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Ruby Griffith Critique (continued) Bob McDonald in the role of King Marchan had a more subdued role, but he played it well and seemed at ease in the part, even if the sparks did not exactly fly between Victoria and himself Richard Klein (Squash Bernstein) did a very nice job and it was wonderful to see the comedic side of his talent come to the fore as the production played out. He was especially good in his scenes with Toddy. Dave Robinson as Henri Labisse was not as effective as the other lead actors, and his pseudo French accent was not good and became very grating over the course of the evening. He also had a tendency to rather overact, but he was funny in the window scenes and in depicting his many injuries. A good performance was put in by Duane Monahan as Sal - a good sidekick to Richard Klein's Squash. Singing, Dancing & Choreography Overall the singing was superb! Victoria had a lovely clear voice with wonderful diction. Nice sound from both Toddy and King Marchan. Unfortunately Norma sacrificed her projection and diction to her accent, so at times she was difficult to understand when singing. Special mention must be made of the unidentified African-American singer/dancer who opened the "Jazz Hot "'number - she was equally as good as Victoria, and came close to stealing this number altogether. The ensemble also produced a good solid sound. Both the dancing and choreography were quite professional in conception and execution. Never -a false step was seen all evening; there was tremendous precision and Stefan Sittig as choreographer must be congratulated. It is not usually easy to get singers to dance but he succeeded brilliantly both with the leads and the ensemble. Orchestra and Musical Accompaniment Whilst obviously it was a good idea to extend the apron of the stage over the orchestra pit, and with this show it was the right thing to do, but the orchestra may have suffered by being moved back-stage into a small area. They were reduced to eleven players and so sounded thin at times. There were also some considerable problems in the overture - discordant sounds from the brass and horn sections, and the woodwinds were out of tune. This was again apparent at the opening of the second Act, but generally throughout the rest of the production they were good and performed with great enthusiasm. Good piano by Gary Worster. Costumes, Make-up and Hair Richard Battistelli besides appearing as Andre Cassell on stage, did a superb job with the costume design. The costumes were exquisite. They were well-constructed, well-chosen, colorful and in period. There were a few minor flaws: Toddy's straw boater appeared to be a bit too small in Paris by Night. |