Review - Schoolhouse Rock Live! (Originally posted October 16, 2009)

On the 3rd of October I had a chance to go see a show that was a lot of fun. That show was Schoolhouse Rock Live! It was a small cabaret held on the second floor of Hamburger Mary's Chicago. See my review here for that restaurant. The second floor is called Mary's Attic and is a small show space with seating for about 50 people or so. The seating is made up of a couple of arm chairs, a sofa, bar stools and basically dinning room chairs. It's very informal and while the chairs (with the exception of the arm chairs and sofa) are not particularly comfortable was kind of fun to sit around. Almost felt like you were sitting in someones rec room watching their kids put on a show. Only with a really good show and really talented kids. There is also a bar present where you can get drinks and you can even have food brought up from the restaurant downstairs.

Schoolhouse Rock Live! is a show that was conceived and directed by Scott Ferguson. It is based on the Emmy award winning Saturday morning kids shows that educated children through songs and cartoons. Anyone who was growing up during the mid 1970s will probably remember it. This production only had 4 players but they were very good. Danny Taylor plays Tom a nerve-wracked school teacher while Chris Walsh, Angie Wendt and Michelle Weissgerber play 3 characters who help Tom get over his nervousness.
The premise of the production is that Tom, a new teacher nervous about his first day of teaching, is visited by characters from Schoolhouse Rock! who come right out of his TV. After convincing Tom that they are not there to steal his plasma TV the fun begins. The four of them proceed to run through 14 of the songs from Schoolhouse Rock.

The songs they performed were:

1. Verb: That's What's Happening
2. A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing
3. Three is a Magic Number
4. Sufferin' til Suffrage
5. Unpack You Adjectives
6. Just a Bill
7. The Preamble
8. Ready or Not, Here I come
9. Do the Circulation (I personally was not familiar with this one)
10. Conjunction Junction
11. Elbow Room
12. Interplanet Janet
13. Interjections!
14. The tale of Mister Morton

They combine a variety of props, (which were great) inventive use of space and just plain old great talent to turn something that seems like it would be better suited for a large group into something that was very personal and extremely fun! Now we all know it is a performers job to entertain and be 'into' what they are doing but as I watched them perform I couldn't get over the fact that they looked as though they were really enjoying theirselves. I mean they looked like they were having as much fun as I was.

When the show first started the group of us 40+ year olds in the audience seemed a little reluctant to get in on the songs. I know I was. But around the third song or so I found I could not help but sing along with the show, albeit quietly and if you ever heard me sing you would know that was a good thing. But so was everyone else in the audience. We knew/remembered almost every word. I know I must not have been the only one that was throw back to sitting on the living room floor in my pajamas on a Saturday morning watching the shows. I laughed so hard my side hurt and tears would squeeze out of the sides of my eyes. I can't even explain how much fun I had.

Anyone who knows me knows I perfer not to be in the limelight. During one of the songs they ran out into the audience and grabbed 6 people to come up on stage and perform with them. Well needless to say I got picked. This ought to tell you how much I was enjoying myself, I went up and performed their dance with them and was given a round of applause when I finished. I guess I was just that good! Although they covered 14 of the songs I found my self wishing for more. I wanted it to go on. I didn't want it to end. Unfortunately it did.

I want to go over the performers for a moment as they definitely deserve some space in this review.

Danny Taylor was the tall 'you have to feel sorry for him' character who doesn't seem super into it at first but warms to the other players as the show goes on. Fact of the matter is Danny's character says just what you are thinking at the end of the show, 'that's it? I want more'.

Chris Walsh is a very silly man and that is not a insult but about the best compliment I could give him. Chris is the first person that interacts with the audience and moves around so much during the show you just get tired watching him. His impersonation of Napoleon is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I was laughing so hard when he did it I stopped breathing for about 20 seconds.

Angie Wendt is an incredible singer and I could just imagine her singing in a jazz club or with a blues band. She has a very sultry voice that can make any mans heart pick up a couple of beats. There should be a record contract in this woman’s future.

I don't usually use the term 'goofy' to describe women but in the case of Michelle Weissgerber it is fitting. Michelle is part of a rare breed of women that can use her body just as well as any man for a prat-fall. She has one of those faces that there is no doubt in you mind what emotion she is trying to express. She is a joy to watch on stage and she's a natural dancer.

What else can I say. I absolutely love the show and I could not have had more fun! I think it's rare when I or anyone can make that statement. I think it goes without saying that I am giving the show a big fat 10!

Now the bad news. I went to see the show on its last day so unfortunately if you are reading this you will not get to see it. However if the show comes around again, go see it! The players maybe different but I'm sure the fun, nostalgia and performances will make it just as enjoyable for you as it was for me.

Here are some additional links pertaining to the show and its’ performers.

Here is a great site that has all the lyrics to all the songs and links to the videos on YouTube.

Angie Wendts’ Voice Marketplace site. She does voice overs and voices for toys as well as sings.

Michelle Weissgerbers’ professional site showing her portfolio of work. She also has a second site where she does performances for parties and makes Balloon Hats. These are not your parents’ balloon hats!

This site has bios for Danny, Chris and Angie. Chris is putting on a production of his own. Sadly I could not find individual sites for Danny or Chris.

So that's it. I had fun with this review and I hope you enjoyed it. In the words of the girl at the end of 'Interjection!'

Darn! That's the end.