REVIEW QUOTES
Gershwin at Folly a fun evening of hit songs and intercultural storytelling
by Adam Parker, The Post and Courier 2014
Charleston Stage put together a crowd-pleasing night of musical theater Saturday with its second performance of Gershwin at Folly, which runs through April 26 at the Dock Street Theatre. It's hard to disappoint when the tunes are by Gershwin, the singing is Broadway quality, the live accompaniment is provided by skilled players in the pit, the scenery is by artist Jonathan Green and the lead, Ian Lowe, delivers a dynamic and believable version of the great American composer.
Julian Wiles, founder and producing artistic director of the company, wrote the book, skillfully incorporating familiar Gershwin tunes and a couple of Lowcountry spirituals into the serviceable story line. There wasn't a lot of tension or conflict, except for a smidgen of amorous angst between the Southern Belle (the charismatic Katrin Murdock) and the Yankee Italian-American (an earnest Jacob Dickey), and a touch of dissonance between tradition and social change.
The show does highlight race relations of the 1930s, when Gershwin visited Folly Beach and worked with DuBose and Dorothy Heyward on the opera Porgy and Bess, but the emphasis is on getting along and having fun together.
Conflict wasn't really the point. This show was most concerned with finding ways to please the audience with hearty performances of classic songs. A special shout-out goes to Karen Yvette Reid, who played the nightclub singer and Lowcountry native Sapphire with gusto and terrific vocal flair.
Lowe, an actor and pianist in New York City, spent a lot of time behind the piano on stage, singing Gershwin's tunes and accompanying himself - or so it seemed. It wasn't clear to me whether Lowe was really playing or pianist-conductor Sam Henderson was tickling the ivories. Same goes for Manny Houston, playing juke joint musician Jasbo Brown. Houston, too, is a trained pianist who put his fingers in precisely the right places at the right times, making it seem like he was the one producing the sound. Maybe he was.
Ostensibly, we were to catch a glimpse Gershwin's creative process, but this was never presented in any overt way; we were given to understand that the theater star from New York City was inspired by the beauty of the Lowcountry's sea islands, the taste if its fresh seafood and the sincerity of its black residents.
The performance, which featured appealing two-dimensional set design by Green and some not-terribly-ambitious tap dancing, did have one truly authentic moment: an a cappella rendition of the spiritual "Hush, Little Baby" sung by Gullah crabbers at the dock. The song mesmerized Gershwin on stage and touched the hearts of those sitting in the audience. It was successful not only because of the beautiful performance but because of its honesty and respect.
Through the Gershwin character, Wiles managed to deliver a message of tolerance; and some funny lines uttered by reporter Frank Gilbreth (Jesse Siak) poked good fun at the old News and Courier. Gilbreth, by the way, really did write stories about Gershwin's visit. And Gershwin really did work out tunes on an upright piano delivered to a beach cottage, and actually walked along the dunes, and was genuinely moved by the rhythms and melodic lilt of Gullah music.
The show, which was produced twice before, in 2003 and 2007, ends with Gershwin, uncharacteristically introspective, at the shore listening to the waves and hearing in his head the song "Summertime." Behind him, in the glow of the summer night, Michal S. Johnson intoned this oh-so-famous song with lyrical ease. It was simultaneously a glimpse into the future and a memory of the past.
Editor's Note: This review has been modified to express less certainty about whether Lowe and Houston were actually playing piano.
The living is pleasing with Charleston Stage's Gershwin
Gershwin at Folly is three hours of fun
by Leah Rhyne, Charleston City Paper 2014
Hi, my name is Leah, and I am, according to the George Gershwin portrayed in Julian Wiles' Gershwin at Folly, a "constipated reviewer." You know the type — a reviewer who's impossible to please, who'll never be happy with any show/music/performance, who'll never write anything kind.
As such, I should write a bitchy review of this play, right?
But here's the thing: this constipated reviewer left the Dock Street Theatre last night with a doofy smile on her face. The Charleston Stage production of Wiles' play was fun. Joyful. Energetic and exuberant. And dammit if it didn't make me happy.
In all seriousness, though, Gershwin at Folly, which opens Fri. April 4, is three hours of fun, musically stocked by Gershwin's timeless songbook, and chock full of some of the best talent I've had the pleasure of seeing on a Charleston stage.
You see, I find musicals inherently tricky. One bad singer can ruin an entire show. But the cast of Gershwin is made (mostly) of consummate professionals, with each singing voice stronger than the one before it. There were, perhaps, a few bad notes speckled throughout, but for the most part I was pleasantly surprised by the individuals singing...and even more so by the a capella harmonies. But more on that in a bit.
To set the scene, artist Jonathan Green has created impressionistic beachfronts and nightclubs, their rich, soothing colors creating a backdrop against which almost any play would shine. Directed by Marybeth Clark, Gershwin at Folly follows the world-famous composer on a 1934 trip to Folly Island. Gershwin is there to work with DuBose Heyward on the operatic production of Porgy and Bess. As Gershwin immerses himself in local culture, meeting the white upper class and the black people who serve them, he helps bring a community together, and finally finds the inspiration to write a masterpiece.
Producing a historical play like this is tough. For one, in 1934 Folly Island segregation ruled, and as such the casts are divided by color: black and white. The black cast sings and dances at the Indigo Club, down on the docks, and at the local church. The white cast is found at the Folly Beach Dance Pavilion and Heyward's beach cottage.
Each cast had its high points. The tapping of the white dancers was sprightly; the groovy moves of the black dancers were sassy and fun. Choreographer Cara Dolan had her work cut out for her, making sure each distinct style was not only performed, but celebrated, but her dancers delivered with gusto. And when all the dancers joined together for two show-stopping numbers, the whoops and shouts from the cast let us know: they were enjoying performing as much as we were enjoying watching. They delivered.
The singers did, too. Katrin Murdock who plays sweet well-bred Mary Pringle, was a lovely soprano. Her beau, Johnny, played by the feisty Jacob Dickey, crooned old standards like a pro. Sapphire, the New York jazz singer played by Karen Yvette Reid, had some pipes on her, too. But the best singing moments by far came when the black cast members sang together a capella, harmonizing a beautiful old lullaby and some fiery church gospel. Their voices blended like they were meant to be together, like it was predestined that they find each other. The results were magic.
More magic came in the form of New York-based actor, Ian Lowe, who played Gershwin. Each time he sat down to play at the piano was thrilling. It's always incredible to see a master at his craft,.
Then, in the end, when Michal S. Johnson stepped forward and sang those oh-so-familiar words from the opening of Porgy and Bess (Summertime...and the living's easy....), the audience froze. They listened in rapt enjoyment. Her voice was angelic.
Was the play perfect? No. I'm still constipated reviewer enough to admit bits of the dialog were saccharine and predictable, and some of the inside-Charleston jokes may fall a little flat on audiences in another city.
But when the curtain call came and the rest of the audience leaped to their feet ... so did I. Not because I felt like I had to, but because the play was magic, and the cast and crew deserved that standing ovation.
Constipated reviewer indeed.