This was our first visit to Stage West, and we enjoyed it so much, we definitely plan on returning. With no previous benchmark for us, we had no expectations and were quite ecstatic to experience the Stage West performance. And what a great experience it was. First, it started with a wonderful dinner, then to follow it up with a wonderful musical revue, it made for a fantastic evening.
We weren’t entirely sure what we were getting into attending a musical revue, but when the ensemble cast broke into The Lovin’ Spoonful’s hit song Summer in the City we knew we were going to have fun.
The quick synopsis is this two act event provides a musical history of some of the biggest hit makers and musical groups of the 60’s and 70’s. The recurring theme of most of these groups and singers was their Canadian connections.
In all fairness, the first act started out with a bang, but as it progressed, it did definitely slow down the pace. The cast of ten singer/dancers gave almost each one a turn singing one of the numerous songs in the set and the costume changes were fast and frequent.
The range of talent and singing styles was entertaining, but as I alluded, our attention did start to drop off near the end of the first act. During the intermission, our table partners agreed that the first act started loaded with energy, but dropped off drastically. So it wasn’t just us newbies at our first revue!
We weren’t sure how the second act would end up and initially we were concerned we would go through the same letdown in excitement. We couldn’t have been more wrong.
It’s almost as if the cast themselves knew they had to pick it up and there was an entirely new energy immediately in act two. Within minutes of the first song to start the act, even one of the audience members was standing up at her table dancing away. Talk about creating energy in the room.
It only became better as the set carried on with several spectacular performances by the Actors. By now, we were familiar with their styles, but we were definitely caught off guard by how well several of the songs were performed. The vocals of Lisa Lennox during several her Dusty Springfield songs nearly made the entire night worth it on their own as she really made an impression.
Also of note was Julian Peter with a great performance that included not just singing, but guitar and harmonica. One last individual who really stood out for us was Dale Miller. It wasn’t an outstanding voice or amazing dancing, but instead a great charisma and stage presence that he was able to use to make his performance so memorable.
If you are a fan of bands such as The Mamas & The Papas, the Association, Gary Lewis and the Playboys or Neil Diamond, this will definitely be a show you will enjoy attending.
