one day it’s kicks, then it’s kicks in the shins”). In the case of this revue, the predictable rehashing of a few standards serve as the kicks in the shins. Attempts to hew to the original staging, in such songs as “All that Jazz” (employing Fosse-esque choreography with top-hat-wearing men and silhouettes) and “Mr. Cellophane” (using the standard hand gestures and jokes about the spotlight operator), give us problematic mini-imitations rather than fresh musical approaches.

All together now: the cast of THE WORLD GOES ‘ROUND. Photo: Andrew Brilliant / Brilliant Pictures
Although, laudably, the show tries to reimagine other songs, it doesn’t always succeed at that either. For example, making “Me and My Baby” from Chicago revolve around parents singing to their real babies, rather than a convict inventing a fake baby to manipulate the judicial system, strips the song of its complexity. Without the strong ironic undertones, the tune becomes overly simplistic and cutesy.

Still these missteps are minor, and the show, like the world in the title song, always keeps going on, successfully rethinking other songs, like “Class” from Chicago. The brilliant resetting—featuring two exceedingly trashy and tacky friends in a fancy restaurant—stands as one of the evening’s funniest numbers.

A bit strangely for a Kander and Ebb tribute, The World Goes ‘Round lacks the more socially relevant songs that are in many of their musicals: For example, sensationalism and crime as entertainment in Chicago, escapism and willful ignorance in Nazi-era Germany in Cabaret. Still, the revue effectively celebrates their ability to create compelling music that captures complex individual relationships and a variety of emotional states.

Late in the show, Woman #3 sings, “Happiness comes in on tiptoe / Well, what do you know / It’s a quiet thing.” For the most part, this production is also a “quiet thing,” an understated and elegant appreciation of Kander and Ebb charmingly performed by a talented ensemble that doesn’t need a lot of razzle dazzle to generate happiness.

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THE WORLD GOES ’ROUND Musical revue conceived by Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman, and David Thompson from songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb

Directed and choreographed by: Ilyse Robbins. Musical direction, Todd C. Gordon. Set, Erik D. Diaz. Lights, Deb Sullivan. Costumes, Deidre McCabe Gerrard. Presented by New Repertory Theatre.

At: Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown, through July 31. Tickets: $28-$58 ($21-$51 seniors; $20 student rush). 617-923-8487, www.newrep.org

WATERTOWN – We know John Kander and Fred Ebb for the musicals “Cabaret’’ and “Chicago,’’ and the song “New York, New York,’’ but they also wrote more than a dozen less celebrated stage shows, with names like “The Happy Time,’’ “The Rink,’’ “The Act,’’ and “Flora, the Red Menace.’’

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In 1991, director Scott Ellis, choreographer Susan Stroman, and librettist David Thompson devised a Kander & Ebb musical revue, “The World Goes ’Round’’ (title from a song the team wrote for Liza Minnelli to sing in the film “New York, New York’’), which drew from these more obscure shows as well as the familiar ones. “The World Goes ’Round’’ may not have prompted a ton of Kander & Ebb revivals, but it’s an engaging two-and-a-quarter-hour sampler of songs you wouldn’t otherwise hear, and the current New Repertory Theatre production puts it across with wit, pizzazz, and some genuinely torchy singing.

There’s no plot, only five lonely individuals – three women, two men – looking for love and trying to make sense of the crazy world they live in. Erik D. Diaz’s set has music director Todd C. Gordon’s band (keyboard, flute/clarinet/sax, bass, percussion) on an upper level, next to what looks like the railing on a cruise ship. Down below, doors and tables and prams and tall black stools are unobtrusively brought on and taken off.Slinky in a silver A-line dress, Aimee Doherty kicks it off with the title song. The quintet bewail the ubiquity of “Coffee in a Cardboard Cup,’’ then David Costa warbles his ode to “Sara Lee’’ (“Your brioche just fractures me’’). In fact it’s the funny numbers that work best. Shannon Lee Jones comes off like Samantha Jones of “Sex in the City’’ as she explains what keeps her in shape: “Arthur in the Afternoon.’’ Soused at a cafe table, Jones and Doherty (the latter now in silver hot pants) point the finger at those who have no “Class.’’ After intermission, Jones and Leigh Barrett, at the same table, lament that “The Grass Is Always Greener.’’ “You can have my husband,’’ Barrett sighs; “I’ve already had your husband’’ is Jones’s reply. On opening night, at the end of the audience-participation segment of “Ring Them Bells,’’ Doherty cooed to an elderly gentleman who was leaving the stage, “Call me!’’

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What doesn’t work are the showstoppers. Jones wriggles her way through “All That Jazz’’ well enough, but she doesn’t have the Minnelli pipes for “Maybe This Time,’’ and Barrett hardly evokes Barbra Streisand in “My Coloring Book.’’ And though De’Lon Grant is a sharp comedian (as Arthur, he even does push-ups with one foot in the air), he’s over-earnest in “The Happy Time’’ and “We Can Make It,’’ and his big voice isn’t always pitch-perfect.

Still, you can forgive all that when Barrett, in “Colored Lights,’’ sings, “If I could just be 12 again… . It was simple then,’’ or when the quintet make like a playful Manhattan Transfer in “Cabaret.’’ And there’s a touching segue from “Marry Me,’’ in which Doherty is distressed by Costa’s proposal (“I know the neighborhood would give its consent/ And there’s a cutaway I’m dying to rent’’), to “A Quiet Thing,’’ in which she decides that just because “bells don’t ring’’ doesn’t mean he isn’t Mr. Right. “The Money Song’’ notwithstanding, it’s love that makes Kander & Ebb’s world go ’round.

THEATER
New Rep names some directors
E-mail | Print | Comments (0) Posted by Laura Collins-Hughes May 31, 2011 05:25 PM
Remaining mum about the reason for artistic director Kate Warner’s abrupt exit last week, New Repertory Theatre has tapped Ilyse Robbins to direct and choreograph its summer show, “The World Goes ‘Round.” Before her departure, Warner had been slated to helm the Kander and Ebb revue, which opens in July.

No word on replacements for Warner in the two other plays she was to have directed, “In the Wake” (on the schedule for October) and “Bakersfield Mist” (a co-production with Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, due to open there in August and at New Rep in February). But elsewhere in the 2011-12 season, Benjamin Evett has signed on to direct “Rent,” opening in September. Diego Arciniegas will direct “A Christmas Story” in December.