Columbia’s theatre community is on fire this semester. With everything from songs of Autumn to the Prince of Denmark, stages have been lit up again and again. This week, Bwog’s favorite zombie aficionado Kem Walker stopped by Lerner 5 for an undead surprise:

The premise of “Zombie Prom,”— essentially a satire of ‘50s teen romance, isn’t one that would ordinarily excite. And after reading the liner notes, excitement wouldn’t be the right word to describe what was more of a pleasant anticipation at the thought of being entertained.

The musical, originally off-Broadway, revels in cliché. A lot of the performance hinges on familiar cultural conceits, not especially confronting, but soothing. The production showed some real interest, though, in the spin-offs, including some insightful decisions by director Zoe Sansted, CC ’12, (an early appearance of some lecturing parents set a lovely playful tone).

Though it might not have been exactly what writer John Dempsey had in mind, this production was charming for its curiosity. A slight distractedness on stage was happily forgiven, keeping in mind it was set at a high school. The musical accompaniment, a little loose at times and often a bit too loud was endearing nonetheless.

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Bwog’s rookie reviewer Alex Katz crossed Broadway to see CMTS’s first show of the season. 

Wednesday evening, I listened to the premiere of CMTS’s Autumn Songs, playing in Roone Alredge Auditorium. The powerful vocal cast, striking set, and extraordinary music kept a show lacking in plot from withering like the winter, but blossoming like the spring.

Following two couples in 1930′s Marion, South Carolina, Autumn Songs attempts to capture the feelings of love, loss, and homecoming through a total of 32 songs. With such an impressive undertaking, it makes sense that the plot may take the back seat to the enormous catalog that director Alex Hare, CC ’13, and musical arranger Solomon Hoffman, CC ’14, draw from. Despite a few clichéd or unrealistic scenes depicting the racist south or a dream sequence, Autumn Songs should be appreciated and loved for what it is–a musical revue. As much as the production team may resist, Autumn Songs: A Musical, is a musical revue. And a great one at that!

Hoffman’s almost seamless manipulation of the music as it progresses through summer, autumn, and fall, truly shines when brought to life by the incredible cast. Devin Lloyd, CC ’15, dominates the show, playing vulnerable, confident, and loving with ease. Tommy Doyle’s, Marymount Manhattan ’15, character development shines as he progresses from ensemble member to Lee Ramsey, the preacher who falls in love. Jenny Singer’s, BC ’15, amazing voice more than made up for her slightly awkward stage presence. And Zach Vargas-Sullivan, CC ’14, completely stole the show with a nearly flawless performance. Read more…

I'm bringing sexy Bach.

Bwog’s Wednesday feature, Where Art Thou?, is here to keep you posted on what’s going on in the A&E department in Morningside Heights and beyond (basically all the cool events your friends are in/on/at). If you would like your club’s event, The Edgar Allen Floe Society’s Spring Concert, posted on Bwog, now you can! E-mail us at events@bwog.com.

Thursday

• Wordplay 2011: Three Days and Three New Plays, running Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 pm in the VagBox. Staged readings of works written, directed and produced by students. Different play every night. Free.
• Pants! The Musical. A Reading., Thursday at 9 p.m. in Lerner Black Box. A new student-written musical. Free.

Friday

• The 18th Annual WBAR-B-Q, Friday from 3 pm to 11 pm on Lehman Lawn and in the Diana Event Oval. Check out a mixtape of the lineup! Free.
  

Saturday

• Bach Society Spring Concert, Saturday at 7 pm in St. Paul’s Chapel. Free.
• CMTS Presents “Miscast,” Saturday at 10 p.m. in Lerner Black Box. Free.

Bwog’s Song and Dance Connoisseur Sean Zimmermann reports on Columbia Musical Theatre Society’s latest production, Changing Direction.

“You never realize the role of directing until you see different directors back to back,” explained Will Brown, Production Designer for Columbia Musical Theatre Society’s production of Changing Direction. The production features numbers from a wide selection of famous musicals, from Into the Woods to Rent, each directed by a different student director. Will’s comment couldn’t ring truer in this production; while many of the numbers were quite good, there were others that came off as average.

Perhaps the most striking thing about the show was that I don’t think it showcased the performers; there were multiple times during the show when I felt a singer would have been better, if only she were singing something else. This was especially true in the case of the rendition of “Out Tonight” from Rent. Morgan Fletcher, who played Mimi, trilled on a number of notes, and I couldn’t determine if this was a decision of the director, or if Fletcher’s voice was actually quavering. However, when she appeared again in Aida’s “Easy as Life” and “Written in the Stars,” Fletcher was spectacular; she hit every note flawlessly. Therefore I don’t think it was that she couldn’t give a good rendition of “Out Tonight,” but that the direction was poor, or it was a poor choice for her. Other numbers, such as the rendition of “What Could Be Better” from Baby also suffered from this problem. Read more…

At last night’s show of Fiddler on the Roof, the average age of the audience was significantly higher than any of the other shows Bwog has attended in the past. Producer Jonathan Jager shared that many families purchased blocks of 10 tickets to the show, explaining the surprising lack of college students. Among the few college students present, however, was Bwog’s very own Sean Zimmermann. Here, his review.

The Columbia Musical Theatre Society’s performance of Fiddler on the Roof, directed by Rebecca Victor, is spectacular. The cast, the costumes, the lighting the music — all is of an unusually high caliber. Perhaps most impressive is the quality of the acting, which at last night’s performance was on peak and at a very professional level for a college production.

There are a few actors whose performances deserve special note. Tevye, portrayed by Eric Lawrence, spoke with a thick accent which perfectly fit his role; his character’s monologues, during which all other characters would freeze, were well-executed — as were the freezes themselves, which gave the monologues an almost dreamlike quality. Other members of Tevye’s family, such as his wife Golde (Kathryn Maslak) and his three eldest daughters Tzeitel (Becky Greenstein), Hodel (Rivka Friedlander), and Chava (Emily Buttner) were portrayed very believably, as were the young student Perchik (Michael Seaman) and the poor tailor Motel Kamzoil (Josh Warshawsky). Some of the actors in smaller roles also stood out: Elizabeth Varner deserves praise for her hilarious portrayal of the matchmaker Yente, as does Tyler Benedict for his almost-sympathetic portrayal of the town Constable, Ben Bardin for his elderly Rabbi, and Bethanie Mangigian for her screeching ghost of Fruma-Sarah. Read more…

Last night Sarah Camiscoli attended Bat Boy along with a mob of eager Columbia students that filled Lerner Black Box to the rim. Thankfully, several poor souls abandoned their spots on opening night, offering Bwog a spot in the audience to review the sold out show.

“The way of sin is death, sweetheart,” preaches Jill Shackner, as elf-eared and vampire-fanged Bat Boy Ricky Schweitzer springs into her quaint three-bedroom house. With a brilliant production team and the return of the performing talent of last year’s Varsity Show, the “virgin territory”—as coined by director Nina Pedrad—of this student run production was more than a success. Despite what Nina may claim, it seemed apparent that the cast and production team had been around the block as the cast opened the show with a riveting performance of “Hold Me, Bat Boy.” Before reaching the confines of Lerner Black Box, Bat Boy began as the story of a half-boy, half-bat discovered in cave published on the a 1992 cover of Weekly World News. Soon after, there was a book written by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming, a musical composed, and thus, the sin of the “Bat Boy” was born.

Set in the farm country of the Deep South that just can’t be “rid of Christian charity,” Bat Boy, cleverly points to the triviality of town elections, the oppressiveness of religious authority, and the overwhelming popularity of cowboy boots. Ricky Schweitzer, Bat Boy or, as Meredith Taylor calls him, “Edgar”, brilliantly unveils the misery of a dysfunctional marriage, the triteness of small town south, and the simplicity of “any twit” receiving a Columbia degree as he evolves from a primitive birdlike creature into a stand up religious man who comes to understand the existential significance of a navel. In the same vein, Remy Zaken, as Bat Boy’s secretly incestuous sister Shelley, enthralled students as she, Jill Shackner, and the live orchestra directed by Evan Johnston revealed the need for a bigger box to accommodate their musical talent in “A Three Bedroom House.”

Read more…