Critical Thoughts on Matching Musicals
Article by Kristen Schweizer
I would never have expected myself to be comparing MOXIE Theatre to The Old Globe — partly because they are so different. The Old Globe is arguably the city’s most established theatre company with a history of great classics while Moxie is the fast-growing, scrappy theatre with a focus on being a “crucial launch pad for female-identified authors.” Apples and oranges; they’re both fruits but we choose them for different reasons and with different expectations.
I recently saw musicals at both houses with The Old Globe’s traditional, musical adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility and Moxie’s musical parody Ruthless! Both shows were small-cast musicals, adapted from previous works of fiction, but I did not realize the similarity until after watching both – how both shows attempted to do a whole lot with just a little.
In an apt title, The Old Globe’s Sense and Sensibility follows the well-paced, harmonized story of two sisters finding love. With all the simplicity of Austen’s straight-forward storytelling and richness of expected virtue, the musical blended with a mash of characters well cast for their roles. Stand out performance was the witty Sharon Rietkerk as Elinor Dashwood – who I am fairly certain is also a real life princess.
(I will admit my pre-show reasoning for seeing Sense and Sensibility was Wayne Alan Wilcox. I am pleased to report he plays the exact same character he did in Gilmore Girls.)
Meanwhile MOXIE and Ruthless! are proof that strong women with a goal and a plan to build other female artists up will stop at nothing. The comedic chemistry in Leigh Scarrit and Delicia Turner-Sonnenberg’s campy, delightful piece found laughs within every genre of comedy — and you’ll wish it would never end. The stand out performance was the scene elevating David McBean as Sylvia – who I hope will going to be one of those “I saw him when…” — after he becomes wildly famous.
(I will admit my pre-show reason for seeing Ruthless! was Leigh Scarrit. This wild romp has the same exceptional caliber of vibrato and bravada we have come to expect from her work. (Scarrit: the lady lioness of San Diego; a nurturing director, yet a thespian so fierce she has her own mane.) Combined with co-director Delicia Turner-Sonnenberg’s attention to detail and witty pace, the show sings with the exponential effect of throughough teamwork. Both excel at finding the humanity of small moments, regardless of the genre.
My disappointment in Sense and Sensibility was that the grandeur of Austen’s world was absent from this production. For me, that has always been the real third party in her love triangles: the glades, the sitting rooms, the balls. Lighting replaced wallpaper. While talent filled the room, this scantness meant a need to coax the historical and romantic sets from the imagination of the audience, and, unfortunately, at my Saturday matinee I wasn’t able to get there.
My disappointment with Ruthless! was that the talent far surpassed its home. The show was sold out. MOXIE’s Director of Development Jo Ann Glover, a popular San Diego actress as well, was filling in as the box office manager. The lobby feels like a clubhouse that everyone is allowed in. They need a bigger clubhouse. This smart house excels at curating plays that work within their resources, while always pushing their limits.
My thoughts on these two productions are loose connections that come from watching very different, very similar musicals so close together. The beauty of stories, regardless of their medium, is that it causes you to see things from an altered perspective. Theatre and theaters become the lens that allowed me to see the world separate from my own ego, just long just enough to learn something new.
Theatre teaches you lessons you already had on the tip of your tongue. It helps you find answers by asking the question; even if the question is “Why don’t I like this feeling?”
This weekend I learned that I have slipped into becoming a selfish theatre patron. I started to write the Sense and Sensibility review and realized I had walked across The Old Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center (RIP: 1933-2016) somehow expecting a Kiera Knightly experience. I know better. I saw MOXIE’s 2016-2017 season tagline is ‘Worth Fighting For’ and realized their tight resources were partially due to the fact that I was one of many “fans” who have only ever watched their phenomenal shows in complimentary seats. I know better.
I recommend both shows with the certainty that anyone who wants to learn about themselves can always do so at both The Old Globe and MOXIE Theatre.
P.S. You guys, I could have written this entire thing about how good David McBean is in Ruthless!. Seriously. You must see this show.
Ruthless! The Musical at MOXIE Theatre
book and lyrics Joel Paley
Music by Marvin Laird
directed by Leigh Scarritt and Delicia Turner Sonnenberg
Performances through Aug. 7, 2016
Purchase Tickets: HERE
Ruthless! is a campy cult favorite in which the beautiful and talented 8-year-old Tina Denmark will do ANYTHING to play the lead in the school play…ANYTHING! The show famously spoofs Broadway Musicals such as Gypsy and Auntie Mame, as well as classic films including The Bad Seed and All About Eve. Ruthless! is a hilarious romp through the world of Broadway, child acting, parenthood and unbridled ambition. Winner of the New York’s Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical.
Sense & Sensibility
Sense and Sensibility
Performances through Aug. 14, 2016
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Paul Gordon
Directed by Barbara Gaines
Based on the novel by Jane Austen
Purchase Tickets: HERE
Presented in Association with Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Jane Austen’s beloved, emotional novels inspire readers’ imaginations. Now Tony Award nominee Paul Gordon (The Old Globe’s Emma, Broadway’s Jane Eyre) refashions her timeless classic Sense and Sensibility into a gorgeous, thrillingly romantic musical. After their father’s untimely death, sisters Marianne and Elinor Dashwood lose their fortune, their home, and all their prospects for love. But fortunes can turn again. As the plucky heroines face their situation with courage and resolve, audiences will fall in love with Ms. Austen’s era in a whole new way, enchanted by the lush tones of this ravishing new musical score. TheChicago Sun-Times called Sense and Sensibility “flawless,” and The Wall Street Journal dubbed it “a winner, full of wit and romance—a show as light on its feet as the novel from which it derives.”
