To My Arms/Restore (Doug Varone and Dancers and MasterVoices)

The recent collaboration between MasterVoices and Doug Varone and Dancers was nothing short of amazing. Brilliant dance, gorgeous singing, thrilling musicians--it was the proverbial feast for the eyes and ears. I felt rich watching the show; what could be more precious than incredible talent creating incredible art? (The credits are listed below.)

Doug Varone Dancers Photo: Erin Baiano

It's frustrating to write about MasterVoices's wonderful but brief productions since they're always over when I do. Here instead is some info on MasterVoices's next production, The Grapes of Wrath by Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie. 

I unfortunately missed this show the last time around, and I am looking forward with great excitement to seeing it this time around. Based on John Steinbeck's classic novel, it features Kyle Oliver, Nathan Gunn, Margaret Lattimore, Mikaela Bennett, Bryonha Marie, Victor Starsky, Malcolm MacKenzie, Schyler Vargas, Christian Pursell, John Brancy, David Fleiss, and Jan Constantine, plus the 120 wonderful singers of  MasterVoices. The narrators are Joe Morton and J. Smith-Cameron. It's April 17th at Carnegie Hall, and (not-overpriced!) tickets are still available. (For more info, click here.)

I'm thrilled to see The Grapes of Wrath because of some predictable reasons: I am a huge fan of MasterVoices and musical director Ted Sperling, and I loved Gordon's musical My Life With Albertine. 

But here's what has really raised my excitement: I have two discerning theatre-going friends who have seen hundreds of shows. They have loved many of them, but when they speak of The Grapes of Wrath, they get this look of wonder on their faces, and they communicate such love and awe that I can practically hear a choir singing behind them. So, of course, I can't wait for The Grapes of Wrath. 

And I hope to see you there.

Wendy Caster

To My Arms

Choreography by Doug Varone

Music by George Frideric Handel, Suite of arias and duets from the operas Atalanta, Orlando, Giulio Cesare, Samson, Serse, Agrippina, Scipione, Alexander Balus, Semele and Teseo*

Lighting Design by Derek Van Heel

Costume Design by Caitlin Taylor

Dancers:

1. Courtney Barth and Ryan Yamauchi
2. Joniece “JoJo” Boykins, Daeyana Moss and Thryn Saxon
3. Brad Beakes and Jake Bone
4. Courtney Barth
5. Joniece “JoJo” Boykins and Daeyana Moss
6. Jake Bone
7. Thryn Saxon with Marc Anthony Gutierrez
8. Full Company
9. Brad Beakes
10. Courtney Barth and Ryan Yamauchi
11. Full Company

Liz Lang, Soprano
Emily Donato, Soprano
Jake Ingbar, Countertenor
John Easterlin, Tenor
Benjamin Howard, Baritone

Accompanied by New York Baroque Incorporated
Oboe: Andrew Blanke
Violin: Ravenna Lipchick, Shelby Yamin
Viola: Jimmy Drancsak, Annie Garlid
Cello: Serafim Smigelskiy
Bass: Wen Yang
Theorbo: Adam Cockerham
Harpsichord: Caitlyn Koester

Ted Sperling, Conductor

Restore
(Part 2)

Choreography by Doug Varone
Music by Nico Bentley, Handel Remixed
Lighting Design by Derek Van Heel
Costume Design by Caitlin Taylor

Courtney Barth, Brad Beakes, Jake Bone, Marc Anthony Gutierrez, Joniece “JoJo” Boykins, Daeyana Moss, Thryn Saxon, Ryan Yamauchi

With MasterVoices

Accompanied by New York Baroque Incorporated

Ted Sperling, Conductor

MasterVoices: Night Songs And Love Waltzes

MasterVoices (formerly known as the Collegiate Chorale) has a long history of presenting wonderful evenings of song and theatre, and Night Songs and Love Waltzes fit right in. (There's also every reason to believe that MasterVoices' presentation of Lady in the Dark, starring Victoria Clark, will also be wonderful. For more info, click here.)

Night Songs and Love Waltzes was the work of many people, and they all deserve shout-outs.

Ted Sperling. The artistic director and conductor, Sperling loves his work and shares that love generously. And his taste and conducting are superb. When I see his name, I relax in the knowledge that I'm going to have a good time.

Ted Sperling

MasterVoices Singers. I love big groups of people singing, and MasterVoices' 120 singers sound glorious together. It's a thrill whenever they sing.

The Soloists. Nicole Cabell (soprano), Kate Aldrich (mezzo-soprano), Nicholas Phan (tenor), and Nmon Ford (baritone) acquitted themselves nicely throughout. 

Stephen Sondheim. He's Stephen Sondheim, y'know? And his music for A Little Night Music is some of the most luscious in his brilliant and insanely rich oeuvre. Ted Sperling made an arrangement of those Night Music songs originated by its quintet/chorus--including a song that didn't make it to the finished show--and the result is sheer pleasure.

Ricky Ian Gordon. Gordon's music is often stunning, and his Life is Love, a song cycle to poems of Langston Hughes, is beautiful.

Anderson & Roe. Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe play piano(s) with proficiency, brilliance, energy, humor, and a touch of insanity. They are fabulous musicians and incredible showpeople.

Anderson (right) & Roe

Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schumann (Clara and Robert), and Schubert. At the risk of revealing my middle-brow-ness, I appreciated rather than loved their pieces. In truth, I was counting the minutes until the work of Sondheim, Gordon, or Anderson & Roe.

The Musicians. When I initially saw cellists Peter Sachon and Mairi Dorman and the horn quartet led by Zohar Schondorf, I thought they made up an odd combination of instruments. Sperling, of course, knows better than I, and the band was terrific and just right.

Alice Tully.  Alice Tully, who died in her early 90s in the early '90s, was originally a singer but ended up focusing on philanthropy once she inherited her family's significant fortune. She pretty much paid for Alice Tully Hall, where Night Songs and Love Waltzes was performed, but she only allowed it to be named after her once she made sure it was up to her standards in acoustics and leg room. The result is a perfect venue in which to hear music, and it is much warmer in mood than its larger siblings in Lincoln Center.

All in all, Night Songs and Love Waltzes soared.

Wendy Caster

(mid-orchestra center)