Is there musical theater after COVID-19? You betcha! And Houston’s Music Box Theater is prepared to prove it to you. It is my high honor to announce the winner of this year’s award for Cleverest Title of a New Musical. May I have the envelope please? ... [Drum roll]… And the winner is… The Music Box Theater for Quarantunes Live. Better still, the show itself is very clever. Sporting the usual talented cast of five, (Rebekah Dahl, Brad Scarborough, Cay Taylor, Kristina Sullivan, and Luke Wrobel), this timely new production is built around carefully selected songs, which, in various ways, can serve to comment on the months of pandemic confinement we are all still grappling with. The opening medley captures that mood perfectly, beginning with a warm, inviting rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Hello Again” from Luke Wrobel, as he nicely accompanies himself on keyboard. The stress we have all endured is well-expressed as Luke joins Brad for the Queen hit, “Under Pressure.” Wearing a cool summer dress, Miss Taylor then turns up the heat with a sultry performance of the old Peggy Lee hit, “Fever.” At the mention of that now-frightening word, some of her Covid-concious castmates humorously burst forth wielding antiseptic spray. Kristina’s exciting performance of another Queen hit, “The Show Must Go On,” seems to summarize what this whole experiment was all about. Miss Dahl’s several months away from the stage seem to have only enhanced her talents as she delivers a powerful, “That’s Life” with a voice so thrilling that it could be etched fine crystal. She brings that same power to the Melissa Etheridge hit, “Come to My Window,” nicely chosen in this age of being housebound. Luke and wife Kristina honor recently deceased singer, Kenny Rogers, with a stellar duet on “Island in the Stream,” that they would do well to record. With lines like, “…if we rely on each other,” and “…sail away to another world,” that song’s lyrics make us feel we will all come through our current trials. Miss Taylor enhances that feeling as she follows sweetly with, “What the World Needs Now is Love.” After a few respectable opening notes on his harmonica, Brad carves out another masterful performance with the Hollies’ hit, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.” With Rebekah and Cay up front, and glorious harmonizing from the cast, a show highlight would have to be the stunning “Hey, Jude,” that climaxes with Rebekah’s spectacular voice soaring heavenward. Back in the latter part of the last century I had the privilege of reviewing a New York performance of Crystal Gayle, which, of course, included her signature, “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.” Here, dressed in a pretty flowered summer dress with puffed sleeves, we have an absolutely wonderful rendition of that song from Kristina. The three gals then combine forces with great vocal blending for a lively trio of “Hold On.” That is followed by the full cast delivering a brilliant a cappella arrangement of, “Somebody to Love.” Luke moves on to a fine performance of “Long December,” and speaking of “long,” he os nicely accompanied by one of the house band’s talented members, guitarist, Long Lee. Miss Taylor’s, “Higher Love” is timely with its references to “facing our fears,” and is enhanced by two of the band’s fine guitarists. Reminding one again of Crystal Gayle, Kristina brings silken voice to the Cat Stevens tune, “Wild World,” nicely decorated by Mr. Lee on electric bass. Some playful nonsense arrives as Frank Sinatra (Wrobel) and Judy Garland (Miss Dahl) stumble onto the stage, cocktails in hand. Rebekah’s hilarious tousled wig and the stool-sitting angularity of her Garland impression are worth the price of admission as Judy announces, “Drink up! What doesn’t kill you, makes you older!” Brad calms the mood with a relaxing and beautifully sung, “Take it Easy,” and then, as we all continue to make our way through this Pandemic War, it feels most appropriate for the ensemble to wind things down with the touching World War II tune, “We’ll Meet Again.” Let’s hope so!
