ON STAGE 'Some Enchanted Evening' at Youngstown Playhouse

The revue will feature 49 songs from every Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- After finishing a successful four-week run of the dark and emotional musical "Jekyll and Hyde," the Youngstown Playhouse is ready to kick back with something light and fun. "Some Enchanted Evening: The Music of Rodgers and Hammerstein," will be offered as dinner theater entertainment in the Moyer Room for two weekends in June.
J. E. Ballantyne Jr. is directing, and thinks this will be a real audience-pleaser.
"Forty-nine songs in all are represented, from every Rodgers and Hammerstein musical," he said. "It is a revue -- no dialogue -- but we will try to portray each song in context. The songs are represented either in snippets or medleys."
Five people will complete the cast, all familiar faces in area theaters: Jason Green, Matt White, Melanie Williams, Nikki Jones and Allyson Pollice. Ballantyne said each will have opportunities to showcase their solo voice, and there are also group numbers. Ed Phillips is the music director, and will play the piano for the performance, the only instrument needed to accompany the singers in this small, resonant room.
Music flows
"The audience will enjoy these songs," Ballantyne added. "They are the ones people have known since they were kids, and there are also a few that are less well known. Of course, the musicals such as 'South Pacific,' 'The Sound of Music,' and 'Oklahoma' are well represented, but we will do songs from lesser known musicals, too, such as 'Allegro' and 'Flower Drum Song.'"
Ballantyne said he likes the way the music flows. "The medleys start with one song, then weave through a number of other ones on a related theme, then move back to the first song, and go in a different direction," he said. "There is a nice mix of solos and group pieces, and a variety of moods, for instance, a silly song followed by one that is more serious. The only one that comes close to being sung in its entirety is 'Soliloquy' from 'Carousel.'"
Of special interest
Even though they don't have the means to do much fancy technical stuff in this small space, the crew does plan on creating some interesting lighting effects. The cast will be in tuxes and gowns, and will do at least one costume change. And they will spend most of the performance mingling with the audience.
"The show begins almost like a rehearsal, where the cast are relating mostly to each other, but about a quarter of the way through, they move out into the crowd," Ballantyne said. "The set is just a simple brick wall at the far end of the room."
The buffet menu for the evening will include chicken marsala, penne pasta, green beans, mashed potatoes, and apple pie a la mode. The matinee lunch will consist of chicken parmagiana with spaghetti, salad and dessert.
Make reservations early because space is limited.