For me, a terrific weekend included the ISO's concert version of "Hello, Dolly!" with Sandi Patty, the new comedy "Current Economic Conditions" at the Phoenix Theatre (click links for my reviews), 500 Clown at the Center for the Performing Arts and "Radio Golf" at the Indiana Repertory Theatre (thoughts on the latter two soon).
And there was so much I missed--Patti Austin at the Palladium, the opening of "Turf" at the old Indiana State Museum, Sam Harris at the Cabaret just for starters.
Did you catch any of the above? Or "Debbie Does Dallas" or Acting Up's "Two Rooms" at Theatre on the Square (reviewed here)?
What did you hear, see or do this weekend?
(And, heads up, look for steady A&E bloggers right here during the week or so of Super Bowl mania. And follow me on twitter at iBJARTS.)
Your thoughts?
Back to Top
IBJ Conversations
10 Comments
Add Comment
Broadway veteran Gary Beach was a wonderfully over the top and curmudgeonly Horace Vandergelder. I appreciated the fact that a song cut from the original show was added early on. It helped to explain his miserly character so much better. Another cut song was added that Sandi Patty sang well. As my wife reminded me, you did not necessarily want to hear Carol Channing sing a ballad. It was such a different role for Sandi Patty. We are used to hearing her soar over an orchestra with big soprano hits from both operatic and Christian origins, and her voice is better suited to those presentations. I imagine that she could better play a Broadway lead role with more experience, though, and it was an overall success. The actors playing Barnaby and Cornelius were both excellent vocalists and did a nice job with the characters. The big moment in the Harmonia Garden with the waiters and Dolly is always a showstopper, and the big audience loved it Sunday night.
The orchestra, which was pared down to about half the normal string complement, sounded wonderful in the acoustics of the Palladium. Particularly strong impressions were made by concertmaster Zach DePeu with the violin solos, Joey Tartell playing lead trumpet and Steve Hanna on the drumset.
Friday would have included the Elvis Tribute for me, but a family emergency forced me to send a couple of friends to take mom instead. The three of them had an absolute ball and were thrilled to meet the cast afterward. Cody Slaughter, who recently appeared in the Broadway Across America tour of Million Dollar Quarter, returned to Indianapolis for the tribute.
Finally, we attended Saturday's ISO concert staging of Hello Dolly. Despite a few minor flubs in the lines, on the whole the performance was a delight. Based on the comments above and overheard at the theater, ISO needs to do a better job of explaining what a concert staging is when marketing these shows. Too many people were disappointed due to their expectations. I actually was impressed they were able to incorporate the costumes, dancing and limited set pieces in a concert staging. Jack Everly was delightful as the judge and the ISO was spectacular, as always.