“In this interactive experience, guests will journey through the house in small groups, encountering a curated series of live performances that weave together dance, theatre, and narrative” (program note). This we did. And although I love the Gamble House and the atmosphere that it provides, some of the Broadway numbers worked better than others situated in the set of the house and its furniture. This show, featuring both the Lineage Dance Company and the Lineage Theatre Company was based on Broadway Musical Theater shows and as such wanted to deliver a Broadway experience to the community participating in this event. This it did – to a certain degree.
Artistic Director/Choreographer Hilary Thomas is to be congratulated on this herculean endeavor. There were a lot of moving parts and to her credit, they all wove together seamlessly in the evening’s performance. The audience was split into two groups and then escorted throughout the house as different numbers from different musicals were being performed in different rooms at the same time. I did not notice any sound or noise bleed coming from other parts of the house while I was enjoying any given show excerpt. The two groups did not trip each other up or get in the way while navigating the house. There were plenty of silent tech helpers making the experience smooth. And there was a tech booth keeping the sound separate but clear for every singer and speaker performing. Kudos to the tech crew.
“Broadway Gamble Ramble” – “Burn” from Hamilton – Performers: Caterina Mercante, Hilary Thomas, Jade Duong, Molly MatteiPhoto by Robert Kunstmann.
“The Gamble House (1908) is an internationally recognized masterpiece of the American Arts and Crafts movement. Built for David and Mary Gamble of the Procter and Gamble Company, the house is the most complete and original example of the work of architects Charles and Henry Greene” (Gamble House website). Notice the phrase, “crafts movement”. That means that some aspects of the house will not be suitable for certain Musical numbers dependent on the specifics of the musical. This is understood at the beginning of the evening, and no one expects the Gamble House to suddenly become a Musical stage. However, certain numbers did not work very well in the house’s confines and atmosphere. There was also another element that sometimes left the material wanting. Thomas’ choreography is very contemporary/modern and grounded in form. Her lifts are architectural more then emotional, and this format did not compliment some of the numbers. That being said, the dancers were killing themselves to make it all work in very tight and restrictive circumstances and I appreciated that very much. Because the audience was so close and in some instances on top of the performers, a great deal of movement was not necessary in order to illuminate the song being performed. In this case less is more. “Sing’in in the Rain” opened the show, and we were seated on the back porch of the house as the dancers crossed the lawn to come to us. This was lovely and understood. Although all had umbrellas little was done to incorporate this prop into the actual dancing. They held onto them while turning but the layouts and turns turned out to be the same throughout the entire evening.
“Broadway Gamble Ramble” – “What Baking Can Do” from Waitress – Performers: Jana Souza, Caterina Mercante – Photo by Robert Kunstmann.
What did work was Paul Siemens singing “Something’s Coming” as we were led up the stairs to a different room. This was applicable and kept us engaged all the way to the new environment. Well done. We were also hearing personal stories from the performers about the shows and certain experiences in their life. This was interesting and a novel addition to the songs. Next was “Giants in the Sky” from “Into the Woods”. Here Austin Roy joined in as dancer and had a great deal of gestural choreography that I could not place on or near the lyrics or emotional timbre of the song. Of course, I am not speaking of literal translation but keeping the movement in having to do with the song and why it exists in the Musical at that moment. The song from “Waitress” performed in the kitchen worked very well, as did “Jesus Christ Superstar” out in the garden standing in for Gethsemane. At times having dancers moving while a song was going on simply distracted our attention and made watching difficult as in the case with “Suddenly Seymour” from “Little Shop of Horrors”.
“Broadway Gamble Ramble” – “One Day More” from Les Miz – Performers: Nola Gibson, Caterina Mercante, Molly Mattei, Austin Roy, Lenard G Malunes,Teya Wolvington – Photo by Robert Kunstmann.
I understand that this evening was a tribute to Broadway musicals and not a recreation of them. Broadway has a long history of Tony award winning choreography which goes hand-in-hand with the Musical that choreography is from. To put one’s own choreography on these very famous numbers is to invite criticism against the original. That is the bar that one must adhere to when choreographing any famous musical number. Thomas is not a Broadway choreographer. Some of her movement (contemporary, modern-based) worked well with the numbers while some did not. The evening was well worth the effort and it accomplished its cause in serving the community a taste of these many Broadway shows in a very local and well established venue. I would say for the next time: remember less is more.
Dancers: Cindy Camins, Elijah Samuél Figueroa, Molly Mattei, Caterina Mercante, Ericalynn Priolo, Austin Roy, Hilary Thomas, Teya Wolvington, Meghan Zenor.
Singers: Emmon Amid, Trae Adair, Cynthia Crass, Jade Duong, Courtney Outland, Donnie Riddle, Paul Siemens, Jana Souza.
To learn more about the Lineage Performance Art Center, please visit their website.
For more information about The Gamble House, please visit their website.
Written by Brian Fretté for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Broadway Gamble Ramble – Photo by Robert Kunstmann.
