Theater review: '8-Track' taps the memories of '70s
with song
Graydon Royce, Star Tribune
Published March 28, 2003 TRAK28
(thanks to pinnesota [m_kaluzniak@hotmail.com] for submitting this to 8-track Heaven)
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| Aimee K. Bryant, Erin K. Schwab, Bradley Beahen and Esera Tuaolo in "8-Track: The Sounds of the 70s" |
With "Happy Days" on TV and Back to the '50s nights at the dance hall,
America's nostalgia fixation exploded in the 1970s. The drab Eisenhower years
not only looked better in retrospect, but they also took our minds off
gas-station lines, recession, Watergate and Vietnam.
Now we can fondly look back on those depredations with "8-Track: The
Sounds of the 70's," a musical revue that opened Wednesday night at the
Ordway Center's McKnight Theatre in St. Paul. It is an
infectious, joyous celebration -- a ritual really -- as each song brings up
specific memories of time and place. While each individual
is different, these memories coalesce into a gleeful spirit.
Rick Seeber, who produced "Beehive, the 60s Musical," conceived and directed
this piece with a simple approach: Cram as many tunes as possible into 80
minutes, highlighting a few numbers and leaving the
rest to mixes and medleys.
The '70s are often abridged to mean one thing -- disco. So I was quite struck by
how diverse the music was. There are chord
progressions and rhythms that have all but disappeared from songwriting, and
Elton John's "Your Song" is as much a part of the
decade as "Shake Your Booty."
Aimee K. Bryant is the best singer onstage. Her rendition of "Everything Is
Beautiful" was just that, and with "You Light Up My
Life," she showed what Debby Boone might have done with that song if she could
sing.
Thanks also go to Erin K. Schwab for clearing up a 30-year-old misinterpretation
I had of "I Am Woman." Schwab clearly articulated,
"Yes, I am wise, but it's wisdom born of pain." I had always heard Helen Reddy
singing, "Yes, I am wise, but I'm still some ball and
chain."
Esera Tualo shook off early butterflies to knock the Sanford/Townsend Band's
"Smoke From a Distant Fire" out of the park. Bradley Beahen
seemed to have the most fun -- with theatrical turns on "Convoy"
and "I Write the Songs." When it came time for
"Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe," Beahen
recognized that he will never be Barry White, so he
camped it up.
But where was Donna Summer's "Love to Love You, Baby," the perfect complement to
Barry? While song lists are one person's opinion, there
seemed to be some glaring omissions in favor of less-worthy entries. For
instance, the summer of 1975 is all about the Captain and
Tennille belting out "Love Will Keep Us Together." In the fall of 1977,
it was "Hotel California." They didn't make it. And the Jackson Five reduced to
one little atmospheric riff? Cold.
What everyone should agree on, though, is the brilliance of Raymond Berg's
musical direction and the amazing spot-on tunes his three-person band brought to
the party. Rick Polenek's simple set design and David Neville's lights had just
enough graphics, lettering, oranges, purples, pinks
and yellows to unmistakably suggest the period.
If you suffered through the '70s, this show will soothe. And if you've never
understood your parents, this is a first step.
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8-Track: The Sounds of the 70's
What: A musical revue conceived and directed by Rick Seeber.
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Through May 24. No show April 20. Additional 2 p.m. shows April 17
and May 22.
Where: McKnight Theatre, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345
Washington St., St. Paul.
Review: Hear the tunes, feel the memories, forget reality. Loads of
fun.
Tickets: $35-$45. 651-224-4222.