Patrons of Copia's ongoing live concert and performance series were
treated to one of the more unusual, and interesting, presentations in this
or any season of the center's short existence as "Bread -- The Musical,"
delivered -- for the most part -- "a food musical with the scent of bread
hanging in the air!"
Santa Cruz bakery owner and writer, Joe Ortiz, could have taken his
inspiration from the old German saying, "Whose bread I eat, his song I sing."
Ortiz is not only responsible for coming up with the story, but also, of
penning the songs and scanty libretto that accompany the three acts. Gifted
in his vision and an obviously talented writer, Ortiz has crafted a curious,
slightly fragmented, humorous tale of Henri and Josette, two transplanted
French nationals who come to America to open a bakery. The pair departs their
native country under a mysterious cloud, partly due to Henri's father's past
baking indiscretions.
The tale revolves around Henri's consuming passion to learn how to make
the perfect loaf of rye bread, an obsession he shared with his late father
who withheld the one vital part of his recipe that would allow Henri to achieve
his dream. To complicate matters, his wife Josette has become increasingly
unhappy with Henri's compulsion with bread to the point where he ignores
her and her wifely charms. Add to the mix Henri's father's ghost, a scheming
cad of a doctor and his "undercover" bakery-apprentice-spy girlfriend, a
peculiar mayor with a touch of evil and amorous intent, and the dreaded ergot
fungus which can live in rye grain, causing hallucinogenic reactions and
death if eaten, and the stage was set for culinary shenanigans.
Henri the Mad Baker is played by Jonathan Arthur with workman-like sincerity,
verging upon obscurity -- which is not as bad as it sounds. Let's just say
Henri sleeps a good deal of his time on stage -- literally -- but with often
hilarious results. Arthur is an unlikely candidate as the hero of this story.
He looks -- well, like a baker -- to the point where it's hard not to think
of him as anything but a baker, rather than the hallucinogenic-racked seeker
of the perfect loaf of bread. Looks, however, can be deceiving, as he proves
over and over again that as a singer and interpreter of Ortiz's work, the
cast could not have a better leading man at the helm.
Lori Rivera plays Josette the Baker's Wife, with perfection. This dark
haired, dark-eyed siren plays the beautiful Josette -- part feminist, part
sultry femme fatale -- with grace and compelling sincerity. Rivera's Josette
is the main vehicle in the story; the player who knows more than her fellow
characters and isn't afraid of going after what she wants. It is Josette,
even more so than Henri, who is in control and sees the big picture, able
in the end to bring everything back together in a happy ending after tying
up some rather loose ends. Simply stated, Rivera's lighthearted, yet at times
intense performance, stole top honors in Friday evening's performance.
Arthur and Rivera were ably supported by a cast of talented actors,
all of whom are fine singers in their own rights. Bruce Burns played the
dual role of Henri's skulking father's spirit and the minor role of a bartender
with delightful results. The Doctor, played by Rick McKee, who for some reason
goes under the dubious alias, "Ukulele Dick," turned in a believable performance
as an utter cad and philistine. McKee was more than up to the task of playing
the scheming doctor as he goes about plotting to subvert Henri's dream and
win the heart of Josette while ready to manipulate and dump his girlfriend
Dolores to achieve his goals.
Dolores the Apprentice was another surprise of the evening as played
by Lauren Creager. With a voice that would be at home on stages far larger
than the one in Copia's small theater, she repeatedly delivered her numbers
in a piercing, beautiful voice. The final member of the cast, Layne Littlepage,
lifted the small part of the town mayor above the minor role in which it
was intended. Where as overall, Rivera stole the show, she had strong competition
from Littlepage as she went about her dual role of city government authoritarian
and would be suitor to the abandoned, demented and forlorn Henri.
Beyond the performances of the talented actors, what makes "Bread --
The Musical" shine are the songs. Running the gamut from goofy to surreal,
there was something for everyone in Ortiz's score. Some tunes seem to take
the message of this farcical, extremely well written parable too seriously
while others verge on vaudevillian slapstick. The mix is a little disturbing
at times, but ultimately, adds to the comical atmosphere unfolding on and
off stage.
When Littlepage performed Noble Savage, the audience reacted with sheer
enthusiasm. An unlikely torch song, but nonetheless, what Littlepage accomplished
with her beautiful voice and a few sight gags with a loaf of bread were a
sight to behold. Two of my favorite songs sung by Rivera and Arthur that
show the versatility and range of Ortiz's writing skills were "You Hallucinate
Me" and "You Electrify Me!"
"You Hallucinate Me," possibly my favorite of all the 24 tunes in the
show, was the perfect vehicle for Rivera's hot, sensual voice -- her best
effort of the evening. "You Electrify Me!" highlighted both Rivera and Arthur.
Again, Rivera was impeccable while Arthur drew from his own bag of talented
tricks as both he and his co-star end up in a jazzy scat finish which was
impressive and entertaining.
One minor flaw which I found distracting was the meshing of the numerous
songs with the brief libretto in between. The ebb and flow of the bizarre
relationships between Josette and Henri, Josette and the Doctor, Henri and
Dolores, Henri and the mayor, Dolores and the Doctor and Henri's father with
the poor misguided Henri takes a scorecard to keep straight. There were times
when the transition between scenes suffered from too much, or was it too
little, information. This is a farce, but not one to be taken lightly. Fortunately,
the sum of Ortiz's vision is greater than the partial sum of the roles and
story line, as he strikes just the right balance to keep the story on track
and out of the muddy waters of total confusion -- not that it doesn't wade
there occasionally over the course of the evening.
Overall, how could anyone not enjoy an evening of cabaret entertainment
with a band consisting of an accordion (Peter DiBono,) a guitar (David McGillicuddy)
and an upright bass (Gary)? Throw in a talented cast, a score and story that
are both funny and inspiring and the result was a rather bizarre, but thoroughly
enjoyable evening. Score "Bread -- The Musical" a seven on the culinary-cum-thespian
scale.
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