110 in the Shade

June 22nd, 2004
Pasadena Playhouse
Musical

I'm not a fan of The Fantastiks, so I wasn't expecting a lot musically from this one. It's the musicalization of the play, The Rainmaker, and it starred the wonderful Jason Danielly (we'd seen him on Broadway, in the original cast of The Full Monty) and Marin Mazzie.

We both found the casting (including Tom Wilson, Adam Wylie and Lyle Kanouse) to be very solid. There was a true feeling of family unit, and a sense of connection. Jason Danielly as Starbuck was very charismatic, and his voice was wonderful as always. Ditto for Marin Mazzie (his wife in real life, and a Broadway light in her own right).

I didn't fall in love with the music, but it was better than The Fantastiks. This production gets an extra half star, making it total 3 because of the stellar cast and a very artsy set that we liked. I don't think we'd see the musical again though. But Jason and Marin were wonderful.