Steven Directs ONWARD VICTORIA Reading for Feinstein’s/54 Below…
“Onward Victoria was a musical choreographed by the late great Michael Shawn. It opened on December 14, 1980 at the Martin Beck Theatre, where it ran for one performance. The cast included Jill Eikenberry as Victoria Woodhull, Bethe Austin as her sister Tennessee, Michael Zaslow as Henry Ward Beecher, Ted Thurston as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Laura Waterbury as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Dorothy Holland as Susan B. Anthony, Gordon Stanley as Fleming, and Lenny Wolpe as Charlie Delmonico…
Last night, thanks to producer, writer and performer Steven Carl McCasland, Feinstein’s/54 Below and musical director James Horan (also on piano), Onward Victoria’s score had a delightful second listen to. Songs like “Respectable,””Unescorted Women,”Another Life” the fabulous “Changes” and “Magnetic Healing” showed the tuneful score was not something to banish. Keith Herrmann’s melodies are catchy and interesting with areas that sounded as if Schwartz or Sondheim listened to this score…”
