The cast of the show: Standing from left to right: Gary B. Lamb, Jill Rogosheske, Barry Gordon, Joey Ruggiero Seated (middle row, from left to right): Laurine Price, Musical Director Lloyd Cooper, Marisa Chandler, Theresa Hayes Front row: Heather Taylor, Christopher James Hester
A “juggernaut” of a show taking you through the “Complete History of the American Musical” all in 90 mins or less! Seems like an impossible task, but not for co-writer and co-creator of the show, Barry Gordon.
“It’s all show tunes, but we go back to the very, very beginning of musical theater,” Gordon said about the show. “We start naturally with ancient Greece, and we don’t have songs from ancient Greece, but we start talking about it. And there are songs going back to the 18th century. But they’re all little pieces, most of them. There are a lot of what are called medleys, a lot of mashups. But we do cover the ground and we get all the way to even past Hamilton.”
The unique show, part of the Parson’s Nose Music Series and billed as “The Complete History of the American Musical… in 90 Minutes or Less!” hopes to take audiences on a journey through 100 years of American musical history.
On Saturday, Jan 14, Gordon with Co-Creator Gary Lamb and the Parson’s Nose Theatre (PNT) will present this “wonderfully unique gift to kick off the New Year!”
Only a few tickets are left for Saturday’s show at 7 p.m.
Gordon said the idea for the show germinated in 2018 when PNT founder Lance Davis, his wife and co-founder Mary Chalon, were going away on a trip and wanted something for the theatre while they were away.
“He (Lance Davis) spoke to me and he said, you know, can you think of something? And this is what I thought of. I’ve taught the history of musical theater. I’ve been a musical theater junkie since I was seven years old. I performed at the age of eight with Mary Martin and John Ray and Annie, Get Your Gun in San Francisco. So I just thought, let’s do a history of musical theater, but let’s give it the Parson’s Nose Treatment and do it in 90 minutes,” Gordon explained.
Gordon said they’ve added a few more features in the show since they wanted to update it.
“So whether that might push us over the 90, I don’t know. But we’re going to try,” he said. “We’re going to make it work, and it’s certainly not going to be… it’s a fun time, a lot of music, and we’ve got wonderful performers with us.”
People who are lucky enough to get tickets will definitely have a good time, Gordon added.
“They’re going to hear a lot of music. It’s done with a lot of humor. And they’re going to hear a lot of their favorite songs covered and hear them in different ways, because as I said, we put songs together in creative ways.”
“If anybody loves musical theater, they have to come to the show because it’ll bring back so many memories. I think it will also educate them a bit, not in a painful way. We keep it funny, but they’re going to learn a little bit about the history of this incredible genre,” he said.
Gordon, aside from being the creator and writer, is also performing in the show. He was past board chair at Parson’s Nose Theatre, and is now vice chair.
With “The Complete History…” PNT wants the audience to experience a sort of time machine that looks back at the beginnings of the American musical and progresses into how history, and race and gender issues, generally affected the music.
“I think we’ve covered our bases and really given a thorough treatment, and to do it in 90 minutes is going to be really fun and really crazy. But we can do it,” Gordon said.
To get tickets for “The Complete History of the American Musical,” visit www.parsonsnose.com/live-events-1.
Parson’s Nose Theatre is located at 95 N. Marengo Ave. in Pasadena.
