Sunday, April 01, 2007

Today: Off-off Broadway

Today: Lauren Molina in Ernest in Love at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre

Ernest in Love was delightful. It was basically The Importance of Being Ernest with songs appropriately placed. It was done with few props and a nonexistant set, but they pulled it off, giving the actors and material a chance to shine. The song "Making Love" reminded me a lot of "Petra" from Sondheim's A Little Night Music. Ernest in Love was a an off-Broadway hit, garnering better reviews than The Fantastics. Because it has a cult following status, the original cast recording is available. A bonus was the lyricist Anne Croswell sitting in front of me. She was obviously taken with the production. The actors were terrific and it was a great chance for Lauren to showcase her comedic timing and delivery. What a treasure this little theatre company is - I didn't know about it, so thank you, Lauren, for introducing it to me. Musicals Tonight is a company that focuses its productions on "neglected" musicals. It's cheap and very entertaining - shabby costumes, few props, nonexistant sets - but to get to see a score played out with the book of a rarely seen show is priceless!

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