Review: High Times at The Harlequin

In his latest musical mash-up,"Those Oldies But Goodies" at the Harlequin Theatre, director Shawn Kjos proves two things (apart from the fact that he has an unusual family name). Namely:

1. He has one of the most extraordinarily wide vocal ranges - if not the most extraordinary voice - I have ever heard. He hits notes in full voice far above what most tenors could reach in falsetto. He displayed his top notes more than ever in this show in songs like "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (a song in which Sarah Peters also displayed some impressive high notes), "Walk Like a Man" and a medley of Jersey Boy songs. Yet he can sing in the conventional tenor range with equal assurance.
2. Secondly, he is an excellent arranger and vocal coach. His arrangement of the medley that closed the first act - where he seamlessly mixed six or seven songs together - was very impressive. And once again the vocal performances from a talented cast were top notch.

I would love to see him direct a narrative musical some time.

Making a very impressive debut on the Harlequin stage was Sarah Brown, whose vivacious personality and beautiful singing voice were a joy to behold.

Sarah Peters, who assisted with the choreography in the acclaimed "London Calling" at the Harlequin earlier this year, gets top billing for choreography with this show and does a good job of it . The dance routines are totally appropriate to the era.

Garrett Scott Henry, who is a regular on the Harlequin stage, appears to have become the Harlequin's equivalent of a young matinee idol, eliciting squeals of delight from some of the matrons in the audience - who probably squealed in their younger years for the singers who originated some of the songs on offer. But all six performers - who included Lauren Silva and Ashton Folsom - drew strongly appreciative applause for their performances, not least of them being Shawn Kjos himself.

Call The Harlequin box office for reservations 210-222-9694