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 Dennis
LeGree offers insights into
flashy performance of “Starlight Express”,
Excels with ‘Papa’s Blues’
(to
read more about Starlight Express at the Fabulous Fox, click here)
by
Daniel Hines
Publisher America’s Seniors/TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com
Before calling his Memphis, TN hotel room, where ‘Starlight
Express’ cast member Dennis LeGree and the rest of the show are
performing before their visit to the Fabulous Fox, Nov. 4-16, we took the
time to look some of the reviews of this traveling performance of the
Andrew Lloyd Webber production.
One thing that was consistent in all the reviews was the
kudos for Dennis’ performance as the Papa Train, retired, but who
returns to work to provide guidance for his son, Rusty, the focal point of
the show.
For those not as familiar with ‘Starlight Express’ as other
Webber productions, here’s a brief synopsis:
The trains of the nine-year-old Rusty, are his favorite toys.
He loves playing with them, but he
himself lacks confidence and is a loner.
Then, as can only happen with the magic of the, the trains
take on the personalities of the performers (Rusty is transformed into a
young man), and the stage is set for one of the most unique musicals you
will ever see, complete with roller skating cast (a train has to have
wheels to get around, doesn’t it?), lights, fast action, and some great
songs. And, a theater
first—3-D Movies of the race to determine the champion train.
There has been some updating, but two of the songs remain
mainstays: ‘Only You,’
which provides the love theme for Rusty and his girl friend, and, of
course, ‘Poppa’s Blues.’
It is easy to imagine just what type of rendition Dennis
delivers to the song. He has
a deep, husky voice that reminds one of Lou Rawls.
And, while he was a classically trained musician who really wanted
to sing opera, never having any real desire for musicals, it is not
surprising that the Blues would be a natural for him.
His Father was a local favorite Blues and nightclub singer
for years in Miami, where Dennis grew up and later went on to teach music
in the Miami school system.
“The Blues basically are singing the first line twice,”
Dennis jokes. “Actually,
while the style is Blues, the song is about ‘Papa’ coming out of
retirement to help his son, convincing him that he can win the big race
and become the champion locomotive.
“It makes Papa feel good so he sings about what it is like
to be back, because he was a champion once himself. There are no particular words of significance, no deep
message, it’s just the Blues. “
Dennis says it really isn’t difficult to imagine
Locomotives as the key characters in a play.
“We just transform human personalities to them,” he
points out. “And, it came
pretty easy for me because the qualities of Papa Train are lot like I
already am…”
While the 49-year-old Dennis is not a senior yet, he
acknowledges that he is rapidly approaching seniorhood.
But, as is the case with other stars that have performed at
the Fabulous Fox, Dennis has some outstanding qualities.
First is that amazing voice, next is a positive outlook that
generates genuine warmth.
He talks about work similar to industry productions in this
country that he has done in Germany, where he lives when not touring, as a
way that he figures he can continue to
earn a comfortable income, when the German economy recovers.
We were quick to point out that there will always be a market
for a talent like his. But when the German economy slowed down after 9-11,
Dennis, who had decided not to do any more musicals, found himself cast in
a German production of ‘Starlight Express.’
Now, he finds himself on roller skates, traveling with the
Off Broadway production of one of the longest running shows ever done by
Webber.
(A word about those roller skates: Dennis says he learned to
skate when he was five years old—‘street skating’ as he describes
it. But for this production,
cast members trained at a special facility in Germany where they learned
to do dance-like roller skating.)
He has so enjoyed the production that he plans to be with it
through its planned extension beyond
2004.
“This is a show that the audiences love…some people might
prefer Sondheim, but this is a spectacle of music, lights, and
a wonderful evening,” he says. All
made even more spectacular by Dennis LeGree and his rendition of
‘Papa’s Blues.’
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