Lizzdmc Productions LLC

Archive for June, 2005

SupremeCenter wishes to inform you that on Monday, June 27, 2005 we will upgrade the Linux kernel on SS21 from version 2.4 to version 2.6. The upgrade will result in improved server performance and reliability, because Linux kernel v. 2.6 is faster and more stable than Linux kernel v. 2.4. Due to the scheduled upgrade, there can be brief interruptions in the availability of the service in the interval between 4 AM and 8 AM EST.

So-called jukebox musicals have ravaged Broadway for years. Occasionally, a show like the long-running ABBA-inspired Mamma Mia succeeds because it frames that tribute with a plausible story. Others, like Smokey Joe’s Cafe, provide a meaningful context for that winning Leiber and Stoller homage.

Too often these shows become nothing more than random collections of hit tunes. That problem plagues A Beautiful Noise – The Neil Diamond Songbook, created by Peter J. Hill, at Copperstate Dinner Theater.

Hill links more than two dozen great Diamond hits in a meaningless context sung by six mostly uninspiring performers. Hill’s creativity stops at putting songs about alcohol in a bar or giving his performers suitcases for songs related to travel.
There’s only one bright spot among the lackluster performers.

The blessing is Elizabeth Reeves, a dark-haired singer who belts a song with style, sincerity, authority and a natural ease missing in her fellow performers. She stops the show in her one solo, I Believe in Happy Endings, and wins in several duets with her partner, Charlie Jourdan, who is the best of the men.

But unlike Reeves, Jourdan and his compatriots move awkwardly, dance haltingly and seem ill at ease crooning these wonderful Diamond hits. They fail to sell the music with inspiration, and they add no personality to the stories being told by the songs. Hill’s simple staging and Noel Irick’s routine choreography aren’t handled without obvious effort by this cast.

Technical glitches further stifle this revue. A terrible sound system distorts the weak voices, and recorded orchestral accompaniment couldn’t have more miserable arrangements.

Creating a musical revue that tributes a composer is much harder than it looks. A Beautiful Noise fails because a dynamic revue has to do so much more than just collect and sing a bunch of tunes weakly. If you aren’t a Diamond fan, this revue won’t convert you, and if you are a fan, you’ll yearn for more creative twists on favorite tunes.

Chris Curcio
Special for The Republic
Jun. 17, 2005 12:00 AM

We are happy to announce the addition of a new server to our expanding network of web hosting servers. The newly launched server is intended to accommodate the constantly growing number of customers, who have chosen to use our web hosting services.

The new server features dual Intel Xeon CPUs at 2.66 GHz, 2 GB RAM, and 2×160 GB HDDs.