Musical! Musical! Musical!
By Mae Klingler

"THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS! MUSICAL, MUSICAL, MUSICAL! WE’RE SINGING!
THAT’S BECAUSE IT’S A MUSICAL! AND IN A MUSICAL EVERYONE SINGS!”

Joanne Bogart in The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!). Photo by Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

It’s a musical about … well … musicals. In just a little over an hour and a half, four actors spontaneously break into song, box step and generally overcamp their way through a caricature of five of the masters of musical theatre. And whether you can belt out “Razzle Dazzle” without skipping a beat or you’ve never even seen a kick line, The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) is sure to be a hit with all audiences.

Created by the writing team of librettist Joanne Bogart and composer Eric Rockwell, The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) features all original music and one simple plot. A young woman can't pay her rent. Menaced by a cruel landlord, her only hope lies with a dashing young suitor who she believes will ride to her rescue. An older friend also offers her wisdom and advice along the way.

This story plays out and is then rewritten in a total of five different scenarios, each one penned in the style of the most famous Broadway composers and lyricists of all time. The Rodgers and Hammerstein segment, “Corn,” features not only an Oklahoma!-inspired dream ballet but also a Sound of Music Mother Abby figure. “A Little Complex” takes on the artistic works of Stephen Sondheim and is set in an apartment complex overseen by a tortured artist intent on slashing the throats of residents and using them to create his conceptual pieces. In “Dear Abby,” Jerry Herman’s penchant for showy star vehicles and life-affirming themes is served up with aplomb, while “Aspects of Junita” sends up the showiness and hype of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best-loved spectacles. Finally, “Speakeasy” recreates the jazzy, boozy, sexy world inhabited most frequently by Kander and Ebb.

What ensues is a side-splitting evening of clever send-ups and faithful tributes to that wonderful world of musical theatre. The same four actors reprise their roles with each successive rendition of the story. In addition to co-writing the show, Bogart acts as one-quarter of the cast, playing the role of Mother Abby (a.k.a. Abby, Auntie Abby, Abigail Von Schtarr and Fraulein Abby). She will be joined by Kristin Maloney, playing the young ingenue June (also Jeune, Junie Faye, Junita and Juny), Brent Schindele playing the role of the leading man, Big Willy (as well as Billy, William, Bill and Villy) and Rich Silverstein playing the landlord, Jidder (also, Jitters, Phantom Jitter and Jitter).

The Musical of Musicals started out as one singular sensation. Bogart was auditioning for the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop using the Sound of Music number, “Climb Every Mountain”. Thinking it would be entertaining to create a parody of the Rodgers and Hammerstein song, Bogart and Rockwell developed a comic piece that ultimately became one of the musical’s first act numbers, “Follow Your Dream”. Following the success of their first piece, the pair decided to expand their side project into a full-length musical, parodying five different distinct styles of musical theatre, and The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) was born.

“We did it as a two-person thing for a long time,” said Joanne Bogart in a recent interview. “The problem with that is that it becomes an act more than a theatre piece, and we very much wanted to make it a theatre piece.” Composer Eric Rockwell analyzed the work of each composer to capture their techniques and learn the mechanics of their distinct styles, but says that he had been “working unconsciously on this piece” since the age of 12.

The Rockwell/Bogart partnership began during their stint as chorus members in a New Hampshire production of Camelot. During their backstage time, the two composed additional songs for their chorus roles.

Not only will the Playhouse production include veteran creator and cast member Joanne Bogart, but Pamela Hunt also will reprise her role as director and choreographer from the original production. The creative team includes sound designer David Gotwald, costume designer John Carver Sullivan, lighting designer Mary Jo Dondlinger and set designer James Morgan.

Whether you are a Broadway aficionado or simply a novice to the Great White Way, you’ll find the second show of the 2007-08 Shelterhouse season a veritable smorgasbord of musical theatre … complete with a few jazz hands for good measure.