PicksInSix Review: Merrily We Roll Along - Blank Theatre Company
Now You Know ‘Blank’ Means Business.
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Scott Gryder
Edgewater was admirably gifted with a mosaic of melodies and lyrics when the one-month run of Blank Theatre Company’s “Merrily We Roll Along” opened at the Reginald Vaughn Theatre this week. As the audience filled into the impressively intimate venue, who would have guessed that this most modest staging space would so capably present the multi-dimensional musical work of “Merrily.”
Stephen Sondheim (music/lyrics) and George Furth (book) have devised a complex, time-traveling musical, setting its audience on a backwards rollercoaster ride of character development as old friendships become new again and careers unexpectedly careen from finish to start. It’s like watching a trainwreck—set to music—backwards. Acutely fascinating of “Merrily We Roll Along” are the intricate parallels that pop up as the plot unfolds, creating mirrored moments, where once a character’s text meant heartbreak, later, those same words celebrate growth and new beginnings. Moreover, “Merrily” proves to be especially relatable as its audiences can too look back on their own rollercoaster journeys to ask: ‘How did we get here?’… if they dare.
Blank’s Co-Artistic Director & Founder Dustin Rothbart brings a brash and driving wit to writer Charley Kringas, markedly poking knowing holes into the wet rag role of Franklin Shepherd, played by Christopher Johnson. Johnson doesn’t give into the villainized role of Shepherd; instead, he presents us with a convincing underdog charm and passion, while maintaining attention to mixing chest and head voice throughout. And Brittany Brown bears the tragically spiraling novelist Mary Flynn with tortured limerence and vocal confidence. But it’s Justine Cameron’s Beth Spencer that truly shines. Starting with a showstopping rendition of Sondheim fan-favorite “Not A Day Goes By,” Cameron gently layers in subtext while sharing a vocal command of a range that seems limitless in all directions. With a continuously captivating stage presence, Cameron’s Beth delivers a notable range, from gut-punches of pain to subtle perceptive glances, inviting you to fall in love with her at first sight. And providing the most natural execution of musical comedy humor is Blank Managing Director Aaron Mann as producer Joe Josephson, who, with the slightest raise of an eyebrow or sideways look, plays a multitude of nuanced intentions. Mann has also cracked the witty wordplay of Furth’s book, making his scenes alone worth catching “Merrily.”
Boldly kicking off their 2023 Season with “Merrily We Roll Along,” Blank Theatre tackles one of Sondheim’s most mixed musicals. Though often lauded for its score, the original, short-lived, Broadway run proves its lukewarm acceptance by critics and audiences alike. But in the hands of director Danny Kapinos, also a Blank Co-Artistic Director & Co-Founder, the show takes on a bolder, more relatable energy when crunched into the narrow thrust-meets-in-the-round staging. Instead of putting on the Broadway-style overproduction of past productions, Kapinos hones in on the humanity of the characters, refreshingly welcoming us into the up-close living-room drama of their lives. Furthermore, delightfully ironic are Sondheim’s catchy melodies, tricky and almost unnaturally unhummable, that follow us out the door, for the fictional team of Kringas and Shepherd’s songs are so often rapped for taking on non-hummable forms themselves. Ah, the perpetual genius of Sondheim.
Although the skillful band, led by Aaron Kaplan and Sachio Nang, was tucked away in the neighboring cubby of a room, the balance between instrumentation and vocals was impressively set overall, never overcoming the pitapat of lyrics. Spotlight on trumpeter Michael Leavens who kicked things off with a sparkling start in the show-opening overture. Utilizing a very limited light plot, lighting designer Benjamin Carne clearly delineated scene focus with minimal adjustment, swiftly honing in on monologued flashes, while also shining emotional washes across the larger ensemble moments. The buffet of character apparel by costume designer Cindy Moon was visually delicious, brilliantly spanning so many decades of fashion trends with darling dresses and handsome suit options. And Tony Pellegrino expertly choreographed pushes and falls within the compact performance space, tightly yet unforced.
Blank Theatre Company embodies the true essence of Chicago storefront theatre that’s drawn so many aspiring artists to Chicagoland for decades. Presenting a challenging work as Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along” not only proves that Blank Theatre has what it takes, but they are in it for the long haul.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SCOTT GRYDER received a Non-Equity Jeff Award for his performance in the one-man show BUYER & CELLAR. www.thescottgryder.com
PHOTO | Eli Van Sickel/VanCap Images
BLANK THEATRE COMPANY
presents
MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
The Reginald Vaughn Theater
1106 W. Thorndale Ave.
through July 23, 2023
For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago
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