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“You have to get out in order to get in” ...at
first a puzzlement becomes a spiritually potent message from the powerhouse,
world premier musical Pilgrim by John Stothers in for a short run
until April [9] only at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre in Hollywood.
Stothers has composed not only the imaginative book
but music and lyrics as well. Direction is from the forever-reliable
multi-award-winning Nick DeGruccio.
Pilgrim has an appealing vitality that boasts
phenomenal music, staging and a genuinely astounding cast. Let’s say it’s
unlike any musical you’ve ever seen. It’s part story, part Cirque du
Soleil with unbelievably dazzling special aerial effects and
choreography by Josie Walsh.
The story takes place in a mythical kingdom at some
futuristic time in which The Guild and its Masters control the Crafters - a
kind of dictatorship where the people are poverty stricken and held under
tight censorship control. One of the Masters has a daughter, Anna (Jessica
Rush), who falls in love with one of the Crafters, the Tinker (Tom Korbee),
whose father, upon death, has left him a legacy: a mysterious map for a
pilgrim’s journey that, through a series of dreams, sends him on a quest for
a key that will unlock the gates of the kingdom to freedom.
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The revolving centerpiece set by Tom Buderwitz is very
much a character unto itself, like the slanted battlement of Les Mis.
A steely mass of railings, walkways and staircases that reflects the kingdom
as a prison with plenty of space around it that may open up to unlimited
possibilities.
Stothers’ evocative rock-opera score is refreshing. As
in Jesus Christ Superstar it possesses a core of strong anthems with
cherishable ballads such as “What He Sees,” “Carry On,” “Walking Slow,” and
“Into the Light.” As to the remarkable ensemble, special praise goes to
Rush, the ever-resourceful Eric Anderson as the slimy printer Ten Bosch, and
especially to Robert Patteri as the crazed priest Hieronymus. New York
producers, take note! Broadway needs an original American musical that can
stimulate the heart and mind. It's imaginative; it's exhilarating.
It's Pilgrim.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
MetroLA Magazine (NoHoLA)
vol. 9 no. 15 -
Mar 28-April 10, 2006
Link to MetroLA Magazine (NoHoLA)
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