Isn’t It Romantic? A Tribute to Rogers and Hart
Isn’t It Romantic? A Tribute to Rogers and Hart
By Todd Allen Long
Music by Richard Rogers
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart
Directed and Choreographed by Roy Alan
Musical Direction by Chris Levy</strong>
Before there was Rogers and Hammerstein, there was an equally successful Rogers and Hart. That earlier pair wrote 28 musicals in 25 years, most of which were hits on Broadway. Rodgers wrote the tunes, Hart the lyrics and Hart was stubborn; once a word was on the page, he rarely changed it. These guys were born into the Tin Pan Alley ethos of immigrant New York, and tonight’s sound relies more on those simple “Moon-June-Spoon” lyrics; the more syncopated Jazz influenced sound that filled the middle part of the 20th century is largely missing. There are six performers tonight, all using their real names. Todd Allen Long and Janine Klein collaborate on a rollicking “Too Good for the Common Man” while he shines alone on “I Could Write a Book.” Heather Kopp’s best number was “10 Cents a Dance.” This is the sort of number that requires the singer to sit in older balding men’s laps, but Kopp picks an inappropriate customer, only to then demand a full 20 cents for her error. Noel -Marie Matson had a nice duet with Jamie Lowe on “Manhattan”, followed by Heather returning for a fun but silly “Way Out West.” Steven Flaa had his best number in the gentle “My Romance”; it was touching without sadness. Some of the more modern sounding songs included Klein’s “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” and her duet with Mr. Long on “Lover”. This show presents a calmer, more relaxed collection of songs, yet it offers the sort of calming musical edutainment we have all come to love in the soon to expanded Playhouse.
For more information on Winter Park Playhouse, please visit http://www.winterparkplayhouse.org
