There's nothing like live music to where you get to hear practically every instrument, even the piccolo and harp when used, and when the sound recording is good, even a cast album can make you sob. This Pasadena Playhouse production of the short lived Broadway musical (based on the Shakespeare play "Twelfth Night") may not be flawless, but the passionate ensemble brings you in to where you are transfixed and completely forget about the weaker parts of the book and the overstuffed list of Duke Ellington classics which explode onto the stage seemingly every few minutes.
It took about 20 minutes to watch the production which aired on PBS to remember exactly why I've missed live theater so desperately over the past 15 months. But in anticipation of the return of Broadway within the next two months, I digged into my archive of professionally filmed shows, and upon discovering this (which I knew nothing about outside the title), began to get that swing and desire a ride on the A train as songs I've heard over and over became fresh in my mind through new variations outside what I recalled from the early 80's musical revue "Sophisticated Ladies".
Natalie Venetia Belcon is the epitome of innocence and charm as a young woman who must disguise herself as a man to break into the world of songwriting. Nikki Crawford shows both temperament and vulnerability as the black Dorothy Brock, the spoiled diva who finds herself attracted to Belcon's male counterpart, admired by many but genuinely not loved by any, with the men in her life worshiping her but not really understanding her, something she desperately wants no matter how she claims otherwise. The rest of the ensemble each gets their moments to shine, playing archetypes we've seen hundreds of times over and over in classic movies and in many musical plays that deal with human emotions and the facade people of great insecurities hide behind. Nicely filmed and staged, it may not be live, but once you are into it, you begin to see how very much alive it is.
It took about 20 minutes to watch the production which aired on PBS to remember exactly why I've missed live theater so desperately over the past 15 months. But in anticipation of the return of Broadway within the next two months, I digged into my archive of professionally filmed shows, and upon discovering this (which I knew nothing about outside the title), began to get that swing and desire a ride on the A train as songs I've heard over and over became fresh in my mind through new variations outside what I recalled from the early 80's musical revue "Sophisticated Ladies".
Natalie Venetia Belcon is the epitome of innocence and charm as a young woman who must disguise herself as a man to break into the world of songwriting. Nikki Crawford shows both temperament and vulnerability as the black Dorothy Brock, the spoiled diva who finds herself attracted to Belcon's male counterpart, admired by many but genuinely not loved by any, with the men in her life worshiping her but not really understanding her, something she desperately wants no matter how she claims otherwise. The rest of the ensemble each gets their moments to shine, playing archetypes we've seen hundreds of times over and over in classic movies and in many musical plays that deal with human emotions and the facade people of great insecurities hide behind. Nicely filmed and staged, it may not be live, but once you are into it, you begin to see how very much alive it is.
