SHERRI RAFTERY, M.Ed. - 41, PTO Mom and Performer 

BEVERLY -- Sometimes it's all about the dancing.

"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" certainly isn't about deep thought, progressive gender politics, or plausible character development. It's the story, after all, of Adam, a rough mountain man in the 1850s Northwest who, after finding an instant bride and misreading her copy of Plutarch's "Lives" (!), stirs up his six brothers to kidnap six brides of their own.

Sensibly, director Scott Schwartz steers as clear as he can of the troublesome subcurrents in his high-energy, high-spirited production at North Shore Music Theatre. A co production with New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse and Houston's Theatre Under the Stars, the show skims lightly from song to dance, keeping our focus firmly on its greatest strengths: the fine singing of leads Michelle Dawson as Milly and Edward Watts as Adam, and the athletic, inventive choreography of Patti Colombo.

Dance is also what the 1954 movie version is best remembered for, and it's presumably what inspired an ill-fated 1982 Broadway adaptation. This show is a further revision, with songs drawn from the movie and from Broadway mixed in with a couple of new ones, "I Married Seven Brothers" and "Where Were You." Neither is brilliant, but then the original Johnny Mercer/Joel Hirschhorn numbers they replace weren't masterpieces, either.

But, oh, that dancing. Colombo deploys the brides, brothers, rival suitors, and disgruntled townsfolk with an expert eye for pattern and variety. The ensemble numbers combine the vigor and rustic beauty of square dancing with astonishing moments of gymnastic grace; the simpler duets sweep every couple into a light hearted swoon of romance.

What's impressive, too, is how the dancing advances the story. "Wonderful, Wonderful Day" moves us seamlessly from Adam's brusque courtship of Milly right through their wedding and into her first blooming recognition of love; "Goin' Courtin' " sets up Milly's tutelage of the uncouth brothers, then sends them all into town for a fateful meeting with their brides-to-be and the suitors who want to fight for them.

The showdown, naturally enough, takes place at a hoedown -- kind of a "West Sty Story" rumble. And here Colombo delivers a genuine show stopper, with the brothers leaping over ax handles and sending the women soaring free into the air, as the prissy suitors scatter in stiff-backed dismay. It's a tour de force, at once revealing character through movement, moving the plot along, and taking our breath away.

The second act, which has the brides and brothers trapped for the winter in their remote cabin but kept chastely apart by chaperone Milly, could use more of that kind of energy. Instead, our attention flags once Milly and Adam undergo a predictable rift, because the other couples are mostly interchangeable and so less interesting to watch.

Still, Dawson's Milly and Watts's Adam make up for that. Watts dominates the stage with a firm, strong baritone to match his chiseled chin, and Dawson gives Milly both sugar and spunk. For the rest, Christian Delcroix stands out as the mooncalf youngest brother, Gideon; his squeaky, giggling courtship of Alice (Sarah Marie Jenkins) is a comic delight.

Although the three presenting companies share an all-Equity cast and other resources, including costumer Jess Goldstein's panoply of buckskins and calicoes, Anna Louizos had to redesign the set for North Shore's theater in the round. She finds some nimble solutions: elegantly minimal tree trunks that turn out to be hollow fabric tubes, so they can crinkle up out of sight when the action moves into town, and a simple cloud of white smoke to evoke the avalanche that snows the lovebirds in.

"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" will never be a profoundly moving experience. But in the right hands, as it is here, it is a hearty, old-fashioned hootenanny of a show.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
By Carolyn Clay
June 5, 2007

Who knew there was so much Ritalin for the taking in the Oregon Territory? Or that it reacted so well with testosterone? The athletic revival of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers that has set down at North Shore Music Theatre (through June 17) makes you wonder why the 1982 stage musical based on the 1954 film lasted only five performances on Broadway. This co-production with Houston Under the Stars and Paper Mill Playhouse has been restaged for the NSMT arena, with set designer Anna Louizos's imposing fabric tree trunks capable of being retracted till they look like wrinkled elephant's feet peeping through the flies, so there's plenty of room for Patti Colombo's muscular choreography. No one gets kicked in the head by a pony, but a whack in the noggin would hardly interfere with one's ability to romp through - or comprehend - this cornpone-and-calico-dripping tale of seven uncouth orphan brothers, in stature the opposite of the dwarfs, who read a little Plutarch, then skedaddle out to kidnap them some wives.

Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn supply one pretty ballad, "Love Never Goes Away," but the best songs, lifted straight from the film, are by Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul. These include the ecstatic "Wonderful, Wonderful Day," the languorous "Lonesome Polecat," and "Sobbin' Women," the twangy transposition of the rape of the Sabine women that gets the roughhousing Pontipee boys pumped up to do as the Romans did.

Director Scott Schwartz provides plenty of backwoods drollery to go along with the script, and the cast is in fine voice - particularly Edward Watts as eldest brother Adam. With his rugged good looks and unstrained baritone, this leading man harks back to the age of the film, though he calls to mind less Howard Keel than John Raitt. But running neck and neck with the big cute guy in Davy Crockett's jacket is the choreography as star of the show. New York City Ballet principal Jacques d'Amboise was among the brothers of the movie, which was magnificently choreographed by Michael Kidd. Following in those big footsteps, the spirited NSMT cast - the guys doing gymnastic flips, the girls being tossed like graceful gunny sacks - takes the terpsichorean vocabulary of the hoedown and turns it into something fit for swans.

Log Cabin Musical

By Thomas Garvey
THE HUB REVIEW (blog) http://www.hubreview.blogspot.com/  
Friday, June 8, 2007

Seven Brides a'leapin' for their Seven Brothers.

Sexism and the musical comedy seem to be a match made in heaven - or maybe our genes, if not just our jeans. What else could explain the durability of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, an entertainment loosely based on the classical tale of the rape of the Sabine women? Of course said "rape" was really an abduction (at least in the legends transcribed by Livy and Plutarch), and the tale is, in its entirety, an epic of war surmounted by sex (the Romans and the Sabines were eventually brought to peace by the abducted women, who soon cottoned to their new husbands). 

In Stephen Vincent Benét's "Sobbin' Women," however, and the movie musical drawn from it - which transpose the story from early Rome to nineteenth-century Oregon - the emphasis is on how adorable the all-American abductors really are. Indeed, in the musical's latest transmogrification (from Hollywood to Broadway, and then to the regional theatres, generally shedding weaknesses along the way), the sexual aspects of the abduction have been completely reversed - it's the eponymous seven brothers, not their seven brides, who are objectified.  Thus the social status quo is preserved, even as the sexual one is subverted (see Giambologna's sexual take on the story at left, and the musical's, via actor Karl Warden, at right). Indeed, in its latest incarnation, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers targets two of the North Shore's key audiences - gay men and Republican women; it's truly a log cabin musical in more ways than one.

But what the hay, as it were - you should see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers not for its dopey sexual politics, or even for its abductors' abs, but for its dancing, as it features some of the most stunning numbers ever seen in the backwoods of Beverly. The dancing was the movie's famous strength, too - Michael Kidd devised wildly athletic numbers for his seven hoofers, and many of its spirited sequences (directed by Stanley Donen in nearly-lurid "Ansocolor") remain classics. But the North Shore (and its co-producing theaters, the Paper Mill Playhouse in Connecticut and Houston's Theatre Under the Stars) have not only picked up the movie's gauntlet, they've thrown it back in its flickering face: these seven brothers turn such set pieces as the "Challenge Dance" into something like an Olympic free floor routine, turning somersaults and back flips on a dime and tossing their frilled, beribboned fiancées into the air like so many nickels. Choreographer Patti Colombo and director Scott Schwartz have together worked a small miracle with their staging (which was originally designed for the proscenium houses of its co-producers) - Seven Brides doesn't just look tailored for the North Shore, it looks as if it were born there.

Not that the singin' is anything to sniff at. The movie's score, by Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul, was as sturdy as the trees in the brothers' forest (which in the set design by Anna Louizos neatly retract into the ceiling), and the current version has retained a haunting ballad from the Broadway version, "Love Never Goes Away," by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn as well. And unlike in the recent Crazy for You, the North Shore's cast sports serious pipes as wells as gams; they put the songs over, and then some. In particular lead hunk Edward Watts (above left, with Michelle Dawson), brings to the role of elder brother Adam a lustrous high baritone that he can effortlessly power into tenor territory. As his unhappy Eve, Dawson brings less vocal panache to the proceedings, but supplies a bushel and a peck of spunk 'n sass n' feistiness, etc. I found the brothers' mooncalf antics a bit on the broad side, but I have to confess the broads in the audience ate up their shenanigans. Kudos also to the balletic aplomb of Travis Kelley, and the plaintive vocals of Christian Delcroix - the Sabine women would indeed have stopped their sobbin' with bros (and beaux) like these.

Adam, the central figure in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," is larger than life, and so is the big guy playing him at North Shore Music Theatre. Edward Watts brings towering height and a powerful and expressive singing voice to the role of the macho mountain man out to get himself a wife.

At other theaters Watts has played Gaston in "Beauty and the Beast," Frank Butler in "Annie Get Your Gun," and Lancelot in "Camelot," all super-macho braggadocio types. He brings this masculinity to the North Shore production, but what really gets to the audience is his remarkable singing.

The show opens with Watts singing one of the show's hit songs, "Bless Your Beautiful Hide." The sheer power of his performance draws shouts of approval from the North Shore audience. Watts is also natural and convincing in more serious scenes during the show.

The plot is exactly what the title says. Adam goes to town and sees local waitress Milly chopping wood. It's love at first sight. Here is the woman of his dreams, ready to marry, come home and work her heart out for him and his six brothers - oh; did he forget to mention them when he proposed to her?

Playing the feisty Milly with a big alto voice and plenty of pizzazz, Michelle Dawson is a good match for Watts. It seems believable that she can tame this wild bunch of mountain men. There are fun performances and much raucous dancing and fighting from Randy Bobish, Luke Longacre, Karl Warden, Travis Kelley, Eric Sciotto and Christian Delcroix as Adam's mooncalf brothers.

Dance is the central focus of this rowdy romp. Performing the continuously creative choreography of Patti Colombo is a large cast of versatile and athletic dancers with superb technique. During the wonderful "Challenge Dance" in Act I, where the seven brothers challenge local townsmen for the affections of the local village girls, the cast excels performing the angular, athletic and eccentric moves, as women fly through the air and men exchange plenty of punches. It is a spectacular achievement, and the audience responds with whoops and prolonged applause.

This large cast has a blast performing these rowdy dances, but also proves equal to the challenge of classical ballet, especially Travis Kelley as Ephraim, one of Adam's brothers. Another wonderful moment is a ballet trio of white-clad captive brides. Oh yes, the brothers go back to the village and carry off a bunch-o-brides for themselves. The increasingly willing brides are nicely realized by fine dancer/singers Christina Rae Hedrick, Kate Marilley, Denise Payne, Margot De La Barre, Stephanie Fittro and Sarah Marie Jenkins.

Their pursuing boyfriends from town are expertly danced by Cameron Henderson, Nathan Hershberger, Luke Rawlings, Benjie Randall, Jason Babinsky and Ryan Christopher Chotto.

The show moves exuberantly along, filled with familiar Johnny Mercer, Al Kasha, Joe Hirschorn and Gene de Paul songs like "Going Courtin'," and "Wonderful, Wonderful Day."

This joint production with the Paper Mill Playhouse and Theater Under the Stars has great lighting design by Donald Holder, particularly impressive when it transforms townsmen chasing after their stolen women into stark and menacing figures, holding their guns in the forest.

Oh, and about that forest - choreography for trees? There is in this production, as those tricky, traveling trees designed by Anna Louizos rise majestically into the ceiling, reappearing in different spots as the pursuit moves through different areas of the forest.

Jess Goldstein designed the colorful costuming, and the wonderful sound design is by John A. Stone. Was that a recording of a real avalanche? Scott Schwartz has artfully directed this well-paced production.

This is what they call a feel-good show, and you just know everything is going to be fine at the end. Despite the central theme (you know, all that stuff about basically kidnapping brides), it's also a family friendly show, and a real feast for the eyes.

"We have transformed a classic musical and reinvigorated it for today's audiences," says NSMT Artistic Director and Executive Producer Jon Kimbell.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers old-fashioned American fun
By Sheila Barth
Independent Newspapers
June 7, 2007

Usually, women drag their husbands to see a musical play, but at North Shore Music Theatre's (NSMT) feel-good, slaphappy comedy musical "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," men are enjoying themselves as much as the women.  Children in the audience last Thursday night were swaying in their seats, and you know they're going to try some of choreographer Patti Colombo's catchy, fantastic high-stepping, swirling, callisthenic, tumbling dance steps that dominated the stage and every inch of the theater.

Set in 1850's Oregon territory, where there were seven men for every woman, this story is silly fun.  Rancher-woodsman Adam Pontipee, eldest of seven brothers, whose parents died, rides into town to find a wife and get hitched the same day, so's his wife can come back home with him, cook, clean, and fix up his animal-acting brothers.  In one day, he becomes smitten with and married to orphaned, strong-headed Milly Bradon, who returns home with him and whips the lot of ‘em into fellas with manners and fine dance steps so's they'll be presentable to the young ladies in town.

When a fracas breaks out between the brothers and the town gents, the boys return home empty-handed but smitten with the girls they met, so Adam devises a plan to kidnap the six girls, right before the winter falls, snowing ‘em in at the ranch so's they can't get back out until spring.

Well, you know.  The girls like the rowdy brothers and they shore ‘nuff like the girls, so when spring comes, the posse catches up with ‘em, the girls don't wanna leave and the result is one big combined wedding dance fest.

Hey, even when Jane Powell starred in the movie years ago, it was fabulous fun, but not nearly as good as this version, staged in-the-round for the first time.  NSMT joined forces with Theatre Under the Stars in Houston, Texas, and Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ, for this production, which received rave reviews from the New York Times, Variety, and everywhere else it appeared.  Directed by Scott Schwartz, with incredible choreography by Patti Colombo and music direction by Ed Goldschneider, the play stars Michelle Dawson as Milly and Edward Watts as handsome, virile Adam.  The entire talented cast of 27 makes athletic, acrobatic dancing, graceful ballet, along with purty singin' look like they're having fun on stage - and in the aisles.  Anna Louizos' sets are simple, functional and surprisingly clever, with big trees that hoist upwards and stretch outwards like a Slinky.  She utilizes the entire theater, from above the audience, into the aisles, under and above the stage, to accommodate the cast, yet set the tone; and Jess Goldstein's pioneer period costumes are great.  Lighting is atmospheric and special effects, especially during an avalanche, are impressive.  To put it simply, there are no dead spots here.  Everything about "Seven Brides" is delightful, from the opening number to rootin,' shootin' wrasslin' scenes, social dance-offs, hilarious kidnapping scenes, and silly courtin' stuff, especially with youngest brother Gideon (Christian Delcroix) and sweet little Alice (Sarah Marie Jenkins).

"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is a happy-go-lucky romp into America's pioneer days, with its energetic, rollicking, splashy songs and dance numbers.

CIRCLING THE SQUARE (a lifestyle column)
By Myrna Fearer
DANVERS HERALD
June 7, 2007

I do have to share one of my highlights of last week. Last Thursday night, Karen Kane and I attended the press opening of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." Trust me when I tell you this is one fabulous fun show. We loved it and the reviews are just terrific, as they should be. Since I have always loved the movie with Jane Powell and Howard Keel - I've watched it anytime it had been on AMC - I was prepared to like the play. I don't think I ever stopped smiling during the entire show. And the music still stays with me.

The actors are terrific, every one of them. And what voices, especially the leads, Michelle Dawson and Edward Watts as Milly and Adam. The roles are so well cast that each of the brothers and their eventual wives are really believable. One advantage is these are all Equity actors who play the same roles in two other regional theaters. North Shore Music Theater has collaborated with Theater Under the Stars in Houston, Texas, and Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, N.J., to bring us this delightful production, making it a win-win for all three theaters. The scenery, the choreography, the dancing are spectacular. I don't think I have ever seen dance numbers executed quite as well. The dancers are absolutely amazing; you just can't believe that they could execute such incredible maneuvers. As one of my colleagues said, "I would love to see this show again." I agree. So, head on over to NSMT and do what everyone else is doing, "Going Courtin."

North Shore Music Theatre's current show is "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers" which is based on the MGM 1954 blockbuster film of the same name, includes a revised script and new orchestrations. The show is set in 1850's Oregon territory and tells the story of Adam and his brothers' pursuit for brides. Adam, the eldest of seven brothers, goes to town to get a wife and convinces a young woman named Milly to marry him that same day. They return to his backwoods home, 12 miles away where Milly discovers that all six of Adam's brothers also live in the log cabin. She sets out to reform the ill-mannered siblings, who are anxious to get wives of their own. Then Adam develops an inspired solution to his brothers' loneliness, having read Milly's book about the Romans and the Sabine women, he tells his brothers to kidnap the women they want. The results are hilarious, ending in a heartwarming solution to the brothers and their wives. This high energy musical is stupendous from start to finish with fabulous direction by Scott Schwartz, excellent music direction by Ed Goldschneider and show stopping choreography by Patti Columbo. Her breathtaking athletic ballet choreography is performed perfectly by this multitalented cast. Their acting, dancing and vocal prowess makes this show into a masterpiece and is just as fantastic as seeing a Broadway show in Beverly, MA. Run do not walk to purchase your ticket because this is the must see show of the season. Bravo.

Scott Schwartz's blocking of this show is wonderful. He utilizes every inch of space in the theatre including the aisles and makes sure the audience can see what is happening in this theatre in the round. His pacing of the scenes makes the show flow smoothly all night long with the energy and intensity to keep everyone's attention. Ed's musical direction of these fabulous vocalists is splendid and the orchestra captures the essence of the music of this time period. But since this is a dancing musical, Patti's choreography is flawless especially in the show stopping Challenge dance. These guys and gals execute these strenuous routines with ease and the audience laps it up like gravy, enjoying every single move that they make. This is some of the best dancing I have ever seen onstage. Kudos on a job very well done.

Leading this cast is Edward Watts as Adam. He not only looks the part of a lumberjack but he also possesses an incredible voice, too. His first rendition of "Bless Your Beautiful Hide" sets the barometer of topnotch vocals all night long. The character of Adam is a stubborn male chauvinistic pig who eventually gets tamed by a woman. Edward's "Sobbin' Women" is hilarious as he convinces his brothers to kidnap the girls and his "Where Were You?" is poignant as he sings about how he took care of his brothers after his parents deaths. Another splendid and emotion packed number is the trio version of "Love Never Goes Away". Michelle Dawson is fantastic as Milly. She is spunky and charming as this frontier woman. Her strong character is reminiscent of Reba McIntire and her voice is wonderful, too. Her many numbers include "Wonderful, Wonderful Day", "I Married Seven Brothers'' ( she trains these rowdy guys how to behave which is a major undertaking) and the tender "Glad That You Were Born" which she sings to her daughter, Hannah. Edward and Michelle are topnotch in their roles and their chemistry with each other makes the show a success.

All of the brothers are tremendous in their roles, are cast perfectly and their dancing abilities are astounding. The youngest brother Gideon, is superbly played by Christian Delcroix who steals many scenes with his shy, youthful presence and makes the transition into blossoming as a mature person along the way. His antics are a hoot and he gets to show off his voice in the trio number, "Love Never Goes Away". The confrontation scene with Adam in the second act is dramatic and tugs at your heartstrings when Gideon proves he is more mature than Adam. The multitalented brothers include Randy Bobish as Benjamin, Luke Longacre as Caleb, Karl Warden as Daniel, Travis Kelly as Ephraim ( his ballet moves in "Spring, Spring, Spring" are astounding) and Eric Sciotto as Frank ( the perpetual hothead who is a hoot during the show.) (A risque scene occurs in Act 1 when Eric's blanket is ripped off, revealing an almost nude, Frank.) The equally multitalented girls who play the wives and dance up a storm with the brothers and the townsmen in The Challenge dance, "Spring" song and "You've Got to Make it through the Winter" are Christina Rae Hedrick as Dorcas, Kate Marilley as Ruth, Denise Payne as Liza, Margot de la Barre as Martha, Stephanie Fittro a Sarah and Sarah Marie Jenkins as Alice. (Sarah gets to do a lot of cute stuff with Christian as Gideon's girlfriend.) Kudos to everyone on a spectacular show. So for an outstanding musical treat, be sure to catch "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". Tell them Tony sent you.

Review by Dede Tanzer
June 3, 2007

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, directed by Scott Schwartz is a collaborative production by three regional theaters--in Texas, New Jersey and right here at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly. It is the story of...well...seven brothers who live together in the Oregon territory in the mid 1800's. Adam, the oldest brother, makes the long trek down the mountain to town for provisions. His list includes everything from chewing tobacco to a wife. He gets both and more than he bargained for in Milly a feisty, sassy, sexy lady who teaches his unruly brothers etiquette and takes them into town for a social, in order to find them wives of their own. Adam and Milly are played by Edward Watts and Michelle Dawson, who played the same roles in TX and NJ. They were very enjoyable to watch. Ed Watts has a wonderful rich voice that blended well with Michelle's. The brothers played by Randy Bobish, Chritian Delcroix, Travis Kelley, Luke Longacre, Eric Sciotto and Karl Warden are all great dancers and gymnasts and really wonderful to watch. The Seven Brides played by Stephanie Fittro, Margot De La Barre, Christina Rae Hedrick, Sarah Marie Jenkins, Kate Marilley and Denise Payne danced every lick as good as the guys. They dance together like they were made for each other and in the end, they are. It's a lovely, albeit unlikely, love story originally written for the MGM 1950 version. This is the second revival of Seven Brides and one that had to be adapted for NSMT's theater in the round. The original choreography was by the incredibly-talented Michael Kidd. This writer gives a "10" to Patti Columbo, who had to choreograph this piece for three different stage types. She managed to make it just as goofy and astonishing as the original. It's a combination of dance and gymnastics at its craziest heights. You can see Seven Brides at the North Shore Music Theater between now and June 17th. Tickets are $35-$75 and can be purchased online at www.nsmt.org or by calling 978-232-7200. I would not drive a long distance to see this production-- or pay $75.00 for it-- but I would pay $35 or stand in line to Rush to see it. (pun intended). (My grade: 3.5)