Stage West's musical revue New Sound in Town is a showcase for 12 talented performers who cover everyone from Elvis to Mumford & Sons. However, this ambitious production often misses the mark due to a weak premise and uneven execution.
A Promising Concept That Falls Short
These homespun musical revues are Stage West's bread-and-butter, and some work better than others, especially those with a strong premise like The British Invasion and One Hit Wonders. New Sound in Town has a rather tenuous premise, and the creators, Liz Gilroy and Jason Pechet, have trouble defining it. While the show aims to explore how artists' sounds evolve, it often fails to make clear connections.
Highlights and Missed Opportunities
The revue hits the mark with its tribute to Cher when Caulin Moore and Kate Etienne cover Sonny and Cher's I Got You Babe, then quickly switch to Tayo Gbalajobi covering Cher's Believe, showing the huge difference in sound when she went solo. However, a similar approach for k.d. lang falls flat. Etienne does a fine version of lang's country hit Hanky Panky, but it needs to be paired with the singer's iconic version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, which showcased her incredible crossover appeal.
Gbalajobi brings the first act to a dynamic close with her rendition of Tina Turner's Proud Mary, but audiences should have been reminded that Turner also sang powerhouse ballads like What's Love Got to Do With It. This is the kind of thing Gilroy and Pechet needed to do if they really wanted us to see the development of superstars like Turner.
One of the best moments has April Cook covering Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You, a song Parton wrote, but then giving it to Amanda De Freitas to cover as Whitney Houston, because Houston made that song her anthem. De Freitas brought down the house with that one song.
Strong Performances and Design
There is a great tribute to Elvis with Moore doing the film Elvis, Gaelan Beatty covering the sexy Elvis, and Lee Seigel giving us the pantsuit Elvis. It is one of the times the show used humour, something it needed much more of. The women do much the same in their tribute to Madonna, with Cook, Melissa MacKenzie, and Etienne covering songs that show the singer's range and development as an entertainer.
The whole ensemble covers five of Willie Nelson's songs, from Mammas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys to To All the Girls I've Loved Before, to show how versatile Nelson is. They do the same as a group to show the influence of Creedence Clearwater Revival, with six of that group's songs.
Incomplete Tributes
The show acknowledges the influence of women musicians such as Linda Ronstadt, Beyonce, and Taylor Swift, covering multiple songs by these artists. However, they don't do the same for Jann Arden or Shania Twain. One song doesn't really make the point in these cases.
Once again, Leslie Robison-Greene's costumes are a hit, as are Rachelle Quinn's wigs, and David Smith's lighting design adds real zest to the show. The live band, which includes Kathy Zaborsky, Jeff Fafard, Carl Janzen, and Darcy Johnstone, is amazing given they have to cover such a wide range of styles.
New Sound in Town runs at the dinner theatre until June 21.
