SHADE-O-METER RATING

4 OUTTA 5 WERKS: “SHE GAVE GOOD FACE – SHE SERVED IT”

What’s Dear Evan Hansen? It’s a hit Broadway musical. It opened on Broadway in December 2016, and it won the Tony Award for best musical, as well as other numerous awards. What’s the Au-Rene Theater? It’s the main theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. It holds about 2,600 people, and it has three levels. How was the venue? Elegant. How was the parking? They have valet, or you can park in the garage for $12. The garage is about a block away. There’s also parking lot for $10—which is a bit of a hidden gem—that’s a couple blocks away. It’s across the street from the Museum of Discovery and Science.

Does the venue serve liquor? Yes. How were the drinks? We didn’t get any. Does the venue serve food? They have some finger food. How was the food? We didn’t get any. Where were the seats? Row X in the orchestra. How much were the tickets? $175.00 each. Was the show sold out? It sure seemed like it. And I looked at what’s available for Sunday April 7 at 6:30 p.m., the last show of the run. Even that show is almost sold out.

How was the show? An intimate show—which is one part a story about deception, and another part about mental illness—Dear Evan Hansen is most likely the direct heir to the similarly-themed Broadway musical, Next to Normal. The dialogue-heavy plot (commence spoiler alert) concerns a high school senior in the titular role who suffers from some undisclosed psychiatric condition, which is mostly agoraphobia/generalized anxiety disorder and/or Asperger syndrome. A sullen classmate, Connor Murphy, commits suicide, and in a turn of events, a fallacious connection is perceived between the outcast Evan Hansen and the recently deceased. In an eerie parallel that foreshadows the events of the Parkland shooting, the remainder of the story is about the community’s desire to understand and make sense of a tragedy, all the while as the middle-class Hansen gets closer and closer to the affluent Murphy family. But it’s only at the very end of the show that that curtain is pulled back on it all. If the title role is performed correctly, and it was for the most part in this touring production, the deceit of Hansen is that he’s viewed as a hero, as opposed to what he really is—someone who tricked a lot of people for a long time, and all for his own gain. The fact that the show doesn’t require that the Caulfield-esk Hansen has to contend with his deeds—it essentially lets him off the hook—underscores the superficiality and fantasy-aspect of this aspect of the text. Another critique of the story might be that it presented a sanitized version of mental illness, characterized as a quirky and charming attribute that enhances the persona and endears one to others, as opposed to a real impediment to an individual’s health and to the larger society.

How was the music? The mostly contemporary score consisted of equal parts light pop-rock music and acoustic music. As a comparison to the aforementioned Next to Normal, which is similar in musical style, that show likely has a higher percentage of better songs. It is assumed that most people will be familiar with the popular, “Waving Through a Window.” However, the more poignant numbers were “For Forever,” where Hansen presented a fantasy version of his friendship with Murphy, and “So Big/So Small,” where Hansen’s mother attempts to reconcile her relationship with her son.

How was the set design and staging? The set design, which consists of computer and phone screen, compartmentalizes the characters, as well as their individual traumas, within those respective devices. But when the screens finally vanished at the end of the show to reveal Candide’s Garden of Eden, was when one of the show’s main themes—a critique of social media—was revealed. How was the costume design? The outfits were contemporary non-fashion attire, so there wasn’t much to look at. Regarding merchandise, that people were buying Hansen’s famous Charlie-Brown-inspired stripped shirt can certainly be seen as some form of proof of the show’s popularity.

How did the audience react? I heard some people say that the story itself was depressing, but that they didn’t feel depressed because of the music and the way that the story was presented. Others appeared to cry out at some of the more dramatic moments. Particularly, right before Hansen is outed as a fraud in the Mama Rose-like confessional, “Words Fails.” What could have improved the show? As previously expressed in other reviews, in my opinion, theatrical shows should be experienced in intimate theaters. All the more so, for this work. Despite that, unless you plan on seeing the show on Broadway, I wouldn’t let the venue’s size deter you from seeing this production.

What was surprising about the show? There’s a line in it where Murphy’s father said that kids do everything on Facebook. Please. If anything, it’s those who are in their 30s, 40s and 50s that are obsessed with Facebook, not “kids.” The producers and/or writers might want to consider replacing that Facebook line with Instagram, etc.

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located at 201 S.W. 5^thAve., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Dear Evan Hansen runs through Sunday April 7. Tickets can be purchased on the website or at the box office.

Zoetic Stage’s innovative production of Sweeney Todd plays through Sunday April 7 at the Adrienne Arsht Center

SHADE-O-METER RATING

4 OUTTA 5 WERKS: “SHE GAVE GOOD FACE – SHE SERVED IT”

By Mike Jeknavorian

What’s Sweeney Todd? It’s a musical with words and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The show is produced by the local production company, Zoetic Stage, and it’s staged at Carnival Studio Theater. What’s the Carnival Studio Theater? It’s the black box space at the Adrienne Arsht Center. It’s hold about 250 people. How was the venue? It’s a nice, intimate space. There’s not a bad seat in the house.

How was the parking? The venue has valet parking, of course, but that appears to be a production. There’s always a long line. There’s a parking lot right across the street, where it costs $20 to park. Strangely, all the times we’ve been there, the lot was half empty. Does the venue serve liquor? They have a small bar. How were the drinks? A white wine was $11. It was fine. Does the venue serve food? They have a few types of candy and chips. How was the food? We didn’t get any of that. How much were the tickets? $55. Was the show sold out? Almost, but not quite.

How was the show? For those who aren’t aware of the plot, Sweeney Todd is a Victorian melodramatic revenge-tale, where the titular character and his female counterpart, Misses Lovett, get revenge on the society that’s wronged them by cannibalizing the upper crust in meat pies, and secretly feeding them to the lower classes (as noted in one song, “How gratifying for once to know that those above will serve those down below.”). As originally staged by Hal Prince, the production was a metaphor for the destructive nature of the machine, complete with a symbolic representation—a massive industrial set via the Industrial Revolution. Zoetic’s production of the musical was staged in the round, with actors, at times, who were right beside you. Regarding the performers, all were excellent, including Aloysius Gigi, where he seemed at times to exploit the parallels between his own resemblance to Robert Englund (a.k.a., Freddy Krueger) and Todd’s bogeyman persona. And in an interesting twist, the vocally-demanding role of Adolfo Pirelli was was sung—exceptionally so—in man-drag by Kimberly Doreen Burns, the same performer who portrayed the Beggar Woman.

How was the music? The quality and influence of the music from Sweeney Todd is sufficiently well-documented that it would be foolish to comment on it here. Suffice it to say, it’s excellent. How was the set design and staging? If there were a standout in this production, the lighting and stage design would be it. The venue offers full-scale lighting capabilities, and it was obvious that the designer capitalized on that. For instance, as there was no blood in the production, all fell back on red lights that glared at the audience to indicate that a murder had occurred. Regarding the staging, there were odes to experimental theater, such as when the Johanna character walked around with a prison door in from of her to symbolize her institutionalization. Another nice touch was the likely Hamilton-inspired double-rotation stage, or concentric stages, where one stage rotates within another. This convention was most efficiently used to dispose of Sweeney’s victims, where a victim would fall to the floor, only to be dispatched to the back of the stage by a half revolution of the stage.

How was the costume design? The costume design was in-line with the original production. However, I’m familiar with most of the various incantations of Misses Lovett, and I don’t recall her with a hair getup quit like what was presented in this production. Credit should be given for that innovation. How did the audience react? They appeared to like it. Of note, the cast picked an audience member to shave for the song, “The Contest.” What could have improved the show? There were some minor sound issues with the audio for the actor who played Tobias, but it was fixed before the character’s showpiece song, “Not While I’m Around.” Also, some of the audio was either low or muffled at times. However, it wasn’t to the point of distraction. What was surprising about the show? I wasn’t expecting concentric stages. To me, that was a pleasant surprise.

Correction: this review previously noted that the production utilized pre-recorded music. That was an error. The production had an offstage “orchestra” that was comprised of six musicians.

The Carnival Studio Theater is located at the Adrienne Arsht Center at 1300 Biscayne Blvd., in Miami, Florida. The production runs through Sunday April 7. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or on the website.