LingoLand: Word to the Word-Wise

I can't begin to tell you how refreshing it is these days to be watching a new musical and finding myself continually trying to scribble down terrific lyrics to include in my review. I'm know I'm going to have to see LingoLand again just so I can sit back and enjoy this high-minded verbal carnival without having to worry about writing clearly in a dark theatre.

Kenward Elmslie's credentials as a word-smith includes more slashes than an afternoon with Sweeney Todd. A poet/lyricist/librettist/playwright/composer/visual artist with a career spanning five decades, he's most known to theatre folk as bookwriter and lyricist of the often admired, but short-lived Broadway musical adaptation of Truman Capote's The Grass Harp, the most represented piece in this crisp, intimate revue of songs, arias, scenes, poems, anecdotes and reminisces.

Jeanne Lehman Kenward Elmslie.jpg" /> While some of his peers may be known for their intricate rhyming or romantic imagery, the focus of LingoLand is Elmslie's knack for utilizing some of juicier words and phrases of American English. What kind of fellow would call his teeth "choppers"? Would the same person refer to his recent break-up as "splitsville"? How does a lyricist take an unromantic temporary trend like using "-wise" as a suffix (Language-wise, it can be very annoying) and turn it into a hit song called "Love-wise" before the fad fades away? Hoopla... Amscray... Fridge... the more colorful the word, the more likely it'll be grabbed up by Kenward Elmslie. And when a public figure has a let-me-hear-that-again name like Condoleezza, leave it to him to figure out that using her boss's accent is the only way to legitimately rhyme it with "pizza".

This is a show where a cocktail clique's small talk ("The ambiance is so chi-chi / It's hard to distinguish the hetero from the he/she.") can be followed by the alpha male musings of a cowpoke tired of seeing his like represented by Calvin Klein pretty boys. ("Sure hope they don't smell funny / Doused with nelly eau de cologne. / And what if they call me "honey"? / Shoot, I'll ask for a bunk of my own.")

Mr. Elmslie serves as your host for the evening, looking robust for his age, though mellow in the voice, seated throughout reading narration, remembrances, helpful advice ("In a crisis, I do musicals in my head") and assorted verbal tidbits. In my personal favorite he recalls how Andy Warhol asked him to write an article for Interview about famed 1930's film director/choreographer Busby Burkley ("Two cents a word, a thousand word maximum!") which led to his coining the phrase "Girl Machine" to describe the legend's elaborate musical sequences.

Being a throwback to the days when an entire downtown artistic culture was centered around coffee-serving establishments that were not owned by a Seattle-based corporation, Elmslie's participation, in fact the whole production, sports a casual hipster essence. With eight collaborating composers represented and a loose grab-bag structure, the revue often resembles open mic at a MacDougal Street cafe.

Fortunately, this open mic has a lot of good talent on the sign-up list and the cast of five singing actors are strong in both melody and in relishing their lyrical mouthfuls. Lauren Shealy exudes Hollywood blase' in "Vaudeville for Jean Harlow", a piece that seems to exist for the pleasure of hearing morsels like "anywho", "nertz", "heebie-jeebies" and "screaming mimis". Jeanne Lehman is especially exuberant in the joyous "Chain of Love" and Steve Routman is just as effective in the more interspective "Who'll Prop Me Up In The Rain?"

Jason Dula takes on the younger male roles; warmly romantic in "Cool, Cool Elbows" ("Your cool, cool elbows lay cupped in the palm of my trembling hand." -- What a great line.) and pubescently whimsical while pursuing "Floozies". A knowing Jane Bodle charmingly sings of her preference for the "One Night Stand" ("Yes, you're endowed, dear. / Undershorts and voice are too loud, dear.") when not gracing the operatic scenes with her dramatic soprano.

James Morgan's direction and Janet Watson's musical staging keep the proceedings at a sprightly pace. Morgan's playful set design features arcs of eccentric words ("Fol-De-Rol", "Mogul", "Piffle") painted on the green floor and walls. Visual art by several of Elmslie's collaborators is projected on an upstage screen, enhancing the material without distraction.

Musical director Matt Castle's arrangements get a nice mix of styles out of a five piece band, but this is one musical where the words firmly plant their feet downstage center. In LingoLand, it's Kenward Elmslie's multi-jargoned concoctions of the American language that make the most fascinating music.

 

Photos by Carol Rosegg: Top: Jeanne Lehman and Kenward Elmslie
Middle: (l-r) Jason Dula, Lauren Shealy, Jeanne Lehman, Jane Bodle and Steve Routman
Bottom: (l-r) Steve Routman, Lauren Shealy, Jane Bodle, Jeanne Lehman and Jason Dula

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