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30 May 2016

May was a good month for live theatre in Denver. Two of my all-time favorite shows had interesting runs.

First up was Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

The cast of Sweeney Todd at the Denver Center.
Photo taken with the iPhone 6 Plus.

The production included a unique musical twist supplied by Denver's own DeVotchKa and approved by the master himself, Stephen Sondheim. It was quite a treat to sit in on an audience "Talkback" session after the show and hear about the technicalities of making Sweeney's barber chair work (it didn't the first night) and getting Sondheim's blessing for the musical tweaks. For one thing, the new score features a drum beat.

My first introduction to Sweeney was during college — at a benefit concert in Ft. Collins. The show featured a rousing rendition of A Little Priest and I was hooked.

The first time I saw Sweeney in full was in London, with Alun Armstrong starring as the Demon Barber. I haven't forgotten that performance and that production. It made Sweeney my favorite Sondheim show.

Then I made it to a revival on Broadway several years ago. The cast featured Patti Lupone as Mrs. Lovett and Michael Cerveris as Sweeney. The twist this time: Cast members played instruments.

Later on, I'd see Cerveris star in a revival of Evita. It was so good, it made me totally reevaluate the show and I why I hadn't liked it in previous engagements (including the Madonna movie).

Speaking of Patti, I saw her in London in Sunset Blvd.. In my opinion, it's Andrew Lloyd Webber's best work. Totally misread, underappreciated and lost in the heyday of the big-budget musical extravaganzas of the '90s. Patti starred as Norma Desmond.

Well, Friday night I treated myself to a production of Sunset Blvd. at the Vintage Theatre in Aurora, Colo. It's a small venue — I figure around 120 seats, all general admission. It was also a tight fit for the staging, which included an MG 1952 Model TD. Ambitious. Clever. On a budget.

And it was quite the attractive cast, boasting a collection of terrific voices. Leading the cast was local opera star Marcia Ragonetti as Norma, with a solid turn by Drew Hirschboeck as Joe Gillis.

The original score was sweeping, big — the kind suitable to fill the Adelphi Theatre with music right up to the rafters. When I first saw the show — in previews — Andrew Lloyd Webber sat two rows in front of me. A magical night, that one.

Sunset Blvd. by way of Colfax Ave. featured a trimmed-down orchestration, suitable for the venue but perhaps too subdued. Nonetheless, it was a great time at a small venue I had never before attended. I will be back.

I didn't get to see the Los Angeles production, but I did seeing the touring company. I believe the tour debuted in Denver. Then there was that production at the Arvada Center.

Mattopia Jones at Paramount's Bronson Gate, featured in Billy Wilder's Sunset Blvd..
Photo taken with the Sony A6000 in 2015.

New ways to dream, Norma. New ways to dream.

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