'bare the musical' Premieres in Baltimore

Tackling the Catholic Church, adolescence, and homosexuality is indeed a tall order for a musical.  But I give Executive Producer Fuzz Roark (also Executive Director of Spotlighters Theatre) a lot of credit for bringing bare the musical to Baltimore. This is not for everyone. Like the Tony-winning musical Spring Awakening, this show tackles serious issues and comes with a strong "R" rating. 

Director James Howard (who many of you are aware is my compatriot writer for Broadwayworld.com) does an impressive job with a huge cast that has bundles of energy and it shows on the stage.  The ensemble especially deserves high praise for giving it all.

bare takes place at a Catholic High School and confronts relationships of all types.  There's the supposed jock Jason (wonderfully portrayed by Kevin Korczynski) who his roommate and best friend Peter (Kevin Bender who tackles a challenging role) is infatuated with. Jason at first attempts to persuade Peter that they must keep their desires to themselves.

Peter then asks Jason to audition for the school play (if you guessed it would be Romeo and Juliet you would be correct) and guess who gets the plum role of Romeo, Jason. It doesn't take long before Jason is seduced by Ivy (the sexy and sensuous Madonna Marie Refugia) who plays Juliet.  It does not take long that the truth finally comes out.

A standout in the huge cast is Kristen Zwobot who plays the role of Nadia, Jason's pudgy sister who has two wonderful numbers "A Quite Night at Home" and "Birthday Bitch!"

There are 36 songs in Bare so be prepared for a long night of theater. The fine five piece band under Michael Tan (also on keyboards) gets a real work-out.

Special mention should be made of the ingenious set design and terrific lighting by Dave Eske.

It's also gratifying to see a terrific program which features color photographs of the cast which I expect from equity houses but often don't find.

Howard has done an admirable job dealing with his large cast of 18. While the play may be predictable and the songs not memorable, the message of tolerance is quite clear.  You will never forget the phone call Peter makes to his mother Claire (Esther Covington) "See Me" in which he tries to tell her his secret but his mother continually changes the subject and ultimately hangs up on him.

In October 2000, bare the musical received its World Premiere in Hollywood, California. With a book by Jon Hartmere and Damon Intrabartolo, and music and lyrics by Intrabartolo and Hartmere respectively, the show lasted four months before making it to New York.

Bare the musical will be at the Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 West Preston Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for students (with valid ID). For phone reservations, call 443-847-3135 or on line at www.barethemusicalinbaltimore.com/tickets.html.

For comments, write to cgshubow@broadwayworld.com.

Photo Credit Amy Jones

 

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