TribLIVE: “A Grand Night for Singing” also could be a great occasion for listening.
The CLO Cabaret revue that begins performances Thursday at the Cabaret at Theater Square, Downtown, pays tribute to the songwriting duo of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, while taking the audience and performers on a romantic journey from “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” to “Some Enchanted Evening.”
2 comments:
I was drawn to this article mostly for the name, Rodgers and Hammerstein. I feel they are the fathers of musical theater, its amazing that most recognizable show tunes, the one that are known by nearly everyone, come from this duo's collaborations. To create one smash after the other, and hit song after hit song is something that always intrigued me about their music, especially in such a wide genre of theme, plot, style, all with a similar genuine draw and hook. I think its great that there is a musical revue for the entirety of their musical journey- it would be interesting to chronologically line up song after song- to, in essence track the true journey of these music makers.
I am glad the CLO was able to refresh the music and make it connect to a newer audience. Having just been in the Cabaret space for the Juniors' recent Cabaret class final with Stephen Schwartz, I would say the small set and layout help with the updating. Much of the music Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote was highly romanticized, even the passionate, angry, and sad momnets are romanticized. The setting is reminiscent of a pier and entwined with twinkling holiday lights, a location common in movies and literature for cliche moments of high emotion. The themes in Rodgers and Hammerstein's music are eternal so updating the location and not putting people in super-period costumes is all that is necessary to update the music
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