Tulsa Project Theatre’s “Broadway Your Way” is – if you will pardon the Forrest Gump-like analogy – like a box of chocolates.
It is loaded with any number of tasty, artfully prepared morsels that, no matter how many one might consume, will never constitute a complete and satisfying meal.
The concept behind the show was that the public would submit suggestions of their favorite Broadway tunes that would then be incorporated into the program.
This concept, and how it was realized in the show, was never really addressed, so basically this was a concert of randomly selected show tunes, performed by a cast of seven who would don costumes in keeping with the nature of whatever song was being sung.
Christian Elser, for example, wrapped himself in cape and feather boa for “I Am What I Am” from “La Cage aux Folles,” while Liz Masters got decked out in full Norma Desmond regalia for “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from the musical version of “Sunset Boulevard.”
Kyle Dougan twirled an umbrella through “Singin’ in the Rain” (which didn’t make it Broadway until some 30 years after it debuted as a film, but who’s counting?), while Jonathan Gilliand declaimed “Close Every Door” adorning a “Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
Machele Miller Dill, however, needed no accoutrements for "Stars and the Moon" from "Songs for the New World," apparently a last-minute replacement for the "Dreamgirls" number listed in the program.
One of the best things of the evening was the medley of Stephen Sondheim songs dealing with the vagaries of love and marriage and linked together by snippets of the wryly caustic “The Little Things You Do Together” from “Company.” It worked like a mini-drama made up of some of the composer’s best songs, from Jenna Tamisiea’s hyperactive “Getting Married Today” to Masters’ poignant “Losing My Mind,” and highlighted by seven-part a cappella version of “Somewhere” from “West Side Story.”
About as effective, if a little less coherent, was the medley of songs about New York and Broadway. It was the first big number of the evening, and had more than its share of problems technical and vocal, although Elser and company did a good rendition of “The King of Broadway” from “The Producers.”
The third medley was called “R&H in Under 10 Minutes,” with Tamisiea coming out to announce the medley and being told that “we only have 10 minutes.”
Yes, it was supposed to be cute, especially as, once they finished with the bits from “Oklahoma!” the cast realized that the large timer on stage was rapidly clicking off the seconds, and so the bits and pieces of “Carousel,” “South Pacific,” “The King & I” and “The Sound of Music” were performed with increasing speed.
But it really seemed a “why bother?” conceit. It wasn’t the final number of the show, for one thing (that was “The Trolley Song” from “Meet Me In St. Louis” – again, another movie musical that some 40 years later made it to Broadway, but again, who’s counting?).
And if the purpose of the show was to showcase the Broadway songs a select group of Tulsans love, then it seemed odd that what Dill, the show’s director, said was the single most requested song – “If I Loved You” from “Carousel” – was performed in such an abbreviated, accelerated fashion.
Besides, take out the 20-minute intermission, and “Broadway Your Way” totaled up to about 70 minutes of music. Maybe it was a way of living up to the old show-biz adage of "leave 'em wanting more."
Still, the talent on display was impressive. Tamisiea, who appeared with Light Opera Oklahoma in years past, is a powerhouse of a singer – she hardly needed the microphone she wore, and she went at every number she sang with infectious enthusiasm.
I wished that the “Fugue for Tinhorns” from “Guys and Dolls” hadn’t been edited down, to give Elser, Gilliand and Dougan more room let that fugue fly. And it would have been great to hear more from the seven voices in ensemble – the few times they all sang together was almost magical.
James Gregory on piano, Mike Schmidt on bass and drummer Charles Emerson provided the accompaniment.
"Broadway Your Way" continues with performances 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Tulsa PAC. Tickets are $35. Call 918-596-7111 or go to
tulsaworld.com/mytix.
