The Sages of Chelm at the Segal Centre – Montreal

In which I perhaps delve a bit too deeply into the politics of this vibrant, grin-inducing, family-friendly musical brought to you by Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre.

The small, peaceful village of Chelm is disrupted when flute-playing wanderer Menakhem happens upon it and makes it his mission to stay. Our eventual romantic lead, played and sung effortlessly by Jake Cohen, is immediately jarring in the midst of the traditional Chelm. He wears denim, plaid, and a beanie, modern clothing that clashes with the garb worn by the villagers – the type of costume design one would expect when watching a musical based on Yiddish folktales. It is clear that Menakhem arrives as a symbol of progress, a voice of reason in the midst of the “foolish souls” – but the conclusion of the show is not a lesson about the inevitability of progress that I came to expect.

The plot is centred around Menakhem and Shoshane (Jeanne Motulsky), the most beautiful woman in the village with whom Menakhem suddenly, magically, falls in love. The two leads have a playful, childlike chemistry, and you can’t help but root for them. Their major obstacles are Shoshane’s current engagement to another man, as well as her family’s (and the general villagers’) distrust of her beloved.

Image source: Segal Centre

It is always very clear to the audience when a cast is genuinely enjoying every moment onstage, and this cast has the endless energy of a fireworks display and a set just as colourful. The show, entirely in Yiddish, includes both English and French supertitles – but I found that, even when my eyes strayed from the text, meaning was conveyed clearly through the actors’ complete devotion to their characters and this story. Besides Cohen and Motulsky, other standouts include Stan Unger as the Rabbi, whose performance felt the most grounded of the cast without losing any vitality (I’m assuming he is the cast member most fluent in the Yiddish language), and Jodi Lackman playing Yente Peshe with an electric, occasionally frantic energy and an obvious utter joy of performing. Special shout-outs to the band, who with only four musicians managed to completely fill the theatre without any sparsity in sound, as well as the person running the supertitles – I can’t imagine the challenge of syncing up the English and French written lines with the spoken lines in an unfamiliar language, and they did a commendable job.

Image source: Segal Centre

Now, for the political analysis that may be far-reaching and that nobody asked for (SPOILERS AHEAD). What I find particularly interesting about this production is that it neither entirely embraces nor rejects progress, which is arguably the underlying theme of the show. Menakhem arrives as a positive symbol of progress to introduce new ideas and a brighter, more accepting future to the Chelm villagers. Specifically, he is the reason Shoshane is granted agency in who she wants to marry, and at the very end of the show, he champions a gay wedding (although there is no trace of preexisting homophobia in the village, so this may insinuate a rather callous assumption about the inhabitants of Chelm). However, this is not a story about small-town people who discover and embrace the glory of modern times. Twice throughout the show, the Litvak appears, sent to bring a steam locomotive to the village. Both times, he is forcefully rejected by the characters. He exists as somewhat of a capitalistic symbol, representing an unwanted future – one in which everyone rushes from one place to the next; in which corporations threaten their employees with the claim that machines will make them obsolete (the villagers claim that, with the presence of the train, their wagon will no longer be needed, endangering their livelihood). This is a future of consumption and planned obsolescence, illustrated by the iPad carried by the Litvak. It’s a future that would ruin the village and its inhabitants, both psychologically and economically, and it’s a future that seems eerily like our present. It’s a nuanced take on the topic of progress, and it seems to me that the conclusion is that progress is a good thing, but not to the detriment of people’s well-being. Then again, I might be reading into it a bit too much.

The Sages of Chelm has six more performances at the Segal Centre, and if you have a craving for two hours of laughter, love, and music, I cannot recommend it enough. Congrats to the cast and crew!

Children of God at the Segal Centre – Montreal

I am sometimes hesitant to review (and criticize) a show telling a narrative that is profoundly not mine. And I think I’m still trying to figure out why that is. Maybe it’s that I’m afraid of negatively reviewing a piece and losing sight of my own privilege. I still wonder if it’s wrong to criticizing something without acknowledging your relationship, or, more likely, your lack of relationship to the issues addressed.

This is why I went in to Children of God feeling anxious about reviewing this show, worried that my review would make me seem that I let my privilege cloud my judgement. I am very happy to say that I don’t need to worry about that.

Wow. Just, wow. I went in with high expectations, knowing that the vast majority of critics raved about this show – and I was not disappointed.

Knowing this musical was about the reservations schools, I went in ready to cry. What surprised me was that it wasn’t the moments of despair that affected me most, but the moments of pure, innocent joy shared by the children. There was something about finding solace in the worst of situations. These small triumphs made the piece all the more devastating, knowing as an audience that this unadulterated happiness won’t last.

The story of Children of God is split into two timelines: one in the 50’s, I believe, about the children forced into reservation schools; and the other years later, when one of the survivors goes to a job interview in the hope of putting his life back together while he tries to cope with his past trauma. Using two timelines can be tricky, but Corey Payette’s (also the composer, lyricist, and director) book is brilliantly paced, slowly offering the audience small hints as to what conspired in the school while not giving everything away. We are fed the story little by little without feeling as if we are intentionally being left in the dark.

The timelines also serve to show how Tommy, one of the children in the reservation school, becomes the adult Tom, struggling with alcoholism, anger management issues, and overall bitterness. We really see the contrast between these two selves and how Tom’s experiences have slowly chipped away at his innocence and optimism.

Speaking of Tom, the actor in this role, Dillan Chiblow, is an absolute standout in this cast. He switches from Tommy to Tom so effortlessly, they might be played by two entirely different actors. He is electrifying in every moment of his stage time. Cheyenne Scott as Tommy’s sister Julia and Michelle St. John as Rita, are also exceptional – the strength behind Scott’s Julia outshines the character’s victimhood, and St. John stands strong and proud, an unbending force, as the siblings’ mother.

This show is a whirlwind of movement. The transitions are fluid and theatrical – my favourite kinds of transitions. Choreographed costume changes occur onstage and set pieces roll in and out, dance-like.

Of course, you can’t talk about a musical without addressing the music, and Payette’s score is sublime. The band consists of only a piano, a guitar, a violin, and a cello, but their music fills the entire space despite the possible thinness of sound that often occurs with a smaller band. The music is a blend of Indigenous music and more contemporary sounds – for people who are well-versed in contemporary musical theatre, I was reminded of the work of Miller and Tysen (Fugitive Songs, The Burnt Part Boys), who are two of my favourite composer/lyricists.

(Very mild spoiler ahead, feel free to skip this paragraph.) My only critique would be the stage time and plot importance given to Sister Bernadette (Sarah Carlé). I understand that her change of heart is integral to the plot, but I didn’t find her second-act solo particularly engaging, and it was perhaps a smidge too long. Maybe I was just too invested in the other characters to want to spend any time seeing Sister Bernadette evolve as a character. But this is such a tiny aspect of the show that it’s almost inconsequential.

Children of God is just a beautiful, beautiful piece. Expertly crafted, splendidly executed, eliciting laughter and tears from the audience. It is an invitation into this community, a reminder of our brutal national history, and a statement of hope for future forgiveness and reconciliation. It is a healing experience, and so relevant in our current government that refuses to acknowledge the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women. This show is necessary, and I am so happy that it is getting the attention and praise it deserves. Here’s hoping all this will continue to spread across the country in the years to come.

Children of God will play through to February 10th at the Segal Centre. Tickets depend on seating, but as always there are discounts for seniors, those under 30, and students.

Once at Segal Centre – Montreal

I was so excited to find out that Once would be part of the Segal Centre’s season this year, it being one of my favourite musicals and one that is slowly beginning to be produced by regional theatres after a lengthy successful run on Broadway.

This is my third time seeing the show: I saw it for the first time in Toronto and then in Ottawa for the Broadway Across Canada tour. Both of these productions were modeled on the original, so I couldn’t wait to see a reimagined version.

I can honestly say I was not disappointed.

Some context: Once is a 2012 musical (or play with music, depends on who you ask) based on a 2007 Irish film of the same name. At the Oscars that year it won Best Original Song for “Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who also played the two unnamed leads, simply referred to as Girl and Guy. It, as does the show, tells the story of a songwriter who has given up on music after experiencing heartbreak, and the stranger who helps him record a demo and makes him believe in himself and his music again.

It’s a gorgeous, quiet little story about fleeting human connection and how music brings people together, and this production, in its minimalism and subtlety, conveys just that.

While the original production’s set was reminiscent of the kind of bar that holds open mic nights every weekend, Segal’s is transported to a music shop, with a cozy atmosphere, instruments hanging on the walls, and a rustic aesthetic from multiple patterned rugs and a mostly-wooden set.

Eva Foote, dauntless in her portrayal of Girl, has undeniable chemistry with Greg Halpin, playing the sensitive, melancholy Guy. This chemistry makes their (SPOILER ALERT) inevitable separation all the more heartbreaking, but their short relationship all the more poignant.

They are supported by a fantastic ensemble, all of whom play various characters while also singing and playing their own instruments. Andrew Shaver’s direction turns them into invisible bystanders at times, occasionally passing instruments to the characters in the scene and aiding in the seamless transitions.

This show is incredibly dynamic, melding the quiet moments with the larger ensemble numbers. However, the standout musical numbers are very clearly the ensemble pieces. The act 1 closer “Gold” brought tears to my eyes, and during the piece used in the recording session in act 2, “When Your Mind’s Made Up,” I found myself forgetting to breathe as I got caught up in the passion of the musicians. It is exactly this passion that holds this piece together and keeps us as the audience invested, while some of the book scenes do drag a little.

Once is somewhat known for being the musical for people who don’t like musicals: there are no cheesy transitions from dialogue to song, no tap numbers, and all the songs are diegetic – meaning they are heard by all the characters and performed in the context of the plot (e.g. Guy performs at an open mic but doesn’t sing to the audience about his feelings for Girl). Sometimes it is difficult to insert theatricality into shows like these; sometimes the justification for it to be a theatre piece isn’t always clear, but elements such as the horizontal strip of lightbulbs almost acting as a character as they interact with the musical moments and the use of the ensemble makes the show unmistakably theatrical and very much meant for the stage.

This is a special show for a broad audience, but I especially recommend it to people who don’t normally like musicals and musical theatre-type scores, as this is a score based in folk and Celtic music. I think this quiet, positive show about the good in humanity is what our world needs right now, especially in light of current events. Don’t miss this opportunity to happy cry!

Once is playing at the Segal Centre until October 28. Tickets are $53 regular admission, $50 for seniors, $40 for under 30s, and $32 for students. Tickets are going fast, so get them ASAP!

Image source: Segal Centre

It Shoulda Been You at Segal Centre – Montreal

I have a very vague, distant memory of the It Shoulda Been You Tony Awards performance back in 2015, though I was much too wrapped up in my rooting for Fun Home to really be paying attention. I mostly forgot that the show existed until Segal announced its production of it this season.

It Shoulda Been You tells the story of a wedding, told from the point of view of the bride’s sister, which joins together a Jewish and non-Jewish family. But first, some context.

The Segal Centre puts on a couple of Yiddish translations of English plays every season, but I hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing one until tonight. This feat of trilingualism (there were both French and English subtitles) was probably my favourite part of the production. Having never seen one of these translated plays before, I assumed it would be a straight translation, serving the act of translation rather than serving the story, but the translators integrated the Yiddish so seamlessly into the storyline, the characters, and the dialogue. The translation supports the story, and the way the characters weave in and out of different languages is a totally realistic portrayal of bilingual families.

As a choice for the Segal Centre Yiddish repertoire, this show was a total success. Musically, it’s not the most memorable of musicals, with only a few stand-out songs–and perhaps they only stood out to me because of the actors performing them. There were a couple of very strong actors with crazy singing chops, such as the two mothers (Karen Karpman and Joanne Cutler), both of them very much caricatures of the judgemental, manipulative mother figure who the audience loves to hate–and Albert (Marc-André Poulain), the wedding planner who’s a bit of a drama queen, with a big musical number to show for it.

But the star of the show, Rosie Callaghan playing Jenny Steinberg, totally blew me away, and indeed lived up to her title as the star. She’s a powerhouse, both as an actor and singer, and her two big numbers were the highlights of the show. Her emotional range is huge, covering Jenny’s insecurities about her body image and her explosion of confidence when she refuses to be walked on.

The story starts off a bit slowly, giving the illusion of a predictable family comedy, but then steers the audience off into uncharted territory. The twists and turns keep the audience members on the edge of their seats, and though most of the comedy is a bit cheap and some of the jokes fall flat, the show absolutely captured my attention for the full hour and 45 minutes of it.

Also, I always love a good audience plant.

The Segal Centre took a somewhat mediocre musical and, I believe, successfully turned it into a story about a clash of cultures and body positivity, with the trite but nonetheless important underlying moral that it’s always better to be yourself, and that a family that supports you deserves to have you in their lives.

It Shoulda Been You runs at the Segal Centre until June 25th, and you should catch it if you’re in the mood for a fun, light, short musical. Tickets are $24.50 for students, $35 for under 30’s, $54 for seniors, and $60 full price.

Image source: Segal Centre

Amélie: A New Musical – Original Broadway Cast Recording Review

If you know me, you might know that two of my biggest musical theatre crushes are Samantha Barks (best known for playing Eponine in the Les Mis movie) and Phillipa Soo (who you might recognize from an obscure musical that did poorly and disappeared into oblivion called Hamilton). Sam Barks created the role at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2015, and Pippa Soo took over in LA in 2016 and brought the show to Broadway in 2017. Basically, I’ve had reasons to be watching the trajectory of this musical since its first production. I never did get to see it as it closed soon after it opened after receiving no Tony nominations, but from what I’ve seen it looks visually stunning. So I was excited when the album was released to experience this show.

In case you don’t know, Amélie: A New Musical is based on a 2001 French film called Amélie about an eccentric young woman who takes it on herself to do anonymous good deeds. People have been telling me to watch it for years, and the creation of this musical was the final push for me to see it.

It’s an amazing film, you guys. Like it’s on my short list of my favourite movies ever now. It’s so quaint and colourful and basically everything I like about movies.

But back to the musical and its soundtrack. As much as I loved hearing Pippa record new material, much of the music is somewhat forgettable and underwhelming. There are a couple of standouts: notably “Times Are Hard For Dreamers,” which has been the go-to song for this show. It does a great job of showing Amélie’s endless optimism and her unique view of the world. Some other favourites are Adam Chandler-Berat’s two main songs, “When the Booth Goes Bright” and “Thin Air.” You may know him as Henry from Next to Normal, a role he excelled in. His characterization of Nino in Amélie is super similar to that of Henry. He plays the sensitive, somewhat awkward love interest very well, it seems.

Translating a film like Amélie for the stage must have been a huge undertaking, as it’s such a recognizable film in terms of writing and aesthetics. It’s a story that was made for FILM. Something that dissolved in the creation of the musical was the use of a single narrative voice, which to me is emblematic of the movie. Instead, they turned the ensemble into a collective narrator, all helping to tell Amélie’s story. I had mixed feelings about this at first, but now I think it’s a very interesting and well-executed way to conserve the narration. Amélie becomes the heroine of her own life, which makes the simple story about simple people seem larger than life.

Humour is also a huge part of the show, which isn’t something we’ve really seen Pippa do yet, but she excels at it. She presents her character so playfully, which shows us a side of her that is very new to me. But underneath that humour lies the fear of being alone that is at the core of the show.

Musically, the piece isn’t mind-blowing, but it is playful enough to reflect the eccentricity of the original film, and both Pippa Soo and Adam Chandler-Berat are absolutely brilliant. It’s a good listen if you’re a fan of the movie, or have a huge crush on Pippa, or like bouncy pop scores with lots of ensemble work.

Image source: ameliebroadway.com

Groundhog Day The Musical: Original Broadway Cast Recording

This post contains spoilers for Groundhog Day, both the musical and the film.

Source: amazon.com

Anyone who is a Matilda The Musical fan has probably been watching Tim Minchin (comedian and composer) very closely in the past few years to see what his next project would be. When I heard that he was adapting the film Groundhog Day for the stage, I was perplexed at first (as I tend to be with most movie adaptations), but as I listened to the cast recording , I realized that this story perfectly reflects Minchin’s musical style: comedic, but with an underlying sense of darkness.

For those of you who don’t know the story, Groundhog Day tells the story of Phil Connors, a bitter reporter who travels to small town Punxsutawnee, PA for the Groundhog Day celebrations and for an unexplained reason is forced to relive the same day over and over again. This is the movie that began the familiar trope of the repeating day, which tvtropes.org calls the “‘Groundhog Day’ Loop.” This kind of plot happens a lot in episodic TV shows (think the “International Dateline” episode of Disney Channel’s The Suite Life On Deck).

So clearly, repetition is a huge theme in this story–which, in terms of music, can either fail if overdone or succeed if explored in an interesting way. Repetition is an important and often necessary tool in music, but it’s so easy to take it a step too far. This is what I was looking out for during my first listen of the cast album, and I think Minchin did a great job of handling the repetitive aspect of the score. Andy Karl’s performance as Phil also contributed to the sense of movement the score brings despite the backdrop of a single day. You can hear the evolution of his character in his voice, from the bitterness to the despair to the hope for a happy ending.

In terms of songs, the obvious hit is the (I’m assuming) 11 o’clock number of “If I Had My Time Again,” which contradicts the usual claim that “if I could do it again, I would do it the same.” It’s a rock ballad led by Rita (Phil’s love interest) in which she and the townspeople reflect on their regrets in life and what they would change if they could. The song “Stuck,” in which Phil is seen by a procession of unhelpful health “professionals”, is a reflection of Minchin’s satirical voice, specifically when he talks about pseudoscience (see: Tim Minchin’s Storm: The Animated Movie).

My least favourite moment of the score is the Act 1 finale, titled “One Day.” Though Minchin attempts to use his witty voice to show the complexities and contradictions of female desire (as Rita sees it), it deteriorates into a hackneyed 6/4 ballad about how she fears no man may fulfill all her expectations (spoiler: Phil can). She says: “One day, some day/my prince will come/but it doesn’t seem likely,” all of which we as musical theatre enthusiasts have heard a multitude of times before. We don’t need another female character who claims she’s done with men only to fall in love at the end.

Despite the insipid love story subplot, the album is pretty solid, and you get a good idea of Tim Minchin’s sense of humour and jazzy sound. Since I haven’t seen the show, it’s difficult for me to evaluate the plot and its adaptation from the movie, but I like most of the changes that were made, and it also seems to create more of an arc for Phil’s character than it did in the movie, where his change of heart feels a bit contrived. All in all, it’s a good listen, and I recommend it for people who are fans of the movie or of Minchin’s other work.

A Broadway Running Playlist

I’ve recently started running! And me being me, I’ve started collecting songs from musicals that are running-themed or otherwise appropriate to run to. Hopefully this playlist will help you get up and get moving!

Note: Most of these have professionally recorded versions, but I’ll be posting videos to live performances.

“Reasons to Run” from Fugitive Songs by Miller and Tysen

To get you inspired while you warm up.

“And They’re Off” from A New Brain by William Finn

You get to pretend to be a horse starting a race. And you’re off!

“What I Was Born To Do” from Bring it On: The Musical

GO GO GO CAMPBELL, GO CAMPBELL, GO CAMPBELL, GO GO GO CAMPBELL GO!

“Stronger” from Finding Neverland (The Album)

“You can run now, so much faster!”

“Balaga” from Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy

“HEY BALAGA HO BALAGA HEY HEY HO BALAGA HEY HEY BALAGA THE FAMOUS TROIKA DRIVER!” (Can you beat Balaga’s speed of twelve miles per hour? Probably not, but you can try.)

“The World Will Know” from Newsies

Tbh the entire Newsies album makes a great running playlist.

“I Heard Your Voice in a Dream” from Hit List (Smash)

To satisfy your Jeremy Jordan needs. Also this is my personal favourite running song–those strings and that percussion can raise me from the dead.

That’s all I have, folks! Comment with your own favourite Broadway work-out tracks.