Arizona State University Music Theatre Cabarets

ASU Kerr Cultural Center, Scottsdale, AZ, April 18, 2023

Reviewed by Lynn Timmons Edwards

ASU’s Music Theatre Opera Program (formerly known as Lyric Opera Theatre) has been training would-be professional singer/actors for decades. It has partnered with The Phoenix Theatre Company to provide would-be performers with real-world experience which, to the benefit of the program and its students, brought Toby Yatso onto their teaching faculty. Yatso is a phenomenal quadruple threat. Because of his height, good looks, charm, and skill, I call him the “Tommy Tune of Arizona.” He showed great ability as a teacher in his debut, directing the cabarets for the course ASU calls MT6. He described the ASU Kerr Center as the place where hip meets historic, a cabaret space, where his students (mostly in their sixth semester of training) took their “swanky final exam.”  

The exceptionally talented pianist Andy Chen accompanied the cabarets. He is about to graduate with his master’s degree in music theater direction and is a veteran of the 2022 cabaret final exam. On this night, we were treated to the addition of flawless guitar accompaniment of Mario Yniguez (pictured), who is also a candidate for a master’s in musical theater direction.

The assignment was to “be yourself on purpose,” for which they all received an A+. They were also challenged to connect with the audience; their ability to do so varied from song to song, but their stories were indeed raw and personal. Assuming they all entered college right after high school, they were seniors when Covid-19 hit. The trauma and emotional scars from those “lost” years were palpable. At least two singers admitted to writing a suicide letter at one point. Many who had been popular performers in their high schools felt lost and alone in navigating the transition to college. Nearly every performer disclosed mental health challenges that ranged from anxiety to ADHD to the less-known “synesthesia.”

Each student displayed talent. Some relied mostly on their voice, some on their comedic skills. Whether each one will make a living as a singer/actor remains to be seen. Not to be sexist, but the women dressed for their performance, while the men, with one exception looked as though they just showed up. Thanks to Yatso, they have all experienced the art form of cabaret, and it was a privilege to be a part of the two-night event. The following text highlights the best of what the individual performers had to offer during their 15 minutes of fame.

Jessica Lester: Purpose
Lester opened the second night of the series with “30/90” from Jonathan Larson’s tick, tick… BOOM! Between her outfit and her profane opening talk about “how the f**k did it get to be 2023?” she grabbed our attention. She had a big Broadway belt and powerful performance energy. Lester brought Yniguez on stage to play “26” (Hayley Williams/Taylor York) while she sang about her inner war of worry. “Before It’s Over” from Dog Fight (Benj Pasek/Justin Paul) was a perfect song for her message about purpose and fit her voice well. She had a good range, understood vocal dynamics, and floated her high notes. She decided to get in some practice with an amusing Tony (labeled on her water bottle) acceptance speech. She thanked her parents for supporting her dream, which she realized was “delusional and expensive.” “I Know the End” (Phoebe Bridges) summed up her newly mature outlook on life.

Miranda Bellows: Right Where You’re Meant to Be
Bellows has a future as an actor who sings. She has a soft mellow voice, raw honesty, and a streak of creativity that is her own. She shared her longing to perform even though she said she was, by nature, a shy introvert. She chose to sing “Break from the Line” (Joey Contreras), “Cold” and “Hello My Old Heart” by the Oh Hellos, and the rap number “Toxic Thoughts” (Faith Marie). She used a bucket and a pile of rocks to illustrate her determination to deal with rejection along with a letter to her younger self that told her to remember to stay strong and to be kind to herself.

Maggie Barry: Little Miss Perfect
Barry could have be Rachel Berry’s sister. Right away, I noted of how much she reminded me of Lea Michele; then she announced that she had spent her middle school years binge watching Glee. She opened with “Being Good Isn’t Good Enough” (Jule Styne/Betty Comden & Adolph Green), which was sung in Glee’s episode 9 of season 4. Who knew? She used the letter-to-herself device to describe her quest to be perfect, first at the Tacoma School for the Arts and now at ASU. She then sang Sondheim’s “Losing My Mind.” She received her “Indie Girl fix” on Sam Phillips’ “Reflecting Light,” which was played beautifully by Yniguez. She expressed to a picture of her younger self that she was giving up her “Little Miss Perfect” fixation before belting out a short rendition of Elton John/Bernie Taupin’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”  Perhaps she’ll get a shot at the next Broadway revival of Funny Girl.

Liam Boyd: Sponge
Boyd is a champion Irish dancer turned musical-theater singer/actor. He showed us one of his trophies and some Riverdance moves. He bounded on stage, very well dressed, to sing “Theme from SpongeBob SquarePants” before accompanying himself on piano on Billy Joel’s “Vienna.” “Streets of Dublin” from Man of No Importance explained that  he was at the pinnacle of his dance career until an injury changed his focus. He is clearly catching up with his peers as an actor/singer. Sondheim’s “The Road You Didn’t Take” might have been a stronger song choice than “Wondering” (The Bridges of Madison County) to describe his career dilemma. He finished his cabaret with the Elvis Presley classic “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” He has a good vocal instrument and if I were his agent and he was interested, I would recommend that he audition for Choir of Men.

Adam Robles: I Believe in You
Robles is as a young man I could believe in. He approached his cabaret rather like a stand-up comedian by announcing that he was a massive nerd. His material were all video-game songs, which delighted the gamers in the crowd. He displayed projections of the video-game characters and settings while he sang “Die House” (Kristofer Maddigan), “Good Riddance” (Darren Korb), and “Pollyanna” (Keiichi Suzuki/Hirokazu Tanaka).  Nervous at the start, he relaxed into his story and apologized to his younger self for not understanding that being neurodivergent is just his normal condition. Robles is a senior on the five-year plan, having dropped out of college in that fateful year 2020. If performance continues to be his passion, he should write his own material and blaze his own trail using the confidence and the solid bass-baritone he displayed at Kerr.

Christian Johannsen: All I Know So Far
Johannsen is also a senior and who has already signed with an agent and is now New York City bound. She is clearly an experienced performer, even though she said she felt like a toddler among her peers. Her speech was very relaxed; she might have been having a conversation with us in a local bar. Her opening number, “I Need More” from Fly by Night (Geddy Lee), was followed by “Avalanche” from Tales of the Bad Years (Kait Kerrigan/Bree Lowdermilk). She has a big voice that can get shrill and a little too loud on the high notes. However, she glides from her chest voice to the high, big-belt money notes required by many contemporary scores. She also has a multi-ethnic look that cannot be pigeon-holed into a type. She took time to savor the moment with “You Oughta Know” (Alanis Morissette) and thaked Yatso for his support, which was key to her confidence. She closed with the title song of her cabaret “All I Know So Far” by Pink, which was the perfect closing number.