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JIM ROESE

Belting out a tune in "The Rock Tenor" are (from left) DustinBrayley, Morgan James, Rob Evan, Alex Keiper, and AaronLavigne. The world-premiere theatrical concert is playing atthe Wilma Theater.

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Posted on Fri, Jul. 17, 2009

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'Rock Tenor': Flash, pomp, andmaximum music

By Howard ShapiroInquirer Theater Critic

It all begins with a few stark lines of "Hey Jude"before the keyboards come in with Journey's

"Don't Stop Believin'." Then, it's on (and on and on and on,as that song says) to the Stones' "Satisfaction," now withguitars added. And this is just the first 60 seconds of TheRock Tenor, a world-premiere theatrical concert settlinginto the Wilma Theater for more than a month. It bringsfresh meaning to the old word medley.

These are not your grandma's medleys, unless grandma isan unlikely under-40. These are what people are callingpopera - neither quite opera nor quite pop, but a mixture ofboth, plus Broadway, classical, country, you name it.

In fact, The Rock Tenor is lots of mixtures. There's flash,showroom sizzle, arena pomp, and a heap ofold-fashioned showbiz charm. One minute, it's the openingof Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra with appropriatelyominous lighting; the next, it's a hoedown in come-hitherknee-high leather boots and six-inch spikes.

Attention, all Purists: Take a hike. When the plugged-in cast members - five strong singers who also can playinstruments, two gifted women on strings, two keyboardists, two guitarists, and a drummer - play the classics, theywon't make them sound like the Fabulous Philadelphians, and the opera snippets won't come sung as operatic lines.That's part of the mash-up that makes The Rock Tenor rock. Puccini's aria "Nessun dorma" is not necessarilyNessunesque. You could swear it was scored by Kurt Weill - then, a minute later, by Led Zeppelin.

The idea is that music by any name, composer, or orchestrator is music - here, with unabashed big-productionpassion and, when the cast sings pieces in full, intensity. Come to think of it, all the performances in The Rock Tenorare intense, either from the beginning or in the buildup. The show is about stage presence as much as anything, onegiant production number, a jukebox musical whose only script is that the jukebox exists.

The Rock Tenor proposes to offer "probably the most eclectic set of music in store for you that you can imagine - theonly thing I hope is, you keep wondering what's next," the lead singer, Rob Evan, told the audience - and that was theextent of the script.

The rest of the communication comes in lyrics, delivery, the looks on the singers' faces, the orchestrations and thestagecraft: Herrick Goldman's high-wattage lighting and Nick Kourtides' crisp sound design, which I wish someoneacross the street at the Academy of Music would reproduce.

Vincent Marini, the former head of the Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center in Marlton, N.J., directs the show formaximum wow - these numbers elicit whoops the second the last note drops. Marini, just named executive director ofthe professional Flat Rock Playhouse, also called the state theater of North Carolina, assembled a cast made uppartly of members of another show he'd produced.

Evan, who at times resembles a svelter Meat Loaf (he provides one of the show's best covers), is a clear-voicedperformer who's played Jean Valjean on Broadway in Les Miserables and sings lead for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.The seductive Morgan James, recently cast in Broadway's forthcoming The Addams Family, has a wide range and avoice that goes from smoky to sweet for a few show-stoppers. Alex Keiper, a recent University of the Arts grad withseveral theatrical credits in town, is the other clear female voice. On the guy side, Aaron Lavigne and Dustin Brayleycomplete the vocal contingent. Together, the five are a powerhouse.

Susan Aquila and Betsy Goode play a variety of plugged-in string instruments, and make up their own musical subplotof The Rock Tenor. If the show's theme is that music's form needn't matter, it's mirrored in Aquila's professional life. AJuilliard-trained violinist, she's at home here in hot pants and with a bangin' assortment of wired strings. But you alsocan find her in Broadway orchestras, White House chamber concerts, and at New York City's Bitter End club.

Music is indeed the food of this crew's love, and its members sample from many plates.

The Rock Tenor

Presented by JV Theatricals at the Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St., through August 23. Tickets: $25-$40.Information: 215-546-7824 or www.therocktenor.com.

Contact staff writer Howard Shapiro at 215-854-5727 or hshapiro@phillynews.com.

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