At least the storytelling is clear.Īfter that, though, there are some very bizarre choices indeed. Hunter, offering nothing to write home about). The couple’s brief love affair is depicted with music and choreography (from Joann M. The piece has the most personality when he’s present. As Lewis, Abud (“The Band’s Visit”) brings the only quirkiness to the stage, and his costume the only touch of grunge, albeit of the Bruce Springsteen-y kind. After McCarthy (“Finding Neverland”) sings the opener, we get a charming extended scene in which Lewis and Lyla fall for each over music. The show starts simply and appealingly enough. The whiteness of the show extends to the music.: out is the Oscar-nominated gospel song “Raise It Up ” in is the blonde Shepherd attempting to rap certain phrases while playing the cello. The fact that the significant black characters from the film never even appear (or are portrayed by performers who aren’t black) in Glen Berger’s (“ Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark”) book adds even more to the bland palette. Costume designer Ann Hould-Ward puts a lot of white on the musician-ensemble as well. Set designer Scott Pask’s lovely white-on-white cut-outs transform with lighting (Paul Toben) and projections (Joe Burke) into a cityscape background, but the basic inspiration seems to be a classical concert stage. This show, set in New York City, couldn’t be less urban. Music will bring you home is the key theme of the melodic (and childish) musical lesson “Circle of Fifths.” “You’re a Symphony,” one song tells us several times, with a typically swelling crescendo of horn and wind instruments from composer Mark Mancina, who also scored the film. “Follow the Music,” the story and score tell us. It’s an emotional fairy tale about an 11-year-old boy (Jack McCarthy) who never knew his musician parents Lewis (George Abud) and Lyla (Sydney Shepherd), and who seeks to express his true self so deeply in music that they will find him. This is not a show that attempts to appeal on the basis of a realistic depiction of character or narrative. Then the sappiness kicks in for good, and even the Broadway-caliber talent and some musical high points from the onstage musician-ensemble can’t overcome the treacle. This is a short show, so that possibility lasts about 20 minutes. film “August Rush,” now playing at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Ill., it seems like director John Doyle’s elegant minimalism (“ Sweeney Todd,” “ The Color Purple”) might just manage to transform the divisive, unabashedly sentimental source material about the unifying power of music into something theatrical, meaningful, moving and classy. Image and video content were projected onto these panels, allowing the play's world to transform while the panels were moving.For the first quarter of this world premiere musical adaptation of the 2007 Warner Bros. Incorporated into the production was 3d tracking scenery, which created atmospheric motion, portraying different locations along August's journey. This motif embodied August's vision of the Rhapsody through animated musical notes written on the staff lines and ending in a colorful montage of propaganda posters showcasing the performance of his Rhapsody. The imagery crafted for this moment was grounded in the musical organization, the circle of fifths. The projection design team created original artwork representing August's adolescent life and musical adventure. The apex of the visual narrative was August's Rhapsody, where music and imagery collided into an explosion of aural and visual euphoria. Little do they know, this performance is the masterpiece of prodigy composer August Rush.Īn eruption of imagery to express a young boy's mind was the projection design's foundation. ![]() Through a strange turn of events, Evan's parents are selected to perform at a concert in Central Park. ![]() Within Wizard's collective, Evan receives his street name, August Rush. Navigating his way through the streets of New York, he finds himself captivated by Wizard, a hostile vagrant who teaches and coerces runaway children to be street musicians. The world premiere and pre-broadway run of Glen Berger and Mark Mancina's August Rush follows an 11-year-old orphan, Evan Taylor, on a musical journey to find his birth parents.
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