Minneapolis » By neighborhood:
St. Paul » By neighborhood:

Site navigation

By section

SMTWTFS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Robin Hood the Musical

by Wendy Gennaula • August 8, 2008 • Robin Hood the Musical! succeeds at “the Musical” but fails at “Robin Hood”. Strong performances and skilled singing save the show from a formulaic story.

Good To Momma is the blog of Wendy Gennaula, one of five bloggers covering the Minnesota Fringe Festival for the Daily Planet.

The goal of the script seems to be to ensure every cast member is given a moment in the spotlight, whether it has any bearing on the story of Robin Hood or not. Crammed into the fifty minute Fringe time slot, most of the plot is rushed through. The transitions are abrupt, and all of the problems are solved in about sixty seconds during a sudden wedding scene. There isn’t enough action. This would be fine for a class show that was being presented for friends and family. But a ticket holder spending $12 a ticket to see a musical about Robin Hood will be disappointed.

That said, my son really enjoyed the show. The ensemble shines. The kids in the show radiate the joy of theater. Everyone on stage is having fun and it transfers to the audience.

The are many strong performances in the show. Larry J. Evans as King Richard lends gravitas to the proceedings. Basso profundo John-Scott Moir is a deliciously evil Prince John. Little Sophia Russell as “Kid” is cute as a button. Martino Mayotte and Siri Hellerman as Alan A. Dale and his love Alice could have sustained their own show. Mayotte has a lyric soaring voice and Hellerman has sharp comic instincts.

Robin Hood(Grant Hauptman) and Marian(Valerie Roder) have a moving eleventh hour love duet. Roder’s voice has a beautiful shimmer and easy top notes.

Wendy Gennaula is a singer and actress in the Twin Cities. She is the mother of two extraordinary Fringelings.

Tags:

Comments

Post new comment

The Twin Cities Daily Planet encourages readers to submit comments voicing their views in a constructive and civil fashion. The editors reserve the right to edit comments for length and clarity, and we may decline to publish comments that advertise services or goods, take an intemperate tone, or that contain potentially libelous allegations.
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
13 + 5 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

News you can use

Choose your school

Saturday is School Choice Day in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. If you’re the parent of a student, you have the opportunity to send your child to either the public school in your neighborhood or a magnet school. You also have the opportunity to send your child to a charter or a private school. Both school districts, and metro-area charter schools, are planning one-stop information fairs where, they say, you can find out all you need to know about schools where you might want to send your child. MORE »

Weekend What's What 1/8-1/11: Hunt and gather

Way to bounce back! The Twin Cities seem to have easily shaken off their holiday lethargy just in time for a pretty rockin’ weekend. Art exhibits, which have been on holiday hiatus as of late, are back in full effect; while rock shows and dance parties continue to ignite flames all over town. Our suggestion? Go out on the prowl! Meet some new people, see some new sights, and experience some fresh excitement. It is 2009 after all (an excuse we’ll be using throughout January, if not February). MORE »