Steve Wilson | BroadwayWorld.com

The Heartland Men’s Chorus and the Gateway Men’s Chorus from St. Louis, Mo. united on Friday night March 29 at theFolly Theater in Kansas City, Mo. The combined chorus presented I Am Harvey Milk, with words and music by Andrew Lippa. The production brought together three guest conductors, Dustin Stephen Cates, Al Fischer the Artistic Director for the Gateway Men’s Chorus, and Dr. Tim Seelig the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.

The life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold public office in California, from boyhood to his assassination unfolds through dialogue and music. I Am Harvey Milk stars Cam Burns, Tom Lancaster, and Sylvia Stoner and includes guest accompanist Martin Fox with the Gateway Men’s Chorus and guest sign language interpreter John T. Adams with the St. Louis chorus.

The Gateway Men’s Chorus opens the show with four songs, followed by the Heartland Men’s Chorus performing four songs leading into intermission. Carlton Lee, accompanied on guitar by Dean Rose and Sequoia Sprite, performs solo for The Gateway Men’s Chorus with their opening song “Candlelight.” The Heartland Men’s Chorus followed, performing four songs with the last song of their set featuring a solo by Dr. Tim Seelig singing, “Give ‘Em Hope.”

Act II opens in 1942 with the prelude I Am, “An Operatic Masterpiece,” featuring a young Harvey, adult Harvey, and the combined Gateway and Heartland Chorus. Dressed in garb reminiscent of the 1940’s Cam Burns plays the young Harvey and has a marvelous voice. Previously he performed for two seasons with the Kansas City Repertory Theatre in A Christmas Carol and the Living Room’s production of Carousel.

Tom Lancaster, who gives such a strong performance that he is no longer performing but has become Harvey Milk, portrays the adult Harvey Milk. He has a powerful magnificent voice that was particularly entertaining when he performs I Am The Moment, “Lavender Pen.” Lancaster has been a member of the Heartland Men’s Chorus for 14 years and has appeared with Spinning Tree Theatre, Musical Theater Heritage, and the Starlight Theatre Children’s Series at the Kauffman Center among other venues.

Soprano Sylvia Stoner performs solo with I Am The Question, “Was I Wrong?” She has a wonderful operatic voice that was delightful. Her performance with the chorus of I Am The Future, “Leap” was particularly inspirational. Stoner appeared in the world premiere of the opera Darwin produced by the New Ear Ensemble in collaboration with the Owen/Cox Dance Group. Last spring she was a featured soloist with the Topeka Symphony and is scheduled to perform concerts at Washburn University, the Westport Arts Series, and Venue Visitation.

The combined Gateway and Heartland chorus blended so smoothly that it felt as if they had always been one huge chorus. Act II brought the breath-taking performance of “I Am The Bullet,” which brought standing ovations from members of the audience. John Edmonds and Brandon Shelton were tremendous as soloist with the chorus for I Am The Castro, “Friday Night in the Castro.”

I Am Harvey Milk continues on Sunday March 30 at the Folly Theater.

Steve Wilson | Examiner.com

With temperatures below freezing the Heartland Men’s Chorus Christmas program was aptly named Baby, It’s Cold Outside. The 28th season opened on Friday, December 6 at the Folly Theatre, in downtown Kansas City.

Dr. Joseph P. Nadeau made his last appearance with the chorus before he relocates to Los Angeles, California to become Artistic Director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles. Nadeau has spent 15 years with the Heartland Men’s Chorus and outlined the 2013-2014 season productions before knowing he was leaving for the west coast. In 2002 under his direction, the chorus performed in London, Paris, and Hamburg completing a European tour.

Wonderful music, humor, traditional and not-so traditional holiday songs filled the stage for Friday night’s program. Humorous songs such as Shades of Christmas, White Christmas, Blue Christmas, and the Heartaches rendition of Lavender Christmas, and Black Christmaswith solos by Elven Hickmon, Kelly Marzett, Gregg Maupins, Calvin Quattlebaum, Brian Spurlock, Michael L. Wagoner, and Aubrey D. Williams filled the theater with laughter.

Whimsical songs such as Sparklejollytwinklejingley (from the musical Elf), A Song of Santa, and Boogie Woogie Santa featuring the Heartaches filled the second act. The chorus dance team made up of John Edmonds, Dean R. Faulk, Eryk Larabee, Tim Miller, David Pasley, and Michael L. Wagoner danced and flirted around the stage in comical routines set to Tropical Holiday Jingle Bellsand The 12 Rockin’ Gays of Christmas.

The overall show was highly entertaining and well produced. The only slight glitz in an otherwise fantastic show was when Kelly Marzett, as Mrs. Claus, and who sang Tropical Holiday Jingle Bells in Act One, forgot some of the words to the song and referred to a small note book apparently containing the words.

Kansas City legend Marilyn Maye made an appearance just before the last song of the chorus began the last song. Not listed in the program she said she had to come out and thank Dr. Nadeau for the work and dedication he had shown to the chorus over the years. She sang a song that she had written about him before joining the Heartland Men’s Chorus in Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Board Chair Keith Wiedenkeller presented Dr. Nadeau with a special Heartland vest and baton for his service to the chorus.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside is a grand way to bring on the holiday season and continues through Sunday, December 8 at the Folly Theatre.

Debra Globoke | Examiner.com

The Heartland Men’s Chorus is at it again. They have figured out how to combine traditional Christmas music with a wide variety of holiday music to present a heart-warming and joyous performance with Baby, It’s Cold Outside, this weekend at the Folly Theater in Kansas City, Missouri. With such a wide variety of music, everyone is sure to find enjoyment in this performance.

The concert begins with The Little Drummer Boy, which can be previewed at https://hmckc.org/holiday-concert/. This link provides a video of a rehearsal version of this Christmas classic, done in the Heartland Men’s Chorus style. Following this opening, they move into a variety of colorful Christmas tunes, including Lavender Christmas and Black Christmas–both of which brought the audience to rollicking laughter. More solemn music followed, briefly, with more upbeat music to lead up to the intermission. After the intermission, the focus was on Santa Claus, with the Chorus members being dressed in Santa outfits. A variety of skits added to the music provided throughout the second half–most of which were hilarious. Smiles aplenty.

A very special treat of the evening was provided by Marilyn Maye making a guest appearance. This weekend’s performances are the last for Dr. Joseph P. Nadeau, as the Artistic Director of the Heartland Men’s Chorus. He has been in Kansas City, with the Chorus, for fifteen years. He is leaving for California, to conduct the Los Angeles Gay Men’s Chorus. Ms. Maye sang a song for Dr. Nadeau and then sang with the Chorus. She was a glorious addition to the evening.

Once the scheduled performance was complete, two encores followed. Each of these songs have a special meaning to Dr. Nadeau and to the Heartland Men’s Chorus, and were fitting as a proper way to end the two hour performance.

Colossians 3:16-17 says, “Christ’s message in all its richness must live in your hearts. Teach and instruct one another with all wisdom. Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to your God with thanksgiving in your hearts. Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father,” (Good News Bible, 1978, New York, NY: American Bible Society). Music brings joy to God and to each of us. This event provides a variety of music for everyone to enjoy.

The Folly Theater provides a good seat to everyone. Parking is convenient, as well; although it can be somewhat pricey depending on the particular lot chosen. Refreshments of cookies and beverages are available prior to the concert and during intermission at a reasonable price. Good tickets are still available for the remaining performances, which are tonight (December 7) at 8:00pm and tomorrow (December 8) at 4:00pm. Tickets start at $15.00 and go up from there. Order your tickets now and be prepared to get in the holiday spirit–the Heartland Men’s Chorus way.

Anthony Rodgers | KC Metropolis.org

Time travel is no easy task—perhaps even impossible!—but the Heartland Men’s Chorus went back to pre-WWII Berlin, performing various numbers from the period and Cabaret and taking the audience of the Folly Theater with them. The group also gave the regional premiere of For a Look or a Touch by Jake Heggie, featuring guests baritone Morgan Smith and actor Kip Niven for a journey through—and across—time.

Beginning with “Wilkommen” from Cabaret, the stage was set for a night of song and dance highlighting the musical styles of the 1920s and frivolity of all in the hopping jazz clubs in Berlin. Masterfully arranged by Eric Lane Barnes, numbers included the spectacular Yiddish tune “Bei Mir bist Du schoen,” Weill-Brecht collaborations such as “Bilbao Song” and “Mack the Knife,” and the Cole Porter hits “Love for Sale/What Is This Thing Called Love?” A group of dancers featured in various numbers throughout the act were highly entertaining if not the most trained in this art. Wilson L. Allen acted as emcee for the production, narrating the storyline and providing comedic commentary on the performers, all with an exceptional singing voice, gender-blurring appearance, and unobtrusive German accent. A chamber orchestra of cabaret-like instrumentation was light and well balanced within themselves and with the large chorus. Overall, the vocal ensemble was musically engaged and blended sweetly, particularly when the parts harmonically divided, although there were moments in which they felt reluctant to enter creating a slight distraction from the arrangement. The standout group of soloists from the night were featured as characters in “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” notable for their humorously large props. Sounding like a collegiate fight-song, the gay anthem “The Lavender Song” was full-voiced, rousing, and still inspiring. The whole act was a show from beginning to end, flowing smoothly and transporting the Folly audience to the raucous intimacy of the cabaret.

Although times were as fun as the show’s first act, a new German regime in the 1930s changed the attitude toward homosexuality, reinforcing it as criminal love, and so the second half of the evening’s performance took a similar turn to the serious. Jake Heggie’s one-act opera For a Look or a Touch sets the tale of two young, gay lovers that were separated by death but reunited on the stage by their own words. Stirred from his sleep, Gad Beck (Kip Niven) sees the ghost of his former lover, Manfred Lewin (Morgan Smith), and discusses the struggles they both faced in and out of the Nazi concentration camps. Taken from the journals of Manfred and an interview with Gad from the 2000 documentary Paragraph 175, the words of the men are combined into a dialogue that is as cathartic for the audience as it is for those on stage.

Niven was dynamic as Gad, delivering the spoken memories with conviction and even offering a few moments of comedic relief. Smith’s velvety voice was malleable, comfortable in both operatic and jazz settings, although some technical issues existed with almost constant feedback from his microphone, and together, their chemistry was organic in juxtaposing the torment of the concentration camps with the torture of surviving with pain and guilt. Similarly changing styles with ease, the chamber orchestra featured a group of talented soloists Stephen Plante danced beautifully during the recollection of “The Story of Joe” and violently demonstrated a conflict of obedience and rebellion within the character tormented by the camp guards. Although there were some moments of hesitancy, particularly with the group singled out to dance and flirt with Smith during “Golden Years,” the chorus provided a wonderful background both visually—many wearing the striped uniforms of the camp with the pink triangle of marked homosexuality—and musically, supporting the solo lines and blending well with an evocative energy.

Combining the eccentric with the somber, HMC still made the effort to not add extra commentary on a modern society with their presentation of the two contrasting adventures. And with such great charisma and uniqueness, it’s no wonder that the Folly Theater was full for their spring concert, which left us with the reminder to just have fun, because life really is a cabaret.

REVIEW:
Heartland Men’s Chorus
Falling in Love Again
Saturday, March 23, 2013 (Reviewed)
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Folly Theater
300 W. 12 St., Kansas City, MO
For more information, visit https://hmckc.org/

Kristin Shafel Omiccioli | KCMetropolis.org

Performing for a sold-out Folly Theater last Saturday night, the Heartland Men’s Chorus continued its holiday tradition with the big band jazz-inspired program Cool Yule and special guest artist Marilyn Maye. In its first-ever collaboration with the Mid America Freedom Band, members of the group accompanied HMC as the Mighty Mo Combo. The combo laid a respectable foundation for the choir, with local trumpeter Al Pearson notably standing out as a soloist. HMC’s regular rhythm section Lamar Sims, piano; Ray DiMarchi, drums; and Rick Huyett, electric bass) kept a comfortable but tight beat throughout.

Typical of HMC shows, the first half showcased more standard repertoire including “Happy Holidays/Holiday Inn,” “Winter Weather/Let it Snow,” “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm,” and “Jing-a-Ling.” The men were exceptional on these tunes—a full, meaty sound, rich harmonies, crisp diction, and strong sustain.

Chorus member John Edmonds displayed a confident, laid-back swagger during his feature, “Little Jack Frost Get Lost.” The six distinct voices of HMC’s subset ensemble the Heartaches blended well to convey a tender, affecting interpretation of the sweet “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

HMC’s set on the second half of the concert, as usual, featured more playful, silly repertoire. Donning red scarves and showing off light choreography (including jazz thumbs…) the men shimmied and swayed to “Cool Yule,” “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus,” “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” and more. My favorite selection of the night was “Hot Hannukah” on the second half. HMC pulled out all the stops with this one—an expressive, hammy solo from chorus member Steven Jeffrey Karlin, a polyphonic texture, high energy, Gene Krupa-style drumming by DiMarchi, and festive lighting design made “Hot Hannukah” an irresistible showstopper.

A vision in sparkling red velvet, Marilyn Maye took the stage with her combo (Billy Stritch, piano; Andy Hall, double bass; and Jim Eklof, drums) for two sets during the concert. Maye’s sets were high-spirited cabarets focused more on Broadway and big band hits than Christmas music, including “Happiness is a Thing Called Joe,” “Mountain Greenery,” and jazzed out versions of “Wouldn’t It be Loverly?” and “On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady. Maye was her inimitable self, with expert showmanship and a blithe, sassy sense of humor.

Maye’s final selections brought the house down, though, holding the audience in rapt attention with these anthems of life’s mysteries, breakdowns, and wonders: James Taylor’s “Secret of Life” and the Butler/Molinary song “Here’s to Life,” made famous by Shirley Horn.

A playful back-and-forth between Maye and the men on “Big Time/Open a New Window” and “It’s Today” closed the concert, followed by an encore of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and a standing ovation. Despite a few slight performance issues—spots of imbalance, shaky intonation, and hesitant entrances—the Heartland Men’s Chorus never fails to elicit plenty of smiles, laughter, and good cheer in its always heartfelt and entertaining programs, no matter the time of year.

REVIEW:
Heartland Men’s Chorus
Cool Yule with Marilyn Maye
Friday, November 30­­–Sunday, December 2 (Reviewed Saturday, December 1)
Folly Theater
300 W. 12th St. Kansas City, MO