By Rob Hartmann
Part rock concert, part master class, part interactive
exploration of pop music history, and part autobiography-confessional, Sheri Sanders: In Concert is a
theatrical experience unlike any other.
Sheri Sanders is currently best known for her long running
series of classes, “Rock the Audition” (which later became a book and DVD), in
which she gives musical theater actors the tools to fully engage with pop and
rock music – music which can be intimidating and mystifying to performers
raised on show tunes.
Sanders, along with director Joe Barros and musical director
Meg Zervoulis, created an evening which gives three dimensional life to her
credo: that rock and pop songs are inextricably entwined with the social
history of their time – but that performers today can connect with them as
still-living, still-relevant personal expressions.
Each performance of the concert featured a different opening
act: Todd Almond, (www.toddalmond.com), Bobby Cronin (www.bobbycronin.com) Joe
Iconis (www.mrjoeiconis.com), Michael Mott (www.michaelmott.net), Brad Simmons and Paul Oakley Stovall, Katie
Thompson (www.katiethompson.com) and, at this performance, Max Vernon (www.maxvernon.com).
Max Vernon, accompanying himself at the piano, began with a
wry song that drew on his days as a young fixture on the fashion-punk-party
scene: “Lower East Side Angry Face.” His set included two moving numbers from
his new musical, The View UpStairs,
inspired by the horrific 1973 arson attack on a gay club in New Orleans.
Sanders is a tasty explosion of fizzy giddiness as she
charges onto the stage. The simple setting pays respect to both the past and
the future: downstage is a portable record player and a collection of LPs;
stage right is a flat-screen where images of pop music icons float by.
Sanders immediately takes the audience in hand as she
unrolls the tale of her journey from performer to teacher and mentor. After
early career success, she fell prey to vicious self-sabotage. In order to take
the pressure off herself, she decided to put the focus on others: she would
step back from the intensity of high-stakes auditions, and teach what she had
learned.
Sanders immersed herself in studying pop music history hand
in hand with cultural history, specifically from a performer’s point of
view. She developed a course (at one
point she displays the very first flyer she ever posted, complete with rainbow
background) which eventually grew into “Rock the Audition.”
She segues effortlessly into a brief survey pop music
history, shifting into song to demonstrate points – dipping into the blues tune
“Come Back, Baby” and later Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne”, as covered by Judy
Collins.
Sanders is a consummate performer, able to shift emotional
gears and fully inhabit any style of music with complete conviction and
authenticity. After completely
mesmerizing the audience on her own, she takes the spotlight off herself, and
transforms the proceedings briefly into a master class. Two different students
took part each night of the concert; at this performance, they were Elijah
Caldwell and Jessica Norland. Sanders first worked with Caldwell on his
rendition of Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1979 hit “Boogie Wonderland”; in minutes
she had him loosened up and fully embracing the spirit of the 70s with a
full-on disco falsetto.
Norland’s song was Heart’s 1985 “Nothin’ At All.” At first,
Norland gave a completely credible, straightforward rendition of the song, in a
clear, strong voice. With quick, intuitive coaching from Sanders, Norland
completely transformed her voice and physicality: a new power, strength, and
confidence, completely emanating from the music.
Much credit must be given to music director Zervoulis, who
coaxed sounds of every decade from the piano. Playing rock music convincingly
at a solo piano is extremely difficult; the genre is built for guitars and
drums. Zervoulis breathed along with Sanders and the student singers, while
keeping a rock-steady rhythmic drive.
After watching Sanders in action as a master teacher, we
resume the story of her journey: landing a book deal by cold calling the music
publisher Hal Leonard. (The book and accompanying DVD were reviewed on this
site here: http://www.stagebuzz.com/2011/09/book-review-rock-audition-how-to.html)
In a dizzying montage, we see Sanders come smack up against
a grim truth of the entertainment industry: in the end, so many of the people
employed to help – publishers, PR reps,
agents – do very little. The artist is on her own.
This is a point where many one-person shows would stop,
content to sigh or sneer at the cynical realities of “the business.” Sanders
moves through it, in a moving, deeply felt exploration of “The Great Escape”,
written by Pink and Dan Wilson.
I’m the king of the
great escape
You’re not going to watch me checkin’ out of this place
You’re not going to lose me, cause the passion and pain
Are going to keep us alive someday
Yeah the passion and the pain
Are going to keep us alive, someday
You’re not going to watch me checkin’ out of this place
You’re not going to lose me, cause the passion and pain
Are going to keep us alive someday
Yeah the passion and the pain
Are going to keep us alive, someday
Sanders understands that the artist’s journey is equal parts
passion and pain: they are inescapably bound to each other. She recognizes it
in her own life’s story, and in the stories of the pop and rock artists whom
she honors.
The evening was subtly and fluidly directed by Joe Barros,
who keeps the narrative thread moving through each shift of format. Holly Long
contributes skillful lighting design which moves effortlessly from intense,
deep tones during the performances, to bright clarity when Sanders chats with
the audience.
The innovative producers of the event were Kenny Metzger and
Kristin Morris, operating under the auspices of the Araca Project, which seeks
to mentor up and coming producers.
Sheri Sanders In
Concert concluded its limited run in New York on October 2nd,
but will tour in conjunction with Sanders schedule teaching master classes at
colleges, universities and theaters across the country. If you have the
opportunity to see Sheri Sanders work her alchemic magic of performance and
transformative teaching in person, do not miss it. In days past, Broadway shows
or television series would be built around Sheri Sanders and her extravagant
hug-you-madly personality: we can only hope that the industry will take note
and bring us more Sheri Sanders, pronto.
Sheri Sanders: In
Concert. September 25 – October 2, The American Theatre of Actors, 314 W.
54th Street. Produced by Kenny Metzger and Kristin Morris, KMM
Productions, LLC. Conceived by Sheri Sanders. Directed by Joe Barros. Musical
direction by Meg Zervoulis. Lighting design by Holly Long. Sound design by Andy
Sowers. Casting by Kitay-Witt Casting. Stage manager, Tiffany de Bruyn.
Assistant director, Aimée Cucchiaro.