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The One-Man, One-Piano Metaphorical Musical Tour De Force by Fred Barton
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FEBRUARY 2000: Miss Gulch Returns! received an epic production on the mainstage of Theatre On The Square in February 2000, to stunning critical acclaim (see raves, below). The production was nominated for the Indianapolis theatre awards in each of the 5 categories for which it was eligible, and made a clean sweep of all five awards at TOTS's Annual "Glitz" Awards on July 15, 2000: Best Production – Musical (Ron Spencer and David Stine); Best Actor – Musical (Brent E. Marty); Best Direction – Musical (Ron Spencer and David Stine); Best Lighting – Musical or Play (Kevin Brown); and Best Set – Musical or Play (Ron Spencer, David Stine, and Rob Koharchik of The Indianapolis Civic Theatre). DECEMBER 2000: The Indianapolis production of Miss Gulch Returns! reopened in October, to a whole new slate of rave reviews (see below) at The National Comedy Theater, after its acclaimed, fully realized, epic mainstage production at Theatre On The Square. Returning were inexhaustible actor Brent Marty, romping and fuming with abandon, and pianist Paul Galloway, providing him/her with an admirably faithful and animated accounting of the score (Marty also occasionally played for himself, just for old time's sake). The new cabaret incarnation was produced by the indefatigable David Stine, and, as before, was directed by Mr. Stine and Ron Spencer. OCTOBER 2002: On October 25, 2002, Indianapolis's Theatre-On-The-Square revived their acclaimed and heavily awarded production of Miss Gulch Returns! as part of their 20th Anniversary retrospective of their most successful productions. The latest raves: |
THEATRE-ON-THE-SQUARE'S THIRD RUN
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He flounces and pounces and shifts from bratty to batty while reveling in the delectable lonely-heart. Marty roars through the double entendres and show-biz camp that comprise the 1985 "musical vivisection of a stereotype" by Fred Barton, best known for co-creating and performing in the debut Forbidden Broadway of the early 1980s. When Miss Gulch tries to vamp in "Pour Me a Man," Marty writhes on the counter of a bar as if overtaken by spasms. When she chronicles her one affair, he hunches in profile and in slow-motion strikes a melodramatic pose that ends up arthritic. |
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Brent Marty: "I'm A Bitch"
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Ron Spencer's delightfully schizophrenic set splits between a disreputable lounge bar and a skewed "Oz" theme park. On one side of the stage, dozens of bottles shine with Technicolor liquids. On the other, green in the shade of envy saturates the yellow brick road, whose path spirals into a circular revolve atop of which rests a baby grand piano.
Spencer, who co-directed with David Stine, pipes in Judy Garland – Miss Gulch's nemesis and Dorothy in Oz – at intermission.
Their shrewdest move is to retain accompanist Paul Galloway, even though Barton wrote the piece for one actor behind the piano. While they overdo the pratfalls, Spencer and Stine free Marty to traipse about, and physical comedy goes a long way to enliven the caricature.
Marty wobbles on a bike as Miss Gulch, emotes, then teeters off. What a fun, loopy ride in between.
Miss Gulch Re-returns
Indianapolis NUVO (weekly), October 30, 2002
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"Pour Me A Man"
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The Wicked Witch of the West is a cross-dressing, self-proclaimed bitch whose love of song and hard alcohol has landed a shamelessly endearing gig at The Emerald City Lounge. For your information, Miss Gulch's career high came as a result of her debut in that infamous cinematic classic starring alongside Dorothy, Toto and the Yellow Brick Road posse. Ever since, she's been raising the roof in smoky lounges as she gripes about men, lost loves and the many ways life has wronged her.
Brent E. Marty (Miss Gulch) opens this witty musical as a tuxedoed emcee accompanied by a genuine piano sidekick played by Paul Galloway.
Just moments into the rush of Broadway-esque show tunes, Marty transforms himself into the prudish and hysterically pessimistic Miss Gulch. From then until the close of the curtain, Miss Gulch delivers non-stop laughter as she emulates an archetypical personality envied by all who have experienced bitterness, resentment and a willingness to let it all hang out for everyone else to see.
Brent and pianist Galloway play off of each other, creating a brilliant balance of talent on TOTS' charming set which features a spinning baby grand piano housed inside the very green Emerald City Lounge bordered by a wall of rainbow colored liquors and flashy mirrors. Most impressive was the delicate and diligent chemistry between Miss Gulch and Toto, played by Angel the dog. This TV- K-9 duet brought a tear to all doglovers and a jolt of laughter to everyone else.
Accomplished director, Ron Spencer, breathed life into this Fred Barton (Forbidden Broadway and The Two Svengalis) creation. Its flawless arrangement and fast-paced blocking made every second entirely fascinating and hilarious. Originally opening Off-Broadway in 1985, Miss Gulch Returns! has played to audiences around the country and, in 1986, an original cast album was released, jam-packed with all the zany tunes involved in this unconventional hit. Now, at Theatre on the Square, Miss Gulch can be seen in all of her harsh and hysterical beauty.Theatre on the Square is located at 627 Mass Ave. Call 637-8085 for reservations/information.
REVIEWS FROM THEATRE-ON-THE-SQUARE'S 2nd RUN, OCTOBER 2000
SHE RANTS – AND THEY RAVE (AGAIN):
"Sometimes the smallest characters in movies can take on a life of their own.... I always wondered what happened to these characters after their parts were done. Sunday night I got some of my questions answered. Miss Gulch Returns, currently playing Sunday evenings at the National Comedy Theatre on Massachusetts Avenue, is a one man/woman show that takes the character of Miss Gulch from The Wizard of Oz, and in one evening tells us more about her than you would ever want to know.
Brent Marty turns in a tour de force performance. Not only is the timing flawless but, toward the end of the evening, you even feel some sympathy for her. This is not easy to do in a show filled with so many one-liners and double entendres. Under all the musical numbers (such as 'I'm a Bitch,' cut from The Wizard of Oz) he has an undercurrent of pity that I found to be captivating. His Miss Gulch is a little different from the movie. He doesn't really try to imitate; instead he makes the character his own with hilarious results. From the opening number to his/her finale the audience never stops laughing. One forgets that this is a one person show. Brent Marty easily slides from soliloquy to song to all out show-stopping numbers with the grace of a professional. If for no other reason this show could be seen just to witness the performance. However, aside from that, the script is hysterical. The humor never seems to let up. Not only do the jokes come forth at break-neck pace, they seem to resonate. By the time one sets in you're laughing at something else. The musical numbers, especially her lament about the fame of Judy Garland among many of the men she meets, is absolutely hysterical.... This show has gotten rave reviews in almost every local newspaper, and deservedly so. So, if you're looking for something to do one Sunday night, ease on down to the National Comedy Theatre. You won't be disappointed." - Ron Popp, The Reflector, 11/22/2000
The B*tch Is back! in new play: IF I WERE A WOMAN I'D WANT TO BE YOU! – A TRIBUTE TO MISS ALMIRA GULCH
"'Nanutanantananaa. Nanutanantananaa.' Do you remember those sinister bars from The Wizard of Oz when Miss Almira Gulch enters on her bicycle to steal away Toto and destroy him? Bet you never thought you'd see her again.
Well, the bike-riding bitch is back in Miss Gulch Returns!: The Wicked Musical, playing every Sunday night at 7 p.m. at The National Comedy Theatre in Indianapolis.
A special preview was last Sunday, when I had my first taste of the one-man show. Local actor-singer-musician Brent E. Marty begins the show as a lounge lizard intent upon giving us Miss Gulch and a little of her background. Accompanied on piano by Paul Galloway as Miss Gulch's comic side-kick, Marty dives into the character in full drag.
In the first act Miss Gulch heartbreakingly reveals the song that would have made her a star had she been allowed to perform it in The Wizard of Oz, "I'm a Bitch." Marty makes a very convincing Gulch as he turns her into a real woman who has known her share of rejection, yet refuses to compromise her beliefs. She tells the sad story of her dysfunctional family, her love of liquor, and her brief and singular affair with 'Joe.'
But telling the story doesn't really give the musical the credit it is due. I laughed so hard it hurt for most of the night. With numbers like "Pour Me A Man" and "Give My Best to the Blonde," I thought they could go no further across the line, until they did. The show is full of hilarious sexual references and the continuous banter between Marty and Galloway is a sketch comedy in itself.
Miss Gulch Returns! received a fully staged and choreographed production on the mainstage of Theatre on the Square in February. The Indianapolis Star called it sophisticated, and wickedly funny, and I certainly agree." - Amanda Strickland, Senior Columnist, The Franklin, 10/27/2000.
"Miss Gulch Returns"– to Great Success
"Did you ever wonder what happened to that wicked woman in The Wizard of Oz who steals Toto and rides her bicycle through the tornado cackling along the way? Well, probably not. But she's back and she's right here in Indianapolis singing, dancing and delighting audiences on Massachusetts [Avenue] every Sunday night through December 17 at 7 p.m. Enter the Emerald City Lounge and the world of Almira Gulch (Brent Marty) post 'Oz' fame. She is mad, bad and ready to say a thing or two about how shortchanged she was in Hollywood. (Her solo in Gone with the Wind "I Don't Give a Damn and Stop Calling Me Frankly" was cut from the movie.) Marty is dynamic and charming, carrying the show along with his charismatic energy and powerful vocal chords. You never know what he… I mean 'she' will do next. With Paul Galloway's commanding talent of the piano and co-direction by Indianapolis' Kings of frisky after-hours comedy (Ron Spencer & David Stine), this show is a sure hit! So go to The National Comedy Theatre and be amused, be entertained, and be home in 90 minutes." – Crystal Roberts, The Collegiate, 11/16/2000 (4 stars out of 4)
"MISS GULCH RETURNS! (THE WICKED MUSICAL)"
"For those of you who missed Miss Almira Gulch the first time around, now is the time to redeem yourself, for she is happily returning. Initially presented at Theatre On The Square, now it can be seen and heard at The National Comedy Theatre. However, if this is your first time in this auspicious area, the address is 721 Massachusetts Avenue, in the heart of offbeat theatre.
Miss Gulch Returns! is a one-person show strenuously built around the tremendous talent, Brent E. Marty, a local actor with surprising credentials. He is a tireless performer with an abundance of explosive energy. He never stops moving, and neither does the comedy.
Marty actually plays two parts. In the beginning, he just sort of interviews Miss Almira Gulch, the frustrated, cranky, sarcastic, evil-mouth, wicked dog-napper from The Wizard of Oz. Then he transforms himself into her right before your eyes. When he takes on this character – or she takes over him – the comedy really blossoms into hysterical laughter. Miss Gulch kindly invites audience participation and then proceeds to properly ignore it. She definitely is some kind of independent and free-spirited witch.
The [preview] night I saw this production, the small audience roared with laughter. A lot of the comedy comes from the ingenuity of Brent E. Marty, but the most credit should go to the man who created this whole thing, Fred Barton. He wrote the funny dialogue full of blue thoughts, manufactured the original lyrics full of blue rhymes, and composed the snappy music full of blue notes. But Almira Gulch is anything but blue. She is sharp, stinging, and pleasantly wicked, thanks to Fred Barton and Brent E. Marty.
This production was produced and directed by those masters of the winking eye, Ron Spencer and David Stine. Paul Galloway was piano accompanist. The show lasts about an hour and 40 minutes including intermission, of which the timing was done using a huge hourglass full of red sand. Being presented every Sunday evening at 7 pm, this is a thoroughly enjoyable show. Indianapolis must learn to appreciate the extraordinary talent of the fabulous Brent E. Marty." – Charles Epstein, The Jewish Post & Opinion, 11/1/2000.
* * * * * [out of 5 stars] - MISS GULCH RETURNS (National Comedy Theatre - 721 Mass. Ave.) Brent E. Marty returns as the Wizard of Oz antagonist turned nightclub singer. Highest recommendation. Sundays Oct. 22 - Dec. 17, 7 p.m. $15. – Lisa Gauthier, Nuvo Newsweekly, 10/19/2000
"If you love The Wizard Of Oz, you are going to love a one-man show going on here in Indy. Brent Marty is the star of Miss Gulch Returns!... Well, I will not be visiting Kansas, because you scared me.... It was wonderful!" – Clarence Reynolds, WXIN-TV Fox 59, 10/19/2000
"I love him! I love him! - Jordana Green, WXIN-TV Fox 59, 10/19/2000
ORIGINAL FEBRUARY 2000 REVIEWS FOR "MISS GULCH RETURNS!" AT INDIANAPOLIS'S THEATRE ON THE SQUARE
Miss Gulch Gets A Witch's Revenge In Clever Show
By Marion Garmel, The Indianapolis Star
INDIANAPOLIS (Wed. Feb. 9, 2000) – Don't look now, but Miss Gulch, the bicycle-riding harridan who threatens Dorothy's dog Toto in The Wizard of Oz, is getting her revenge.
Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons on the mainstage at Theatre on the Square, the bicycling cyclone in black, who will become the Wicked Witch of the West once Dorothy and Toto land in Oz, is wowing audiences with "her" one-woman cabaret show, plus piano accompaniment.
Brent E. Marty, normally accompanist and music director for several area theaters, takes the stage first as a tuxedo-clad lounge singer who finds (an imaginary) Miss Gulch sitting at a table and decides the world is clamoring to know her better. "You're the woman I like, which I'd wanna be like, if I wanted to be like a woman," he sings. And then, bending over to pick a hat and wig out of a basket, flipping his collar and swirling a scarf around his waist – presto, change-o! – he is Miss Gulch, who describes herself in the title of her first song as a word that rhymes with witch and is not printable in a family newspaper.
The gender game
Yes, this is a show in which a man is playing a woman, but most Judy Garland impersonators also are male. And, as Miss Gulch argues, if she'd been allowed to sing her song in The Wizard of Oz the way Garland sang Dorothy's Over the Rainbow, "flamboyant men across the countryside would have been putting on dresses and imitating me."
This is such a clever show, in words and music, that you want to wrap it up and take it home. Marty is a delicious, pinched-up, bitter, disappointed woman with a voice like a hurricane. The set and props, borrowed from Civic Theatre's production of The Wizard of Oz, fit remarkably well, from the Kansas house that falls on the witch with the ruby slippers (finally worn by Miss Gulch instead of Dorothy) to the Gothic lights from the witch's ominous castle to the yellow brick road that swirls around the stage.
On the side opposite the fallen house, accompanist Paul Galloway sits at an upright piano on a raised platform, and you haven't seen anything until you've watched Miss Gulch drape herself across the top of that piano. At the rear, a large mirrored bar is backdrop to a pyramid of bottles that light up and twinkle as Miss Gulch sings about the many uses of alcohol to numb the frustrations of unrequited love.
It all works well
Co-directed by Ron Spencer and actor David Stine (a friend of the author's who secured the show for Indianapolis), with Jeannie Logan as vocal coach and Kevin Brown handling the lighting, everything falls into place.
I'd be remiss if I didn't call attention to the clever rhymes – "I find it hilarious that we're so similarious" – and the sly humor, such as the lyrics, "When you're born on a bike in West Topeka on an afternoon in nineteen-o-two," which perfectly parallels Garland's hit song (not from The Wizard of Oz) about being born in a trunk at the Princess Theatre in Pocatello, Idaho.
Everybody involved deserves a big hand, even if this is not your usual musical comedy. It's a superior cabaret show that is slumming in a theater.
Be warned, the show is sophisticated, wickedly funny and not for young kids, which is why the free tickets available for young people through this month's New Audiences for the New Millennium Festival are limited to ages 16-18.
The Bitch Is Back
By Chad Marshall
Indianapolis Night & Day Editor
Rating: * * * * (Out of four)
If you want a night full of unrestrained belly-laughs, just click your heels together three times and say, "There's no place like TOTS!" because Theatre on the Squares' current production of Miss Gulch Returns is the funniest show to hit the Indy theater scene this season.
Miss Gulch Returns takes a post-Wizard of Oz look at Almira Gulch, the crabby old lady who whisked Toto away from Dorothy during the black and white segment of the famous film. Why? Because, according to Brent E. Marty's lounge-lizard character who opens the show (reminiscent of Buddy Cole from The Kids in the Hall), funding for Gulch studies in colleges across the country have been slashed, if not eliminated entirely. And that's bad because (in silly pseudo-intellectual terms) growing up exposed to Almira Gulch year after year on TV has psychologically implanted her characteristics in all of us and, if not careful, we'll all end up just like her: A frustrated bitch.
Marty's charm and charisma are infectious from his first entrance as he invites everyone to come to the reception after the show because "the only downside about one-man shows is that the cast parties are dismal." Cheesy jokes with perfect comic delivery make just about every utterance by Marty a riot.
But the lounge lizard is only the beginning. After a couple of quick Velcro rips and untucks, Marty transforms from lounge lizard into – well – another lizard: Almira Gulch, Entertainress Extraordinaire of the Emerald City Lounge. And then the fun really begins.
Almira, unhappy in life and love, launches into a hilarious torch song tirade beginning with the song that was cut from the final print of The Wizard of Oz, "I'm a Bitch."
Gulch laments that life could have been different for her if her song (much better than Garland's "Over the Rainbow") had not been cut: "flamboyant men across the country would have been putting on dresses and impersonating me!" Gulch's Hollywood hard luck stories continue as she bitterly tells how she missed out playing Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, which ruined the opportunity for her to sing "My Dear, I Don't Give a Damn Either, and Stop Calling Me Frankly."
Miss Gulch Returns is filled with funny lines too numerous to count and songs with such clever (and liberal) rhyme schemes that there isn't one second that goes un-enjoyed. Plus, Almira passes out chocolates to the audience, putting her on my A list forever.
But, fantastic as he was, Marty didn't pull off the one-man show alone. Musical accompanist Paul Galloway plays a low-key Teller to Marty's Penn for a couple of good gags; Yorkshire Terrier Angel makes a cameo as Toto for a cute warm and fuzzy factor; and the colorful, fun and fabulous set is the best I've see at TOTS.
If you see one play this year, see Miss Gulch Returns. If you see two plays this year, see Gulch again.
Indianapolis NUVO:
MISS GULCH RETURNS!: ***** (out of five)
It's Twister Time! Why create a one-man show about one of the lesser Wizard Of Oz characters, you ask? Because, according to Fred Barton's script, early Gulch exposure is embedded in all of our psyches; she is what we will all become: a frustrated bitch. The show opens with star Brent E. Marty trying to pick up Gulch in the Emerald City Lounge and explodes into a cabaret with flirty, frustrated Gulch, the spinster performance junkie, singing her blues about lost men, fame, and the comfort of alcohol. If only she'd gotten to sing her title song in Wizard, "I'm a Bitch," "flamboyant men would be putting on dresses and impersonating me." She had hope at one point in Joe, a man like no other: "He didn't run away nauseated." But what do you expect from someone you pick up in a gym? This show is stellar and hysterical, not only in the excellent slap-stick courtesy of Marty, but in the most elaborate set I've seen for a one-man show, great off-stage sound effects, a subtle accompanist/sidekick in Paul Galloway and always on-cue lighting. Added bonuses include a special appearance by Toto (stick around after the show to meet her!) and chocolate (the ultimate substitute for being in love). Go! – Lisa Gauthier.
The Indianapolis Jewish Post, Charles Epstein:
'MISS GULCH' mirthfully mischievous
Theatre On The Square presents Miss Gulch Returns!, a cabaret-style one-man show, starring Brent Marty, a maniacal comedian who also is an accomplished pianist. Miss Gulch Returns! was created by the warped mind of Fred Barton, whose sophisticated lounge dialogue and clever lyrics keep the audiences in stitches.
Just in case someone does not remember who Miss Almira Gulch is, she's the bicycle-riding hag who turns into the flying witch in the film, The Wizard of Oz. Marvelously portrayed by Margaret Hamilton, who replaced Gale Sondergaard, the original actress cast in the role, she will be forever remembered for her superb performance and extraordinary wickedness.
But now Margaret Hamilton has some daring competition in the person of Brent Marty, whose portrayal of The Emerald City Lounge lizard at the beginning of the show at TOTS is also extraordinarily wicked, explaining Miss Gulch's views about men. Then suddenly a fantastic transformation takes place on stage. Marty sheds his formal tuxedo and dons the garb of Miss Gulch. He, or she, then starts the shady proceedings in the first person. Getting and having a man is an utmost concern of Miss Almira Gulch.
Fred Barton's short musical play does not contain foul language, except for the word that rhymes with "witch." However, there is definitely a blue tinge on stage. In fact, the dialogue and lyrics sink to a deep purple. Barton does all this with double and even triple entendres. Add Brent Marty's depraved comedic timing plus his devilish facial expressions and you have normal language that would make a sailor blush. Marty waits for the exact moment to deliver his mischievous punch lines and evil smirks.
The set is a fabulous combination of a bar, a piano on an elevated turntable of which Paul Galloway expertly accompanies Marty, and a sort of lean-to house that has settled upon an unfortunate witch with red slippers. There is a yellow brick road and ramps for Miss Gulch to perilously ride her bicycle at speeds of which crashes occur. Marty reveals his dexterity in many ways, including the art of ad-libbing.
Ron Spencer and David Stine directed this evening of hilarious craziness. Stine is also listed in the program as the sponsor of this most unusual presentation.
The show is in two acts divided by a 20-minute intermission. Each act is approximately 40 minutes. Theatre On The Square is always providing different and unusual entertainment, but this production takes the cake with plenty of hysterical icing. TOTS, we thank you.
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