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The Post-Standard News
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January 8, 2004 CAST BRINGS OUT DRAMA IN CHAPIN SONGS
Neil Novelli, Contributing Writer What sets Harry Chapin apart from other singer-songwriters is that he was, more than anything, a dramatist. His story-songs are really compact plays, filled with characters, dialogue and conflict. That's the way that director Linda Lance and her cast at Appleseed Productions treat "Lies and Legends: The Musical Stories of Harry Chapin." The 26 songs are handled like personal dramas, with Lance's direction bringing out the action. The revue is lively, moving and imaginative, but it doesn't knock you out with spectacle. The set is plain, and the actors' clothes look like the casual wear of working-class people. Yet in "Corey's Coming" − the story of an old man's ridiculous belief in a true love − the ending sends chills up your spine. As Kelley Loen-Witter sings "Old College Avenue," Eric Feldstein and Mary Kate Migdal lean together like two halves of a heart. Nothing much changes physically, but you see a dream crumble before your eyes. Feldstein has a powerful baritone, and he tells you the story of "Taxi" − the chance meeting of two ex-lovers − as if he were recalling it for the first time. Robert Steingraber's comic timing is great in "Bananas," the funny catastrophe involving "30,000 pounds of bananas." But it could be funnier yet if the audience were asked to join in on the chorus. Most of Chapin's heroes have faced tough times; they may be weather-worn but not beaten down. Mark J. Wright, for example, does wonderful acting as the DJ in "W.O.L.D.," who is "feeling all of 45, going on 15." And he also does powerful work with "Cat's in the Cradle," as a man rather like Willie Loman who realizes too late what really matters in life. Wright sings too softly at times, though. He has a fine, big voice and needs to open up with it more often. Migdal's voice is light, sweet and right on target, and she and Steingraber turn "Get on With It" into an astounding little comedy of manners, where words keep shifting meanings. In general, miking, levels could have been higher, and the band, directed by Kent Bradshaw, needed to be softer. But I saw the show at a preview, and these matter may be fixed by opening night. As a singer, Kelley Loen-Witter can caress a song or belt it out, and as an actress she can move from tragedy to comedy. In "Dogtown," she is all the bereaved widows left behind by men lost at sea. She's the Waitress in "A Better Place to Be;" the song can get oversentimental, but she flips it to comedy at the end with just the right touch. "Dance Band of the Titanic" has the whole coast doing a lively shuffle: "The iceberg's on the starboard bow, won't you dance with me?" Copyright © 2004 The Post-Standard. |
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