Tracy Lynn Olivera
When you think of Halloween type productions, things like The Rocky Horror Show are usually what come to mind. You generally don’t think of a solo performer doing a program with everything from Sondheim to Sting but that is just what the eerily talented Tracy Lynn Olivera is presenting at Signature Theatre’s fourth floor Shen Studio space.
Her program entitled Halloweeen Spooktacular is meant to show us everything Olivera loves about Halloween. Hot looking vampires, zombies and stalkers are a couple of things that get Olivera excited and these oddities and more are all represented musically with Olivera’s jazzy and sometimes torchy approaches to the material.
…Olivera’s talents are endless…
A couple of examples that stand out are things like pointing out that “On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady is the ultimate stalker song. Think about it for a second and you might agree.
Think about the stories you read to your young children when putting them to bed. We all know how music sets a mood so consider for a second the book Goodnight Moon scored with some horror music from Olivera’s musical director and pianist Lenny Williams. You will never think of that story in the same way.
To prove that Olivera’s talents are endless one of my favorite pieces in the show would have to be Sting’s “Moon Over Bourbon Street.” Here Olivera’s voice is shown off to its full potential, letting every note sound like a work of art. Let us also not forget the jazz swing take on Sondheim’s The Ballad of Sweeney Todd. Dear lord, is there anything Olivera can’t do spectacularly? NOPE!!!
Backing Olivera is a quartet of red-hot musicians. We have as previously mentioned Lenny Williams (piano/musical director), Chris Biondo (bass), Raice McLeod (drums) and one of Signature Theatre’s resident musicians Gerry Kunkel (Guitar). It should be mentioned that Williams and Biondo have eleven Emmy Awards between them.
Joining Olivera at my performance was the very talented special guest Robyn Badman who joined Olivera for Science Fiction Double Feature from Rocky Horror and Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Zachary Dalton’s lighting design makes the most out of the minimal lighting plot and Jesse Free provides a great sound mix.
Take a little time out from trick or treating and spend the evening with Tracy Lynn Olivera and her cohorts for a Halloween Spooktacular like no other…there’s candy too.
Running Time: 60 minutes with no intermission.
Tracy Lynn Olivera’s Halloween Spooktacular plays through Saturday, October 31, 2015 at Signature Theatre – 4200 Campbell Avenue, in Arlington, VA.. For tickets, call (703) 820-9771, or purchase them online.
