Fairy tales do come true — sort of. Just ask Sleeping Beauty, whose 900 years of enchanted rest finally come to an end in a modern-day sleep disorder clinic, far from the land of far, far away.
Welcome to “Sleeping Beauty Wakes,” an artfully twisted take on the classic children’s story, by theatrical power-pop trio GrooveLily. The acclaimed indie troubadours return to St. Louis for a pair of performances at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 2 and 3, as part of the Edison Theatre OVATIONS Series.
Spanning rock, folk, jazz and pop, GrooveLily combines lush musical textures with soaring vocals and witty, character-driven lyrics. The group consists of the husband-and-wife team of Valerie Vigoda, who performs on a six-string electric violin, and keyboardist Brendan Milburn, along with drummer Gene Lewin. All three musicians share vocal duties.
Courtesy Photo
The acclaimed trio GrooveLily — (from left) Brendan Milburn, Valerie Vigoda and Gene Lewin — brings its artfully twisted tale “Sleeping Beauty Wakes” to Edison Theatre Oct. 2 and 3.
“Sleeping Beauty Wakes,” which unfolds entirely through song, reunites GrooveLily with Tony Award-winning librettist Rachel Sheinkin, perhaps best known for her book “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” They previously collaborated on the inventive holiday tale “Striking 12” (inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Match Girl”), which came to Edison Theatre in 2007.
As the show opens, the still-unconscious Beauty is surrounded by a chorus of fellow patients, variously suffering from insomnia, sleepwalking, night terrors, restless leg syndrome and other ailments. Replacing Prince Charming at her bedside is the watchful (and smitten) Orderly, who dims the lights and gently encourages Beauty to:
“Settle down
Safe and sound
Under your blanket.”
This quiet waking life is mirrored by the tempestuous world of Beauty’s subconscious dreams, which recount the story of her birth to a long-suffering King and Queen.
As the kingdom celebrates, Beauty’s happy parents neglect to invite the Bad Fairy to pay respects, thus tempting magical retribution. Though the princess quickly emerges as smart and beautiful, she also grows headstrong and rebellious, flirting with trouble, danger and the Groundskeeper’s Son.
The Hollywood Reporter called “Sleeping Beauty Wakes” “a beguiling tour de force that looks at love, sleep and time by setting the familiar fairy tale in an innovative performing context.” Music Connection Magazine added, “GrooveLily has an intelligent poppiness perfect for grown-up tastes.”
Originally commissioned for the stage by The Deaf West Theater Company, “Sleeping Beauty Wakes” debuted in 2007 at the Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles. That production, which featured both deaf and hearing actors, won Ovation Awards for World Premiere Musical and Best Musical Direction as well as a Best Lead Actress nomination for Vigoda.
PS Classics released a “Sleeping Beauty Wakes” studio recording earlier this year. The group currently is developing a theatrical version, with support from the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, which likely will debut in 2010.
Vigoda, who founded GrooveLily (originally “The Valerie Vigoda Band”) in 1994, is a classically trained musician and Princeton honors graduate as well as a former lieutenant in the U.S. Army. She has toured the world with Cyndi Lauper (opening for Tina Turner and Cher), Joe Jackson and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Milburn is a graduate of New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. An accomplished record producer, he also does much of the group’s arranging and serves as musical director.
Lewin, also a Princeton graduate, earned a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and has toured and/or recorded with Audra McDonald, George Coleman, John Patitucci and many others.
“Sleeping Beauty Wakes” is GrooveLily’s third “concert musical,” following “Striking 12” and “Long Story Short,” a rollercoaster romance adapted from David Schulner’s play “An Infinite Ache.”
Other GrooveLily shows include “Toy Story the Musical” for Disney; “Ernest Shackleton Loves Me”; and “A Little Midsummer Night’s Music,” which collects songs written and performed for director Tina Landau’s 2006 musical version of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Tickets — $20 for students and children; $28 for seniors, faculty and staff; and $32 for the public — are available at the Edison Theatre Box Office and through all MetroTix outlets. For more information, call 935-6543 or e-mail edison@wustl.edu.