We don’t always see theatre. Sometimes, we see concerts. Some of our favorites are the ones produced by Muse/ique (FB), a “counter-culture” orchestra out of Pasadena under the artistic direction of Rachael Worby (FB). Each year they pick a theme — in 2014 it was Break/Through about breakthrough performance; in 2015 it was Bernstein; last year it was Gershwin. They then explore the theme from all sorts of angles. This year the theme was Motown/Miracle, and the exploration was of the soul, of soul music (and particularly the Motown / girl group style), of the soul of the artist. The special guest performer was Darlene Love (FB), a significant Los Angeles background presence on many of the soul music hits (not always credited to her). I was actually familiar with Love from the cast album of her 1985 Broadway show, Leader of the Pack. The evening was not just a celebration of the soul music style — as produced from the recording centers in Los Angeles, New York, and the true Motown, Detroit; it was a celebration of the power in the backup singers and artists backing the promoted names. Also supporting Love on a number of songs was Milton Vann (FB), together with the background trio of Melodye Perry (FB), Vee Nelson (FB), and Kenna Ramsey (FB).
The songs performed during the show were as follows (♥ indicates Darlene Love performances; ♦ indicates Milton Vann lead):
- Medley: I’ll Be There / My Girl / Heard It On The Grapevine / Love Machine
- A Change Is Gonna Come ♦ Tribute to Sam Cooke.
- Lean on Me ♥ Written by Bill Withers
- Among The Believers ♥ Written by Steve Van Zandt
- Night Closing In ♥ Written by Bruce Springsteen
- Forbidden Love ♥ Written by Elvis Costello
- Wait Till My Bobby Comes Home ♥
- Today, I Met The Boy I’m Gonna Marry ♥
- He’s a Rebel ♥
- Do Do Run Run – Backup singers a-capella
- The Boy I Love ♥
- Do Do Run Run ♥
- Marvelous ♥
- Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Demonstration of James Jamerson‘s bass stylings by Mike Valerio
- You’re All I Need To Get By ♥
- Ain’t No Mountain High Enough ♥
- His Eye Is On The Sparrow ♥
- River Deep, Mountain High ♥
As is common with the shows, by the end, the audience was dancing in the aisles (well, on the side of the lawn). This was one of the best Muse/ique performances that we have seen: great music, a lovely evening.
I do, however, have my usual complaint. There was no program. In particular, we didn’t get a list of the orchestra and backup singers, let alone the production team. I have requested this information from Muse/ique; they updated the show page to provide most of it. In particular, that page lists all the composers and orchestrators (although it does not match them to the pieces performed)
The Muse/ique orchestra, under the direction of Rachael Worby (FB), consisted of VIOLIN I – Ana Landauer (FB), Marisa Sorajja, Radu Pieptea (FB), Kathleen Sloan (FB), Loránd Lokuszta (FB), Marisa Kuney (FB) / VIOLIN II – Maia Jasper (FB), Neel Hammond, Grace Oh (FB), Anna Kostyuchek (FB) / VIOLA – Shawn Mann (FB), Rodney Wirtz (FB), Caroline Buckman (FB) / CELLO – Charlie Tyler (FB), Ginger Murphy (FB), Joo Lee (FB) / BASS – Mike Valerio (FB), Don Ferrone (FB) / FLUTE – Angela Weigand (FB), Sal Lozano / OBOE – Michele Forrest (FB) / CLARINET – Stuart Clark (FB), Damon Zick (FB) / BASSOON – William May (FB), Adam Havrilla (FB) / HORN – Steve Becknell (FB), Nathan Campbell / TRUMPET – Rob Schaer (FB) / TROMBONE – Steve Suminsky (FB), Brent Anderson (FB) / TIMPANI – Theresa Dimond / PERCUSSION – Jason Goodman (FB) / DRUMSET – Ted Atkatz (FB) / KEYBOARD – Alan Steinberger (FB) / GUITAR – Andrew Synowiec (FB)
There were no production credits provided.
In the 2017 “Summer of Sound”, there is one more production: Glow/Town, on August 26, featuring Savion Glover (FB) and, from the Hamilton tour, Joshua Henry (FB). Tickets are available from the Muse/ique website; discount tickets may be available from Goldstar. I find the Festival Seating just fine: general admission tables and chairs to see the show, and you bring your own picnic to enjoy. A perfect summer evening. Summer events take on the lawn in front of the Beckmann Auditorium at CalTech in Pasadena.
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Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted. I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (well, make that 5 Stars Theatricals (FB)), the Hollywood Pantages (FB), Actors Co-op (FB), the Chromolume Theatre (FB) in the West Adams district, and a mini-subscription at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.
Upcoming Shows:
The last weekend of July brings The Last 5 Years at Actors Co-op (FB). August starts with Brian Setzer at the Hollywood Bowl (FB) on August 2, followed by The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) on the weekend. We are also squeezing in On The Twentieth Century at the Pan-Andreas Theatre in Hollywood from Proof Doubt Closer (FB), as a friend is in the cast (you can contribute to the production here). The second weekend of August? What made sitting through The Bodyguard worth it: Hamilton at the Hollywood Pantages (FB).
I’m still scheduling September, but so far we have The 39 Steps° at Actors Co-op (FB) and Pacific Overtures at Chromolume Theatre (FB). There’s also the Men of TAS Golf Tournament, if any theatre company reading this wants to donate tickets to our silent auction (hint, hint). October is also filling up quickly, with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB), the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) at the Valley Performing Arts Center (FB), a tribute to Ray Charles — To Ray With Love — also at the Valley Performing Arts Center (FB), and a hold for Bright Star at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). Lastly, looking into November, we have The Man Who Came to Dinner at Actors Co-op (FB), the Nottingham (FB) and Tumbleweed (FB) Festivals, a Day Out with Thomas at Orange Empire Railway Museum (FB), and HOLDs for Spamilton at the Kirk Douglas Theatre (FB) and Something Rotten at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). More as the schedule fleshes out, of course, but we’re booking all the way out in mid to late 2018 already!
As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Better-Lemons, Musicals in LA, @ This Stage, Footlights, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves. Note: Lastly, want to know how to attend lots of live stuff affordably? Take a look at my post on How to attend Live Theatre on a Budget.
