SUNRISE SUNSET: THE SONGS OF SHELDON HARNICK
ACT TWO (REVIEW CONTINUED)
Act two started with Fiddler on the Roof. The first song was spoken instead of singing and the rest of the segment seemed rushed. Perhaps they could have started the segment with pop version of the Fiddler’s Theme called Fiddler On the Roof. Perhaps they could have sung one of the cut songs from the song like “When Messiah Comes” or “Dear Sweet Sewing Machine” or “We Haven’t Missed A Sabbath Yet”.
Moreover, most surprisingly they omitted The Rothschilds, which was Bock and Harnick’s last show. They are other worthy songs other than “In My Own Lifetime” including the cut song “Just a Map”
From Fiddler on the Roof they went into Rex. This section was called the 70’s and beyond. I knew that Richard Rodgers was the composer, but there was no mention of it. They sang one song, which was duet instead of the best song from the show “Away From You”,
They then went into It’s A Wonderful Life (Joe Raposo. No mention of him) and sang one song. Then a show called Dragons, which I never heard of, and two songs from that show were sung. They were sandwiched in-between a movie theme song medley and once again- - -Which movie? What are the names of the songs? They omitted several other shows during this period: Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, A Christmas Carol, Cyrano: The Musical, Coyote Tales, and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
The two performers were Maureen Brennan who came to some prominence in the early 70’s with Harold Prince’s first production of Candide. Her performance was more of a “Hey Look At Me I Am On Stage Performing” than something more subtle was needed for many of the songs. She was joined by Edward Juvier a pleasant singer and showed a lot of stage presence by infusing many of his songs with characterizations. A note about his appearance; He needed a shave and the clothes that he was wearing did not compliment his physique. (Also, his headshot in the program was at least 10 years out of date. He no longer looks like his photo)
They were joined by Timothy Evans at the piano and an unnamed person on the drums. Mr. Evans also contributed singing to several songs. He has a nice voice and it complimented the other singers, but I think it would have been better if there was a third singer and Mr. Evans just played the piano.
The show was rather short. Act 1 was 45 minutes and Act 2 was slightly shorter. In addition, for cabaret there was no encore. They sang their final song bowed and left the stage. People were waiting for them to come back, but they didn’t.
The show needs to be rethought, restaged and perhaps Michael Alloso, who was the director and choreographer, and Maureen Brennan should leave the writing to someone else. In order for this show to succeed, it needs a major overhaul.
I enjoy hearing the songs of Sheldon Harnick, but the performances were nothing special and I left the show less than satisfied.
