A Review of the Totem Musical, for those of you from UBC:
I'm taking a short break from my 8-page paper that I started at 1pm in order to write a review of the Totem Musical, which I had the unfortunate ability to see last night. Mind you, my judgement was probably partially hindered due to the chemically induced stupor which I was in, after taking those fucking pills. God I'm dumb. Anyway, on to the review.
March 19, 2005, Totem Park Commonsblock.
Damn Yankees, an interesting musical for the Christian Mafia to choose as this year's presentation, was the acclaimed highlight of last night's evening. I regret to inform my dear readers, however, that the acclamations were on part of directors and cast members, and were therefore, false, if egotistical at best.
Produced by the beloved Manuel Betancourt, along with Laura "Ugly Face" Levine, and Jacqui Beaulieu, Damn Yankees failed to present the proper laughs that such a show should eminate from the crowd. Greg Dennis and Marisol Valerio, as band directors, should have called a few more rehearsals for their out-of-tune violin section, which was akin to skinned kittens. The salvation of the music came from the trombone section, comprised of a very talented Joseph Dubec and a less-heard Ben Randall.
As for the actors, it seemed that the show was carried simply by the male lead, Micah Prazak (who I am sure is now a prescriber to Prozac, after wasting his talents on such a depressing performance.) who, although a talented actor, seemed to yell his song lyrics rather than sing them. This resulted in many embarassing voice cracks and out-of-key notes held for far too long. Furthermore, Prazak seemed to be fixated on the upper left hand side of the auditorium, as he could not take his eyes off that spot during any of his songs. Yes, Micah, I understand you were trying to be reminescent, but that doesn't mean you can't look at the picture of your wife which is in your hands.
Micah, being opposed by his costars Jen Viens, playing Lola, and Megan Brown, playing Meg was still the best in show. While Megan has a very beautiful voice, it fails to avert our attention from her lacking actings skills and inability to project her voice. Blame most of that on the directors, who reportedly did not have enough rehearsal time. Regardless, casting should consider the three threats of a stage maiden, not a woman who can only sing and not much else.
As for Lola, she was typical and boring. Many cheers were emmanated from the audience at the removal of her clothing, rather than her performance. I was most certainly cheering every time she removed herself from stage. Viens pulled out no stops and brought nothing original to her representation of the character, but rather, played a flatline version of the movie's elderly maiden. The salvation of her performance rested in her ability to look hot. Viens also proved that she was not so much a stage vertan, having forgotten many carnal rules of the stage. At one point, during a latin dance scene (completely irrelevant to the plot), her dress came undone from its ties at the back and was hanging perilously upon her breasts. The exposure was certain, but Viens broke out of character, giggling, ending her song, and retied her dress. Carnal Rule #1: Remain in Character, no matter What. Carnal Rule #2: If it might come undone, safety pin it. In other points of the show, her face was obscured by the now-trendy sideswept bangs that Viens sports in real life. If Jen had been a theatre veteran, she would have pinned her hair in place and sprayed it, in order to avoid the obstruction of an otherwise very beautiful face. Finally, Lola seemed incapable of dancing and singing at the same time. While she was obviously not a talented dancer, she should not have been given such difficult moves which distracted her attention from the song she was singing.
Directors seemed to forget the importance of a chorus during the musical, as did the choreographers. Chorus members remained expressionless and quiet during songs. Their energy was lacking, and they seemed anything but enthused to be a part of such a ... of the show. Admittedly, if I were in the chorus, I would be less than enthused as well, but when on stage you cannot let that show. The Jazz Hands were limp, and the smiles were non-existant. What's more, choreographers Laura Levine and Basha Ladovsky made poor decisions, in many scenese, that left the audience in stitches at the ridiculousness of the dancing.
All in all, the production was a disappointment. The direction was shoddy, the chorus was boring, the band was lacking, and the actors were terrible. The only real salvation: a naked Erik (playing Vernon), which I was certainly excited to see.
I'm taking a short break from my 8-page paper that I started at 1pm in order to write a review of the Totem Musical, which I had the unfortunate ability to see last night. Mind you, my judgement was probably partially hindered due to the chemically induced stupor which I was in, after taking those fucking pills. God I'm dumb. Anyway, on to the review.
March 19, 2005, Totem Park Commonsblock.
Damn Yankees, an interesting musical for the Christian Mafia to choose as this year's presentation, was the acclaimed highlight of last night's evening. I regret to inform my dear readers, however, that the acclamations were on part of directors and cast members, and were therefore, false, if egotistical at best.
Produced by the beloved Manuel Betancourt, along with Laura "Ugly Face" Levine, and Jacqui Beaulieu, Damn Yankees failed to present the proper laughs that such a show should eminate from the crowd. Greg Dennis and Marisol Valerio, as band directors, should have called a few more rehearsals for their out-of-tune violin section, which was akin to skinned kittens. The salvation of the music came from the trombone section, comprised of a very talented Joseph Dubec and a less-heard Ben Randall.
As for the actors, it seemed that the show was carried simply by the male lead, Micah Prazak (who I am sure is now a prescriber to Prozac, after wasting his talents on such a depressing performance.) who, although a talented actor, seemed to yell his song lyrics rather than sing them. This resulted in many embarassing voice cracks and out-of-key notes held for far too long. Furthermore, Prazak seemed to be fixated on the upper left hand side of the auditorium, as he could not take his eyes off that spot during any of his songs. Yes, Micah, I understand you were trying to be reminescent, but that doesn't mean you can't look at the picture of your wife which is in your hands.
Micah, being opposed by his costars Jen Viens, playing Lola, and Megan Brown, playing Meg was still the best in show. While Megan has a very beautiful voice, it fails to avert our attention from her lacking actings skills and inability to project her voice. Blame most of that on the directors, who reportedly did not have enough rehearsal time. Regardless, casting should consider the three threats of a stage maiden, not a woman who can only sing and not much else.
As for Lola, she was typical and boring. Many cheers were emmanated from the audience at the removal of her clothing, rather than her performance. I was most certainly cheering every time she removed herself from stage. Viens pulled out no stops and brought nothing original to her representation of the character, but rather, played a flatline version of the movie's elderly maiden. The salvation of her performance rested in her ability to look hot. Viens also proved that she was not so much a stage vertan, having forgotten many carnal rules of the stage. At one point, during a latin dance scene (completely irrelevant to the plot), her dress came undone from its ties at the back and was hanging perilously upon her breasts. The exposure was certain, but Viens broke out of character, giggling, ending her song, and retied her dress. Carnal Rule #1: Remain in Character, no matter What. Carnal Rule #2: If it might come undone, safety pin it. In other points of the show, her face was obscured by the now-trendy sideswept bangs that Viens sports in real life. If Jen had been a theatre veteran, she would have pinned her hair in place and sprayed it, in order to avoid the obstruction of an otherwise very beautiful face. Finally, Lola seemed incapable of dancing and singing at the same time. While she was obviously not a talented dancer, she should not have been given such difficult moves which distracted her attention from the song she was singing.
Directors seemed to forget the importance of a chorus during the musical, as did the choreographers. Chorus members remained expressionless and quiet during songs. Their energy was lacking, and they seemed anything but enthused to be a part of such a ... of the show. Admittedly, if I were in the chorus, I would be less than enthused as well, but when on stage you cannot let that show. The Jazz Hands were limp, and the smiles were non-existant. What's more, choreographers Laura Levine and Basha Ladovsky made poor decisions, in many scenese, that left the audience in stitches at the ridiculousness of the dancing.
All in all, the production was a disappointment. The direction was shoddy, the chorus was boring, the band was lacking, and the actors were terrible. The only real salvation: a naked Erik (playing Vernon), which I was certainly excited to see.
If the Highlight was seeing a naked body...........Booo Urns