It's a fun name for a show, but it's just another way of saying Matt Zembrowski will be leading a casual concert performance variety show at Soulstice Theatre this coming weekend. The man who so recently played Bing Crosby for the Holidays in Elm Grove--the man who has made such a strong impression behind the piano in a variety of different gigs in and around town will be hosting a musical evening it St. Francis this weekend as leads a group of performers into a program that has been given the title Things We Can't Do Onstage.
Men will sing women's parts. Women will sing men's parts. There may be cross dressing . . . okay, so it may not quite live-up to the "mass theatrical chaos," its being described as in the press release, but the gender-switching is something that really legitimately doesn't get done onstage in musicals quite as often as it should. We're all perfectly okay with cross-dressing for comedy's sake and we're perfectly okay with the idea of switching roles in classic dramas (like the upcoming Juliet and Romeo with Bad Example productions next month) but American musicals are kind of sacred. You don't mess with gender there. . . if for no other reason than songs are written for different vocal qualities and things end up getting a little comic if specific traditions aren't maintained . . . so this should be an interesting chance to see people given the opportunity to sing outside their normal vocal range.
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Things We Can't Do Onstage runs June 29th and 30th at Soulstice's space on 3770 South Pennsylvania Ave. Tickets are $15 and available at the box office or in advance by calling 414-481-2800.
