A Piece of Music and Radio History on Stage
EDITOR’S NOTE: We have a special offer for discounted tickets to see Rock & Roll Man.
Photo credit: Joan Marcus
As a long time radio announcer/broadcaster, (I personally don’t like using the term “disc jockey”) I felt it incumbent upon me to see Rock and Roll Man, the musical with book by Gary Kupper, Larry Marshak and Rose Caiola about Alan Freed’s life. Freed, the legendary DJ who coined the term “rock and roll”, and exposed music from black groups to millions of listeners, as well as created live events in various venues with an integrated line-up, is an integral part of music and broadcasting history.
Hearing his story was most fascinating to me. Freed changed the course of radio, busting through the rules of the time, showing that music truly brings people together. But he had some issues. Freed had a drinking problem, and as he rose through the ranks of stardom, he met up and did business with shady record company executive Morris Levy, with alleged ties to organized crime who was convicted of extortion before his death, causing Freed to fall from grace. It is a fascinating true tale.
But the storytelling part of this musical doesn’t really kick in until the second act.
Photo credit: Joan Marcus
The first act spends most of the time highlighting the music of the bands that Freed broke. After a while, song after song after song becomes tedious. It resembled a musical revue rather than a show with flow. The writers use the convention of Freed who is in the middle of a dream about being in court to defend himself. I would have much preferred to see his story laid out without a judge in a glitter robe and Little Richard (played by a fabulous Rodrick Covington) as his over-the-top attorney and advisor. Happily, the story line started to become more prevalent after intermission, and Freed’s unfortunate demise was well depicted.
My other problem is that for the small theatre that Rock and Roll Man is presented in, the sound is way over amplified.
We lose the vocals of Constatine Maroulis who plays Alan Freed, as well as other singers. I would love to hear much more nuance in the audio mixing.
The set design (Tim Mackabee) and costumes (Leon Dobkowski) are quite wonderful, and Joe Pantoliano (who plays two characters) is fun to watch, especially when he portrays Levy, the notorious record company gangster.
This musical at New World Stages is directed by Randal Myler and choreographed by Stephanie Klemons.
As a former radio announcer, Rock and Roll Man was important for me to see. The payola scandal that Freed was involved with set the stage for future broadcasters to be required to sign legal documents when hired to play music on the air.
For radio listeners and music lovers, the Alan Freed story is a part of history that should be told. The musicians are awesome, and the performances are spot on.
My favorite line in the show, when Freed gets hired away from the radio station he works at in Ohio to come to a New York powerhouse station is: “kid, you’re not in Cleveland anymore.”
https://rockandrollmanthemusical.com/
Valerie Smaldone is a 5-time Billboard Magazine Award winner and is well known for her unprecedented success holding the #1 on-air position in the New York radio market on 106.7 Life-FM, an iHeart station. She has hosted, produced, and created several award-winning nationally syndicated programs featuring in-depth interviews with stars like Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Elton John and Mariah Carey among others. Her radio talk show "Bagels and Broadway" highlighted theatre and food personalities. She is an accomplished interviewer and voice artist heard on commercials, narrations, promos and audiobooks, as well as a sought after live announcer.
Most recently, Valerie produced and directed a film, The Thursday Night Club, featuring pop diva Gloria Gaynor in her movie acting debut. She is one of the creators and producers of a docu-series, Divine Renovation, starring Erik Estrada, on streaming networks soon.
