David Mirvish & Hannah Mirvish and Garner Theatre Productions/ Vibrant Star, music, ebook and story by Steve Martin, music, lyrics and story by Edie Brickell, music route by Donna Garner, choreographed by Lisa Goebel, directed by Jacob Wolstencroft, CAA Theatre, till Nov. 2. Tickets here.
Vibrant star isn’t a musical stuffed with Broadway glitz and glamour. It’s a mild present with a young coronary heart, carried out by an especially proficient Canadian solid, and that includes a wonderful bluegrass/Appalachian/folks impressed rating that’s completely seductive.
Being Your Personal Band
Some musicals simply want actors who can sing just like the reveals of Stephen Sondheim or Lord Lloyd-Webber. Others want actors who can sing and dance like Something Goes, Chicago or A Refrain Line.
After which there are these musicals have been the actors need to sing, generally dance, however at all times need to play musical devices. In these instances, the actor-musicians, as they’re known as, additionally type the band or the orchestra for the present.
Such is the case of Vibrant Star.
Collectively the solid performs piano, percussion, guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass, drums, fiddle, viola, cello, accordion, bugle, and harmonica, in different phrases, an genuine bluegrass sound with the rhythm pushed by plucked strings and percussion.
Let’s take a look at a person within the solid like well-known musical man about city Beau Dixon who seems as Daddy Cane/Dr. Norquist. Within the present he performs banjo, bass, guitar, piano, drums and percussion. So not solely do this system credit checklist the characters that the actors play, it additionally lists their devices.
A Little Little bit of Historical past
Actor-musician theatre isn’t a brand new concept. In truth, the very first time that occurred was a musical known as Pump Boys and Dinettes in 1982.
Often reveals that had separate orchestras once they first appeared on Broadway have been revived as actor-musician theatre corresponding to Sweeney Todd in 2005 and Firm in 2006.
When Vibrant Star debuted on Broadway in 2016 it had a 10-member separate bluegrass band. The 17-member solid have been singing actors.
The 14-member Toronto Vibrant Star solid are actor-musicians. They’re changing a mixed Broadway solid of 27 folks.
Why Deliver Your Personal Band
In her program notes, Donna Garner, Vibrant Star’s musical director and the creative director of Garner Theatre Productions, co-producer of the present with Mirvish, states that the immersion of script and tune inside one musical physique makes actor-musician theatre an expertise like no different.
In truth, her GTP firm is dedicated to the reason for selling actor-musician theatre. Garner additionally seems in Vibrant Star as Mama Murphy/Authorities Clerk. She performs piano, accordion, cello, viola, fiddle, and the bugle.
Any analysis that I’ve performed into the topic appears to assist Garner — that an actor-musician present is a extra immersive and intimate expertise for each the solid and the viewers.
Now I do know at this level the reader is saying, for heaven sakes are you ever going to inform us what the present is about, what the manufacturing is like, however the cause I’m stressing the actor-musician part is as a result of that’s the most consequential take away from Vibrant Star.
The solid and their devices type the only best impression — its crowning glory — witnessing Vibrant Star’s narrative instructed by way of bodily music. I simply can’t stress this sufficient. It’s a profoundly emotional expertise.
Let me give only one instance.
At one climactic level within the story unimaginable catastrophe strikes Alice Murphy (Kaylee Harwood). In truth, catastrophe is simply too gentle a phrase for what occurs to her. Even devastation is simply too gentle a phrase.
5 girls holding violins and violas stand in a line on the entrance of the stage and in unison play probably the most excruciating, jarring chord of music. Then they pause in agonizing silence. Then they repeat that heart-wrenching, tormented sound once more.
3 times they play it.
Now you inform me, would there be any attainable manner for a traditional musical to convey the non-public tormented hell of Alice Murphy with the identical visceral assault as artist-musician theatre?
The Wellspring for Vibrant Star
There are literally two factors of departure for the present.
One is the fascination that bluegrass musician Steve Martin had with the true story of the Iron Mountain Child, but when I let you know the story of the Iron Mountain Child, it could be the worst type of spoiler in order that ends that.
The opposite is the 2013 Grammy profitable Roots album Love Has Come For You, a collaboration between banjo participant Martin and vocals/lyricist Edie Brickell.
After they determined to weave the story of the Iron Mountain Child right into a musical, they realized that most of the album’s songs could possibly be the DNA of the rating for Vibrant Star.
The Story
The narrative takes place on two timelines.
Within the Forties, wannabe author Billy Cane (Nick Dolan) comes house from the struggle to the small city of Hayes Creek, North Carolina, decided to pursue his craft by getting printed within the prestigious Southern Literary Journal based mostly in Asheville.
This places him head-to-head in opposition to the journal’s hard-nosed editor, the aforementioned Alice Murphy.
The second timeline goes again 20 years to the small city of Zebulon, North Carolina, to search out out what made Alice so bitter and cynical, and naturally it was a torturous love affair with Jimmy Ray Dobbs (George Krissa).
The 2 tales are Billy’s relationship with Alice within the Forties, and Alice’s relationship with George within the Twenties, each instructed by way of songs of sweetness and disappointment overlying a vibrant bluegrass underscore, blended with scrumptious bits of humour.
The Different Characters
The folks round Billy are his father (Dixon) and Margo (Yunike Soedarmasto) the lady who loves him.
Alice has her father (Scott Carmichael) and mom (Garner). Her assistant editors on the journal are the bitchy Darryl Ames (Jonathan Gysbers) and the vampish Lucy (Marie Mahabal Hauer).
Jimmy Ray should put up together with his domineering father Mayor Josiah Dobbs (Brendan Wall) and the Mayor’s Sure-Man Stanford (Andrew Legg).
Margo’s buddies are Florence (Rita Dottor) and Edna (Leah Grandmont) whereas nerdy comedian aid Max (Randy Lei Chang) has a crush on Margo.
The Appearing
Harwood as Murphy offers a very magnificent efficiency, each because the younger, barefoot, winsome nation lady, and the subtle, cynical editor with the withering put downs.
If there’s a sexier man in musical theatre than George Krissa, I can’t think about, as a result of his Jimmy Ray positive is a come on. Alternatively, and all kidding apart, Krissa reveals coronary heart and compassion and depth behind his beauty, leading to a shifting efficiency the place it counts.
Dolan and Soedarmasto make a candy soubrette couple, whereas Gysbers and Hauer virtually steal the present as a result of they’ve one of the best one-liners and salty humour at all times wins the day.
Dixon is lovable, Wall detestable, Legg infuriating, Carmichael pathetic, and Garner pitiful — as all their characters ought to be.
The Manufacturing
Actor-musician theatre calls for an open set as a result of virtually everyone seems to be on stage more often than not. When they don’t seem to be accompanying singers, they’re taking part in cinematic background music which on this present is especially efficient.
Set designer Brandon Kleiman has lined the stage in body to present the impact of a wood home in Appalachian nation.
There’s a staircase off centre to evoke a porch, with one other staircase off to the aspect which gave the impression to be a superb place to park the double bass. The impact of this set is to create a wide-open house to roll in set items as wanted, for instance a bar or an editorial desk.
Director Wolstencroft is extraordinarily environment friendly at shifting folks round. It is a extremely choreograph present as a result of principally 14 individuals are in play on a regular basis.
Specifically, I just like the director’s grouping of individuals to create very evocative stage photos by placement of sound — for instance, the strings could be bleak whereas the banjos and the mandolin are way more raucous. The devices grew to become a palette that he used to color the stage.
The Starting Not The Finish
I known as Vibrant Star a mild present with a young coronary heart as a result of that was how the tales of Alice and Billy have been reaching me.
However on the similar time, I questioned why was this musical having such a deep influence on me when the story is so easy and there may be nothing actually shocking in regards to the characters or the narrative.
However then the belief grew to become apparent.
Accompaniment had turn out to be embodiment. Music had turn out to be emotion centred contained in the drama.
The actors weren’t solely taking part in their devices; my emotional psyche was being performed like an instrument. I used to be being performed like an instrument.
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Paula Citron is a Toronto-based freelance arts journalist and broadcaster who hosts her personal web site, paulacitron.ca. For over 25 years, she was senior dance author for The Globe and Mail, affiliate editor of Opera Canada journal, arts reviewer for Classical 96.3 FM, and dance previews contributor to Toronto Life journal. She has been a visitor lecturer for numerous cultural teams and universities, significantly on the position of the critic/reviewer, and has been a panellist on COC podcasts. Earlier than assuming a full-time journalism profession, Ms. Citron was a member of the drama division of the Claude Watson College for the Arts.
