THIS THING CALLED LOVE is a cabaret-style musical revue. The theme of the revue is quite obvious, and very well portrayed throughout the song selection. The performers all do a great job of singing about love in its various different forms from songs across the last century. Watching and listening to THIS THING CALLED LOVE was very enjoyable and well-worth anyone’s time.
Caitlin Aloia and Andrew Cohen both do a fantastic job of a young couple singing a duet together, though I found myself wishing to see them again to discover their full range. Thomas Buckley has a very strong voice, but was not highlighted as much as some of the other singers. Caity Logan had a very pretty voice and a delicate innocence and softness to most of her songs. Laura Scotti had a more mature and saucy voice that definitely added to every number she was in. All of these singers did a terrific job, even though they did not seem as natural on stage as their cast-mates in Act 1, they definitely did a better job of making use of the space in Act 2.
Amelia Arrigo does a fantastic job singing a rather interesting selection of songs; listening to her belt out a song filled with passion and anger was one of the highlights of the show for me. Michele Demsky is an extremely talented singer, and the strongest of the females of acting while singing, having some of the most funny songs in the show. Maggie Griffin-Smith was the young woman, though, who blew me away the most often. By the time Act 1 was over, I found myself constantly excited whenever I saw her walk on stage, as I loved how powerful her voice was. It was Anne Odland who for most the show had an almost intoxicating level of bubbliness, then totally shifted gears near the end and sang the song that made me want to cry.
Jonathan Knapp was barely in Act 1, only appearing in the finale, however the strength of his voice and the strength of his comedic timing and charm all come out very strong in Act 2. Bill Weir has a delightful singing voice, and it was great to watch and hear him perform. David Williams was the man I constantly wanted to come back on stage and sing again, his voice was both beautiful and haunting at times.
Tom Baust, musical director and accompanist for THIS THING CALLED LOVE.
Lest we not forget that this entire time the show was accompanied by the rather delightful pianist Tom Baust, who I made sure to thank personally for doing such a great job and for doing something you so rarely see a pianist do these days – sing (and quite well at that!).
The sound/microphones was really my only complaint about the show. The venue is small enough and the majority of the voices strong enough, that the choice to amplify the singers seemed an odd and detracting one. Singers looked like they had to hold back from belting like they wanted to on multiple occasions because of the microphones. Also, and I am sure this was a one off glitch, but the microphones started to have some severe feedback during the Act 1 finale, and it severely lessened the otherwise beautiful number.
The lighting (Scott Connard, Ryan Beebe, Colby Langweiler) was very well done, with what seemed like subtle shifts to match and contrast with the outfits of the singers. The spotlight was very very accurate as well, a welcome surprise since the program lists Langweiler as a first time spotlight operator.
The costumes were all quite good, though some characters had far more intensive costume changes then others. It definitely stuck for the cabaret feel for the majority of the show.
In closing if you can make it before it closes, go see THIS THING CALLED LOVE. Laugh, smile, maybe even get a tear or two in your eye. I strongly expect you to love the whole thing, and you should never let love pass you by.
THIS THING CALLED LOVE
Musical Directors: Anne Odland and Tom Baust
Producer: Nancy Ridgeway
October 25-November 2, 2013
Town and Country Players
4158 York Road
Buckingham, PA
Reservations at: 1-800-838-3006 or at
http://www.townandcountryplayers.org/
