Loejjie Estacio

World Theatre I- Dong Shin Chang iClicker ID: 23AB2AA2 05/09/2013

Extra Credit Review of Through the Ages Cabaret

Through the Ages Cabaret was presented at Ida K. Lang Recital Hall in Hunter College, on Saturday, May 4th, 2013. It was made possible through Obsessed! Productions, which Manuel Ribes, Kimberly Espinosa, and Kirsten Cruz formed two years ago to put up a selfdirected and produced show for the Hunter audience. I was very fortunate and grateful enough to be a part of this one-night only cabaret show that features a great variety of musical theatre songs through the ages. The shows line up includes songs from Les Miserables, Company, The Phantom of the Opera, Avenue Q, Annie Get Your Gun, Forward, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Candide, Legally Blonde, West Side Story, Songs for a New World, Kiss Me Kate, A Chorus Line, The Drowsy Chaperone, Side Show, Mulan, Miss Saigon, Into the Woods, Rigoletto, The Little Mermaid, and Wicked. It was presented cabaret style, with blackouts between musical numbers as transitions. The set was very minimal; we only utilized mobile chairs and tables, with three microphones in stands to amplify our voices. Our costumes were set to be neutral (black dresses for girls, black pants and shirts for guys, etc.) to be able to be more flexible in playing multiple characters and save time for quick changes between songs. The show went well that night and we had a good number of audience. I believe even in an objective manner, I think our performance that night was our best, taking in consideration of the 9 weeks of rehearsal we had. There are some parts I honestly think could need more improvement, and I will also talk about them in this review.

Our first rehearsal of Through the Ages was on early March and the directors (Kim and Manny) assigned our specific numbers in the show. There were six group numbers, six duets, two trios, six solos and one quintet. We had our rehearsals mainly on Saturday afternoons at the music room, and Monday and Wednesday nights at the rehearsal rooms in 4th floor of Hunter North. Kirsten and Kim taught us the songs by plucking the notes on the piano, while Manny gave us recommendations on acting choices, staging and song dynamics. The trio as we call them did their best to prepare us musically before late April, when we finally met our accompanist, Sam. There were ups and downs during rehearsals. Back then I was simultaneously rehearsing for productions of Legally Blonde and Footloose outside the school to build my resume. This made me miss a couple of rehearsals for the cabaret, but somehow we were able to pull it altogether on the night of the show and weve definitely came a long way. Taking an objective perspective, here are my comments about the show. I think Manny and Kim both have big, wonderful operatic voices that could fill an entire room. I loved the deep, rich bass/baritone voice of Manny, and the high soprano voice of Kim, but sometimes in my own taste, they should try to limit using too much vibrato. My favorite group numbers are No One Mourns the Wicked, A New World and At the Ballet because of their tight blending harmonies and musicality. My favorite solo was Quiet by Isabelle not only because of her riffs and high belts, but also because of the emotional message of the song itself. Numbers that could have been better are Tonight and Ill Make a Man out of you. These two group numbers were least focused upon during the rehearsal process and we didnt had much more time to run them again, which was why there were some musical timing issues, as well as lack of staging. While working on this production and taking World Theatre I, I could definitely relate both because they reflect some aspects of basic theatrical elements together.

Evolutionary creativity (from Native American theatre) was demonstrated by observing the transition of operatic /legit musical theatre songs to more pop- sounding contemporary pieces. Some songs in the show that require classical voice training include At the End of the Day, Si Vendetta, and Glitter and be Gay while songs that need belting are I Will Never Leave you, Legally Blonde, and Quiet. The difference is widely seen in mainstream musicals, which tend to favor pop and rock scores more than legit songs to adapt to younger audiences. Another element is the cabaret style of the show which mirrors za ju (variety show in Chinese Theatre). The cabaret tackles themes about love through star-crossed lovers singing "All I Ask of You" and Sun and Moon, and also theme of justice in "At the End of the Day when the poor Fantine was sent away by the Foreman by accusation. The mixing of genre as Lope De Vega suggested is further utilized in this show. There was comedy (Adolpho), tragedy (No One is Alone) and tragicomedy (I Wish I could go back to College) songs as well as storytelling numbers like No One Mourns the Wicked (where Glinda gives a flashback memory of Elphabas parents) and At the Ballet (where Sheila, Bebe and Maggie talks about their childhood, parents and dreams of becoming a dancer). Finally, there was the idea of being an impresario (from Spanish theatre) by Manny, Kim and Kirsten. During the whole process, they performed different roles to put up the show by being actors, musicians, directors, and producers simultaneously. Overall, I had so much fun being a part of this production by getting to know and collaborate with amazing talents and having to perform a wide variety of musical theatre pieces written through the ages.