07/21/2019
'Better By Two' - Times Argus review:
WAITSFIELD – It was an intimate festival of musical theater as veteran Broadway pros introduced the next generation Thursday, when the Commons Group opened “Better by Two: An Evening of Broadway Duets” at the Skinner Barn. The delightful r***e runs Thursday-Sunday through July 28.
Artistic director Peter Boynton and Elisa Van Duyne, a more recent transplant from New York and regional theater, strutted their stuff with the ever-popular “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better” from “Annie Get Your Gun.” Their larger-than-life personae and bright and expert singing voices brought this Irving Berlin delight to life.
In a more lyrical and wistful mood was “You Must Meet My Wife” from “A Little Night Music,” where the two sang tenderly in Stephen Sondheim’s almost-speaking style. They were expertly and expressively accompanied on piano by Mary Jane Austin, who provided the orchestra for the entire program.
Emma Greenwood and Matthew Skelly introduced themselves as the young lovers in the love song “Metaphor” from the Harvey Schmidt-Tom Jones “The Fantasticks.” Both proved fine singers and performers, full of youthful exuberance and a touch of tenderness – but, most importantly, competence. (Zoe Blackman, the company’s 12-year-old intern, charmed in the silent role of the wall.)
Greenwood, a senior at Duxbury’s Harwood Union High School, sang surely and accurately, but was also able to color her voice for characterization. She will be appearing in Barn Opera’s production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” this fall in Brandon. She could also be terribly funny, as in “All ‘Er Nothing” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” joined by tenor Billy Ray Poli.
Skelly, a Harwood grad switching from Boston University School of Music to the University of Vermont this fall, proved a natural for musical comedy, and a strong singer as well. He delivered a wonderful mix of desperation and laughs in “Papi Hears the Ocean” from David Yazbek’s “The Band’s Visit.”
Interestingly, this was the professional theater debut for both Greenwood and Skelly – their first paychecks in the field. Congratulations!
Billy Ray Poli, choral and vocal director at Burlington High School and fine tenor, added another element. Not only was he a strong singer, he proved quite entertaining, with Boynton, in “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” from Cole Porter’s “Kiss Me Kate” and “Plant a Radish” from “The Fantasticks.”
And there was plenty more. What made the evening a success was that despite the disparity in ages and experience the performance was pretty seamless and very good. The stylish production was conceived, staged and directed by Boynton, expertly and imaginatively lit by Wendy Stephens.
Celebrating the two emerging artists was “Friendship” from Porter’s “Red, Hot and Blue.” Greenwood and Skelly, joined by the entire cast, enjoyed and delivered the delicious mix of lyricism, tenderness and humor unique to musical theater.
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The Commons Group presents “Better by Two,” an evening of Broadway duets, at 8 p.m. Thursday-Sunday, July 18-21 and 25-28, at The Skinner Barn, 609 Common Road in Waitsfield. Tickets are $25; call 802-496-4422, or go online to www.theskinnerbarn.com.
