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Bring A Broom!
by Randy Sparks
starring Randy Sparks and the New Christy MinstrelsLIMITED ENGAGEMENT - October 15 - October 31, 1999
NINE PERFORMANCES ONLY!
Musical revue adds Sparks to '49er history
By Sherman Spencer
Special to The Record"Bring a Broom!," the New Christy Minstrels musical now in its world premiere at Sonora's Stage 3 Theatre, might have been called "Gold Rush Undercover."
This delightful revue tunefully satirizes many aspects of the days of the '49ers not covered in more conventional histories.
Its title song is the sales pitch of an Eastern con man describing how his brooms are all the future prospectors will need to sweep up the gold dust when they join the rush to California.
Randy Sparks, originator and director of the Minstrels, wrote the words and music to the 20 songs featured in the show. The cast includes, besides Sparks, Lori Brandon, Becky Jo Benson, Dave Rainwater, Lowell Daniels, Chris Miller and Kris Osward.
Another cast member, Ed Reinhart, fell ill after opening night, so the others had to rearrange the show to cover for his absence. They accomplished this considerable feat very skillfully.
The story line tells how one of the troupe meets the spirit of an early prospector/songwriter, John Stone, who published the first collection of Gold Rush songs. Stone, played by Sparks, volunteers to tell the real story of those times.
Through solos and ensembles with a connecting narrative and carefully choreographed vignettes, we discover a new approach to the joys and hardships of this turbulent era. The songs range in mood from the well-known "Celebrated Jumping Frog" tale -- told from the frog's point of view -- to the poignant ballad, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," a tale of racial injustice. Most of the songs are in a light satirical vein, reminiscent of those Tom Lehrer wrote in the 1960s.
The singers accompanied themselves on instruments varying in size from spoons to a string bass and including a banjo, guitars, accordion, autoharp, flute, violin and mandolin.
Most of the songs were arranged with four-part harmony, and the singing was uniformly good. Each member of the cast had some solos; and though they played many differing roles in the vignettes, each managed to convey an individual personality as a member of the troupe.
Sparks was determined that this show not be a nostalgia act. He formed a new company last year, and the music written for them is in a different mood than the arrangements for his previous ensembles. Contrast, for instance, his great hit of yesteryear, "Today," with its tender hedonistic "seize the day" philosophy, to his new "Doin's in Coloma," which describes what a festive family affair a public hanging could be in those early days of frontier justice.
Both singers and instruments were -- blessedly -- unamplified, but every word of the clever lyrics could be heard and understood. As all the performers have lived in the Sonora area, the show had a warm "hometown" aura in spite of the total professionalism of the cast and production. Sparks is a marvel of crowd-pleasing stage presence, and the entire group similarly radiated fellowship and goodwill toward each other and to the audience.
Barbara Segal-Mill contributed her usual excellent stage direction.
A generous group of encores, including Sparks' classics "Today" and "Green, Green" -- the latter featuring the "whiskey-tenor" voice of the irrepressible Brandon -- brought the sold-out program Friday to a close. It was a most enjoyable history lesson.
