Weekend in Review - Nov 30th, 2009

Saturday was an odd one in T-town. At least it was at all the places near my car.

The first stop on my out-and-about night of fun was Tacoma Musical Playhouse to see its production of “Guys & Dolls,” the musical comedy about Sarah Brown, the uptight “mission doll” out to reform the gamblers and the drunks in New York during the heyday of mobsters and dames, only to find herself falling in love with the top roller. The show is a mainstay for community theaters. It was no surprise to see it on the TMP play list this year. But it is also one of those anchor shows that can be seen over and over just to see how directors make the show fresh.

The show had few twists, however, and the ones it had weren’t all favorable. All in all, it was a fun show with great voices and solid acting. I just expected more from such a solid theater.

The main issue I had with the show concerned the actress playing Adelaide (Kristen Helland.) Don’t get me wrong. She has a great voice and great set of tap shoes, but she just doesn’t look like an aging dancer. Adelaide is suppose to be a signature – albeit middle age – Hot Box dancer. Helland is young and cute and looks like she is just passed voting age. That fact gives the love story between her and her mobster boyfriend, who is well into his middle age, a bit too much of a Long Island Lolita flavor about it.

That nitpick aside, the show was solid up and down the playbill. Notable performances included Rafe Wadleigh as Sky Masterson and Sarah Samuelson as Sara Brown.

The show runs at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays through Dec. 20, at Tacoma Musical Playhouse, located at 7108 Sixth Ave., Tacoma.

I wanted a bit more music when the TMP show ended and found what I was looking for at the Acme Grub Cage, where Blanco Bronco, Taist of Iron and The Speans boomed and flashed the house. The concert was the last before the bar’s stage goes dark for a few months as it figures out what it can show under the sprinkler laws set to go into effect with the new year.

I ran into the first total douche bag of the night here. A musician had a medical emergency during a performance. It was nothing serious, but the band had to cut its set short. One total DB wanted his $5 cover back because he didn’t get a “full set” of music. What twisted, stupid, cheap ass thing to demand. The bar handled it, but that dude needs to meet me in the parking lot. I’ll be the guy swinging a pillow case filled with padlocks and used needles.

The night ended with another ending. Hell’s Kitchen said goodbye to its Sixth Avenue location with a capacity concert headlined by Hell’s Belles, an all female AC/DC tribute band. The warm up band, Cookies thundered the stage just as I arrived. Wow, that bassist is hot and has a set of great pipes on her.

Hell’s Belles didn’t disappoint with its high-energy, hurricane rock. That was all but guaranteed. The crowd was a mix of aging rockers and their college-age children. The age range ran from 20 to 60. It was an odd but great crowd. Except for another DB. A dude well lubricated on PBR Tall Boys opted to get a bit handsy with others in the crowd and got 86ed toot sweet. He was left wondering why he was standing out in the light rain while his friends remained inside. DBs never get it.