The World Goes 'Round
by John Kander and Fred Ebb
Directed and Choreographed by Kelly Todd
Musically Directed by J. Russell Kieffer
- 09/12/05 REVIEW: Northern Lights
- 09/21/05 REVIEW: Back Stage West
- 09/22/05 REVIEW: O.C. Register
- 10/03/05 REVIEW: Fullerton Observer
THEATER REVIEW
Carousel Revue of Kander and Ebb's best will take you on a merry go 'round the world
by Anne-Margret Bellavoine, Northern Lights
September 12, 2005
Kander and Ebb are not a household name like Rodgers and Hammerstein, but their collaboration on Cabaret and Chicago are credentials enough to raise their names to the firmament of show-stopping musical.
Kelly Todd provided direction as well as choreography, with J. Russell Kieffer for musical direction and on keyboards, teaming up with Rich Faugno on bass for live accompaniment. Todd is no stranger to Kander and Ebb's work, having choreographed The Chance's last production of Cabaret in particular.
The revue features five performers, Ricky Culbertson, Tamara Davis, Glenn Koppel, Sarah Leonard and Sarah Moreau, each taking turns with solos and blending in for company numbers with sophisticated harmonies. The five double as abled dancers, and even rollerskate in formation for "The Rink."
John Robinson designed a minimalist set in black and white with a focal point of a shimmering cabaret show floor and recessed panels discreetly housing props for instant accessory and costume changes.
The song medley spins its theme of "The World Goes 'Round," reprised between segments featuring steamy favorites such as "All That Jazz," "Money, Money," "New York, New York" and "Cabaret," the latter with a great new twist.
Interspersed are lesser known gems that intrigue and entertain, such as an ode to the Starbucks God, "Coffee in a Cardboard Cup," by the company, and to Pantry Goddess "Sara (no 'H') Lee," by Culbertson.
"Arthur in the Afternoon," sublimely interpreted by Moreau, dangerously suggests an afternoon tryst until its climactic crux.
Davis hits a ballad note with "My Coloring Book," sultry in most of her other numbers. Leonard, whose angular pixie looks are reminiscent of Liza Minelli, offers insights in foggy memory with "Colored Lights," well ... anyhow..., who cares about the fuzzy details?
Koppel is all but invisible in "Mister Cellophane," against the bantering barhopping crass of "Class" by the 'ladies' at the zinc (Davis and Moreau).
The five hit number after number in intricate arrangements rendered with pizzazz. This is no light opera, rather serious cabaret guaranteed to delight.
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THEATER REVIEW
The World Goes 'Round
by Eric Marchese, Back Stage West
September 22, 2005
Created in 1991, this three-woman, two-man collection of Kander and Ebb songs is a good example of a revue better suited to small, intimate venues. Comprising about 30 songs, it includes those from the duo's more obscure Broadway shows and films, specialty numbers written for singers such as Chita Rivera, and several from Chicago and Cabaret. Here director-choreographer Kelly Todd and music director J. Russell Kieffer give these songs their due. There are two basic moods at work-jocular and introspective-but Todd and her cast find much middle ground. The cast has a pleasing rapport, none seems afraid of working up close to the audience, and Todd creates smooth transitions between numbers already grouped thematically.
Whether a featured soloist or in duets or other vocal combinations, each of Todd's quintet has his or her moments. Tamara Davis and Sarah Leonard carry many of the evening's unquestionably powerful moments. Davis smolders in the quiet ballad "My Coloring Book" and the soft passion of "Isn't This Better"; Leonard strikes a decidedly Sally Bowles/Liza Minnelli tone with "Maybe This Time" and "Colored Lights." The pair is as strong with solos sung in counterpoint to Ricky Culbertson singing "We Can Make It."
The same technique is used with a pair of wistful solos by Culbertson and Glenn Koppel, who strikes the right balance of laughs and pity with his "Mr. Cellophane." Davis and Sarah Moreau prove ample comediennes with "Class," and Moreau and Leonard glean wry laughs from the age-old dictum described in "The Grass Is Always Greener." Like these solos and duets, the ensemble numbers shine in a show alternately subtle and joyous.
"The World Goes 'Round," presented by and at the Chance Theater, 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim. Thu.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. Sep. 8-Oct. 23. $25-40. (714) 777-3033.
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THEATER REVIEW
The more intimate 'World,' the better
Anaheim Hills staging finds the pulse and potency of the 1991 Kander and Ebb revue featuring some of their best songs
by Eric Marchese, O.C. Register
September 22, 2005
Some musical revues might work just fine in behemoth venues, but "The World Goes 'Round" isn't one of them.
Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman and David Thompson created the collection of songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb. Strangely, while that duo's two biggest Broadway hits, "Chicago" and "Cabaret," play as well in large theaters as small, the 1991 revue suffers when a three-woman, two-man cast unfolds its riches anyplace too cavernous.
Maybe it's the lack of a story line or characters to engross us. More likely, it's the intimacy of so many of the duo's songs. Had a great day? Come on along and laugh with us. Has the world kicked you in the teeth? We can commiserate, the show's singers seem to be saying.
At any rate, The Chance Theater, a little gem in Anaheim Hills, delivers the goods on this show, which features some 30 songs. As director and choreographer, Kelly Todd creates logical, and occasionally surprising, transitions between the thematically grouped songs. Todd, musical director J. Russell Kieffer and the cast give the songs their due, finding gradations and shadings between the two basic moods expressed in the show's title number: elation over life's pleasant surprises and a more reflective mood over life's sorrows.
The requisite songs from "Chicago" and "Cabaret" are present, of course, including the gleeful/sinister "Money Song" written for the 1972 film version of "Cabaret," but "World Goes 'Round" has so much more to offer. From 1961, "My Coloring Book" is the duo's first hit, and Tamara C. Davis generates quiet passion - and one of the evening's more powerful moments - with the song. The comical "Pain," written for Chita Rivera's nightclub act, gives us a demanding choreographer (Glenn Koppel) putting four dancers (who wind up on crutches) through their paces.
The show also mines a wealth of material from Kander and Ebb's lesser-known Broadway shows ("The Happy Time," "The Act," "The Rink," "70 Girls 70"), songs from films ("Funny Lady"), specialty numbers for singers such as Liza Minnelli, and more. If there's one thing "World" proves, it's that Kander and Ebb have never been afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves, and any cast trying to pull off this show had better have the same philosophy.
Todd's cast does. As a quintet, they show a gratifying rapport. More critically, they show no fear of working under the tight microscope of the audience - to the contrary, they seem to relish the chance.
Each member of the ensemble is given a featured solo or two. While Davis carries many of the strongest pieces, Sarah Leonard is the evening's breakout star, creating a persona and image reminiscent of Minnelli, whether in the confessional "Colored Lights" or that quintessential Minnelli-Sally Bowles anthem, "Maybe This Time."
Leonard finds the joy in the coincidental love story painted in "Ring Them Bells," and she and Sarah Moreau tap the humor and poignancy of a superstar (Leonard) and housewife (Moreau) longing to change places in "The Grass Is Always Greener," which serves up just one example of Ebb's skilled lyric writing: "Everyone's a victim of this ducky little dictum."
Davis and Moreau are capable comediennes as two women pals belly up to the bar, proving they have anything but "Class." The ensemble gets manic caffeine jitters in "Coffee in a Cardboard Cup," while the burlesque-style "Sara Lee" lampoons our commercial culture.
There are other similarly light moments, but it's the wistful stuff that really powers "World." Koppel gets us to laugh at him even as we feel for his plight as "Mr. Cellophane." Koppel and Ricky Culbertson each solo on delicate numbers, then sing them in counterpoint for a subtle, powerful effect. Act Two develops this technique even further, as Culbertson, Davis and Leonard each deliver a sorrowful solo, then sing them simultaneously.
Like the real world, this "World" is delicate and joyous, a staging that proves an ideal marriage between material, venue and company.
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THEATER REVIEW
The World Goes 'Round
by Elliot Rosenthal, Fullerton Observer
October 3, 2005
When I called The Chance Theater to reserve seats for The Laramie Project I was asked if I also wanted to see Kander & Ebb's musical revue The World Goes 'Round. I must admit to having been a bit taken aback when asked this question because I didn't know anything about this show... so much for my being a theater maven. It soon became apparent to me however, that this was another show that Chance Theater was performing and I decided to see it. I am very glad that I did.
John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote music and lyrics for numerous Broadway shows including Cabaret, Chicago, and Kiss of the Spider Woman. They also wrote for movies. In fact, this team is acknowledged to be one of Broadway's most prolific and successful songwriters. Still, many people who would recognize their songs have never seen their names.
Chance Theater is presenting the musical revue, The World Goes 'Round simultaneously with The Laramie Project but, of course on different days and/or times.
There are five performers in the show, Ricky Culbertson, Tamara C. Davis, Glenn Koppel, Sarah Leonard and Sarah Moreau and two accompanists, J. Russell Kieffer on piano and Rich Faugno, Bass. They play, sing and dance some twenty-eight Kander & Ebb songs including "Coffee in a Cardboard Cup," "Sara Lee," "And All That Jazz," "Mister Cellophane," "Cabaret," and "New York, New York." Their performace of the song, "The Rink" is especially interesting and exciting. It reminded me of Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Starlight Express."
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