Last Week to Save Aimee
October 26, 2011 by Hedonista · Leave a Comment
Biographies are fascinating, no matter what the medium. Be they in book, movie, television, theater or musical form, biographies pull us into the trials and tribulations, successes and scandals, and failures and fantasies of people. People that may be rich or poor, old or young, evil or good – but always undeniably interesting. They are the dynamic spirits in our world who create change – sweeping, impactful, change – after which a given society, or even humanity in its entirety, is never quite the same.
These biographies take on a range of media, be it books or broadcasts, television or theater, or movies or musicals.
Aimee Semple McPherson (played by Carolee Carmello, right) sings next to the hedonistically hunky David Hutton's Sampson (played by Ed Watts). In real life, Aimee and David were indeed a couple, albeit only for a brief time. (Photo by Chris Bennion, provided by 5th Avenue Theatre, and used with permission.)
The 5th Avenue Theatre is currently running one such musical – Saving Aimee – with such hype that you’d think it was a story about Kathy Lee Gifford herself instead of Canadian-born Aimee Semper McPherson (October 9, 1890 – September 27, 1944), who became the first sensationalized evangelist in the United States through her use of popular entertainment media such as radio that catapulted her into celebrity stardom in LA and beyond. (A few nights ago your Hedonista attended 5th Avenue’s media/VIP night as media.)
Now, Kathie Lee Gifford did write the book, compose the lyrics, and contribute the additional music, while the main music was composed by both David Pomeranz and David Friedman, with David Armstrong as the Executive Producer and Artistic Director of this biographical musical. But the lead role is played by Carolee Carmello, who pulls off about two decades of Aimee’s life nicely, from her late teens – the age of 16-17 years in 1907 – to her late thirties – the age of about 36-37 years in 1927. Overall, it’s thrilling, enticing, and worth a peek, regardless of your religious tendencies. Definitely worth checking out.
That said, it’s also a biographical musical that moves fast – almost too fast – in the telling of its tale. When I think of the first half of the 20th century, I think of everything from actions to timing as deliberate and slow (think Bogey and Bergie’s Casablanca, here). This musical caters more to the (apparently) technologically-driven ADHD of today. Although it works really well in the frenzied newspapermen/paparazzi scenes and even the (often comical) courtroom scenes, it really has no place in some of the more intimate, reflective moments. If I had two words of constructive criticism for Saving Aimee it would be these: slow down.
Since 2000, in the last 11 years (give or take) the 5th Avenue Theatre has produced and performed a total of 14 new musicals, with Saving Aimee as #14. The musical before this one was Aladdin; the next one will be First Date, which runs March 10th to May 20th, 2012 at ACT – A Contemporary Theatre.
Interested in catching this latest 5th Avenue newbie? Only six performances of Kathy Lee Gifford’s Saving Aimee remain, including tonight’s 7:30 p.m. show: tonight, tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., Friday at 8:00 p.m., and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Tickets range in price from $29 to $109.
