Show Business is not a Disease….That is the Question.
Is the essence of the “plot” of this Vaudeville/Musical, The Grimaldi’s A Musical Ghost Story, by Dane Ballard, which opened Friday night. Using the former warehouse space of Hale’s Ale Palladium as an auction house, an M.C./auctioneer tells the human story behind all the artifacts on sale, all of which belonged to members of a deceased extended family of performers, the Grimaldis So, the exposition was executed swiftly, creatively and engaged the audience immediately.
Through-out the show, the “ghosts” of the long dead Grimaldi family come “alive” and perform their acts, interact with each other and the audience, unravel their life stories, all the while discussing the highs and definitely the lows of show biz, as the young M.C./auctioneer ponders whether to throw caution to the wind and take up show biz or keep plodding along unhappily in Daddy’s business.
Musically, this show could not have possibly been better, with a small band playing original music composed by the highly creative John Woods. What stood out about the music was the variation of the songs: Woods composed gypsy style songs, Cole Porter style songs, circus songs, as well as music to accompany a magician’s act. Astounding is the word that comes to mind when one realizes that it all came from one composer. Fantasticissimo is how I would describe the performance of the Jason Hersey, violinist, Rosalynn DeRoos, clarinetist, Steve Steele, bassist, Brian Platino, drummer and Ben Dobyns, keyboardist, accordion and musical director.
Among the superb acts, the circus acrobats Ariel and Annabelle Grimaldi, played respectively by Hannah Birch and Katherine Grant-Suttie, stood out. Marcus Wolland, as Lazarus Grimaldi, the Magician, was to die for as a fairly ghoulish, fey Magician who mixed throw-away humor with his magic tricks. The multi-talented and beautiful, Lara Fox and Brian Pucheu as the dancing singer Hollywood Grimaldis appeared to be a “Golden” song and dance couple but of course have a well-kept secret. They danced and sang to lovely 30’s and 40’s style music. Dustin Guy Jackson, as Walter Sutter, our hero sang his way into the audience’s hearts as the auctioneers son.
True to the convention of musical theatre, there was a melodramatic plot twist; however it was delivered with such a comedic touch that it was really a parody of melodrama and therefore hilarious.
As an “event” I highly recommend this show. The huge space creates a very festive atmosphere; beer, popcorn and hot dogs are available before the show. No need to worry about fitting in dinner before a show that starts at 7, because they serve very hearty hors d’oeuvres during the intermission, so you can skip dinner. Parking behind the Palladium is possible. And there is only one weekend left!
The Grimaldis: A Musical Ghost Story. Dane Ballard Stage Production. Hale’s Ales Palladium 4301 Leary Way NW ( behind Hale’s Ale Brewery and Pub) Fremont, Seattle Thu –Fri @ 7 pm ; Sat-Sun@ 2 pm.& 7 pm. www.BrownPaperTickets.com. Closes May 25th.