'Musical of Musicals' offers one plot, but told five different ways

Lake Zurich native Katie Siri broke into musical theater way back in third grade, when she landed the role of Gretl in the "Sound of Music," at Lake Zurich High School.

Her roles built steadily until her senior year, when she starred in Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods."

Now, as a professional actress she finds elements from both shows in her latest role, in "The Musical of Musicals, the Musical" opens at 7:30 p.m. tonight.

In fact, the show features five mini-musicals all in one, including spin-offs of musical theater standards by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Kander and Ebb.

The show takes the same basic plot, told in drastically different musical theater styles. Consequently, the actors play the same type of characters, using different sets, five different singing styles, and five different styles of choreography.

Piano accompanist, Micky York, sets the stage for each new scene, telling audience members the time frame and location, before launching into the next song.

Musical theater aficionados will hear references from more than 25 shows, though the main parodies are "Oklahoma," "Sunday in the Park with George," "Hello Dolly," "Evita" and "Cabaret."

Siri should be familiar to Metropolis audiences. Last fall, she appeared as Gabriella in the theater's record-breaking smash hit, "High School Musical."

"Musical of Musicals is a whole different beast," Siri says. "It's fun and rewarding in a completely different way."

In it she plays the young ingénue in all five scenes. Her favorite, she says, is the second, the Sondheim scene, with its references to "Into the Woods."

"Back in high school, it was my first time working on a Sondheim piece and it was certainly a different style of musical theater than I'd ever done," Siri says. "There were so many layers to it. The music was difficult, the lyrics were full of hidden meanings, and the characters had so much depth."

She won't have quite as much opportunity to explore her character's depth in this fast-paced, zany show. It literally is filled with singing and dancing.

Which is precisely why audience members will like it, says director Robin Hughes.

"It's pretty much the musicals we've grown up with," Hughes says. "It's like a celebration of the musical theater genre."

Appearing with Siri in the ensemble cast is Kent Lundsberg Joseph, Tom Weber and Carrie Wickert.

"Musical of Musicals" closes out the 2007-2008 Metropolis subscription season, and runs through June 21.

If you go

What: "The Musical of Musicals, The Musical"

When: Opens at 7:30 p.m. tonight and continues with performances through June 21

Where: Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St. in Arlington Heights

Cost: $22-$42

Call: (847) 577-2121 or visit www.metropolisarts.com