Musical Theatre West presents STEEL PIER - Reiner Reading Series
Full Review: http://www.stagescenela.com/2014/11/steel-pier/#more-26863
STEEL PIER
Though I’d be hard pressed to pick just one of the fifty concert staged readings reviewed here as the Absolute Best Concert Staged Reading Ever, I can’t recall a more spectacularly staged “reading” of a Broadway musical than last night’s Reiner Reading Series staging of Kander & Ebb’s Steel Pier.
Superbly directed and choreographed by Daniel A. Smith in what may well be a career high for the L.A. musical theater quadruple-threat, Steel Pier The Reading not only brought out the best in what many consider John Kander and Fred Ebb’s most gorgeous score, it featured more dancing—and more sensationally performed dancing—than any reading I’ve seen (with the possible exception of the Reiner Series’ Legs Diamond a few years back).
Anchored by the star performance extraordinare of leading lady Leslie Stevens, and buoyed by a) one memorable featured turn after another, b) eight of the finest (and fastest-studying) dancers any theater town can offer, and c) a twenty-(count’em)-piece orchestra under musical director Bill Brown’s expert baton, Smith’s vision came to dazzling life for one night only on the stage of Cal State Long Beach’s University Theatre.
The Reiner Reading Series cast could simply not have been better, from Jeffrey Landman’s delicious cameo as the weaselly Mr. Walker to the angelic songbird trio of Caitlyn Calfas, Sarah Meals, and Kirklyn Robinson to zingy, zippy dance pairs Montminy & Strattan and Lamoureux & Sheppard, tiptop Lore partner Kuhl, and most especially to the gloriously high note-hitting Parks and Todd’s handsome, sexy bumpkin of a beau.
As for the manipulative Mick and the man-crazy Shelby, the musical’s most colorful roles could not have been in more expert hands than those of two of SoCal’s most versatile stars, the gorgeous-voiced Kalomas simply mesmerizing as Mick and the velvet-piped Lore a bold and brassy hoot as Shelby.
Most spectacular of all was the richly-layered, beautifully sung, exquisitely danced star turn of Broadway vet Stevens at the peak of her talents.
Musical director Burns and his bigger-than-Broadway orchestra (provided by Los Angeles Musicians Collective) were everything a Kander & Ebb lover could wish for.
Kander & Ebb’s songs are as glorious as ever and dance numbers like “Everybody Dance,” “The Shag,” “Two Step,” and “The Sprints” still provide one show-stopping showcase after another for a choreographer as gifted as Smith and dancers as Broadway-caliber as Richard Bulda, Zack Crocker, Rachel Davis, Marisa Field, Bren Thor Johnson, Hannah Simmons, Michael Starr, and Katy Tabb, all of whom score bonus points for having mastered Smith’s intricate choreography in a matter of four days or so.
Additional kudos are shared by assistant choreographer Emily Dauwalder, stage manager Heidi Westrom, and sound engineer Andrew Nagy.
Reiner Reading Series Michael Betts and David Lamoureux would surely want to add their own thanks to series underwriters Ken & Dottie Reiner, with additional funding provided by Ackerman Family/Evalyn M. Bauer Foundation, Kathy Baker Campbell, and Laura Killingsworth, and orchestra enhancement and additional theater rehearsal time made possible by Pat and Janice Derouen.
Barring a brand new book, it’s unlikely that Musical Theatre West (or any other major regional theater) will ever attempt a full production of Steel Pier, though Kander & Ebb’s songs cry out for a rewrite to do them justice.
In the meantime, those attending yesterday’s Concert (Almost Fully) Staged Reading can rejoice in having been there for Steel Pier’s comeback … if only for one glorious night.
University Theatre, California State University, Long Beach
www.musical.org
–Steven Stanley
November 23, 2014
