Friday, March 12, 1971
Hawaii Army Weekly
'Stop the World' is both outstanding, disappointing
By Chuck Marquiss
An enjoyable musical comedy opened last week at the Schofield Barracks Special Services auditorium.
Anthony Newley's 'Stop the World, I Want to Get Off' is the latest offering from the Theatre Department of Special
Services
And it must be noted now that the female lead in this production is baffling -- baffling,
that is, because we wonder why she isn't on Broadway or in Hollywood. Cheryl Conte portrays Evie,
the wife of the main character, Littlechap. In addition, she playes all of his paramours throughout his
long, self-centered life.
Miss Conte is simply outstanding. In the course of the play, she must portray four entirely
different roles, and she does each one so well that it is startling.
In her main role of Evie, she captures all the nuances of a "typically English girl
from a typically English family," right down to the tea.
But within seconds she transforms herself into a propaganda-spouting 'Comrade Anya' as
Littlechap sojourns to Moscow on one of his frequent business trips. And then, with equal propensity,
she propels herself into the role of a gum-chewing New York singer, from which she once again changes --
this time into a proper Deutschland-loving Ilsa.
To each role her natural beauty shines through, creating for both Littlechap and for the
audience, four different nationalistic dream girls.
Don Allton handles the small, but effective, orchestra with seeming east. During the overture,
the musicians almost make one feel as if he is in New York or London, listening to the opening of the show
with a 20-piece orchestra.
The fact that the orchestra and conductor are placed at the back of the stage, behind a gauze
scrim, instead of in front of the stage in an orchestra pit, detracts not one whit.
The eight-member chorus makes the most of their chores, with 'bit' characterizations well
conceived and delivered.
The play undertakes to show the development of a common man, Littlechap, from his birth
to his rise to fame and power. And, through the twists of fate, Littlechap is shuttled to the top of the
business world ... then to knighthood ... and eventually to Parliament. For example, in the song, "Mumbo
Jumbo," Littlechap shows that anyone with a partial drive, a few connections and a mediocre intelligence
can become a successful politician.
Judy MacCallum and Linda Fernandez portray Littlechap's daughters, and they capture their
characterizations well.
I am afraid that we now have to approach the lead character, Littlechap himself, played by
Galen Finley. It is my sincere hope that his performance will, like wine, improve with age.
As an actor, Finley creates a believable Littlechap. The role itself is a demanding one,
as Littlechap is virtually never off stage, and his voice is in constant use for nearly two hours. It is
the ambitious actor indeed who would even try out for such a part.
As a singer, Finley isn't. Especially when he is forced to strain his voice beyond two-thirds
of an octave. Hopefully, the flat (and even the few missing) notes in "Once In a Lifetime" and "What
Kind of Fool Am I?" were the result of either taut nerves or indigestion and will be smoothed over in
future performances.
Monday, August 16, 1971
Honolulu Advertiser
rock musical 'Isaac' grand surprise at Schofield
By Peter Lawrence
There's an exciting surprise waiting for anyone willing to drive to Schofield Barracks. It is
the Special Services production of the rock musical, 'The Last Days of Isaac,' which opened on Friday night
and will run on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 8 p.m. for the next three weekends. And even though it
would be well worth a substantial admission price, it's free.
'The Last Sweet Days of Isaac' is one of the whole generation of rock musicals which have
flooded the New York theater since the legendary success of 'Hair.' The book of 'Isaac' is full of the
inflammatory stuff of the sixties, which sounds embarrassingly old-fashioned and sophomoric in the
seventies.
Although a number of the performances are really fine, it is the superior musical direction of
Don Allton which makes 'Isaac' more than just another amiable production. Mr. Allton's unobtrusive
control of all the musical numbers is professionally tight.
The rock orchestration, the choral timing and balance, and the solos are all handled
with a skill and precision rarely seen here. It is Allton's work which makes the production the ganbusters
musical experience that it is.
Unfortunately, the staging is not of the same caliber as the musical direction. The dialog
scenes come off flat and silly in comparison to the energy and polish of the musical numbers. This is due
largely to the aimless stage direction by Vanita Rae Smith, but also to the sacrifice of acting abilities to
vocal quality.
But in Patrick Dickson's performance as Isaac in Act I, there is no sacrifice in either
direction. Mr. Dickson is a remarkably appealing performer; you never want him to leave the stage.
He is all wrong for the role of Isaac as written, but his performance is so good and so spirited that
it just doesn't matter.
The other acting performances are disappointing, and on the whole, wooden. Win
Smith's speech about carrying a girl off to jail is one bright spot, but there are few others.
But what a great collection of singing voices! With each musical number, you forget any
objections you may have had to the preceding dialog scene. Every voice on the Schofield stage is
so good that it is difficult to pick out any as being outstanding. Patrick Dickson, Mary Lou Orthey,
Harry Burgan and Valerie Call sing mosy of 'Isaac's' solo numbers and deserve not only congratulations,
but thanks.
As if the energy and quality of the music hadn't impressed you enough during the show
itself, 'Isaac' has a great stand-up-and-cheer finale that makes you want to dance and sing your way
out of the theater.
Both the setting and lighting are simple, creating and transforming the shifting environments
of the production. All of the technical elements, with the exception of the distracting rear projections, work
smoothly much to the credit of the technical director/stage manager Robin Moore.
'The Last Days of Isaac' is a rare rock musical treat for Hawaii.
Saturday, Dec. 4, 1971
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
'Here's Love' Is Engaging Show
Produced from Mediocre Musical
By
Pierre Bowman
All of the songs from Meredith Willson's musical, 'Here's Love,' range from forgettable to
hideous, but USARHAW Special Services has managed to pull together an engaging show that rises
above material that is less than second rate.
The play is a musical version of 'Miracle on 34th Street,' that heartwarming tale of good will,
Santa Claus and Christmas.
It was a big loser on Broadway several seasons ago, following Willson's hit 'Music Man,'
and it's easy to see why.
The songs are a pale echo of the prior success, and only "It's Beginning to Look a Lot
Like Christmas" has achieved popularity.
The company at Schofield Barracks does a largely competent job with the songs and lavishes
an exceptionally fine chorus on many of the numbers.
And director Wright Esser has wisely stressed characterization, and many non-musical
scenes come off very well.
Esser has several really competent adult actors, but 9-year-old Leigh Graham steals the
whole show as Susan Walker, a precocious child who's been taught not to believe in Santa Claus.
Leigh is that all time rarity in child actors: she can sing, she can act, she reacts to all the
stage business around her, and she never turns cloyingly cute.
Mary Lou Orthey, who plays Doris, Susan's career-woman mother, the dynamo of
merchandising at Macy's, brings subtlety to her role.
The production, involving many scenes, was fluid and well paced, and the large cast
managed to negotiate the limited stage gracefully.
Aside from the poor songs, which do little to advance either plot or action, the Schofield
production is marred by weakness in the seven-man orchestra. Incidental music often sounds patchy,
and some radical changes in the adaptation of arrangements to the small number of instruments should be
made to back the show with a more full-bodied sound.
The music is inherently thin, and thin orchestrations only compound the problem. The show
will run tonight and tomorrow, Dec. 10-12, and Dec. 18 and 19 at 8 p.m. at the Special Services Auditorium at
Schofield. It will be presented Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. at Richardson Theatre at Ft. Shafter. All Schofield performances
are sold out, but there are many seats available for the Shafter performance.
Wednesday, Dec. 8, 1971
The Honolulu Advertiser
it should be joyful but it's 'dismal fare'
By Peter Lawrence Since 'Here's Love' is all about a charming old man who believes he is Santa Claus, you
would expect this musical comedy to be joyful, seasonal entertainment. Unfortunately, 'Here's Love' is dismal fare--both in the music, book and lyrics by Meredith
Willson and in the production by USARHAW Special Services at Schofield Barracks. 'Here's Love' is a 1963 Broadway repackaging of the enchanting Christmas movie, 'Miracle
on 34th Street.' The stage version was relatively unsuccessful in New York, and it is easy to see why.
Meredith Willson, author of 'The Music Man,' has retained only the story line of the parent film, and has
substituted derivative songs and empty dialogue from the simple charm of the movie. 'Here's Love' just doesn't hold together on stage. It is broken up by too many short
scenes . . .[portion missing] . . .enliven or enrish the musical numbers. The only real bright spot of the evening is Leigh Graham, sho plays Susan Walker, the
little girl who at first is too sophisticated to believe in Santa Claus. Miss Walker is a marvelous
young performer who not only acts and sings well, but who can share the stage comfortably with adult
actors. She seems to have a sense of perspective in her performance which is very rare in such
a young performer. But 'Here's Love' is short on the holiday cheer that you would expect it to generate.