The Skylight Opera Theatre reaches for a deliciously wide range of emotion with its production of Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. Keith Pitts’ set, designed to look like an old props warehouse, creates the proper mood for the musical revue. The four cast members lounge around the space and pay homage to the late singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. Brel’s narratives dance across a stage draped in stylish lighting by Jason Fassl.
The show plays like a program of more than two-dozen short musicals. Seasoned director Ray Jivoff and music director Richard Carsey bring together drama, comedy, tragedy and more in a graceful, fluid program that explores some very deep, provocative emotional and intellectual terrain.
Each member of the cast takes a turn at center stage, playing in both solo and ensemble harmonic stories. Longtime Skylight talent Liz Baltes grounds the production in a firmly European flavor with impeccable French vocals. Alison Mary Forbes, possessing impressive comic instincts, is enjoyable in a range of roles, including the title character of Timid Frieda, the devil and more. Forbes also is given an opportunity to show dramatic intensity in a particularly stirring Act II vocal solo. Steve Koehler deftly wields volatile emotional energy. The precision of his explosive anger in Funeral Tango is dynamic. Equity performer P.J. Baccari joins the Skylight for the first time in a series of memorable performances that alternate seamlessly between drama and comedy.
The Skylight Opera Theatre’s production of Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Parisruns through Feb. 20 at the Broadway Theatre Center’s Cabot Theatre. To reserve tickets, call 414-291-7800.
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