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 TM
“The Musical of Musicals (The Musical)”
is a Witty Satire of That Genre
Spoofs and puns float through tale
of destitute heroine and nasty landlord
By Lucy Komisar
My favorite section of Joanne Bogart and Eric
Rockwell’s riotously witty satire is the section inspired by Stephen
Sondheim, which I hope that great composer-lyricist has seen. He is the
missing hero of one of a series of musical vignettes which ostensibly tell
the story of a young lady who can’t pay the rent. Four multi-talented actors
(they sing, they dance, they play the piano, they deadpan comedy) are named
Irony, Ambiguity, Dissonance, and Angst, and they invite us to “our complex
– our apartment complex, The Woods.”
The music is atonal, dark -- absolutely Sondheim. The
lyrics are spoofy sophisticated: “I’ve no money, que será, que Seurat!” And
to the “heavy,” who has money to advance in exchange for accepting his
advances: “You were making some pretty sPacific Overtures.”
Then there’s a Kander & Ebb section about a young woman
who can’t pay the rent. Okay, you’ve guessed it. The shtick is that there’s
a gruel thin plot that is staged five times in the idiom of five favorite
musical writers or teams: Sondheim, Kander & Ebb, Andrew Lloyd Webber,
Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Jerry Herman. Pamela Hunt directs and
choreographs at a bright and fast pace, with actors making entrances and
exits in what sometimes seems like double time.
 Lovette George is a perky June (or Jeune, or Junie Faye
or Junita or Juny). In all incarnations, she has a thrilling soprano. Joanne
Bogart is Abby (or Mother Abby, or Auntie, or Abigal Von Schtarr or Fraulein
Abby) who comes to offer aid and advice à la Dear Abby, along with boyfriend
Bill or Willy or Villy, etc. (Craig Fols). Eric Rockwell is the piano
player and also the landlord, who will forgive the rent if June (et al)
marries him.
Bogart’s lyrics are clever and sharp, cutting America’s
musical idols down to size. Take Rodgers & Hammerstein: “Oh what beautiful
corn! The wind whispers secrets. The field is all ears!” In homage to the
corn, there’s an “I don’t love you” song. And a character declaims, “Don’t
throw okays at me!” The choreography of one show is described as “a run of
De Mille ballet.” Yes, lots of puns!
In the Kander & Ebb piece inspired by the opening of
“Cabaret,” Wilkommen (in German) is followed by “Hasta la vista and Erin Go
Bragh, Gezuntheit and Que será será.” And “Life is a cabernet.” Well, it is
a speakeasy. "Sell Your Body," Fraulein Abby counsels eviction-prone Juny.
And those “Chicago” Fosse dancers!
 When Andrew Lloyd Webber’s moment arrives, the cast
pushes the piano into puffs of smoke. Rockwell sings, “If you heard the song
before, you will hear it even more… It might sound just a teeny like
something like Puccini. Who would sue? It’s just a case of déjà vu, this
wretched recitative.” Well, maybe Junita should sue after she is knocked
flat by the falling chandelier. Rockwell, by the way, has great style and
panache.
Jerry Herman’s moment is full of a prancing chorus and
meaningless text – a star vehicle. The pianist (Rockwell) describes how “The
audience, led by gay men, rises to their feet.”
So will you, of whatever persuasion. This kind of
on-the-mark wit and tuneful parody is great fun, though it helps a lot if
you’ve seen musical targets.
“The Musical of Musicals (The Musical).” Music by Eric
Rockwell. Lyrics by Joanne Bogart. Book by Rockwell & Bogart.
Director/Choreographer Pamela Hunt. Starring
Joanne Bogart, Craig Fols, Lovette George, Eric
Rockwell.
York Theatre at Saint Peter's Church, 619 Lexington (at
54th Street). Mon-Sat 8, Wed, Saturday 2:30. Running time: 1:25. $50;
student tickets day of perf. $20. 212-868-4444.
http://www.yorktheatre.org/
Images by Carol Rosegg
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