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  • The Rock Tenor, which opened this week at Philadelphia's Wilma Theater, is a theatrical-style concert designed to spotlight a mix of different musical styles. In that respect, at least, it succeeds: it's mostly familiar rock anthems, but with Broadway, opera and country music mixed in. It's a carefully rehearsed, extremely slick show that shows off its talented cast very well. The lighting and the staging successfully duplicate the style of an arena rock show in a small theater. If it's lacking in the excitement and spontaneity of the best rock concerts, it still manages to be a pleasant and inoffensive, if somewhat bland, evening. The Rock Tenor is very impressive; it's just not a lot of fun to watch.

     

    The Rock Tenor is built around the talents of Rob Evan, whose credits include stints as the lead singer of The Trans-Siberian Orchestra and as the leading man in Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde. Evan has a strong, stirring voice, and he has a good feel for all the material; when he sings a medley of "Bring Him Home" (which he sang on Broadway in Les Misérables) and the recent Daughtry pop hit "Home," he sounds equally comfortable in both styles. Director Vincent Marini has surrounded the middle-aged Evan with a cast of four younger, skinnier singers, each of whom occasionally steps up to sing lead. There's a dynamic five-piece rock band backing them up, plus two female string players (a violinist and a cellist) who, like the four younger singers, seem to have been chosen as much for their good looks as for their talent.

     

    At the top of the show, Evan promises the audience "an eclectic set of music for the next two hours... my only hope is that you keep wondering what comes next." Well, you certainly can't call a show predictable when it contains a medley of "O Fortuna" (from Orff's Carmina Burana) and "Wanted Dead or Alive" (from Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet). Some of the transitions work nicely: the piano filigrees of Styx's "Come Sail Away" blend surprisingly well with Mozart's "Eine kleine Nachtmusik." But others are iffy: the melody of Sondheim's "Johanna" is twisted nearly beyond recognition to make it fit as a counterpoint to a far inferior song, Journey's "Open Arms." (There's a Handel aria thrown into that medley too, just for the hell of it.)

     

    As you might be able to tell, the arrangements are not just a blend of the popular and the classical, but also the good and the mediocre - and the creative minds behind The Rock Tenor seem to have no clear idea where the good ends and the mediocre begins. Case in point: Act Two opens with Morgan James (who is very impressive throughout the show) singing a beautiful version of "Half Acre," a touchingly poetic song by the indie folk-rock band Hem. But just when you think this show is taking a welcome turn toward mature, edgy music, Evan shows up to sing a schlocky Air Supply hit ("Making Love Out of Nothing at All") and ruin the moment.

     

    The dominant musical style of The Rock Tenor is 1970s-80s arena rock - not just Journey, Styx and Bon Jovi but also Yes, Led Zeppelin and Queen. If you're not tired of hearing "We Will Rock You" at televised sporting events, you may love this show. But I consider much of that era's rock music overplayed and overblown, and The Rock Tenor didn't change my opinion. The cast performs these songs impeccably, but with a studied earnestness that lets you know they take the melodramatic material very seriously. (Only one of the singers, Alex Keiper, ventures an occasional smile during the rock tunes.) It's only during the show's few excursions into country-rock - songs like Rascal Flatts' "Life Is a Highway," Keith Urban's "Kiss a Girl" and Queen's rockabilly-inflected "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" - that the entire cast loosens up and seems to be having fun.

     

    The show's technical aspects are top-notch. Herrick Goldman's lighting design is flashy but tasteful, and Nick Kourtides' sound design isn't too overpowering - both of which are helpful in making the show succeed in a 300-seat theater without blowing the audience out of its seats. There are three large video screens behind the band, but they're barely used - except during a rendition of Queen's "Who Wants to Live Forever" that takes images of Evan singing a duet with himself and juxtaposes them with images of dead rock stars. It's an attempt at a grand statement that comes off as too self-important.

     

    And that's The Rock Tenor's fatal flaw: too much pomposity and too little joy. Evan and the other singers have terrific voices, but the rigidity of the format stifles their personalities. It's easy to admire the performers, but hard to make any sort of connection with them. A little more patter might help; Evan speaks between songs only three times in two hours, and the other performers don't speak at all. Sometimes letting the music do the talking isn't a good idea, especially when so many of the lyrics lack sophistication.

     

    Director Marini has assembled a show which may well have a life far beyond its Philadelphia engagement, where I presume it will get tweaked and improved. I hope so. The Rock Tenor has much to admire from a technical point of view: it's professionally assembled, it has an attractive and polished cast, and it's filled with music that will probably endear it to a mass audience. But as it stands now, it's a good idea for a show rather than a completely satisfying show.

     

    The Rock Tenor runs through August 23, 2009 at the Wilma Theater, 265 South Broad Street, Philadelphia. Ticket prices range from $25 to $40 and are available by calling 215-546-7824, or online at http://www.therocktenor.com.

     

    The Rock Tenor

    Directed by Vincent Marini

    Musical Director: Galen Butler

    Production Design: luckydave

    Arrangements and Orchestrations: Henry Aronson, Joe Church, Randall Craig Fleischer, John Hinchey, Jeremy Roberts, Kim Scharnberg, Jeremy D. Silverman

    CAST:

    Rob Evan, Dustin Brayley, Morgan James, Alex Keiper, Aaron Lavigne

    With Betsy Goode (cello) and Susan Aquila (violin)



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