A Chorus Line

I spent the last three weeks playing bass for Winters Lane's production of A Chorus Line. I almost didn't take the gig as a result of some past drama with some folks involved with the show, but, thanks to the advice of a friend, I decided to be an adult and talk out the issues with the individuals involved and ultimately joined the orchestra.

I never got to actually see the show since my back was to the stage but I heard it was good from my friends who came to see it. I also got to make some cool new friends and, hopefully, heal some old wounds.

Roddy Piper

I usually don't get too star-struck, but when I got to meet Roddy Piper at last weekend's Horrorfind Convention, it was way cool. Back when Jason was a young geek and wrestling fan, Roddy Piper was Hulk Hogan's main nemesis and my favorite wrestler. He's also the star of one of my favorite movies, They Live.

For the record, he was super nice and took his time answering the couple of questions that I had for him.

Generally speaking, the convention seemed a little smaller than in previous years. It could be because they have two events every year now instead of just one. Regardless, it was fun!

Zombie Reviews

From PotomacStages.com....

"Lots of people have a good time during this up-tempo spoof of teenage horror movies that were the rage during the drive-in movie era. The people in the audience have a great time, in part because it is clear that the people on stage are having a ball. The cast of ten delivers this confection as if they really love the material and want the audience to fall under its spell as well. With a simple (but effective) set, efficient lighting and a costume design that is as witty and clever as the script, the entire package delivers a short, highly charged evening. The leads are Kelly Garland, making her theater debut, and Kyle VanZandt who doesn't seem to have a bashful bone in his body. So often in community theater there is a certain reticence, a reluctance to really let go. Not so with VanZandt. He throws himself into the role. He has a good, but not well trained voice, and belts out his big notes. Some of the time, however, it is the energy and sincerity of the delivery that makes them so much fun, not any strict conformance with the key structure. Garland holds the stage comfortably and delivers her songs with style. Together, they make an appealing couple, and it is refreshing to see a musical about teenagers in love played by people who look like teenagers rather than twenty-somethings trying to pass as youngsters.

Before Dana P. Rowe and John Dempsey wrote the musicals The Fix and The Witches of Eastwick, they collaborated on this musical spoof. The score isn't "sung through" in the manner of the Les Misérables / The Phantom of the Opera mega-musicals that often trudge through minimally melodic recitative. It is, however, almost all singing. What is more, almost all of the story and most of the character development is delivered in song. The key here may be the fact that both book and lyrics are by the same man, John Dempsey, and he clearly is comfortable telling his story in the kind of rhymed couplets that Dana Rowe can set to infectious tunes. He certainly isn't afraid to reach for a wild pun or stretch to set up a great sight gag with a descriptive lyric. Both collaborators have turned out material that is a great deal of fun.

Because so much of the story is told through the score, the rhythm and pace of the entire production is dictated by what Dempsey and Rowe wrote, leaving the director little choice but to have his cast go with their flow. First, however, the director needs to attract a talented cast and then he has to get them to trust their material and feel comfortable giving it a full-out delivery. Director Jason Wilson has done just that, and with the help of inventive work by choreographer Elizabeth Fette, who gives the cast moves that use their skills without exceeding their abilities, the troupe performs with pizzazz.

Rick Robertson throws himself into the role of a gossip reporter with so much conviction that he seems like a role model for the younger cast members. Of course, with the raspberry shirt and orange tie under a silver suit that Margo Harvey provided, anyone would stand out. Kristen Zwobot doesn't quite get all the mileage out of the role of the dictatorial school principal, but she carries her part of the plot along without a dip in the energy of the production. All six of the supporting ensemble are good as well. Music director Michael Tan gets everyone to concentrate on their enunciation so all the material Dempsey implants in his lyrics can be understood and appreciated."

From The Sun...

"Zombie Prom, the new show from Merely Players, speaks to teens, says Artistic Director Beverly van Joolen, "in a kind of High School Musical meets Grease meets I Was a Teenage Werewolf way."
This 1996 musical with book and lyrics by John Dempsey and music by Dana Rowe is a campy return to the 1950s, but where the prom queen's date might well be a walking corpse. It may sound like a stretch, but the Merely Players cast and crew pull it off with stylish enthusiasm.
Relatively new and unknown locally, the show has the distinct advantage of no overfamiliarity. Although more recent decades like the 1980s "greed is good" period might yield some humor, the '80s are probably as remote as the 1950s to most teens today.
We are introduced to students at Enrico Fermi High, tightly controlled by Principal Miss Strict, who indoctrinates them with the school motto: "Rules, Regulations and Respect."
Miss Strict has zero tolerance for recently arrived orphan Jonny, who spells his name without an "h" and wears a leather jacket -- enough to merit her labeling him a rebel.
Jonny falls instantly in love with preppy Toffee, but her parents forbid her from continuing their relationship. In despair Jonny commits suicide by jumping into a nuclear waste dump from which his toxic body is extracted for burial at sea.
Toffee mourns Jonny for three weeks while being counseled, "Face it, the boy is dead. You'll be a widow before you're wed." Jonny hears Toffee's anguished cries from the water's depth, prompting his return to her and Fermi High.
Jonny soon draws the attention of ambitious reporter Eddie Flagrante, who invites the zombie to appear on local television, where his ghoulish appearance fascinates and sparks sympathy.
Could a dead boy make an acceptable prom date for sweet Toffee? Will Miss Strict relax her rules, and can happiness exist for this now-dead orphan teen come back to ghoulish life?
First-time director at Merely Players Jason Wilson brings this "blissful high school experience" to life with an outstanding cast of performers and the support of musical director Michael Tan and a five-musician live combo.
The show's teen slant prompted me to invite my 16-year-old granddaughter, Marie Johnson-Gomez, and her 18-year-old friend, Mike Stanley, to join in critiquing this show. Marie found it "slow getting started, but the love interest happens too fast." Marie's favorites in the cast included Kelly Garland as Toffee and Kyle VanZandt as Jonny, both fine singers and actors.
Mike, an accomplished musician and singer, called the score "repetitious doo-wop that took on a boring sameness as if it was one long song."
Although Marie found the score mostly unexciting, she singled out two songs she liked, "Ain't No Going Back" and "Expose," a comic number set to tango rhythm. Mike thought Rick Robertson, who plays Eddie Flagrante, was a standout singer.
Both of my guests agreed they had little connection to the '50s and that the dance numbers were "overblown."
The far-fetched meager plot might be described as operatic with love sprouting instantly -- much as it does for La Boheme's Mimi and Rodolfo.
But I thought all the lead actors were outstanding and enjoyed the dancers who covered the Charleston, the Twist and the Monkey, all well rehearsed and well executed with energy and enthusiasm."

ZOMBIE PROM!!!!

OK, so I figured this would be a good way to start off my blog...

Zombie Prom opened last weekend! It's the first time I've ever directed anything before and it was definitely an interesting experience. The actual directing of the show was fun. I was really lucky to have a great cast and an even greater production staff that all worked as hard as they could to put on an awesome show.
We definitely had our issues during the rehearsal process....the bitter dude from CAC who said my ideas were "shitty", the lack of support from the folks paying the bills, the promised help that never arrived....but ultimately it came down to the folks that were there, pulling together and I couldn't be happier with how the show turned out.


If you wanna see the show, it runs until April 20th. You can find info at...
http://www.merelyplayers.cyberbass.com/