Virtuosity!

Six talented artists in world premiere of song and dance revue

Tempo Toronto went out to play, and took in the world premiere of Virtuosity! playing at the Bluma Appel Theatre in the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts until January 24. This unusual production was created by and stars renowned actress, singer and dancer Vivian Reed (shown above right in a stunning, bringing-the-house-down performance of Fever). The  North American tour launched here in Toronto with previews which began on December 17.  The official opening night for media was January 5, and performances will run until Saturday, January 23, after which the show takes off for Minneapolis.

A bunch of over-fifties sat down to enjoy what RVL Productions described as “A celebration of song and dance”, and to be honest, none of us really knew what to expect in advance. The official blurb describes it thus – “Six artists, ethnically diverse, perform both original and well-known material dealing with the many aspects of love. Each vignette, or musical scene, is a song or combination of songs that tells a story.” We were just happy to get out on a cold and snowy evening, and take in live performances from talented artists. It was great!

We’re not technical theatre reviewers by any stretch of the imagination. But, we do know what we like, and we do recognize talent when we see it. Our Editor was blown away by the innate talent in all of the cast, and particularly loved the rap and hip-hop numbers, as well as the avant garde, evocative The Classic Side.  One of our group – a former professional dancer – was inspired to go get his dancing legs back in the groove (he was also able to point out the superior technical merits of many of the dance moves for us); and one male who expected to not enjoy the experience at all thought it was amazing (OK, he is 29, but he infiltrated our grey-haired group and we allowed him to comment).

Tickets are really well priced for the talent you will witness ($25-$75), and are available online or from the St. Lawrence Centre box office directly. If you like a story with a beginning, middle and end, this performance may not be for you. If you are open to just letting the music, the song, the dance and the amazing energy flow over you, you’ll want to go back to see it again. We do.

These are the comments from the group …

“Overall, the show was filled with high energy. All performers, including the band, were so highly talented. Needless to say, the star of the show was Vivien Reed, who was nothing short of spectacular. While the other players were fabulous, make no mistake, this was her show. Her performances of “Fever” and “God Bless The Child” were amazing, but also controlled all of the other numbers she was involved in, and her range is remarkable. And, most (if not all) of the original songs were hers, and they were all powerful. I loved the use of lighting, and costume, particularly in “The Classical Side”, with the four dancing phantom-like figures whirling to-and-fro as Vivien Reed sang opera, culminating with Angela Brydon and Jay Staten emerging from their costumes, and closing the scene with a very sexy dance duet. The show really gathered speed near the end, following Reed’s “God Bless The Child”, with “Remix”, and the audience really got into the groove during the “Flash From The Past”. Again, I really didn’t know what to expect, but thoroughly enjoyed a most entertaining show, that I have already recommended to friends.” Bob and Nadine

“Virtuosity offers great vocal talent, energetic dancing and superb back up musicians. Good entertainment but a focus is missing in this celebration that promises joy, passion and pain”.  Noreen

“An entertaining show.  Vivian Reed is a talented singer/performer supported by an enthusiastic younger cast. I really liked the costumes and the energy, especially the rapping.  Although I didn’t care for the aria – it seemed out of place.” Karen

“It was a wonderful evening, and not a bit like I expected it to be. We were in great company, in a nice intimate theatre. The voices were amazing, and I loved the simplicity of the set, the great lighting too – all in all the visual was very appealing. I did miss the lack of a story line at first. Even though I knew it wasn’t supposed to have one, I was a little confused for maybe the first 20 minutes as to the point of it all. I then decided there didn’t have to be one and ‘got into it’. By the time the first half ended I was loving it. I think it will have a tough time competing with mainline theatre, it is more a fringe production. Geri

“We thoroughly enjoyed Virtuosity!  Lots of energy and fun.  Amazing talent as each showcased their range.  Angela Brydon I remember from Wicked – she is vivacious on wheels – crossing the stage on points and a red plaid robe!  Vivien Reed’s voice is majestic but I felt she shortchanged her own impact by comedic nuance – I’m thinking Fever here.  Some of the material was wanting which detracted from the talent. Carleigh Bettiol surprised me in her duet with Vivien Reed – deep currents!  Destan Owens was just plain lovely – great voice and instant personal rapport with audience. Jay Staten was was elegant in A House is Just a House and wildly funky in the ‘down low’.  And Austen proved he could switch from argyle vest to zoot suit in the blink of an eye.  The band was awesome!  I thought they could have been visual throughout at not detracted in any way from the front performance.” Marilyn and Athan

“Destan, Vivian were the stars in terms of talent and stage presence! Carleigh and Austin are certainly up and coming talent. The musicians were outstanding. There was no story or thread running through – perhaps that should be more clearly explained. Jay was a cool dancer and I would have liked to have seen more of him.Wondered why or how 4 Hands Classical Overture and The Classical Side fit in with the rest of the program? I found the evening very entertaining and lively. The performances moved along at a good pace. Audrey

Bookings through spring 2010

Toronto
St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Bluma Appel Theatre until 24 January 2010

Minneapolis
Pantages Theatre Minneapolis 26 January – 14 February, 2010

San Francisco
Marines Memorial Theatre 7 March – 14 March, 2010

San Diego
San Diego Repertory 15 March – 11 April, 2010

Publicity was performed by dkpr public relations inc./Toronto