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Musical of Musicals: The Musical!
Lyrics by Joanne Bogart
Music by Eric Rockwell
Book by Joanne Bogart & Eric Rockwell
Directed and Choreographed by Pamela Hunt

Reviewer: Charles Battersby

Performance: February 13, 2005 -- Regular Performance

Musical theatre nerds can rejoice. "The Musical of Musicals: The Musical!" is a show lovingly crafted to satisfy even the most obsessive musical theatre fan. The clever gimmick that M.o.M. uses is that it takes a single story and tells it over and over again, each time in the style of a different composer/ lyricist. This story goes as follows: The lovely ingénue June can't pay her rent to dastardly landlord Jitter. Will advice from wise leading lady Abby help, or can the dashing leading man William save the day?

After a grandiose opening number which explains what they're about to do, the cast launches into their parody of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Here, William is Big Willie, a corn farmer from- not Oklahoma- but another of them rectangular states in the middle. He's in love with June (But neither of them will admit it) and must compete for her affection with Jitter, occasionally getting some advice from Mother Abby. The opening song "Oh What Beautiful Corn!" is a howlingly funny parody of Oklahoma with lines like "The cattle plié in a dreamlike ballet." But "Oklahoma!" isn't the only show lampooned here; there's a heavy dose of "Sound of Music" including a "Climb Every Mountain" riff called "Follow your Dream." Nods are also given to others in the Rogers & Hammerstein stable as well.

After an extremely happy ending, the show goes after Stephen Sondheim. This time around, Jitter is part Sweeney Todd, part Georges Seurat. A disgruntled artist and landlord with a grudge against his tenants. The same four actors play the same four roles every time, so once again Jitter is competing for June's affections against Billy, while Abby spouts out some nonsensical wisdom. Barbs are fired at "Into The Woods", and "Company" among other Sondheim classics. Because this is Sondheim, there isn't a happy ending, and just about everyone dies... horribly.

The show proceeds to target Jerry Herman next, then viciously skewers Andrew Lloyd Webber and ultimately goes after Kander & Ebb. Joanne Bogart's lyrics are simply brilliant, firing off gags at such a pace that it's hard for the audience to keep up, and the material is packed to the gills with subtle in-jokes for the hardcore musical theatre crowd.

Eric Rockwell's music is ever-so clever. It's close enough to the songs it's spoofing to let the audience know what's going on, but it never quite steps into blatantly stealing a melody.

Rockwell and Bogart didn't just write, but also perform. Rockwell not only plays the piano for most of the show, but also performs Jitter, who's especially entertaining during the Kander & Ebb scene as a giddily perverted German (Jah!), and in the Andrew Lloyd Webber scene as Sir Phantom Jitter.

Ms. Bogart plays Abby, and arguably has the best number of the night; a song called "Easy Mark" in which she spouts off some wisdom from an aging prostitute, sung in a Marlene Dietrich accent. Borgart doesn't just spoof matronly characters, but also the type of actresses who play them, and all of her characters have the subtle nuances of a burned-out leading lady who's just marking time until her next Tony Award.

Also in the cast is Craig Fols as the handsome leading man. Fols is hysterical as Willie, and spends most of the show with a wide-eyed, expression on his face, a sort of deadpan daze, as though he truly is standing in a field of corn, that only he can see.

In this performance the role of June was played by understudy Anna Winthrop, who stood in for Lovette George. Winthrop did an exceptional job stepping in at the last minute. I've had the pleasure of seeing Lovette George perform the role as well, and she's an exceptional ingénue, particularly in the Webber piece.

Director/ Choreographer Pamela Hunt shines in her choreography. There's a goofy "Dream Ballet", plus some gratuitous show tune dancing for Jerry Herman, and a hysterical "Slutty Dancing Girl" number in the Kander & Ebb sequence. As director, Hunt pushes her talented cast precisely far enough over the top, but keeps them from going too far.

The closing number to M.o.M. is a spoof of "One" from "A Chorus Line", which implies that Rockwell and Bogart left a longer Marvin Hamlisch scene on the cutting room floor. Hopefully Rockwell & Bogart have much more material that they're saving for a sequel.