Inland Valley Repertory Theatre returned to live programming on Wednesday, November 10, 2021 with a fabulous two-performance-only The World Goes ‘Round, an irresistible two-hour medley of over two dozen of Kander & Ebb’s most memorable songs.

Conceived for off-Broadway back in 1991 by Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman, and David Thompson, The World Goes ‘Round features a crowd-pleasing array of songs culled not only from John Kander and Fred Ebb’s most celebrated Broadway blockbusters (Cabaret and Chicago to be specific) but also from Kiss Of The Spider Woman, The Happy Time, Zorba, 70, Girls, 70, The Act, Woman of the Year, The Rink, and Flora, The Red Menace.

Solos like Sandra Rice’s deeply felt “My Coloring Book” and her sassy “All That Jazz,” Jackie Cox’s touching “A Quiet Thing,” the latter paired with Chanlon Kaufman’s über-romantic “Marry Me,” Kaufman’s sensuous “Kiss Of The Spider Woman” (featuring the dance artistry of choreographer Allison Eversoll), Bobby Collins’ delightfully droll “Mr. Cellophane,” and Jamie Kaufman’s nostalgia-inducing “Colored Lights” proved terrific showcases for five supremely talented IVRT stars.

The fivesome joined voices for an exuberant “Coffee In A Cardboard Cup,” a multilingual “New York, New York,” and“The Money Song” and “Cabaret,” the latter two showcasing the Joel Gray/Liza Minnelli classics in a whole new light.

(Jamie) Kaufman and Cox’s “Class” posed an age-old question (“Why is it everyone now is a pain in the ass?”) in a side-splitting “The Grass Is Always Greener.”

Rice’s peppy “How Lucky Can You Get” (performed with the help of her two male costars), the women’s tight three-part harmonies in “There Goes the Ball Game,” and Collins’ adoring tribute to the frozen food queen known only as “Sara Lee” were as splendidly performed as they were engagingly staged by director Frank Minano (doing imaginative work throughout, including an inspired opening number unmasking) and and ace choreographer Eversoll.

(Jamie) Kaufman sang a saucy “Arthur in the Afternoon” opposite her buff hubby Chanlon in the title role), Collins and Eversoll stopped the show with a tap-tastic “Shoe Dance,” and on a more serious note, “I Don’t Remember You” and “Sometimes A Day Goes By” were touchingly performed by (Chanlon) Kaufman and Collins, first individually and then in aching counterpoint.

And that wasn’t all.

Adding to the afternoon/evening’s magic were Rice’s torchy “And The World Goes ‘Round” and her bouncy “Ring Them Bells” and (Chanlon) Kaufman’s exuberant “The Happy Time” and his yearning “We Can Make It,”

(Jamie) Kaufuman’s gut-wrenching “Maybe This Time,” Rice and Collins’ heartstrings-pulling “Only Love,” and Cox’s bittersweet “Isn’t This Better” completed a song list that had audience members wishing for even more.

A swanky nightclub scenic design backed musical director/keyboardist Ronda Rubio and her pitch-perfect onstage orchestra (Jon Bradley, David Catalan, Takako Nakano, Carlos Rivera, and Brad Vaughn) and was enhanced by lighting designers Gavan Wyrick and Caleb Shiba and several elegant costumes per star.

Nick Galvin’s sound design was as crisp and as clear as sound designs get.

Hope Kaufman was assistant director. Mark Mackenzie and Steve Siegel were stage crew.

The last time IVRT was live before an actual in-house audience was early in March of 2020 when one of the company’s best productions ever, A Streetcar Named Desire, was forced to close early.

It’s no wonder, then, that its November 2021 reopening with The World Goes ‘Round proved particularly grand.

Inland Valley Repertory Theatre, 455 W. Foothill Blvd., Claremont.
www.IVRT.org

–Steven Stanley
November 10, 2021
Photos: DawnEllen Ferry

Tags: Inland Valley Repertory Theatre, Kander & Ebb, Los Angeles Theater Review