Not a review
Subject: Quicktake - "Kind Hearts and Coronets" by Freedman and Lutvak
Date: Thurs, April 6, 11:41 PM
Quicktake on KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS
The third annual "Breaking Ground" Festival of new works opened last night to a packed house for Kind Hearts and Coronets, a new musical by Robt. L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, recent recipients of a Kleban Award. The show, based on the 1949 movie which starred Alec Guinness, has touches of Gilbert and Sullivan and Lerner & Lowe, plus a soupcon of music hall with echoes of light operetta. An exceptional ten person cast, led by Douglas Sills playing the ill-fated D'Ascoyne aristocrats --all of them except for Louis, who was ably sung by Jonathan Hadley, was joined by composer and co-lyricist Steven Lutvak at the piano. Broadway veterans like Sills were joined by local performers Kent French and Kate deLima, plus NEC grad Nancy Anderson as Sibella. The ensemble also included Price Waldemen, Marilyn Caskey as Louis' mother, Bill Gross, and Tregoney Shepherd.
"KInd Hearts and Coronets", a classic of post-WWII British film. tells the tale, in classic murder-mystery style, of how Louis D'Ascoyne Mazzini, the shunned poor relation of the eight Duke of Chalfont disposes of seven of his cousins to ascend to the peerage. His love affairs with Sibella, a friend from his childhood who marries another, and Edith, the widow of one of his cousins, brightly sung by Jill Paice, provide the necessary excuse for much of the singing. The show's tunes are well-placed if occasionally overlong. The two act structure enforced on today's theatre once again puts too much into the first half; three acts with two intermissions would be preferable. Whether this musical has any commercial chance is of course almost impossible to judge. It might find a place among the smaller shows Off-Broadway and then become available for general production, where it could well become a favorite, being well-suited for repertory and high-end community production.
"Breaking Ground" continues through the end of the week with "Persephone" by Noah Haidie on 8 pm Friday, featuring Julie White; "Voyeurs de Venus" by Lydia R. Diamond at 3pm Saturday which brings Vince Siders back to town; "Property" by Valerie R. Martin at 8pm Saturday with Michael T. Weiss; Ronan Noone's "The Atheist" at 3pm Sunday featuring Campbell Scott as its only actor; and Theresa Rebeck's latest, "Mauritius", at 7pm Sunday with Drama Desk winner Denis O'Hare and Norton awardee Laura Latreille. Rebeck recently scored a hit with her dark comedy "The Scene" which premiered at the 30 Humana Festival this week in Louisville.
"KInd Hearts and Coronets" by Robt. L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, 04/06/06
"Breaking Ground,"; HTC at Calderwood Rehearsal
529 Tremont , (617) 266 - 0800
HTC
posted by will at 10:28 AM
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