All Together Now! a global event celebrating local theatre is likely to be “sold out” — because of Riverwalk Theatre has limited itself to half-capacity to enable socially distanced reserved seats and it’s one weekend only — and this show is wonderful!
It was an inspiration to see such a large and diverse cast celebrating that inimitable live-theatre-fusion. With minimal set and simple costumes, it was all about the singing and dancing. Wow, some stellar voices and blends, and a fantastic mix of creative choreography, by director Tricia Rogers. A couple numbers were choreographed by Amanda Tollstam — and a little more, I imagine, by Janell Hall, who was “guest director” of the song from Once On This Island, which she was slated to direct at RWT before the pandemic shut everything down. Dance numbers ranged from “en masse” to select groups and duos, (and Ben English proved his dance moves are as exceptional as his singing voice.)
The cast included Riverwalk favorites and also exciting new faces/voices: Erin Biel, Meghann Carr, Sabrina Dahlgren, Rachel Daugherty, Kay Dietrich, Drew Doman, Ben English, Kameron Going, Taren Going, Sarah Hayner, Laura Johnson, Tianna Leon, Caleb Liggett, Kelley Lofton, Alexis Loy, Greg Martin, Kaela Panicucci, Maribeth Robertson, Laney Soupal, Kelly Stuible-Clark, Marina Threadgould, Amanda Tollstam and Dale Wayne Williams.
Along with the prerecorded soundtrack, the benevolent Music Theatre International provided video of some famous folk opining on what live theatre means to them, that was augmented with video of some of Lansing’s own adding their thoughts. Community, collaboration, empathy… and much more. Kelly Stuible-Clark and Sarah Hayner offered brief but heartfelt live monologues about the effect of the pandemic and what theatre means to us all, and to Riverwalk Theatre.
Other than those brief speeches, the show flowed from show-stopper to show-stopper, making you wish we were set to perform the entirety of each musical sampled. It’s amazing to think that over 2,500 other theatres across the globe are performing this same show, royalty free, this weekend. https://www.mtishows.com/mtis-all-together-now
Sadly, the streaming option announced in the Ripples newsletter has had to be cancelled due to wi-fi-strength related issues — so, as I advised at the beginning, order tickets online asap https://www.riverwalktheatre.com/box-office.html or phone Mike at 517-482-5700. Tickets ($24; $20 sr./st./military, $12 child) at the door while they last: 8pm Saturday, Nov. 13 and both 2pm and 7pm Sunday, Nov. 14.