Fri. February 4, 2005
By John Olson
Bowling and choreographer Kevin Bellie do a great job of keeping the energy up and the cast in motion, using no more of a set than several movable chairs (and a three-dimensional backdrop of doors, designed by Kevin Hagan) to great advantage. They show nice imagination in creating visuals with the chairs and his cast. In my favorite bit, they turn the chairs into recumbent bicycles during a number celebrating the joy of health club memberships, “There’s Nothing Like It.” Music Director Eugene Dizon masterfully plays the onstage baby grand, backed by Alex Hunter on basses guitar and viol. They interact with the cast in “Back on Base” and “There.” Other than setting the piano maybe a notch too high, sound consultant Joseph Fosco makes the show’s amplification mostly unnoticeable (except visually, thanks to the headset mikes). I’m sure there’s a reason, but I have to ask, is it really necessary to have amplification to make five singers heard above a piano and bass in a room seating 150?
Maltby and Shire have developed somewhat of a cult following through their revues (including Starting Here, Starting Now as well as this one), but have been less fortunate with their book musicals like Baby, Big and earlier efforts. Unlike compilations of work by other show tune writers, the Maltby/Shire revues did not initially include material already well known from other shows, and had to justify themselves as something other than a career tribute.
Closer Than Ever, though its songs were taken from a variety of origins, is fairly tightly focused on the process of growing up from young adulthood through middle age, and on accepting the changes that come with physical and emotional maturation. The revue format and Maltby’s uncommon ability to tell these little stories with such resonance make Closer Than Ever a rich exploration of this territory, and with Sondheim and Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along, one of the few pieces of musical theater to do so. On second thought, it's not a surprising choice of material for this company at all.
Closer Than Ever will be performed Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 3:00 p.m., at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont, through March 13, 2005. Tickets, priced from $27-$30 can be purchased at the Theatre Building Box Office or at any Ticketmaster Ticket Center, by calling 773-327-5252 or 312-902-1500 or visiting ticketmaster.com.
Photo: (above) Holly Stauder, Rebecca Finnegan, Rob Lindley, Roger Anderson and Nicholas Foster
Photo: Michael Brosilow
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