Happy packed opening night to Qui Nguyen’s Vietgone play-with-rap-music from Pork Filled Productions & SIS Productions at Theatre Off Jackson. Performing until 8/24. Stay tuned for my full review! #viet #vietnam #asian #refugee #refugees #vietnamese #asians
@showsiveseen "Sister Act" #musical at @TaprootTheatre might be "THE" theatre show of the season. Great casting & costumes. Plus, Alan Menken music is always a crowd-pleaser. Wah wah pedal FTW! Starring Alexandria Henderson. Extended till 8/17. #catholic#nun#nuns#theatre#showiveseen#disco#sisterAct Review: showsiveseen.com/9150 Photos: Robert Wade Lyrics: Glenn Slater Book: Bill and Cheri Steinkellner Director: @Bretteney Beverly ♬ Take Me to Heaven – Sister Rosalie Taller
Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Sister Act musical at Taproot Theatre might be “THE” theatre show of the season. Great casting and costumes. Plus, Alan Menken music is always a crowd-pleaser. Wah wah pedal FTW! Starring Alexandria Henderson. #disco
Recommendation See it, especially if you saw the movie or if you grew up Catholic.
My Synopsis (No Spoilers): A disco lounge singer witnesses a crime and must hide in a convent disguised as a nun. She ends up leading the choir.
Synopsis from the Licensor or Theatre Company: A feel-good musical comedy like “nun” other! Deloris dreams of fame and fortune, but after witnessing a murder she lands in protective custody. Being disguised as a nun can’t cramp her style, and soon she’s inspired the whole choir.
Attended Performance Date: Opening Weekend 7/13/24 – I couldn’t attend the actual opening night since the show was so popular! Keep your eyes peeled for preview posts on my website and social media if you want earlier notification of shows I’ve seen.
Type: Musical
World Premiere: No
Several or Few Scenes: Several
Several or Few Settings/Locations: Several
Static (Stationary) Set? Mostly yes, since it’s such a small theatre. However, this production reused the rotating door from Taproot Theatre’s previous show Sherlock Holmes & the Precarious Position to facilitate scene changes.
Prior Exposure/Knowledge Required: No, but you’d probably enjoy this show more if you saw the original film or if you grew up Catholic.
Would I See It Again 3 Years from Now? Absolutely, but only professional productions like this one.
Mainstream Appeal: Medium to high
Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned Above
Casting: Bretteney Beverly (the director and casting director) did a great job picking actors that matched the energy of the original movie characters especially the refined/uptight Mother Superior (played by Anne Allgood), the contrasting casual down-to-earth Deloris Van Cartier (played by Alexandria J. Henderson), the timid petite vocal bombshell Sister Mary Roberts (played by Rebecca Cort), and the jolly Sister Mary Patrick (played by Hannah Schuerman).
Costumes: Kudos to Esther Garcia for her fantastic costume design. She took me back to the funky 1970s with the sparkly disco sequins, tacky wide collars, plaid bottoms, earthy leather coats, gold bling, groovy bell-bottoms, and leopard print. In particular, I loved Deloris’ white suit at the end of the show. She finally lived her Donna Summer dream. “She showed up simple, all in white. Yeah, she looked so classy… and she sang so nasty!” Also, Eddie Souther’s (played by Charles Simmons) double costume transformation was impressive. For a professional theatre with a lower budget than many other Puget Sound professional theatres, I was surprised that they pulled off this stage magic!
Sweaty Eddie: Speaking of Charles Simmons, I was impressed by his smooth 1970s voice in “I Could Be That Guy” reminiscent of Brian McKnight. The audience was surprised when he sang his first line and they ate up his performance.
Choreography: Surprisingly for a small stage, Jimmy Shields was able to devise entertaining fun choreography. Obviously, it would have looked better in a bigger space though.
Positive Energy and Joy: As someone with RBF, I love musicals where I catch myself smiling during songs like “Lady in the Long Black Dress” (with Bee Gee’s falsetto), “Raise Your Voice,” and “Sunday Morning Fever.”
Rant(s)
Original Songs: It will certainly disappoint viewers of the original film that this musical didn’t contain any original movie songs. I suspect it was due to licensing fees or licensing disagreements. That being said, Alan Menken always writes wonderful masterpiece suites.
Microphones: The wireless wearable microphones occasionally distractingly crackled like there was loose wire/connector. Also, the handheld microphone often overpowered the speakers.
Thrust Stage: Taproot Theatre’s Jewell Mainstage is a thrust stage where the audience sits in a U-shape surrounding three of the four sides. Every time I sit on the sides, I experience major FOMO. The actors (understandably) prioritize blocking towards the back of the theatre space, not the sides.
Other Musing(s) and Observation(s)
Christian Songs vs Love Songs: It’s amusing how both the movie and the musical poked fun at how love songs and Christian songs have interchangeable lyrics. In “Take Me to Heaven,” Deloris and the nuns separately sang “Don’t know how you do what you do. It’s like you’re almost too good to be true. You’re my hope. You’re my dream. You rock my world. You reign supreme.” Deloris first sang it to her beau, but later the nuns sang it to God. Turn on Christian contemporary radio and you’ll hear the same similarities.
Theatre Company: Taproot Theatre
Venue: Jewell Mainstage at Taroot Theatre
Venue Physical Address: 204 N 85th St, Seattle, WA 98103
Price Range: $25-62
Dates: July 10 to August 17, 2024
Seating: Assigned Seating
Parking: Paid lot or usually-free street parking. I always find free street parking on Greenwood Ave just South of the theatre.
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Pictures: See pictures below and in video by Robert Wade.
Rebecca Cort and Alexandria J. Henderson in SISTER ACT at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.Ania Briggs, Connie Corrick, and Alexandria J. Henderson in SISTER ACT at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.Alexandria J. Henderson with Cherisse Martinelli and Ania Briggs in SISTER ACT at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.Anne Allgood and Alexandria J. Henderson in SISTER ACT at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.Alexandria J. Henderson in SISTER ACT at Taproot Theatre, with Rebecca Cort, Hannah Schuerman, Cherisse Martinelli, and Ania Briggs. Photo by Robert Wade.Rolando Cardona, Eyual Degaga, Danny Kam, and Christopher Clark in SISTER ACT at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.Anne Allgood and Alexandria J. Henderson in SISTER ACT at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade.
Congrats Katt for winning a ticket courtesy of Shows I’ve Seen to Broadway Seattle and Seattle Theatre Group’s Company musical at the Paramount Theatre. Review: showsiveseen.com/9162 #Sondheim
Like/Comment/Share my Social Media Posts Announcing the Winner:
What do you dread most about getting older and why? Post your comment submission on my Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, TikTok, or YouTube. I’ll chose a winner after 7/27/24 11:59 PM.
This is a free SINGLE ticket courtesy of Shows I’ve Seen in price level F (worth about $57.50 if you include Ticketmaster fees) to the Company Sondheim musical 7/28/24 1:00 PM Sunday performance at Paramount Theatre. Review: showsiveseen.com/9162
Ticket Giveaway: I’m giving away a free ticket to this production. Click here to read more details! (Update 7/28/24: Congrats to Katt!)
Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Company Sondheim musical at the Paramount Theatre from Seattle Theatre Group & Seattle Broadway. Insights that single aging millennials can appreciate. Great scenic design. Gender twist starring Britney Coleman. #NYC #newYork
Recommendation See it if either you enjoy 1) Sondheim music 2) shows that are more dialogue/vignettes than story 3) or musicals that are more like a play than a traditional musical. Bonus points if you’re currently an aging millennial.
My Synopsis (No Spoilers): A hip New York woman faces the existential crisis of turning 35 while still single. She experiences this disaster in a series of vignettes as a third wheel with her coupled friends.
Synopsis from the Licensor or Theatre Company: PHONE RINGS, DOOR CHIMES, IN COMES COMPANY.
Winner of 5 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, COMPANY “strikes like a lightning bolt. It’s brilliantly conceived and funny as hell.” (Variety). Helmed by three-time Tony Award-winning director Marianne Elliott (War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Angels in America) this revelatory new production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s groundbreaking musical comedy, at once boldly sophisticated, deeply insightful, and downright hilarious.
It’s Bobbie’s 35th birthday party, and all her friends keep asking, Why isn’t she married? Why can’t she find the right man and isn’t it time to settle down and start a family? As Bobbie searches for answers, she discovers why being single, being married, and being alive in the 21st-century could drive a person crazy.
COMPANY features Sondheim’s award-winning songs “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “Side by Side by Side” and the iconic “Being Alive.” Let’s all drink to that!
Attended Performance Date: Opening Night 7/23/24 – Buy your tickets now since the show closes on 7/28/24.
Type: Musical, but it felt more like a play with singing, dancing, and music.
World Premiere: No
Several or Few Scenes: Several
Several or Few Settings/Locations: Several
Static (Stationary) Set? No
Prior Exposure/Knowledge Required: You should be in your 30s or past your 30s. I saw Companyin my 20s and I definitely did not appreciate the script as much as I do now with more life experience. It’s kind of like watching Sex and the City in your 20s vs your 30s … without as much humor.
Was This the First Time I Attended a Production of this Show? No, I previously saw this at the Music Box Theatre in Houston about 10 years ago in my 20s.
Would I See It Again 3 Years from Now? Maybe. With the many gender reversals in this production, I’m so curious to compare the relationship dynamics with the original gender intent reversed back.
Mainstream Appeal: Low to medium
Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned Above
Unexpected Surprise: I must confess that I was initially not as excited as usual to see Company. Out of Broadway Seattle’s entire 2023-2024 season lineup, this show was my least anticipated, especially because I don’t like Sondheim music/musicals. Blasphemy, I know. Also, as I previously mentioned, I already saw Company before and I hated it. I might have even left early at intermission back then! But the first production I attended was a lower budget (non-professional?) show. So, I figured I should give the musical a second chance in this high budget professional national touring production. I was subsequently surprised to appreciate/enjoy it more, especially as the show progressed. I hypothesize this is due to a combination of higher production value and more life experience.
Gender Twist: The original Company script featured Bobby, a man, as the main character. This production reimagined the main character as Bobbie, a woman. They also changed other cast members’ genders like Bobbie’s heterosexual romantic interests. Often when gender reimagining a musical, the “new” characters are unable to adequately sing the original vocal range. They usually either sing an octave too high or too low. Fortunately, vocal range was not a problem in this production. I suspect they transposed a couple songs to accommodate the gender reversal. Side note, with all the gender reimagining, could they not have switched one of the heterosexual couples to lesbians?
Scenic Design: This production relied heavily on a nice minimalist shadow box and neon light motif with simple clean lines.
Shadow Boxes The shadow boxes reminded me of the scenic design in Village Theatre’s Cinderella. This also allowed partitioning the stage into multiple apartment rooms.
Letters and Numbers: The “Company” neon Hollywood-Sign-like giant letters featured in PJ’s (played by Matthew Christian) “Another Hundred People” song about New York uniquely rearranged to spell “NYC.” Also, the age “35” was featured several places like party balloons and large foreboding bouncy characters. The “35” street addresses were a nice touch, demonstrating attention to detail.
Significant Statements and Insights: There were several universal-like observations about singledom and/or your 30s scattered throughout the show like “Marry me and then everyone will finally leave us alone” or something like “Phones and divorce are similar. They make you feel both connected and disconnected.”
Gay Couple: My friend Justin and I agree that the “Getting Married Today” scene/song was amazing. The door, cupboard, and cake entrances were funny surprises. The flamboyantly jittery Jaime (played by Kenneth Quinney Francoeur) reminded me of Nathan Lane in The Birdcage.
Introduction to Love Interests: “You Could Drive a Person Crazy” was a light cute barbershop-style song sung by Bobbie’s three love interests Andy, PJ, and Theo (played by Jacob Dickey, Matthew Christian, and David Socolar respectively).
Flight Attendant: Speaking of Andy, he was a delightfully airheaded hot male flight attendant. Why are hot dumb people so desirable? He was likable even before he gratuitously stripped down to his sexy skivvies.
Relationship Montage: I absolutely love the red dress body doubles in the hypothetical montage where Bobbie accepts the mediocrity of living a conventional coupled life with children. There was so much overlapping action! It was the visual equivalent of a song with rounds.
Marijuana: I usually don’t enjoy observing actors portray getting high or drunk on-stage or on-screen. It’s a patronizing gratuitous way to extract low brow laughs from the audience. That being said, it was amusing to watch “the square” David (played by Christopher DeAngelis) getting high.
Flashes: This production generously shined alluring flash-like effects throughout the show. This was usually during camera phone flashes. It was much better than generating the flashs from props.
Rant(s)
Phone Overuse: Speaking of phones, this production overused phone props way too much as a crutch to enhance modern relatability. Excessive phone use in the theatre on-stage (and in the audience) is one of my theatre pet peeves. It reminds me of my rants from Village Theatre’s Sense and Sensibility play.
Other Musing(s) and Observation(s)
Voicemail Prompt: Who leaves a voicemail prompt about their birthday these days? It’s pretty antiquated and a bit narcissistic. It probably made sense in the 1970s Company production and I admit that it’s probably difficult to translate this practice from 1970 to 2024. Maybe Bobbie should have posted that birthday message on social media instead of creating a voicemail prompt.
Alcohol: I suspect another relic from the 1970s was the number of times the script glorified alcohol, which doesn’t translate well for today’s 30-40 somethings. Don’t get me wrong. My friends and I binged drank too many times in our 20s, but we grew up and realized our bodies can’t handle alcohol as well in our 30s. Sobriety is sometimes even considered trendy these days, what with “California sober.” Maybe I’m a Pollyanna, but the script’s obsession with alcohol doesn’t match today’s elder millennials’ consumption.
First Act Finale: Like most other Sondheim musicals, I thought the end of the first act was the end of the entire show.
Moral of the Story: What was the ultimate message at the end of the show? Be single or be coupled? Personally, I thought Bobbie seemed a bit needy. Gurl, “a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.” She needs to find fulfillment in herself independent of her romantic relationships. She’s a strong independant woman who don’t need no man! If anything, she was in desperate need of Sex and the City single friends. No wonder she feels inadequate when she’s surrounded by couples. I’m so curious how different I would have interpreted this needy dynamic if Bobbie (woman) was portrayed as the original Bobby (man).
Theatre Company: National tour brought by Seattle Theatre Group and Broadway Across America
Venue: Paramount Theatre
Venue Physical Address: 911 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101
Price Range: $40 to 125 plus the insane Ticketmaster fees. Buy your ticket at the box office to avoid most of the Ticketmaster fees. Down with the Ticketmaster Live Nation monopoly!
Ticket Affordability Options: Seattle Theatre Group might partner with an organization you’re affiliated with for discount tickets. For example, I believe UW employees/students are eligible for an organization discount.
Dates: July 23 to 28, 2024
Seating: Assigned Seating
Parking: Paid street parking and paid garage parking. The best parking garage is under the convention center w/ the entrance on Pike around the Pike and Terry intersection. Last I checked, this is one of the cheapest, least busy, and closest garages. Alternatively, you can probably find street parking as you move closer to the West Precinct (810 Virginia St, Seattle, WA 98101). Do NOT park where the Paramount subscribers park. Last I checked, they usually park in the garage attached to the Cheesecake Factory. It’ll take you at least 30 minutes to exit that garage after the show.
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The North American Tour of COMPANY. Photo by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade.Britney Coleman as Bobbie, Jacob Dickey as Andy, David Socolar as Theo and Tyler Hardwick as PJ in the North American Tour of COMPANY. Photo by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade.Britney Coleman as Bobbie (center) and the North American Tour of COMPANY. Photo by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade.Britney Coleman as Bobbie and Jacob Dickey as Andy in the North American Tour of COMPANY. Photo by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade.Tyler Hardwick as PJ and Britney Coleman as Bobbie in the North American Tour of COMPANY. Photo by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade.The North American Tour of COMPANY. Photo by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade.
James Earl Jones II as Harry, Kathryn Allison as Sarah, Britney Coleman as Bobbie and Judy McLane as Joanne in the North American Tour of COMPANY. Photo by Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade.
