In light of my New Year's blog post, I felt it was necessary to post this: http://www.petitiononline.com/esnyc/petition.html
This is an online petition for our new President, Barack Obama, to appoint a Secretary of the Arts. This is something we've needed for a long time, and in the current financial climate, the arts are getting struck harder than before. Arts education programs in schools are being cut like never before and the new voices of the arts are finding it even harder to make themselves heard. We need the help wherever we can get it. The exciting part of this news is that so far there are 221565 signatures on the petition. I also read an article stating that a new petition has recently been formed against the appointment of a Secretary of the Arts. As of the writing of the article, that petition has six signatures. I think we all feel the way poster #221517, Laura Hope-Gill, feels: "It's time."
Expect new posts in the very near future, and as usual if you know of any exciting new theatre happening in the New York area, please let me know! feel free to comment here or drop me an e-mai: rigano.reviews@gmail.com.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Drawn to Mary Fishburne
This proved to be a fantastic and charming opening for a fantastic and charming show. First of all, Ms. Fishburne is a delight. She brings an air of Southern charm combined with New York know-how, a stunning mix, to this performance. This is most apparent in her performance of the Alan Menken song "Pink Fish," a song about a Southern girl in New York discovering bagels and lox.
The other thing she and writer/director Jeffrey Sweet brought to the evening was a sense of sincerity. This was not a gimmick show. While they gave us the requisite jokes comparing Ms. Fishburne to the likes of Minnie Mouse and Olive Oil, she also brought a grounding--dare I say it?--third dimension to the material.
With material ranging from silver-screen Disney to classic television and back, the show, accompanied by the amazing Rick Hip-Flores, married whimsy to true human (or in some cases, animal) emotions for a beautiful show. Kudos to producer Jeff Landsman (of the York Theatre's Developmental Reading Series) for finding these artists and bringing them together.
In attendance the night that I saw the show was the daughter of legendary cartoon composer Sammy Timberg (of the Popeye opening number), who was there to see her father's material celebrated. We chatted beforehand and she asked me if I was Mary's boyfriend. I thought to myself after seeing the show, I should just lied and said "Yes!"
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Happy New Year, all! I hope you all had sufficiently raucous December 31st celebrations. Mine were filled with theoretical discussions of theatre while making brand new friends (I kid you not).
I've got a few things to cram into this post. The first is a very belated review of a production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown that I saw at Marymount Manhattan College. Directed by Jesse Marchese, this production utilized--in many ways--found objects representing the scenery and props dictated by the script, much the way the original Off-Broadway production did. Jesse's theory, he told me, was that kids can make a performance space out of anything. His production certainly proved that point. Rather than recreating the 'Peanuts' characters of the cartoons, as the most recent Broadway revival did, this production--staged in a non-traditional space--gave the impression of kids putting on a show in their backyard.
The performances astounded me. As a teacher of young people (a number of my students came to see the show with me!) I've seen several children perform material from Charlie Brown. But there's something so thrilling about adults letting themselves go and embodying these small children with these big ideas. The best example of this would have to be Katie Hutchison's Sally Brown, characterized in equal parts by her capriciousness and her precosiousness. Austin Wolf was delightful as the put-upon title character, his optimism all but forcing you to root for him throughout the whole show. It was a joy to watch Melissa Benoist (who I named last year's break-out performance of the year) lose herself in the egomaniacal Lucy VanPelt, and even more a joy to hear her sing. The necessary air of maturity and sophistication was supplied by Kevin O'Malley who portrayed a Snoopy that one might find more suited to sipping martinis with the likes of Noel Coward or Alexander Wollcott than hanging out with that round-headed boy.
Overall, the production was a delight and my students from The Children's Acting Academy had a wonderful time. I hope to post photos from the production as soon as I can.
On a more serious note, New York is currently recovering from The Great Broadway Massacre of 2009, a day that will go down in infamy as that day that saw the simultaneous closing of nine Broadway shows (and put a number of friends of mine out of work). January 4, 2009, left a staggering number of Broadway houses dark, and while new shows are coming in, they're going much more swiftly. It could be argued that some of the shows that have left my friends on unemployment (Hairspray, for example) have stayed their welcome and met with a timely demise, while others (Spring Awakening, anyone?) were more difficult to fathom.
In any event, right now more than ever in recent memory, we need to support the arts however we can. We need to go to Broadway shows, Off-Broadway shows, tours, regional theatre, community theatre. We need to show our solidarity for the up-and-coming talent out there. The arts have never been an easy field to break into. But due to the current recession, performers, writers, creators of all kind are finding that there are fewer and fewer venues for their voices to be heard.
So, here's my New Year's resolution: I will go to see as many performances [especially of new talent] as my wallet will allow [comps are always welcome] and I will spread the word right here.
Here's how you can do your part: PLEASE let me know of shows that you or your friends are doing so that I can plug them and review them. And please, pass this blog on to your friends so that the word can spread even faster. Let's join forces to support the insane amount of talent that is out there all over the country waiting to be heard!
On that note, I have a few things to plug. First: the insanely talented Mary Fishburne will be performing in her new cabaret Drawn to You, featuring music from some of her favorite cartoons. The show opens December 7 (TOMORROW) and runs until December 11. It's sure to be a sensational evening, and you're sure to hear more about it from me.
I also have to give a shout-out and a big Thank You to The Fabulous Jennifer Wren (that's her full name) who hosts the bi-monthly open-mic/cabaret Big Night Out. Jenny is a big part of the coallition to give new voices a chance to be heard. Every other Thursday at their new home at Dillon's Lounge, she and Musical Genius Bill Zeffiro (that's his full name) can be found hamming it up and allowing others to do so, as well.
That having been said, I have a belated Christmas/New Year gift for you all. On December 17th, Jenny and Bill hosted a Holiday Extravaganza, and I was honored to be among the truly amazing composers and performers. Here is a video of me singing my song "(Let's Go) Under the Mistletoe."
I've got a few things to cram into this post. The first is a very belated review of a production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown that I saw at Marymount Manhattan College. Directed by Jesse Marchese, this production utilized--in many ways--found objects representing the scenery and props dictated by the script, much the way the original Off-Broadway production did. Jesse's theory, he told me, was that kids can make a performance space out of anything. His production certainly proved that point. Rather than recreating the 'Peanuts' characters of the cartoons, as the most recent Broadway revival did, this production--staged in a non-traditional space--gave the impression of kids putting on a show in their backyard.
The performances astounded me. As a teacher of young people (a number of my students came to see the show with me!) I've seen several children perform material from Charlie Brown. But there's something so thrilling about adults letting themselves go and embodying these small children with these big ideas. The best example of this would have to be Katie Hutchison's Sally Brown, characterized in equal parts by her capriciousness and her precosiousness. Austin Wolf was delightful as the put-upon title character, his optimism all but forcing you to root for him throughout the whole show. It was a joy to watch Melissa Benoist (who I named last year's break-out performance of the year) lose herself in the egomaniacal Lucy VanPelt, and even more a joy to hear her sing. The necessary air of maturity and sophistication was supplied by Kevin O'Malley who portrayed a Snoopy that one might find more suited to sipping martinis with the likes of Noel Coward or Alexander Wollcott than hanging out with that round-headed boy.
Overall, the production was a delight and my students from The Children's Acting Academy had a wonderful time. I hope to post photos from the production as soon as I can.
On a more serious note, New York is currently recovering from The Great Broadway Massacre of 2009, a day that will go down in infamy as that day that saw the simultaneous closing of nine Broadway shows (and put a number of friends of mine out of work). January 4, 2009, left a staggering number of Broadway houses dark, and while new shows are coming in, they're going much more swiftly. It could be argued that some of the shows that have left my friends on unemployment (Hairspray, for example) have stayed their welcome and met with a timely demise, while others (Spring Awakening, anyone?) were more difficult to fathom.
In any event, right now more than ever in recent memory, we need to support the arts however we can. We need to go to Broadway shows, Off-Broadway shows, tours, regional theatre, community theatre. We need to show our solidarity for the up-and-coming talent out there. The arts have never been an easy field to break into. But due to the current recession, performers, writers, creators of all kind are finding that there are fewer and fewer venues for their voices to be heard.
So, here's my New Year's resolution: I will go to see as many performances [especially of new talent] as my wallet will allow [comps are always welcome] and I will spread the word right here.
Here's how you can do your part: PLEASE let me know of shows that you or your friends are doing so that I can plug them and review them. And please, pass this blog on to your friends so that the word can spread even faster. Let's join forces to support the insane amount of talent that is out there all over the country waiting to be heard!
On that note, I have a few things to plug. First: the insanely talented Mary Fishburne will be performing in her new cabaret Drawn to You, featuring music from some of her favorite cartoons. The show opens December 7 (TOMORROW) and runs until December 11. It's sure to be a sensational evening, and you're sure to hear more about it from me.
I also have to give a shout-out and a big Thank You to The Fabulous Jennifer Wren (that's her full name) who hosts the bi-monthly open-mic/cabaret Big Night Out. Jenny is a big part of the coallition to give new voices a chance to be heard. Every other Thursday at their new home at Dillon's Lounge, she and Musical Genius Bill Zeffiro (that's his full name) can be found hamming it up and allowing others to do so, as well.
That having been said, I have a belated Christmas/New Year gift for you all. On December 17th, Jenny and Bill hosted a Holiday Extravaganza, and I was honored to be among the truly amazing composers and performers. Here is a video of me singing my song "(Let's Go) Under the Mistletoe."
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