Happy Anniversary!

Ehnes Floors at MBT

By Lily Olason

Today’s gig joins the pantheon of stunners at the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra. Celebrating the 40^th birthday of the organization (brainchild of beloved Whatcom County musician, Claire Vg Thomas), the show featured three iconic pieces, a fantastic collection of musicians, and one inexplicably gifted soloist.

After an official proclamation by music lover and County Executive Jack Louws, deeming October 11- 17 Whatcom Symphony Orchestra Week, the afternoon kicked off with Overture to Candide. Jewel of Leonard Bernstein’s 1956 operetta, Candide was an apt choice to reintroduce the WSO: it was replete with symmetry. Cutting brass (see especially: trombones) answered subtle strings, thunderous percussion balanced oscillating winds. Its repetitive theme was well captured and the orchestra delivered it, as expected, beautifully. 

After a brief but always-informative chat with Maestro Yaniv Attar, all nail biting ceased as headliner James Ehnes took the stage. Attar introduced him as one of the "finest violinists today," and by the end of the first note, I don't think there was a soul in the audience that didn't embrace that sentiment wholeheartedly. Tackling Beethoven's Concerto in D major for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 61 with impossible ease, Ehnes delivered a performance unforgettable. Unless you count some microscopic piece of dust on the tuning peg or a fly somewhere in the building, the performance was utterly, gorgeously flawless. Mr. Ehnes' bio notes that he "performs on the 1715 'Carsick' Stradivarius" which is perhaps the most exquisite sounding instrument I've ever heard. It took Ehnes' direction masterfully and kicked the audio setting of the room from "Ultimate" to "Unfeasible;" every stroke of the bow sprinkled some kind of sugar sweetness in the air, and the orchestra reciprocated fantastically. The highest notes were the most round, the most whole and full and robust; rapid arpeggios were laser cut, smooth like glass and ceaselessly accurate. It was hypnotic. Further than this, I lack vocabulary. But trust me when I say it was magnificent.

Predictably, a torrential round of applause and standing ovation ensued. Returning, Ehnes treated us to a rich and speedy final movement of Bach's Sonata in G Minor. "Jaw-dropping" is an appropriate descriptor.

After Ehnes said goodbye, the orchestra returned post-intermission to interpret one of the most iconic pieces of music in the Western repertoire. And they did so outstandingly, faithfully well. Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, op. 67 was both distinct and consistently well performed, the conclusion as colorful as the ever-recognizable first movement. The vibrancy and energy of the performance, and of entire ensemble was palpable, and the decision to commit to this piece so wholeheartedly admirable. If Candide set a fantastic precedent for this show, so did Beethoven's Fifth for this season. 

We can't wait to see what the WSO does next.

The Orchestra's next show is November 22, featuring clarinet-viola duo Moran Katz and Dimitri Murrath. For more information or to buy tickets online, visit the WSO's website.

Another Op'nin, Another Show

BMC celebrates 100

by Christopher Key

If you’re the Bellingham Music Club and it’s your 100^th anniversary, how do you start the party?  With Cole Porter, of course.  Impresario Scott Henderson put together a BMC show last year that celebrated Broadway and it was so popular that he was inspired to write a show featuring the man who owned the Great White Way for much of the 20^th century.  The result is called A Swell Party with Cole Porter and it’s…well…swell.

Yes, there’s a story line involving a party at a Manhattan penthouse with a couple of star-struck young lovers.  But, as in most musicals, the story simply exists to tie 35 of Porter’s best-loved songs together.  It works like “Night and Day.”

In that more innocent time before World War II, Porter was regarded as rather naughty given songs like “Let’s Do It.”  Henderson’s script flirts delightfully with the naughtiness while still managing a PG-13 ambiance.

Photo credit - Christopher Key

Martha Benedict plays famed party-giver Elsa to the Maxwell.  She drops names the way Sarah Palin drops non-sequiturs and still manages to encourage a budding romance among the hired help.

Photo credit - Christopher Key

The hired help, struggling actors naturellement, are played to wide-eyed perfection by Megann Schmidt and Ben Buchanan.  Their mutual dilemma involves the choice between wanting to climb the social ladder and love.  Guess which wins in the end.  Hey, this is high schmaltz, but it’s tempered by Porter’s engaging music and witty lyrics.

Photo credit - Christopher Key

Martin Bray is part of an endangered species known as the song-and-dance man.  Think Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly.  You don’t see many of them these days, but Bray upholds the honorable tradition in fine style and it’s a rare pleasure to watch him work his magic.

Photo credit - Christopher Key

He’s paired with the delightful Sherrie Kahn, whose versatile voice can charm the birds out of the trees or get downright torchy as the occasion demands.  This production gives her the chance to show off her acting chops and she’s “Too Darn Hot.”

Now, for the bad news.  The two shows at the Firehouse Performing Arts Center on October 8 and 24 are sold out.  The good news is that there are still tickets left for the performance on November 21 at the Jansen Art Center in Lynden.  A word to the wise is sufficient, eh?  Score your tix before it’s too late at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2371059.

If you know Cole Porter, you’ll love this show.  If you don’t know Cole Porter, this is a great way to get introduced to one of America’s songwriting legends.  When Porter takes the spotlight,

“Anything Goes.”

# # #

Plus ca change...

Slater brings volume two

by Christopher Key

When Bellingham’s Robert L. Slater brought forth his first novel, All is Silence, he subtitled it “A Deserted Lands Novel.”  That indicated that there might be more to come in the post-apocalyptic world he created.  Book two, Straight into Darkness, is about to be unleashed and it’s a more than worthy successor.

The action in the first installment began in Bellingham after a mysterious plague kills most of the world’s population.  Our ADHD anti-heroine, Lizzie, has been running away all her life, to the point where that’s her normal reaction to any situation.  She and a few friends take off to seek Lizzie’s biological father and eventually find him in Utah.

One thing you can count on when Lizzie runs away: things will get worse.  She may have reunited with her father, but post-apocalyptic Utah is no picnic in the park.  There are dangerous people trying to claim power in the vacuum and politicians never change.  In addition to the orphaned child Lizzie adopted, she is now carrying the result of some inebriated and unsafe sex.  The more responsibilities demand of her, the more she wants to run.

The city of Provo is struggling to reclaim civilization and is clamping down on its citizenry, something guaranteed to trigger Lizzie’s flight-or-flight syndrome.  And she always runs into more trouble.

Lizzie has matured a bit thanks to some of those responsibilities.  She now at least thinks about things before she splits, but she splits anyway.  The subtext running through both the books is the age-old dilemma of security versus freedom.  Lizzie wants one, but not at the cost of the other.  Sounds kinda like certain pre-apocalyptic societies.

Slater has also matured as a writer and his newfound confidence is evident in more polished prose and accomplished plotting.  Straight into Darkness, like its predecessor, is classified as a Young Adult novel.  Don’t let that label fool you.  Slater’s works may be about young adults, but they’re very satisfying reads for all ages.

The character of Lizzie is a powerful one and Slater, a teacher by day, understands her very well.  This is a page-turner and you might want to consider carefully before jumping into it late at night.  Signed copies are available now at Village Books [and they'll mail them anywhere in the continental U.S. for $0.99] and Cozy Corner Books and Coffee in Bellingham. 

# # #

Heart and Soul

MBT hits sweet spot with Forever Plaid

By Lily Olason

Summer has come and gone, and with it, the Mount Baker Theater's beloved Summer Rep play series. But alas! Have no fear. This month, Autumn Rep teams up with director Annie Lareau to take on 1950s nostalgia in the heart-warming Forever Plaid, and the results are electric.

After an unfortunate accident with a parochial school bus (fret not-- no students were harmed), semi-professional singing group, the Forever Plaids, depart our physical realm for the big casino stage in the sky. When precise scientific circumstances arise (the alignments of the planets, and something about atmospheric pressure, maybe?) and spit them back into their earthly forms, the group has the opportunity to perform their last show. Bursting with nostalgia, humor, tight four-part harmony, and hilarious choreography, Forever Plaid delivers a take on the past that’s not so distant, and a songbook of classics near and dear to even the youngest of American hearts.

TJ Anderson plays Sparky, a gifted tenor who can play piano and discreetly slip carburetors out of Perry Como’s car, too. If you’ve seen a few shows in Bellingham, my guess is that you’ve heard him fill a room already and are probably interested in doing it again. Honing versatile pipes to the soundtrack of the fifties, Anderson rocks in solo and harmony. “Perfidia,” among a multitude of other numbers, was a particular winner. Oh, and his acting chops are equally brilliant.

Dylan Kane plays a confident and spectacled Smudge. Plumbing supply salesman by day and magnificent baritone by night, Kane masterfully blends musicianship and hamminess, and hides the complexity behind calculated tripping, falling, lifting, playing the bongos, throwing things through hula-hoops, and of course, singing. His feature on the workman’s classic “Sixteen Tons,” (which mashed-up beautifully with Sam Cooke’s “Chain Gang”) made this good-at-stuff thing abundantly clear. “Rags to Riches” also delivered hefty applause.

Dustyn Moir channeled high-anxiety Jinx with a perfect blend of AV-club nerdiness and downright fantastic vocalizing. Prone to nosebleeds and less-than outgoing, Jinx is gifted by Moir with quick, hilarious timing and a stratospheric range that rings beautifully in solo and harmony. His lead on “Lady of Spain” (complete with full Spanish attire) and “Cry” was heroic.

Casey Raiha plays Francis, an asthmatic tenor with an indelibly sweet and clear voice. Tending to a fabulous rapport between the cast, his acting was absolutely excellent, and only surpassed by his choral work. The solo on “Chain Gang” was, in a word, stunning.

Rob Viens directed the music to a T, and brought the instrumentation and multi-layered vocals together organically and seamlessly (and, he’s a pretty great actor, too). Teammate Jeremy Blas on bass was also integral.

Choreographer Kathryn Van Meter did amazing work-- She made countless big things happen in a tiny space, and if you thought the Walton Theater was intimate before, try cutting it in half and adding seats on the stage. From faux-disorganized swaying to hefting Moir in the air in a sombrero, the choreography is a total entity of its own and a joy to watch.

Forever Plaid is a worthy show, because it does what a lot of shows try to do in an original format. It’s nostalgic, in this case for the fifties, the “golden oldies”, because that’s what America was, and what a lot of things are still built upon. By the sheer act of reaching back and talking about Perry Como and Tennesse Ernie Ford and the original “Boy Bands,” by honoring Ed Sullivan with “The entire Ed Sullivan Show in three-and-a-half minutes” (absolutely dazzling, might I add), Forever Plaid allows itself to revel in a time that wasn’t so harsh, or at least, didn’t seem to be. Music is indeed a vehicle, and the Rep did an admirable job of driving it.

Forever Plaid runs Friday, October 2 through Sunday, October 18th. For precise dates and times, more information, and to buy tickets online, click here. General admission is $35.