The Little Prince opera for television on DVD

I'd earlier thought about the Lerner & Loewe Little Prince for television, which got me curious about a newer musical version of the story with music by Rachel Portman. This version is much more operatic and stars New Zealand opera baritone/hunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes (seen right, in the opera Dead Man Walking) as the Aviator with a cast of British opera singers and a children's chorus.

If this version has much of a life in the opera house, I would be surprised. At least this production is clearly designed for television and the editing it allows. Well, in reading more about the opera, I discover that it has had quite a life on-stage--this television version being an adaptation of the work that premiered with Houston Grand Opera in 2003. I find the whole thing rather static though--both visually and musically--which makes me wonder if this is really an opera to bring children to. It's full-length, roughly two hours, with an intermission. I didn't sit still for much of the production on video tape! If there are leit motifs, I couldn't discern them or any real musical structure. While the music is tonal and at times very pretty. I didn't find a whole lot to keep me musically interested. It seemed atmospheric--in keeping with Rachel Portman's experience as a film composer.

Mr. Rhodes is an attractive presence on screen and if his text is not always the most understandable, his singing certainly is better than most. If you're curious about Teddy "Bear" Rhodes, I might suggest a fellow blogger who tracks the careers of many of today's hottest baritones--or barihunks as the terms has been coined for eye-candy who sing. One of Mr. Rhodes signature roles is the convict in the operatic version of Dead Man Walking. So sinister. So hot.

The Little Prince
Music by Rachel Portman
Libretto by Nicholas Wright
Based on the book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Directed for television by Francesca Zambello
Bor BBC in 2006
Cast: Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Joseph McManners, Mairead Carlin, Willard White, Lesley Garrett, Tom Randle, Timothy Robinson, Rchard Coxon, Richard Suart, Aled Jones, Gweneth-Ann Jeffers

Wicked Original Broadway Cast Album

Today's entry is the bonafide Broadway juggernaut of the new millennium. It's also succeeded in bringing in a whole new audience to the Broadway theater--no easy feat. It is the first entry in my Year with composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz, who got his feet wet in musicals with Godspel and Pippin, which I would qualify as "soft rock" musicals. With Wicked he has a more mature musical style that combines traditional Broadway styles with a pop music mentality.

You need to have a villain if you're going to have a hero. But does Wicked have a hero? Most in the audience would say that Elphaba is the hero, but the characters on stage certainly wouldn't agree. And Elphaba is not without fault, ego, or mistakes.

And with the two strong performances by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in the original Broadway cast, the argument for who is the hero is further confused. Both Ms. Menzel and Ms. Chenoweth are singers that defy categorization (if not gravity). They have a "belt" mentality without the limitations of a belt range. They can choose their vocal placement to keep from having an obvious break in their ranges, unlike many belt singers. Perhaps this is by benefit of being among a generation of musical performers who have always used microphone amplification for their entire performing life.

I saw Wicked in the sit down production in Chicago with Ana Gasteyer in the role of Elphaba. The whole production was wonderful and the women in particular were great. Rondi Reed (who just won a Tony in a straight play) was Madame Morrible. I'm sorry I don't recall the actress who was Galinda. The complicated set was a bit of a puzzle to me. To me, it took away from the action on stage rather than added to it.

Wicked
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by Winnie Holzman
Based on the novel by Gregory Maquire
Original Broadway Cast recording
Released by Decca Broadway in 2003
Cast: Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Joel Grey, Carole Shelley, Norbert Leo Butz

Avenue Q Live Performance

I kicked off my year by seeing the touring company of Avenue Q currently playing in Chicago. I had heard several of the songs before and knew the basic conception/format of the it, but was surprised by what seemed the rather intimate scale of the production. I'm not certain what size house the New York production is playing, or where else this tour is going, but I was glad to only be about two-thirds back on the main floor. It seemed a good distance for taking in both the facial expressions of the actors and the body language of the puppets. Any further back and I think some subtleties would have been lost--if anything about the show can be said to subtle!

AveQ played the Cadillac Palace in Chicago, which holds more than 1500 seats. The show has a smaller cast than even the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which played a house with 500 seats here in Chicago. But the show today was mostly full on the main floor, so I guess with a short run (just a week or two), they have to fit in all the Broadway in Chicago subscribers.

I enjoyed the show. It's humor is right up my alley. And the nods to Sesame Street, Electric Company, Free to Be You and Me, are right out of my youth. But is this a show that inspires me to be part of the theater? Would this show--if I were to be seeing it as a high schooler--make me dream of being a performer? I don't think it would. The performers were good for the most part and very adept at manipulating the puppets and creating voices for them. But I missed the big ballad sung with gusto by the young hero, standing center stage in a spotlight (which you weren't sharing with a carpetbag on your right hand); that was what always got me dreaming.

I guess I'll have to revisit those classic musicals of the 40s and 50s for my Alfred Drake dreams.

Avenue Q, Sunday June 1, 2008 2pm
Broadway in Chicago production
Cadillac Palace Theater

Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx

Book by Jeff Whitty
Cast: Robert McClure; Cullen R. Titmas; Kelli Sawyer; David Benoit; Angela Ai; Danielle K. Thomas; Maggie Lakis.