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| Created by Valley composer, Craig Bohmler along with Marion Adler and Scott Wentworth. |
On Sunday I saw the three person musical mystery spoof Gunmetal Blues at Fountain Hills Theater. I didn't know anything about this musical other than what I read on their website, but I always TRUST Fountain Hills Theater for ALWAYS putting on the BEST shows. And this musical turned out to be another gem.
One of the three characters is played by another of my favorite local actors, Michael Stewart, who I first saw in the Fountain Hills production of The Producers playing Leo Bloom...Matthew Broderick has nothing on this guy. I've also enjoyed seeing him in other Fountain Hills productions over the years, but most recently in The 39 Steps where he played Clown 2, and had to masterfully change into eleven different characters throughout the entire show. This time around he plays only one character, Sam Galahad, a singing detective, and he does it brilliantly. His other two cast members play a multitude of roles.
Ashlee Poynter who I just recently saw at Desert Stages Theatre playing Cinderella in Into the Woods, and Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard, plays four different "Blondes" in Gunmetal Blues. She has one of the most incredibly beautiful voices, and this musical really showcased her extraordinary talent.
The third cast member, Bill Moore plays the main character of Buddy Toupee, but he also plays several different characters with different accents, but most astonishing is that he plays the piano throughout this entire musical. He acts, sings, and plays the piano too...very talented guy!
Gunmetal Blues plays on Fountain Hills Main Stage Two, which is much smaller and even more intimate than there Main Stage, and was a perfect venue for this musical. So with a small venue, and a small cast, I can say in this case, "Smaller is Better." But it was BIG on Entertainment Value, and I'm happy I got a chance to see this gem of a musical.
On a side note: There was a nice write-up in Sunday's Arizona Republic about local composer Craig Bohmler.
