"The World Goes 'Round": the Candor Never Ebbs

by Jack Craib, New Rep Reviewer

To call New Rep’s current production “The World Goes Round” a nearly perfect summer evening’s entertainment would be an understatement. It’s a show for all seasons regardless of temperature, but this show is hot. Twenty years ago, this compilation of songs by composer John Kander and the late lyricist Fred Ebb was created, with input by Kander and Ebb themselves, by librettist David Thompson, director Scott Ellis, and choreographer Susan Stroman. The genius of their collaboration lies in the fact that, unlike other “and then I wrote” shows, this consists not of a string of tenuously related show tunes, but a carefully constructed series of vignettes, each song or medley managing to convey a more or less complete story or mood. The show survives as a tribute to the first twenty-nine years of the body of work by Kander and Ebb. Thus there are no echoes from their later works; there is no “Steel Pier”, no “Curtains”, and especially no “Scottsboro Boys”. There are twenty-nine numbers from their extraordinary output for Broadway, films, television and even an industrial show, running the gamut from mega-hits like “Chicago” and “Cabaret” to the lesser-known “Zorba”, “The Rink” and “The Happy Time”. Above all, this show illustrates how these two men, throughout their careers, emphasized the downtrodden and the unsung….until they made them soar in song, the truth of their characters always flowing.

Kander and Ebb, like many of their contemporaries, wrote primarily for women who need no surname introduction (Barbra, Chita, Gwen, and most frequently, Liza), so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the women in this company, all familiar to New Rep audiences from previous appearances, have the best opportunities to shine. And shine they do, but often in surprising ways. Leigh Barrett confirms her status as a true Broadway belter, but she also gets the chance, in such numbers as “My Coloring Book” (the first song the team ever wrote), to create several very moving quiet moments. Shannon Lee Jones, remembered for her contribution to New Rep’s previous production of “Cabaret”, while exhibiting solid talent in songs like “A Quiet Thing” (from Liza’s first show, “Flora the Red Menace”) exceeds expectations as a comedienne in another Minnelli number, “Arthur in the Afternoon”. The most pleasant shock, given her prior serious roles at New Rep, is the comic artistry of Aimee Doherty, who equals the comedy chops of Leigh Barrett in their duets of “Class”, unforgivably dropped from the filmed version of “Chicago”, and “The Grass Is Always Greener” from “Woman of the Year”. The latter song is a good example of how a number can alter its meaning when not heard in the original context of its source but still be hilarious.

The men in the company have a tougher time. The title song from “Kiss of the Spider Woman”, sung by De’Lon Grant, is meaningless out of context (and, curiously, was included in the 1991 original “And the World Goes ‘Round” even though it was to be another year before “Spider Woman” opened in London and two years before its opening on Broadway), as is the number “Marry Me”, sung by David Costa, who at least gets to sing the unforgettable “Mr. Cellophane” from “Chicago” and the haunting “Sometimes a Day Goes By“ from “Woman of the Year“. The other men in the company who provide the music for the magic are Musical Director Todd C. Gordon on electronic keyboard (sadly, not a piano), Brian Grochowski on bass, and Jim DeLorey on percussion (and kazoo). There is a fourth excellent woodwind musician who is uncredited in the program. The technical contributions by Erik D. Diaz (scenic design), Deidre McCabe Gerrard (costume design) and Deb Sullivan (lighting design) are all first-rate.

When all is said and done, however, the success of this production rests squarely on the shoulders of Director and Choreographer Ilyse Robbins (with an occasional homage to Bob Fosse). Without her consistently fluid overall approach, as well as her countless amazing little touches, this could easily have been a flat and dispassionate bunching of disjointed star turns. It’s hard to believe that this is only her second professional directing effort, much less that, according to the background information from New Rep‘s website, she accomplished this with just two weeks of rehearsal. Thanks to her vision and the talents of this impressive cast, the sweat never shows, but the heat sure as hell does.