{"id":50404,"date":"2022-05-13T09:20:12","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T13:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=50404"},"modified":"2022-05-13T09:20:19","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T13:20:19","slug":"on-stage-extra-joe-sumner-proving-he-isnt-just-a-famous-son","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=50404","title":{"rendered":"On Stage Extra: Joe Sumner proving he isn’t just a famous son"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff,<\/strong> Entertainment Editor, The Times\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Joe Sumner<\/p><\/div>\n

When a musician has a legendary rock star as a parent, it can open doors or be a big burden \u2013 or both.<\/p>\n

Joe Sumner, who will be headlining at show at MilkBoy Philadelphia MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, 215- 925-6455, www.milkboyphilly.com<\/a>) on May 16, doesn\u2019t have to worry about such things.<\/p>\n

The talented singer\/guitarist\/songwriter has the musical chops, the voice and the vocal style and the ability to write great songs to make it on his own \u2013 and that\u2019s what he\u2019s been doing.<\/p>\n

He just wrapped up touring with his father \u2013 as an opening act performing solo and as a member of his father\u2019s band.<\/p>\n

The familial connection is eased somewhat by the name. Virtually every rock music fan is familiar with his father\u2019s work — as Sting, the bassist of The Police who followed with a massive solo career. Only a percentage could tell you that Sting\u2019s real name is Gordon Sumner. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith Sting, the name connection doesn\u2019t immediately jump out,\u201d said Sumner, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. \u201cIt comes out more in the music \u2013 the vocal similarities\u2026and the family resemblance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing up in a musical household didn\u2019t have the effect on Sumner that you might expect.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic was always around, but I spent my life as a video game nerd,\u201d said Sumner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re a teenager, you\u2019re either for or against what your parents are into. I was against.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, everything changed when I heard Nirvana. I wanted to be Kurt Cobain. It was 1991 and I really got into the grunge thing. As I got into playing more, my tastes expanded, and I was listening to ska punk. I really liked 2 tone bands like Selecter and English Beat — both musically and politically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Music found its way into Sumner\u2019s primary focus. After few years packed with stateside travel, failed roadie gigs, and music school, he found his footing as a music maker returning to the U.K. to play in his London band, Santa\u02bcs Boyfriend \u2013 a band would become Fiction Plane. The trio hit a peak with an 18-month tour with The Police, before eventually slowing down to a halt.<\/p>\n

After spending a chunk of time on the road touring with an all-star Bowie tribute project, Sumner entered the studio to start recording the handful of songs that would become his yet-to-be-released debut solo LP, \u201cSunshine in the Night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always had really dark lyrics,\u201d said Sumner. \u201cPeople ask me if I\u2019m depressed. I\u2019m not. I just put everything negative in to try and transcend it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve put two singles out so far \u2013 \u2018Hope\u2019 and \u201cYou You You.\u2019 I want to put more out. I want people to connect with the lyrics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started out making \u2018Sunshine in the Night\u2019 with just guitar and voice. Then, when I was recording it with producer Tom Syrowski at Henson Studio in L.A., we threw everything in.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all ready to go but, because of COVID, it\u2019s been sitting for a while. With the pandemic, I got my legs cut off. Now, I\u2019m ready to get it all back again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Joe Sumner — https:\/\/youtu.be\/arAu6pZFdEs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at MilkBoy Philly on May will start at<\/p>\n

Tickets are $12.<\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at MilkBoy Philly are Corey Bernhard on May 13, Donovan Melero on May 15, Great Blue on May 17 and Joe Kaplow on May 18.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Lyric Fest<\/p><\/div>\n

Lyric Fest (https:\/\/lyricfest.org<\/a>) is back in action this weekend with a project featuring just one composer from the middle part of last century — Cole Porter.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything Goes: Cole Porter – Uncensored<\/a>\u201d\u00a0will be presented on May 17 at the\u00a0Moorestown Community Center\u00a0in Moorestown, NJ and\u00a0May 18 at 7 p.m. <\/a>at the\u00a0Academy of Vocal Arts\u00a0in Philadelphia. Featured in this all-Cole Porter program are baritone\u00a0Randall Scarlata, mezzo-soprano\u00a0Suzanne DuPlantis, and pianist\u00a0Laura Ward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re an art song revival series and this is our 19th season,\u201d said\u00a0DuPlantis, during a recent phone interview from Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take a theme and create a program. We curate songs and also do commissioned music.\u201d<\/p>\n

This music has been around much longer than Lyric Fest has existed.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year for the last five, we\u2019ve been ending the season with an American Songbook composer,\u201d said DuPlantis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started at the beginning of the 20th century. We did the Gershwins. We did Kurt Weil, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart and now we\u2019re doing Cole Porter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about songs that have endured. Cole Porter\u2019s songs are still being done a lot. We put together a program of a lot of our favorites.\u201d<\/p>\n

Porter was cut from a different cloth than other American Songbook composers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was an interesting guy,\u201d said DuPlantis. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t poor. He wasn\u2019t from New York. He wasn\u2019t Jewish. He came from the Midwest, and he was wealthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wrote about high society because he was experiencing it when he moved to New York. He was always being censored. Now, we\u2019re singing the songs the way he wrote them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the showcase numbers in this concert will be \u201cAnything Goes,\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s Do It!,\u201d \u201cSo in Love,\u201d \u201cEvery Time We Say Goodbye,\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s De-Lovely,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t Fence Me In,\u201d \u201cI\u2019ve Got You Under My Skin,\u201d \u201cFrom This Moment On,\u201d \u201cI Get A Kick Out of You,\u201d \u201cMiss Otis Regrets,\u201d \u201cNight and Day,\u201d and, of course, \u201cBegin the Beguine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets for either show are $25.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Hairspray<\/p><\/div>\n

From May 17-22, the Kimmel Cultural Campus (250 South Broad Street, Philadelphia,\u00a0www.kimmelculturalcampus.org<\/a>) presents the National Tour of \u201cHairspray\u201d at the Miller Theater<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s 20th\u00a0Anniversary is this year, and this is the first time\u00a0\u201cHairspray\u201d has toured since 2009. The show\u2019s messages of inclusivity are as timely and relevant as ever, whether it be about self-acceptance and body positivity or the resonance with the experiences of people of color today.<\/p>\n

\u201cHairspray\u201d started out many years ago as a John Waters movie \u2013 a typically off-beat Waters piece that eventually became a cult favorite. In 2002, the musical version of \u201cHairspray\u201d made its debut at Seattle\u2019s 5th Avenue Theatre. Two months later, it opened on Broadway to rave reviews and went on to win eight 2003 Tony Awards \u2013 including \u201cBest Musical\u201d.<\/p>\n

The show is a lavish production with great singing, sparkling dance routines, top-notch acting and colorful sets and costumes. It is also a thought-provoking story that is set in the early 1960s and deals with prejudices against blacks and fat people.<\/p>\n

The story has a lot of messages \u2013 especially about discrimination and desegregation. But, it\u2019s not a heavy show \u2013 it\u2019s a feel-good show. The main thing is that people have a good time when they come to this show.<\/p>\n

The focal role in the show is that of Tracy Turnblad. The challenge of performing the energetic role is handled wonderfully by Janine Merolla.<\/p>\n

Tracy Turnblad, an overweight teenager with all the right moves, is obsessed with the Corny Collins Show. Every day after school, she and her best friend Penny run home to watch the show and drool over the hot Link Larkin, much to Tracy’s mother Edna\u2019s dismay.<\/p>\n

After one of the stars of the show leaves, Corny Collins holds auditions to see who the next person on the Corny Collins show will be. With all of the help of her friend Seaweed, Tracy makes it on the show, angering the evil dance queen Amber Von Tussle and her mother Velma.<\/p>\n

Tracy then decides that it’s not fair that the black kids can only dance on the Corny Collins Show once a month. With the help of Seaweed, Link, Penny, Motormouth Maybelle, her father and Edna, Tracy sets out to integrate the show.<\/p>\n

The cast will be led by\u00a0Andrew Levitt aka Nina West\u00a0(from \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u201d) as Edna Turnblad,\u00a0Niki Metcalf\u00a0as Tracy Turnblad and\u00a0Sandie Lee\u00a0as Motormouth Maybelle.\u00a0 Joining them are\u00a0Billy Dawson\u00a0as Corny Collins,\u00a0Will Savarese\u00a0as Link Larkin,\u00a0Emery Henderson\u00a0as Penny Pingleton,\u00a0Jamont\u00e9\u00a0D. Bruten\u00a0as Seaweed J. Stubbs,\u00a0Kaelee Albritton\u00a0as Amber Von Tussle and\u00a0Addison Garner\u00a0as Velma Von Tussle.<\/p>\n

Christopher Swan\u00a0plays Wilbur Turnblad and\u00a0Kal\u00e9a Leverette\u00a0plays Little Inez with Caroline Daye Attayek, Kelly Barberito, Helene Britany, Jamont\u00e9 Bruten, Tanner Callicutt, Shante Clarke, Ryahn Evers, Carly Haig, Michael Harmon, Michael Corey Hassel, Kaleb Jenkins, Greg Kalafatas, Gabriel Kearns, Stevie LeWarne, Jr., Nichelle Lewis, Brendan Morris, Faith Northcutt, Adam Blake Raque, Nadia Ra\u2019Shaun, Ren\u00e9e Reid, Micah Sauvageau, Gabriyel Thomas and Emmanuelle Zeesman as members of the ensemble.<\/p>\n

This new touring production reunites Broadway\u2019s award-winning creative team, led by Director\u00a0Jack O\u2019Brien\u00a0and Choreographer\u00a0Jerry Mitchell.<\/p>\n

\u201cHairspray\u201d will run from May 17-22 at the Miller Theater. Ticket prices start at $39.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times\u00a0 When a musician has a legendary rock star as a parent, it can open doors or be a big burden \u2013 or both. Joe Sumner, who will be headlining at show at MilkBoy Philadelphia MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, 215- 925-6455, www.milkboyphilly.com) on May 16, doesn\u2019t have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7426,8983,14515,14449],"class_list":["post-50404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-featured","tag-hairspray","tag-joe-sumner","tag-lyric-fest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50404"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50405,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50404\/revisions\/50405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/50401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}