PhotosPHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Sondheim-Inspired Romanian Adventure With Ali Ewoldt and FriendsA quintet of Broadway favorites, directed by Jose Llana, recently had the unique opportunity to bring the music of Sondheim to Romania in a Nov. 17 Bucharest concert.
By
Matthew Blank
November 30, 2011
Joan Almedilla (Miss Saigon, Les Miserables), Angel Desai (Company), Ali Ewoldt (Les Miserables, West Side Story),Jose Llana (The King & I, Spelling Bee, The Flower Drum Song, Wonderland) andOrville Mendoza (Pacific Overtures, Road Show) performed A Medley of Sondheim, a concert presentation of Stephen Sondheim's iconic musical numbers.
Ewoldt documented the whirlwind 2-day trip and offers Playbill.com readers an exclusive look at their travels, the performance and some of the breathtaking historic sights around the city.
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PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Sondheim-Inspired Romanian Adventure With Ali Ewoldt and Friends
PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Sondheim-Inspired Romanian Adventure With Ali Ewoldt and Friends
A quintet of Broadway favorites, directed by Jose Llana, recently had the unique opportunity to bring the music of Sondheim to Romania. Ali Ewoldt (Les Miserables) documented the whirlwind 2-day trip and offers an exclusive look at their travels, the performance and some breathtaking historic sights around the city. Read the Playbill.com story.
58 PHOTOS
Our concert was part of "Life is Beautiful," the annual International Festival for Musical Performing Arts, organized by Teatrul Național de Operetă in Bucharest.
Ali Ewoldt
On Monday night, I fly to Romania via London. Yes, my full first name is Allison; No, I'm not married.
Ali Ewoldt
On my 7-hour layover in London on Tuesday afternoon, I leave the airport to explore a little and have lunch with my friend and my "Madame Thenardier" in Les Miserables, the wonderful Broadway and West End actress Jenny Galloway.
Ali Ewoldt
In case you're wondering where Romania is, look for the purple country south of Ukraine and north of Bulgaria...
Ali Ewoldt
After about 20 hours of travel, I happily arrive at the InterContinental Hotel in Bucharest late Tuesday night and am greeted by one of our lovely Romanian hosts, Gloria Apostol.
Ali Ewoldt
Our hotel, the InterContinental, is the tallest hotel in Bucharest and was the first major five-star hotel to open in Romania in the early 1970s. In the bottom left corner there is one of the many stray dogs that roam the city.
Ali Ewoldt
At 10 AM on Wednesday morning, we begin rehearsals in the beautiful foyer of the National Operetta. From left: Me, Jose Llana, Angel Desai, Orville Mendoza and Joan Almedilla.
Ali Ewoldt
Our song list for "A Medley of Sondheim."
Ali Ewoldt
Angel studies her script.
Ali Ewoldt
Orville rehearses "Everybody Says Don't."
Ali Ewoldt
Joan and I sing "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love."
Ali Ewoldt
Jose sings "Being Alive."
Ali Ewoldt
After rehearsal, we head out to check out Bucharest... and do silly poses in front of the National Operetta's statue...
Ali Ewoldt
A nearby statue commemorating the Democratic Revolution and Cristian Paturca, a composer whose song inspired Romanians in their struggle against the Communist government.
Ali Ewoldt
Walking around Old Town also known as the Lipscani area.
Ali Ewoldt
Orville, Me, Angel, Joan and our producer, Randy Gener.
Ali Ewoldt
Bucuresti
Ali Ewoldt
Joan finds a beautiful chapel.
Ali Ewoldt
On our way to eat at Caru' cu bere, we see striking differences amongst the architecture of Bucharest...
Ali Ewoldt
Jose, Orville and Randy outside of Caru' cu bere, a century-old inn recently restored to former glories after decades of state-run neglect and "probably the best restaurant in town."
Ali Ewoldt
Orville, Angel, Joan and Jose are very excited about the Caru' cu bere desserts!
Ali Ewoldt
After lunch, Orville and Jose check out more beautiful, but not necessarily maintained, Bucharest architecture.
Ali Ewoldt
A statue commemorating the revolution of 1989.
Ali Ewoldt
A communist era apartment building across the street.
Ali Ewoldt
The city abounds with telephone poles with large amounts of wires coiled and dangling.
Ali Ewoldt
Across from a church in Lipscani.
Ali Ewoldt
Our sightseeing complete for the day, we head to see "Romeo and Juliet" by Slovakia's Balet Bratislava and attempt to take a self-portrait...
Ali Ewoldt
Jose, Joan and Orville after the ballet.
Ali Ewoldt
The Romanian money has an amazing emphasis on the arts: these bills have drama masks, and others show music notes and an artist's palette.
At 8:45 AM Thursday morning, we head to the our performance venue, Teatrul Metropolis.
Ali Ewoldt
Orville hamming it up for the camera during tech.
Ali Ewoldt
Our fantastic music director and accompanist, Albin Konopka.
Ali Ewoldt
Jose and I patiently wait for the lights to be set.
Ali Ewoldt
After tech rehearsal, we head back to the InterContinental for a conference led by Randy on Stephen Sondheim's work.
Ali Ewoldt
And then a couple of hours later, we're back at the Metropolis and preparing to perform!
Ali Ewoldt
Angel, Joan and me in the dressing room.
Ali Ewoldt
Another self portrait attempt... cut off Jose's head a bit...
Ali Ewoldt
The program for the evening...
Ali Ewoldt
... and our bios in Romanian!
Ali Ewoldt
Orville prepares to open the show.
Ali Ewoldt
Angel sings "Sooner or Later."
Ali Ewoldt
Jose sings "Maria."
Ali Ewoldt
"When love comes so strong..."
Ali Ewoldt
After the performance we learned that Maria Fe Pangilinan (in the black turtleneck), head of the Philippine Embassy in Bucharest, attended the concert with her Filipino friends and co-workers. They brought us beautiful flowers and Filipino flags!
Ali Ewoldt
The festival presented us with an Honorary Diploma!
Ali Ewoldt
Randy toasts the theatre staff on a successful evening.
Ali Ewoldt
Joan, Angel and I get a little giddy from the champagne...
Ali Ewoldt
...as do Orville and Jose.
Ali Ewoldt
Despite the occasional non-smoking sign, people smoke indoors everywhere in Bucharest...
Ali Ewoldt
For example, a cameraman puts a cigarette in his mouth while setting up for a post-concert interview.
Ali Ewoldt
It's been a very long day...
Ali Ewoldt
... but we perk up at our celebratory dinner, where the restaurant is filled with taxidermied animals.
Ali Ewoldt
Jose is excited and/or terrified by the rabbit with a sniper rifle by our table.
Ali Ewoldt
We toast with Palinca, a traditional brandy made from fermented plums.
Ali Ewoldt
One more celebratory toast with our presenter, Alina Moldovan!
Ali Ewoldt
At 6 AM on Friday (the next morning!) we head back to the airport. During our layover in London, Albin and Orville try to catch up on some sleep.
Ali Ewoldt
Back to NY we go!
Ali Ewoldt
After a great trip, Joan and I settle in for the flight home. Hope you've enjoyed this glimpse at our Romanian adventure!
"One of the my favorite things about being a performer is getting the opportunity to travel and perform all over the world," Ewoldt told Playbill.com. "While our trip to Romania was brief, it was a remarkable experience with a remarkably wonderful group of people."
"We weren't entirely sure how the audience there would react to an all-Filipino, all-Sondheim, all-in-English concert, but the response was amazing: after we had performed our encore ("Old Friends"), been presented with flowers and an honorary diploma and exited the stage, we began congratulating ourselves, taking pictures and deciding what we felt like eating to celebrate... and then we realized that the audience was still steadily clapping in rhythm. After some deliberation, we crept back onstage to find a rousing standing ovation! As we had already used our planned encore, all we had left to do was to bow again and to be grateful for such a successful evening and a unique experience." The concert at the Metropolis Theatre in Bucharest was presented within the framework of the fourth edition of the International Festival for Musical Performing Arts, "Life is Beautiful."
