Max von Essen ~ Fetching Water workshop

[CherylA928]

Posted: 9/21/03 at 2:42am

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to attend a Human Race Theatre Company workshop for the new musical “Fetching Water”, by Leslie Becker and Michael Hunsaker. The production stars Max von Essen & Celia Keenan as Jack & Jill” (of nursery rhyme fame) and Lewis Cleale & Christine Ciccone in the roles of Dick & Jane.

This captivating new musical, delightfully performed by its talented cast is not a story about children. It is about growing up and the laughter and tears along the way.

The first comment that was made in the workshop was, “When will the CD be available?” If you listen to this wonderful new music just once, you’ll swear you’ve been humming it all your life.
Some numbers are amusing and fun while others are tender and very moving.

Max von Essen plays Jack to perfection with appropriate naïve charm. He brings the kind of charisma to the role that would make one hope that he will be available when "Fetching Water" is in NYC for a limited run, March 2004.

The web site www.FetchingWater.com should be up and running in about a month.

[IssaMe]

Posted: 9/21/03 at 7:00am

Kinda hoping he is playing Tony in West Side Story on Broadway around then.

But then my prediction of his being cast in that role might not necessary be the shoe-in that I thought since the producers (the same guys as Rent) are using Stuart Howard as casting director instead of their regular casting director, Bernie Telsey.

It was Telsey, of course, who cast von Essen in DOTV...so it could be expected that Max would have been at the head of the pack for the lead in WSS were Telsey casting it.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/21/03 at 7:05am

What Next ? "Little Miss Muffett " the musical.

[Sunfish]

Posted: 9/21/03 at 3:10pm

I saw this reading as well and was utterly charmed by MvE as Jack. It really is not about the nursery rhyme at all, Mr. Roxy, it is about personal transformation from a single to multi-dimensional perception of the world, and oneself. Judging from the comments made after the show in the discussion, the characters were very real and not cartoon characters at all. It also has glorious music and clever, complicated, tender and poignant lyrics. Give it a chance.

As much as I would like to see Max perform in a full production of Fetching Water, if there is any chance that he would be playing Tony in WSS, I'M THERE. One of my all-time favorite musicals, it strikes me as utterly perfect casting.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 9/22/03 at 9:42pm

The Miss Muffet musical is actually entiteled ALONG CAME A SPIDER. It has a charming score, but the recording is long out-of-print.