As many of you may have guessed by now, I love the theatre. Any theatre. From the classic Shakespeare comedies to big Broadway Rogers and Hammerstein musicals to the gritty off-off Broadway dramas, I love it all. The theatre is unlike any other experience. Never the same show twice. The closest thing to magic I believe we can experience. After all what would you call ordinary people transforming into kings, queens, men and women completely unlike themselves, transporting us to a different world and forgetting our troubles for hours?

Rarely have a encountered a musical that allowed the actors to transform as often as Theatre Huntsville’s latest production, The Musical of Musicals: The Musical, which opens Friday at the VBC Playhouse.

The basic plot of the show is simple yet brilliant: June is an ingenue who can’t pay the rent and is threatened by her evil landlord.  Will the handsome leading man come to the rescue? The brilliance comes in when this one plot becomes one story becomes five different musicals, each in the style of a distinctive musical masters:

• Rodgers & Hammerstein
• Sondheim
• Jerry Herman
• Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Kander & Ebb

A Musical for all

Right about now, I’m sure there are more than a few of you (especially you fellas out there) rolling your eyes, thinking that you’re not a “theatre person,” especially a musical theatre person. Just hold your freakin’ horses will you?

“Even if you don’t know the stories [the musicals] you can sill appreciate the humor. If you don’t get the jokes music and harmonies are beyond compare,” reports Sandy Glasscock, the props master for the show.

And I have to say she is correct. I attended a recent run through of the show and it was hilarious, with or without an understanding of the shows being parodied. Director Leslie Bofill and choreographer Jessica Alexander have clearly done their homework.

“The opportunity to direct all the musicals at once is an amazing, daunting, exciting, scary, thrilling thing. I have had so much fun and learned so much by researching all of the shows represented.” director Leslie Bofill.

Cast and Crew

The cast of the production includes Lucas Kiker, Claire Lindsay, Eric Kress, Gina Haynsworth, Angela Keys, Mollie Love, Zoe Bofill, Darren Bryant, Abigail Gardiner, Carlos Bofill, Mark Mitchell, Phillip Schrimsher, and Suzanne Galer.

The Production staff includes Director Leslie Bofill, Assistant Director Shawn Fahy, Musical Director Newt Johnson, Choreographer Jessica Alexander.

Technical Director/Scenic Designer Michael Malone, Assistant to the Directors Kevin McDougal, Stage Manager Wanda Whitmer, Properties/Set Dressers Sandy Glasscock & Samantha Musto, Hair/Make-Up Artists Lyndy Werpy and Jennifer Baker, Lighting Designer Cynthia Meyer, and Producer John Hancock.

The Shows

A good way to look at this show is to think of a theatre version of Not Another Teen Movie or Scary Movie. Since I know everyone isn’t as well versed in all things Broadway (we can’t all have parents who majored in theatre can we?) I’m going to give you a crash course in the directors this show is based on.

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II: 

• These guys wrote during the “golden age” of musical theatre (aka 1940s/50s). They are about as classical musical theatre as anyone can get.
• Shows: Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, The Sound of Music

Stephen Sondheim

• Shows: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods

Jerry Herman: 

• Shows: Hello, Dolly!, Mame, La Cage aux Folles
• Click here to read more about Herman in our post about Showtune! based on Herman’s shows

Andrew Lloyd Webber

• Shows: Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats,

Kander & Ebb

• Shows: Cabaret, Woman Of The Year, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Curtains

About Theatre Huntsville

Theatre Huntsville is a non-Equity, non-profit community theatre dedicated to presenting quality productions for the enrichment of the community and is a member of the Alabama Conference of Theatre and the American Association of Community Theatres.

Event Information

Dates and Times:
July 13-14, 19-21 at 7:30pm
July 15 & 21 at 2pm
Location: VBC Playhouse
Cost: $20 for adults; $18 for seniors (65+), students, and active duty military
Purchase Tickets: Click here to buy online or call the box office at 256-536-0807

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Guest Blogger

Guest blogger for We Are Huntsville. Are you interested in writing a post for our site? Email katelyn@wearehuntsville.com.