By Dale King
Legendary singer-songwriter Paul Simon creates message melodies for all seasons — and has done so for a half-century, either in concert with partner Art Garfunkel or on his own. He has perfected an array of musical genres — folk, rock ’n’ roll, reggae, gospel and African chorale — and his lyrics paint poignant word pictures.
Florida Theatre Productions Inc. pays tribute to the 71-year-old Newark, N.J., native with The Sounds of Simon, a soul-searching, downright entertaining show that has filled the Studio Theatre at the Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center in Boca Raton for much of the summer. The run has been extended through Sunday.
Conceived and directed by Gary Waldman, the production draws heavily from Simon’s massive body of work and offers up his tunes through skits presented by soloists and combinations of actors and dancers from an 11-member cast. This collaboration intensifies each song’s message and enhances the audience’s capacity to visualize the many word images.
For this show, the stage at the Cultural Arts Center appears to be some type of park or play area — a fine setting for Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, the second tune in the Simon journey. A stairway leads to a gap between two chain link fence sections, continuing the playground metaphor. There’s also a park bench and a garbage can that belches smoke.
The plot is purposely unspecific, focusing on four main characters — all of them apparently afflicted in some way. Waldman portrays a homeless man with his worldly belongings in a small wheeled cart. With wool hat, floppy flannel shirt and rough beard, his appearance is as uniquely interesting as his excellent voice.
Mike Westrich, a newcomer to this cast, portrays a soldier in a wheelchair, apparently wounded in battle. Attired in camouflage fatigues, he is seen constantly writing in some type of journal — which doesn’t distract from his singing. His fine voice makes Simon’s lyrics penetrate the hazy air.
Portraying a character suffering a drug addiction is Sharyn Peoples, also new to the on-stage cast, though she is the show’s assistant director. The role is a total about-face from her performance as the Lady of the Lake in Entr’Acte Theatrix’s recent Spamalot. Her voice, though, is just as strong and epic.
Kimberly Xavier Martins rounds out the principal actors. Her woes are subject to some conjecture, but her ability to sing is perfectly clear.
Other performers — all outstanding singers and dancers — include Joel Alfonso, Elijah Word, Brettnie Blake, Yasmin Flasterstein, Kerine Jean-Pierre, Alissa Kane and Ben Solmor. The show’s choreographer, Solmor shows an aptitude for mixing movement and song with dramatic results.
Some of Paul Simons’ best-known works are included in this show. The Sound of Silence and Bridge over Troubled Water are of course included, but also on the list are Wednesday, 3 a.m. (vocalized by Westrich and Waldman), a very early Simon and Garfunkel work, and Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall (sung by Martins).
Two touching tunes, Scarborough Fair/Canticle and April Come She Will, pay homage to the groundbreaking 1967 film, The Graduate, which not only featured a soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel, but also introduced Dustin Hoffman to the celluloid world.
Simon doesn’t always write about pain. His chucklesome tune about a man going through an identity crisis, You Can Call Me Al, gets special treatment from Alfonso and the ensemble. That 1985 song, with a video featuring Simon with Chevy Chase, put the singer on MTV’s radar.
Some of the solos are truly great. Westrich takes the lead on Keep the Customer Satisfied, and Peoples’ rendition of Song for the Asking is superb. Alfonso does the upbeat honors with Late in the Evening and Martins gives renewed life to the thought-provoking Dangling Conversation, with its satirically appropriate question, “Is the theatre really dead?”
Simon’s lyrics have always been well thought-out. The ensemble joins together to sing I Am a Rock, with the excellently alliterative line about a “freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.” When Waldman and the ensemble sing The Boxer, you can almost see “the fighter by his tree.” The song’s arrangement hints of something by Harry Chapin.
That’s just the tip of this crowd-pleasing show, whose song arrangements are by Waldman and Phil Hinton. Stefanie Howard deftly handles lighting and Gary Butler and Jamison Troutman put their all into sound design. This troupe pulls together with obvious harmony and earns the standing ovations that normally erupt at the end of each performance.
SOUNDS OF SIMON will be presented Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Studio Theatre in the Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center, 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Tickets are $35 and are available by calling the box office at 561-600-0495 or visiting www.SoundsofSimon.com.