May 3, 2010
by Genevieve Jerome | Print Features Editor
The lights are dimmed and the stage is set and out walks a familiar face onto the stage named Christine Nicholson. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always been enamored with Broadway shows. So imagine my surprise when I almost fell asleep during City Theatre’s production of “Berlin to Broadway,” directed by Adrienne Sher.
Now I’m all about history and singing, but I am not a fan of the two together in a 2 and half hour long show. When the playwright Kurt Weill mixed the two, I don’t know what he was thinking, because history and cabaret songs don’t mix, unless you’re watching the Pussy Cat Dolls that is.
“Berlin to Broadway” is definitely not for the younger kids and it is not for the 20-somethings either. I watched as the teachers from City Theatre along with familiar student actors belted out cabaret song from the nineteen hundreds, half of them I could not understand their meaning.
Although the singing was decent with the females being able to go from an alto note to a soprano note and the men belting out baritone tunes, I just could not keep my focus for the entire show, because the lights were all over the place and the acting was boring. The other thing that bothered me about “Berlin to Broadway” is there were no specific roles in the show, but a 24 member ensemble cast whose parts could easily be confused.
Ever since I was a little girl I have always been enamored with Broadway shows. So imagine my surprise when I almost fell asleep during City Theatres production of “Berlin to Broadway”
The familiar face Megan O’Laughlin was delightful as a somber maid who cleaned up after everyone else in the neighborhood bar which most of the scenes took place in. City Theatre Professor Christine Nicholson had surprising vocals, because she is usually a director and not an actress in the shows at City Theatre. Nicholson also played a mean accordion. The familiar Alejandro Padilla could have been stronger in his vocals when he sang the Frank Sinatra’s song “Mack the Knife.” Padilla lacked Sinatra’s oomph and stage presence.
One of my favorite scenes in the show featured Julian Sandoval and Amsale Darden as the “Surabaya Dancers” who danced their hearts out, expressing how a love affair goes wrong. The sensuality of the dancing and the love between the two actors, really made the audience member feel their pain. The stage combat and physicality of the dancers was also very impressive.
Another part of the show that I enjoyed was the band which consisted of various actors of the show, including Steve Ibarra on drums. The band had a trumpet, an accordion,
a piano and a guitar, along with many other instruments. The band had good timing and stayed on key.
Overall the show was decent, but I think it is more for the older set of folks who can understand the jokes, songs and history references that the actors say throughout the show.
Berlin to Broadway was a bore for me because I did not understand the historical references or the love affairs in between songs or the lyrics. The singing was first-rate and the band was a step up form a traditional open-mic show.
“Berlin to Broadway” runs through May 16 in the Art Court Theatre.
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Um, the song is “Mack the Knife”, written by Kurt Weill. The show is a retrospective of Kurt Weill’s career as a composer, and was actually written by Gene Lerner. Please check your facts.
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Genevieve Jerome,
Next time you put a review in, why don’t you watch a show where a member of the cast wasn’t in a car accident. You’re review on this is beyond misleading. You don’t know what a musical is, obviously.
And for the band…there’s more than just one person. If you give credit to one person, why not give credit to the rest of the band?
You don’t know the tremendous amount of hard work it takes to direct a show. I would LOVE to see you try to do a better job than Adrienne Sher directed this, since you say the show was so bad. Hopefully I don’t see you around campus because you, basically, bashing on your own school theatre department is up most as being absurd and disrespectful. I believe you owe the entire cast, especially Adrienne an apology. Learn how to write a review too, while I add to the things you need to address. You should not be an editor. Good luck for your future.
For the cast of ‘Berlin to Broadway,’ I saw the first night of the show, which usually shows start out rocky from the beginning, according to my close friend, you guys have been improving much since your first night. Keep up the great work…break a leg! :]
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The show was great, by the way, when I saw the opening night…I have no idea what Genevieve Jerome is thinking. I can’t wait to come back to watch another show!
Oh, and look at the ratings they got for the show too…that might be a smack in the face, just as a FYI for you Genevieve.
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Oh, Vendetta, I’m not sure if this was a comment in your comment, I just pressed reply in anger of how terrible Genevieve Jerome doesn’t know how to properly critique a show.
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Were you not paying attention to the beginning intro where they announced that they were going to fill in for one the actors? Why would you even write a bad review of your own school productions? Even if you didn’t like the show, give your criticism in a constructive and professional manner.
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And how does it happen that we get a 4 out of 5 review from SN&R and you give us this? and learn how to read a program, like Vendetta said the name of the song is Mack The Knife not Maggie’s Back. I think Alejandro did a great job on that song. it’s very hard to fill in for somebody last minute.
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Check your facts. Do your research. Read your program. And Listen.
Many of your issues would have been irrelevant if you had done any of the above.
A true artist of the theatre does not expect good reviews all the time, nor do we expect everyone to love what we do. Please give the performers the same respect you give our sports team. I cannot recall the last time anyone slammed the football team for a bad game. It is disrespectful and embarrassing.
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The show was absolute garbage. Thanks to Genevieve Jerome for pointing out all the faults.
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