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Every New Year’s Eve when the ball is dropped at Times Square and “New York, New York” is played while couples kiss each other, the musical genius of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb is celebrated yet again, both by those who know their work intimately as well as by those who love their songs without knowing who created them.
“Kander and Ebb is embedded in our culture,” said music director William “Billy” Liberatore, who will partner with stage director Milissa Carey in presenting some of the duo’s best songs, including those from musicals like “Cabaret” and “Chicago,” in the upcoming revue “The World Goes ‘Round.”
A cast of 13 will perform over 30 melodies at the Lohman Theatre on the campus of Foothill College this month.
“Everyone is very unique in what they bring to the performance; I was really blown away by my first rehearsal with them as a group,” said Billy, who is also the director of Gunn High School’s choirs. “I’m excited about how great it’s going to sound and what a terrific group of talent there is to do this show with.”
Moreover, Liberatore draws his inspiration from collaboration and according to him there’s nothing more collaborative than musical theater. “You have to be with people who want to explore and want to be challenged about their performance of a song,” he said, highlighting the importance of exploring what the songs mean in the context of both the show and the era it’s performed in, because he believes these factors affect the way the actors choose to express themselves while performing.
Speaking of contextualizing the performance, Kander and Ebb’s material, other than being accessible, is also delightfully in sync with present times. “Some of the themes of their shows, like those in ‘Chicago’ and ‘Cabaret,’ though they were written so long ago, are so relevant now, more so than when these guys thought it up,” Liberatore said. “There’s so much upset and anxiety in just turning on the TV these days. It’s like ‘Chicago’ — which is about being famous for being a convicted felon — is playing out on CNN everyday.” That Kander and Ebb’s material is life-affirming and uplifting, certainly helps matters.
In general, the local theater business appears to have come out of the pandemic-induced slump. “It’s a really good time for local talent,” Liberatore said. “Local theater companies are doing great work.”
The work, of course, is intense because the actors have to emote without the benefit of a script and a character. “The challenge of musical revue is, you have to make the song come alive for the audience without the setup of the scene and who the character is,” he said. “The actors have to establish for themselves where they’re coming from dramatically … how do you bring the dramatic intensity and up the stakes without the setup of the scene and the plot and the characters?”
For the performers, this can be both challenging and creatively gratifying. “Working on this show means diving into a trove of creative possibility,” said Bay Area actor, musician and educator Kaylee Miltersen, who is one of the performers in this revue.
This will be her second time performing on the Lohman stage — she played the title character in the musical “Violet” a few years back — but a first with this group.
For Miltersen, preparing for this show has been a little different from her experience with other musicals. How so? “There’s not a specific track and character for me to dive into, but there are moments re-contextualized,” she said. “It’s been about finding what each piece means to me personally, rather than through the lens of a character, and finding my version of expression. I’m finding this to be a more gentle rehearsal process than a full-on show, because we get to show up as ourselves and explore with each other the shape of our story.”
For her, rehearsals for the show have been nothing short of thrilling. “The original cast had assigned parts, but what is fun about ours is how we get to discover and imagine the story for our cast,” Miltersen said. “No one has a designated role! But we all have our unique vignettes that carry the story along. Some have solos, duets, trios. Some songs weave through others and combine into something new. Some have backup dancers and for some we’re all on stage to sing.”
Foothill Music Theatre presents “The World Goes ‘Round” at the Lohman Theatre on Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos on July 25 at 7:30 p.m., July 26-27 at 8 p.m., and July 28 at 2 p.m. $20-$35, foothill.edu.