A blast of Broadway rekindles memories
View(s):Most weekends it’s a smooth drive down Barnes Place. Last Saturday however vehicles were crammed outside the Musaeus College Auditorium and inside the clatter of high heels and excited hum of chatter added to the adrenaline. Backstage, the Workshop Players were warming up for “The Best of Broadway”. Presented in association with the Musaeus College Past Pupils’ Association, the evening was a throwback to over 20 years of song and dance numbers that engraved the Workshop name in the minds of Colombo’s theatre lovers.
Touch me: Dmitri Gunathilake as Grizabella in ‘Cats’
Since their inception, the Workshop Players have always aimed to give their audiences the closest possible experience to an authentic Broadway production. Last Saturday was no less. For music lovers and Workshop fans in the audience, the night’s expectations were obviously high fuelled by nostalgic small talk with their neighbours of being seated in the Lionel Wendt and remembering so- and-so’s performance.
Being a variety concert it was obvious the performances would be watered down in terms of props and sets sans the iconic choreography and costumes that incited many a sold-out show. The delayed start did much to dampen the buzz inside the hall, but was re-ignited by the backdrop on the stage where New York’s legendary 42nd Street stood in all its colourful exuberance. Snuggled in the intersection between Broadway and Times Square it is known as the theatre district. The stage suddenly came alive with the 70 strong cast in dramatic fashion. Suit-clad New Yorkers rushing to work, camera-flashing tourists and other colourful characters added to the theatrical rush surrounding the Big Apple and its celebration of Broadway.
Young Workshoppers take centrestage in ‘Oliver’. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Jerome and his team paid tribute to each of their productions with a storyline woven into the performances, with the exception of their first; Lost in the Stars and Les Miserables- which will hit the boards this October. The show opened to the eerie glow of the Jellicle moon. Dmitri Gunathilake with her haunting rendition of “Memory” – a husky show opener triggered many a memory from their 1992 production, as leotard clad dancers hissed and crouched with feline grace.
A sharp contrast was the next medley of songs. As the stage teemed with people, bright caftans and African beats, the songs from The Lion King, clearly a cast favourite, were both hypnotic and catchy. Group numbers such as “One by One” and “He Lives in You” were high in energy which sometimes overwhelmed the performances. But Nala’s “Shadowland” accompanied by tribal inspired lionesses was one of the segment’s more poignant numbers- a blend of subtlety and power. Another was “Hakuna Matata”. For those who had watched the original Workshop production of The Lion King, the comic Disney duo, complete with its original actors was a performance frozen in time.
Carefully selected pieces made sure that there was never a dull moment. Oliver! brought in laughs with its bawdy pub scenes while The Sound of Music thrilled with crowd favourites “Do Re Mi” and “Edelweiss”. Dinushka Jayawickreme’s “Climb Every Mountain” was a majestic two minutes which held the audience in awed silence even after the song was over.
A ten-minute break heralded their newer productions. Once again with an impressive performance of “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”, Dmitri complete in a very Evita ballgown could have incited even the audience into cheering for the ruthlessly beautiful first lady.
Can you feel the love tonight? A ‘Lion King’ moment
Seamless scene changes with very little interruption morphed the Argentinean pillars into the minimalist backdrop for Jesus Christ Superstar. The rock opera had many a viewer lipsynching to Amandhi Caldera’s crystal clear “I Don’t Know How to Love Him ” while “The Last Supper” was both moving and emotional. One of the show’s standouts was the “Superstar” number with Gehan Blok clad in a glamorous blue suit accompanied by savvy dancing girls. In the role made famous by Carl Anderson in the 1970s, Judas had all the swagger of a TV show host along with the bevy of dancers while an invisible choir belted out the chorus backstage, with many of the audience wanting to join in.
Theatrical moments such as the boat scene from last year’s Phantom of the Opera had many gasps and oohs from the audience. Although the show staggered past two hours, the Workshoppers’ energy was little diminished as the whole cast took the stage with “Masquerade”. The curtain closed on a foreshadowing note. The group’s final bow was a fist pumping version of “Do You Hear the People Sing” from Les Miserables. A temporary goodbye, their final notes were a fitting finish-“There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes! ”