Well, dear readers, I am very late for a very important date, so I will have to keep these here notes short and sweet. Which, I suppose, is better than long and sour. I shall make up for it tomorrow – I shall wear eye liner and rouge and a bit of pancake make up for “it” tomorrow, because “it” loves when I makeup. What the hell am I talking about? Didn’t I just say these here notes have to be short and sweet?
Now, we mustn’t dawdle, Amaryllis, we must make haste, we must zip and zoom (piz and mooz, spelled backwards) through these here notes so I can be on my merry way. Just think of today’s notes as the Reader’s Digest bk’s notes II. So, without further delay, let’s all click on the Unseemly Button below with great vim and verve.
Whoa, that was speedy. That was simply speedy Unseemly Button clicking. Have you ever seen those “Regional Reviews” on theater websites, you know, where they review some production of some show in some town you never heard of? I just love those regional reviews, so I’ve decided we should have our very own regional reviews right here at haineshisway.com. Isn’t that a splendid idea. So, here is our very first regional review, and it’s a corker.
The Music Man Barn Under The Stars Tomball, Texas
The Sign-Me-Up-Here Players are back again, this time with a brand new production of that perennial classic, The Music Man. This sparkling production stars Singh Mobami as Harold Hill. Seeing a person from India in this role is very interesting. In fact, seeing a person from India in Texas is very interesting. Mr. Mobami is clearly having the time of his life and has an easy charm about him. Unfortunately, Mr. Mobami doesn’t speak English very well, which makes the patter songs a bit difficult to understand. His costumes fit him very well, though, and this is a decided plus.
Ida Mae Platz plays Marian the Librarian. Ms. Platz is quite winsome, although at three hundred and sixty pounds they might as well have renamed the character Marian the Library. The rest of the cast offer sterling performances, especially Fay Flank and Billy Bob Bob as Zaneeta and Tommy. I predict a big future here in Tomball for those two.
The direction by Mervyn Cleft is deft. As always, Mervyn creates beautiful stage pictures and tableaus. I do question two of his choices though. One, his decision to have dancing dogs in Shipoopi. While the dogs do give the dancers a run for their money, right in the middle of the number Butch (of the team Butch and Sudie) decided to do his business right on the stage, thereby giving new meaning to the song title, Shipoopi. The other problem I had with Mr. Cleft’s deft direction was the decision to have the footbridge have actual feet. I mean, hello? Don’t we think we’re being a bit too literal here? Also, the sheep grazing in the background was a distraction as well. I kept waiting for Harold Hill to leave Marian and sing Till There Was Ewe to the sheep.
All in all, I give this production four Tomballs. It is really entertaining and a real toe-tapper and Mobami and Platz give performances that will stay with you for hours. The band, consisting of Wilbur Crank on piano, Drew Mudd on bass, Henry “Snare” Kettle on drums and the brass section consisting of Winona Winkle on trombone, played beautifully.
Well, now, that was a fine regional review, wasn’t it, dear readers? We’ll have more regional reviews in upcoming notes. My goodness, we’re just speeding through these notes, we’re flying through these notes with the greatest of ease, because we are late, late, for a very important date. Not date as in “going out with someone to make out”, but date as in appointment. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, I have a date with an appointment. Perhaps I’ll use some ointment before my appointment. Perhaps I should call it a day right now and be on my merry way. I should call “it” a “day”? That’s very unseemly. First I want to make up for “it” and now I want to call “it” a “day”. “It” sure is popular around these parts, and “It” is also a very good novel by Mr. Stephen King, who, by the way, is no relation to Mr. Stephen Sondheim.
Well, I must be on my merry way. Please forgive me for these short notes, but just think – that means you can leave long comments in the Unseemly Comment Box below.