Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 7, 1990 TAG: 9007070080
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF DeBELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Schwartz's credits include the Broadway hits, "Godspell" and "Pippin." His newest show, "Children of Eden" opens this fall in London.
Music from those productions and from other Schwartz shows is part of "Magic to Do." Some of the tunes will receive their public premieres in the Theatre B production, according to director Ernest Zulia.
He said Schwartz, who is working on his new show in London, is expected to visit Roanoke during the run of "Magic to Do."
The two-act show is divided into sequences of interrelated songs. The sequences start with the creation of man and trace his journey to the present, where, Zulia said, "we all have the power to make the choice for a positive future."
One sequence looks at the workaday world, with its occasional restraints on the human spirit and its temptations toward materialism. Other sequences examine the themes of romance and familial love.
There are tunes from "Working," "Magic Show," "The Baker's Wife" and Leonard Bernstein's Mass (for which Schwartz wrote some of the lyrics) in addition to "Godspell," "Pippin" and "Children of Eden."
"I think it's his best stuff," Zulia said. "He writes from the heart and he touches the heart. His music has a contemporary sound that's theatrical at the same time it's popular. It makes the songs more accessible and gives them more impact."
"Magic to Do" dates from 1978, when it was assembled as a vehicle for The Portable Players, a theatrical group of which Zulia was a part. The group folded, but Zulia pursued the project and "Magic to Do" enjoyed successful runs under his direction at Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park, the Charles Playhouse in Boston and Ford's Theatre in Washington. The last production closed in 1980.
The show has been extensively reworked for the Mill Mountain version, the aim being both to update the material and to put the theater's own stamp on it. Zulia said about half of the songs are from the original "Magic to Do" and about half are from the new material furnished by Schwartz.
"Magic to Do" is presented with a cast of six singer/actors and a three-piece band under musical director David Caldwell.
Isabel Keating and Raymond Sage will be moving directly from Mill Mountain's "1776" to "Magic to Do." They will be joined by Caleb Travis Antrim, Pamela Lloyd, Lucinda McDermont and Ed Romanoff.
Lloyd and McDermont are new to the Mill Mountain stage. Romanoff appeared there in "Pump Boys and Dinettes," and Antrim's credits at the theater include "Oliver!," "O. Henry's Christmas Carol" and "Jesus Christ Superstar."
Sets and lights are by John Sailer. Richard Donnelly is the costume designer and John Sloman is the choreographer.
Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. for weekend matinees. Discounts are available as are half-price tickets on the day of the show. Theatre B is in Center on Church, 20 E. Church Ave.
by CNB