Mike Rivard, double bass
Roberto Cassan.accordion
Matt Glover, elec mandolin
Fabio Pirozzolo, percussion & voice

Taped live at Chianti Jazz Lounge, Beverly MA. Produced in conjunctionwith BevCam. Produced and hosted by Jenny Chava Hudson, Rich Marino, executive producer, edited by Pete Tsaklis

Daddy Long Legs

It’s not very often when you see an audience rise to their feet in unison for an ovation. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind… no holding back. Set in 1912 New England, Daddy Long Legs, a musical (truth be known, an operetta delivered in extraordinary voices and delightful melodies to live music), is such an engaging show that that the entire audience fell in love and wasn’t afraid to show it. They loved the sweet, spunky, and smart Jerusha Abbot (Megan McGinnis), an orphan sent to college by an anonymous donor, Jervis Pendleton (Robert Adelman Hancock). The deal is that she is to write him a letter each week, and over the course of time, he becomes so intrigued that he has to meet her. Not wanting to reveal himself, he devises a scheme to befriend her yet keep his secret, yet he becomes caught in his own rules. McGinnis and Hancock both shine in their roles.

Up to the high bar of MRT standards, the set is clever and creates a convincing turn-of-the-century world. Jervis’s upstage  library is perfectly-constructed with panels and books, and downstage, Jerusha territory, is scattered with steamer trunks that serve as an orphanage, a college dorm, a farm, and when they are stacked, work as a hilltop. Jerusha’s costumes are pulled out of the trunks as well as she prepares for each new part of her life.

Projected video of Jerusha’s perfect handwriting, highlights  each group of letters and gives a sense of place. Directed under the hand of John Caird, a Tony and Olivier award-winning director for Les Miserables and Nichaolas Nickleby as well as scores of other shows, the show has the tight pacing and quality of Broadway.

The lyrics are clever and often philosophical: “The secret of happiness is to enjoy the ride, not mourn the past, not to run to fast…”

I can’t think of a more perfect show to run in February… it is full of love, but not overly sentimental. I would suggest two things: One is DO NOT MISS it and the other is to bring some Kleenex.
- Jenny Hudson

Photos by Megan Moore.The Voice of the Turtle by John Van Druten

Merrimack Repertory Theatre
merrimackrep.org
Directed by Carl Forsman

Through January 29, 2012

Without a doubt, Voice of the Turtle tops my list of favorites at the MRT.  John Van Druten’s script, originally opened in 1943 is as true and heartwarming today as it was then when it was a Broadway hit.  The play is a straight-shooting romantic comedy with characters that are so true that you feel like you know them… so much that the jokes were a laugh at myself as much as the characters.  Could  the playwright  have known me before I was born?  There is something comforting and even normalizing in finding bits of yourself in a story and the script had lots of genuine laughs.

The story of Bill (William Connell), an officer on leave who winds up staying in Sally (Hanley Smith), a young actresses’s apartment when he is ditched by Olive (Megan Byrne), their mutual friend and foil. Sally struggles with her guilt over her sexuality, while Olive, struggles to be good.

The characters are both totally believable and charming. Originally defended, their personalities delight as they become vulnerable.

The set is one of the MRT’s best:  A well-appointed 1940′s  NYC flat with three rooms that includes a sunken living room and a working sink and refrigerator in the kitchen. Evidently, this was the first play on Broadway to have a sink with working plumbing.

The play is heartwarming and universal. Don’t miss it.