Click here to go back to the URBAN COWBOY Show Page.

Season Reviews: Urban Cowboy - The Musical

'Urban Cowboy' at Gateway Playhouse

BY STEVE PARKS

September 18, 2007

The cowboy part, we get. But urban, especially in the barn-within-a-barn of Gateway Playhouse, the city lights are just plain drowned out by all that fiddlin' 'n' stompin'. Not to mention beer-guzzlin'. We haven't seen that many Buds for U since our last game-day party in college.

Ah, but we could never dance like that, not even sober.

Based on the 1980 movie starring John Travolta and Debra Winger, Broadway's "Urban Cowboy" blazed its own twangin' trail in 2003 to become the first country jukebox musical. As directed by the ever-dependable Bob Durkin at Gateway's barn theater - and framed in Michael Ward's lofty barn set re-creating Gilley's honky-tonk in Houston - this suburban "Cowboy" will have you talkin' Texan by intermission. Heck, there's even a Dolly Parton contest whose slogan might be "the bigger the hair, the bigger the bust." And as for the bull, well, the mechanical one is well over hip-deep.
Of course, it's a love story at heart. You can see what's coming from a country mile - who loves whom, who cheats on whom, even who dies and who doesn't. "Urban Cowboy" is about as nuanced as a Yosemite Sam cartoon.

With a combative urgency, lanky Daniel Damon Joyce in the Travolta role of cowboy-turned-oil-rigger Bud and Noel Molinelli as the spitfire misnamed Sissy inhabit the match made somewhere other than heaven. Bud wants to own a piece of dirt; Sissy wants to quit Houston, and together they find trailer bliss until barroom bull-broncing gets between them.

Sissy wants to tame the beast and Bud, feeling threatened, walks out while his wife is coached by a black-hat cowboy (John Halbach). Bud retaliates by taking up with a city girl (Kathleen Monteleone) who favors unfaded glitter jeans. They're all so busy "Lookin' for Love in All the Wrong Places" that they forget the example of Uncle Bob and Aunt Corene (Steve Luker and Tina Johnson), even as they sing "Could I Have This Dance for the Rest of My Life?"

"Urban Cowboy's" best-of score, updated at Gateway with a new opening song ("Born to Fly"), draws contributions from such Nashville heavyweights as Shania Twain, Travis Tritt and the Charlie Daniels Band.

Andrew Austin leads his honky-tonk band - orchestra is way too highfalutin here - like the last Bud's at stake, especially on the iconic "Orange Blossom Special." But not even the Dolly Parton wannabes top choreographer Paula Hammons Sloan, dance captain Eric Robertson and their heel-kickin', hip-swivelin' charges. Whatever their ending-consonant handicaps, they punctuate each note with their flashing, happy feet.

I don't know about you, but it was way too intimidating for me to take the stage at intermission for the line-dancing competition. You may be braver.

URBAN COWBOY. By Aaron Latham and Phillip Oesterman; with music by various country artists. At Gateway Playhouse, 215 South Country Rd., Bellport, through Sept. 29. Tickets $37-$43; call 631-286-1133, or visit gatewayplayhouse.com. Seen Thursday night.
Copyright © 2007, Newsday Inc.

Dance Keeps ‘Cowboy’ Riding Tall

BY LEE DAVIS

September 20, 2007

Aaron Latham and Phillip Oesterman’s Broadway musicalization of Mr. Latham’s film, “Urban Cowboy,” survived, in 2003, for a brief and disheartening 60 performances—54 of those performances a hopeful gift by the producers after the first closing notice was posted.

Now, with a rewritten script, Paul Bartz filling in for the late Mr. Oesterman and Gateway casting genius Robin Joy Allan assuming a new role as revival reviser, “Urban Cowboy” is back on the boards at the Gateway Playhouse, preparatory to a new national tour.

This new musical “Urban Cowboy” has a solid, socko first act. The dancing, by an astonishing, jet propelled dancing chorus will knock your socks off. Paula Hammons Sloan’s refreshingly original choreography sends chorus kids catapulting through the air in weightless wonder, stomping every bit of dust out of the Gateway stage and setting a stratospheric high for happy exuberance. In fact, the dancing and the music combine to be by far the most rewarding part of this new “Urban Cowboy,” and the first act matches it in energy and speed.

The two lovers, Bud and Sissy, meet, sing, and shortly after “hello” are rolling around in bed. Compression, after all, is part of the process in musical comedy, and the hour and a half of the first act whizzes by joyfully. And the opening of act two is a real show-stopper. But then, as in a large percentage of new shows, second-act troubles take over and—thanks to plot detours and romantic complications—slow the evening down to a saunter, despite director Bob Durkin’s valiant attempts to keep it aloft. Nothing wrong that some rewriting can’t fix, though, because the elements are all there: boy meets girl who meets mechanical bull, and after a few falls, love conquers bull. And the dancing can resume.

Once again, the Gateway has assembled a first-rate cast and given it top flight production values. Michael Ward’s reconstruction of Gilley’s Houston saloon is bright and accommodating of dancing, romancing and musicians, though its illuminated upstage center “On the Air” sign remains an unanswered mystery. Andrew Austin, singing and leading a western ensemble, provides powerhouse musical direction of a score revised and revamped in major ways from the 2003 original, with only two survivors, Ronnie Dunn’s “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” and the multi-composed and written “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” making the cut. An army of “various artists,” including Shania Twain, Garth Brooks and Willie Nelson, have been employed to substitute, winningly. The cast digs into the music and delivers it with gusto and at the proper moment, tenderness.

Daniel Damon Joyce is a tall and engaging Bud, the young cowboy from Spur, Texas, who falls for the feisty Houston cowgirl Sissy, played with a carload of grit and a lot of enchantment by Noel Molinelli. Their lightning romance, breakup and break-in is handled with a light and convincing touch, and their songs together, particularly an Act One waltz titled “Could I Have This Dance for the Rest of My Life?” and a romantic “Honey I’m Home/Talk About Me” are musical high points.

Kathleen Monteleone, as the rich and sexy Houstonite who nearly captures Bud on the rebound, is a bright spot and teams up with Ms. Molenelli and the ensemble for the sassy “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.” The two older folks, relegated most of the time to scenes in a couple of interior inserts, are delightfully filled by Steve Luker as a strong and quietly heroic Uncle Bob, and Tina Johnson as his no-nonsense wife, Aunt Corene. Their whimsical “That’s the Truth About Men,” Ms. Johnson’s high energy "deliv-Cowboy”, one of the five versions of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” and Mr. Luker’s touching “Something That We Do” are more musical bright spots.

And then, always and almost forever, there’s the dancing, which at all times buoys the show every time it explodes upon the stage, even when the plot plods too extensively through the second act. Judicious cutting and tightening will undoubtedly occur during this trial run of this story with musical possibilities. That, after all, is what tryouts are for.

“Urban Cowboy” runs through September 29, concluding the Gateway’s summer season. The box office number is 286-1133.

Urban Cowboy Charges Into The Gateway Playhouse For A Hoot Hollerin’ Ho Down, And That’s No Bull!

By SHANA BRAFF

The historic local treasure the Gateway Playhouse located at 215 South Country Road in Bellport will close its regular summer season on a high note presenting the musical rendition of the blue collar love story Urban Cowboy from September 12th through the 29th.

Volunteers from the audience who are inspired by the terrific two-stepping of the dance numbers are offered the opportunity to get on stage and show off their own moves. Each night at intermission a line dancing contest is held with the grand prize being a pair of American Airlines tickets.

The musical is based on the 1980 movie starring John Travolta and Debra Winger. In 1978 writer Aaron Latham had the idea to write a true short story about a couple who had met at Gilley’s the famous, three-acre honkytonk in Houston Texas. Latham finally found a woman to model his story on who met her husband at Gilley’s and they even had their wedding there. The marriage ended when she rode the mechanical bull better than he did, and she began seeing the guy who ran the bull.

The story was called “The Ballad of the Urban Cowboy: America’s Search for True Grit” when it came out in Esquire Magazine. Hollywood came clamoring for the rights, which eventually went to Paramount Pictures. The movie was a huge box office hit generating a pop culture phenomenon of businessmen wearing cowboy boots and hats.

Suddenly a new era emerged mechanical bulls began replacing the dance floors of the 70s. After 17 years passed by and the iconic image of the Urban Cowboy had faded into most people’s memori9es of 80s nostalgia alongside tape decks and leg warmers, Latham received a letter out of nowhere from longtime Tommy Tune associate director Phil Oesterman, inquiring about whether he had ever considered turning his story into a musical. A reading was held at Latham’s home attended by Mike Nicolls who liked the show and helped launch it.

The world premiere was set for November 2002 at Miami’s Coconut Grove Playhouse with Oesterman directing when, at the end of July, he died suddenly of heart failure. Although everyone involved with the musical were filled with shock and grief, producers Chase Mischkin and Leonard Soloway decided to proceed with the venture that had been Oesterman’s vision.

The premiere went as planned, but the leap made to Broadway did not go smoothly due in no small part to its unfortunate timing. The show opened the week that war was declared in Iraq, and right in the middle of a musicians’ strike.

Attendance had been scant at the 26 preview performances, and the critic’s reviews were decidedly unfavorable resulting in the show’s closing after only four official performances. Afterward the producers decided to give the production more of a chance, but it closed once more, and this time for good after another 56 performances.

Preceding the show closing Latham assumed he’d seen the last of Urban Cowboy when he received an email from Windwood Theatricals producer Paul Bartz who proposed the idea of a national tour. It was in response to Bartz’ offer that Latham decided to revamp the story, to be more reminiscent of the gritty realism of the movie. sensational touring productions 210

Theater Review: Urban Cowboy at Gateway Playhouse

By LAUREN SCHER & HARLAN FRIEDMAN

The year was 1980; John Travolta starred as a young man from the country who learns about life and love in a Pasadena bar at the hands of the beautiful Debra Winger in Urban Cowboy. Could this big-screen honky-tonk drama, which earned a lukewarm reception on Broadway in 2003, come to the Gateway stage on Long Island some 27 years later and be well received? The answer is an unreserved yes.

For those not familiar with the film (or the Broadway version), the plot of the story goes as follows: Bud is fresh off the farm, having moved from Spur, Texas, to Pasadena, Texas, living with his aunt and uncle who are down-to-earth, good folk. His simple heart is captured by the local spitfire, Sissy. The couple marries and settles down in a trailer, only to separate for a rich girl and a local bad boy. Of course, there is a happy ending, but we won't say anything else about that.

The show's plot twists and big ensemble numbers were executed flawlessly by an excellent cast. Daniel Damon Joyce, a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, plays Bud. Joyce captures the bright-eyed innocence of Bud's character. He has remarkable acting ability and strong vocal prowess. (He also looks like John Mayer's twin brother, which certainly seemed to win over ladies in the audience.)

Sissy is played by the beautiful Noel Molinelli. Sissy is a little rough around the edges due to a hard life and being stuck in her surroundings for too long. We immediately found ourselves falling in love with Molinelli's portrayal of this local tough girl.

The crafty ex-con Wes is played by John Halbach. This is Halbach's Gateway premiere, and we hope he will come back for many more performances. His portrayal of this unscrupulous, black-hearted fiend was one of the most believable of the cast.

If you were one of the millions of people who was glued to the television last season for NBC's Grease: You're the One That I Want, then you'll certainly recognize the young lady who plays Pam: Kathleen Monteleone was one of the six finalists in the running to play Sandy in the legendary '50s-style rock musical on Broadway. Monteleone's natural stage presence and whopping vocal ability showed the Gateway audience why she made it so far in the reality competition.

One other star of the show that must not be overlooked was the Gateway theater itself. Located just north of the hustle and bustle of Sunrise and Montauk highways sits one of Long Island's true cultural gems. Gateway's barn theater gave us the feeling that we too were in Gilley's honky-tonk, from the moment we took our seats.

One of the great surprises of the performance was the revised musical score filled with hits by contemporary artists, including the Dixie Chicks, Travis Tritt and Shania Twain. The entire house had a great deal of fun during intermission with the audience line-dancing competition, and even more laughs watching the writers of this review attempt to dance on stage. The show's website claims that Urban Cowboy is a "line dancin', fine-romancin', heart-breakin', boot-scootin', raw-hidin', bull-ridin' good time." To translate that into Long Islandese and say that the show is amazing and you'd better see it before it closes on Sept. 29 would be a very accurate shot.