Broadway Villains in Concert at CPT

Last night I spent a wonderful evening back at Centerpoint Theatre for a show called Broadway Villains in Concert. Like many theatres around the country, CPT has been dramatically affected by Covid-19 but I think they have done a marvelous job with creatively adapting so that they can still provide entertainment for their patrons while keeping everyone safe. Over the summer they held concerts in the parking lot which were so much fun and this month they are presenting another concert on the Barlow Main Stage featuring songs from the best villains in popular Broadway shows. They have many safety protocols in place, including contactless ticketing, socially distant seating, and mandatory masks. The show was a little over an hour without an intermission. The entire company performed "No One Mourns The Wicked" from Wicked, "The Mob Scene" from Beauty and the Beast, "Masquerade" from The Phantom of the Opera, and "Facade" from Jekyll & Hyde which featured dramatic black costumes, innovative choreography to keep the actors physically distant, and a minimal set comprised of different levels. My favorite performance of the evening was from my favorite musical Hamilton. Christian Johnston, a former student of mine, performed "You'll Be Back" as King George III.  I think he did such a great job, even rivaling some of the Georges I've see in Broadway productions! The concert also featured "No Good Deed" from Wicked with Sydney Stephan as Elphaba, "A Little Priest" from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street with Tyler Hanson as Sweeney Todd and Brittany Bullen as Mrs. Lovett, "Dentist!" from Little Shop of Horrors with Craig Williams as Orin Scrivello, DDS, "Poison in my Pocket" from A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder with Colton Ward as Monty Navarro, "Stepsisters' Lament" from Cinderella with Kacee Neff and Sydney Stephan as Wicked Stepsisters, "Stars" from Les Miserables with Ricky Parkinson as Javert, "Alive" from Jekyll & Hyde with Ben Lowell as Hyde, "World Burn" from Mean Girls with Karina Gillette as Regina George, "Little Girls" and "Easy Street" from Annie with Camille Crawley as Miss Hannigan, Christian Johnston as Rooster, and Janessa Zech as Lily St. Regis, "The Hammer" from Matilda with Brittany Bullen as Miss Trunchbull, and "Stay with Me" from Into the Woods with Kimberly Holden as the Witch. As I mentioned, all of the actors are wearing black costumes but they each added a little flourish to represent their characters.  I especially loved King George's ermine cape, Elphaba's green eye shadow, and Regina's pink shoes. This show is extremely well done with incredibly talented performers and I really enjoyed it! It runs at CPT on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays until October 24.  Tickets are only $12.00 for the balcony and $15.00 for the main floor which makes it a great deal (go here for tickets). I highly recommend this show for the whole family (there were a lot of kids in the audience last night and they were cheering enthusiastically).

Note:  After watching Gillette perform "World Burn," I am so excited to see Mean Girls which is, fingers crossed, coming to the Eccles Theatre next year!