Drink Up! Life is a Cabernet
By Jeanne Theismann
A funny thing happened on the way to
decorum. A run-of-DeMille plot has become a
pun-filled parody in the Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell hit The Musical of
Musicals (The Musical!), back by popular demand and now playing at MetroStage.
Using a singular storyline about a young ingénue who cannot pay her rent —
itself a nod to the Jonathan Larsen blockbuster Rent —
Musical is a theatre lover’s feast as one story becomes five mini-musicals,
each lampooning the unmistakable style of some of Broadway’s most vaulted
composers.
“You can’t parody musical theatre unless you love it the way that Eric and
Joanne do,” said Carolyn Griffin, producing artistic director of MetroStage. “We presented this show
two-and-a-half years ago and I’ve been storing the sets in my garage all
this time because I knew we would do it again.”
Reminiscent of the over-the-top wit and sophisticated silliness of the spoofs
on the old Carol Burnett Show, Musical hilariously skewers the likes of Rodgers
and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Kander and Ebb.
With a few name changes and some inventive twists, Musical tells the audience
how that single plot might have been handled by the various composers, using
clever parodies and allusions — to music, sets and costumes — of their more
celebrated works.
Most of the original MetroStage cast from 2007 have
reunited, with Donna Migliaccio (Abby), Bobby Smith
(Jitter) and Janine Gulisano-Sunday (June) reprising
their celebrated roles as the theatre opens its 25th anniversary season.
Added to this production are Matthew Anderson (Willy) and Doug Lawler
(pianist/narrator). Heather Mayes is understudying the role of Abby and will
take over September 17 when Migliaccio heads to
Musical opens with “Corn!,” a riff on the all-American
homespun likes of
Sondheim’s brooding, complex scores are next on the
chopping block as “A Little Complex” delves mainly into Sweeney Todd, Company
and Into the Woods.
A spoof of the Herman trademark of larger-than-life leading ladies — or men in
drag impersonating leading ladies — closes the first act as “Dear Abby” takes
on Mame, Hello, Dolly! and
La Cage Aux Folles. The toe-tapping melodies, sequins
and spangles bring the curtain down as the requisite Herman “audience led by
gay men rises to its feet.”
Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Sunset Boulevard and
Cats all get a roasting in the Lloyd Webber-inspired “Aspects of Junita,” where a smoke-choked stage is paired with a
precariously dangling chandelier.
Finally, the lights go up on a Kander and
Ebb-inspired ’30s cabaret in
Each member of the ensemble cast is ridiculously talented and they project an
infectious enthusiasm that engages the audience throughout the cleverly
integrated parodies.
Every joke is deadpanned with spot-on precision and the universally strong
vocal performances skillfully pay homage to each composer’s style.
Smith, most recently seen in the Signature Theatre production of See What I Wanna See, is especially fun to watch as the dastardly
landlord slithering with menacing glee throughout the various vignettes.
Migliaccio and Gulisano-Sunday
are titanic forces on stage and Anderson and Lawler brilliantly round out the
limber cast.
Musical first opened in
The 2007 MetroStage production received Helen Hayes
nominations for Outstanding Musical Direction, Outstanding Lead Actress (Migliaccio) and Outstanding Lead Actor (Smith). It also
received the DC Audience Choice Awards for Best Musical, Best Actress and Best
Actor that same year.
The original MetroStage design team of Allison
Campbell (sets), Terry Smith (lighting) and Erin Nungent
(costumes) is also back for a return engagement and display an especially adept
eye in recreating the diversity of signature theatrical styles.
Musical is smartly written, with barbs that are sophisticated enough to impress
the cognoscenti while staying broad enough to entertain even the occasional
musical theatre fan.
So, no use sitting all alone in your room. Drink up!
Life is a cabernet and all the old chums are back in The Musicals of Musicals
(The Musical!) at MetroStage.
The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) is
playing now through October 18 at MetroStage,