THEATRE RESPONSE: 7 BRIDES FOR 7 BROTHERS

Last night I attended a wonderful preview performance of 7 Brides for 7 Brothers at Broadway By The Bay. It was wonderful to see a lot of performers I have worked with including Dave Miailovich, Larry Quinto, Matt Ferretti, Erin Cole, Benjamin Latham, Rich Coakley & my dear friend Paul Ziller.

I really enjoyed this production and must admit it is one of the best shows BBBAY has put on in a while. Evan Pappas' direction was full of detail and the cast brilliantly (and with much energy) presented a great show. Carrie Madsen was fantastic in the role of Milly. It is a great role for her. The sets & costumes were great and it was wonderful to see the sets using most of the space at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center (not an easy task since the space is huge!)

Most of all, Berle Davis (always assisted by the fabulous Robyn Tribuzi) and his choreography steal the show. The dance numbers are divine, especially the Social Dance number - just wonderful.

I was so thrilled to see the great Rick Reynolds back conducting for BBBAY. He was such an amazing musical director & friend to me back when I did Jesus Christ Superstar there. He took a few years off to spend more time with his family and now that the kids are a little bit older he is back and I could tell - the musical direction & orchestra were superb and handled the difficult score with great precision. I look forward in working with Rick again - I am in such awe of him.

The show is wonderful so go check it out.