![\"Ashley](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sut-l-stage-americanrhythm1.jpg\")
Ashley Chavarria, left, and Josh Bradford in a scene from Lamb\u2019s Players Theatre\u2019s \u201cAmerican Rhythm.\u201d (Ken Jacques)<\/p>\nBack in 2000, Coronado\u2019s Lamb\u2019s Players Theatre premiered \u201cAmerican Rhythm,\u201d a musical revue of more than 230 songs from the 20th century, co-created by Kerry Meads and Vanda Eggington.<\/p>\n
The show was timed to celebrate the century that had just concluded, incorporating spoken tidbits of history, dance and songs\u00a0 ranging from the ragtime and Tin Pan Alley eras of the early 1900s to the Seattle-born grunge era of the 1990s.<\/p>\n
The show was revived in 2016, and now it\u2019s back for a third run, which is selling so well it was recently extended through Oct. 4.<\/p>\n
The timeliness of this show may not sound like a perfect fit for present-day America. But some of the darker historic events it recaps prove we have yet to learn from our mistakes, like the endless repetition of unnecessary wars and racial suppression.<\/p>\n
Ashley Chavarria, left, and Josh Bradford in a scene from Lamb\u2019s Players Theatre\u2019s \u201cAmerican Rhythm.\u201d (Ken Jacques)<\/p>\n
The show is also a fond farewell to the many high-energy musical revues that have been a Lamb\u2019s trademark since the 1970s. On Dec. 31, Meads and the other four members of Lamb\u2019s creative team will jointly retire after more than 40 years of collaboration.<\/p>\n
Mead directed this staging of \u201cAmerican Rhythm,\u201d with choreography by Colleen Kollar Smith, who will take over as Lamb\u2019s new artistic director on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n
The production features 11 actors and an onstage band of seven, all of them multitalented performers.<\/p>\n
Leading the cast is Lance Arthur Smith, who serves as a genial narrator\/historian, reading aloud newspaper headlines from each decade that serve as prologues for medleys and solos of period songs and dances.<\/p>\n
Mike Buckley\u2019s scenic design incorporates an overhead video screen where projection designer Alex Bellafaire has assembled footage and photos from World Wars I and II, the Great Depression, the dawn of Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll, the Civil Rights struggles of the \u201960s and more. Jemima Dutra designed what must be more than 100 costumes for the show. Nate Peirson designed lighting and Patrick Duffy designed sound.<\/p>\n
Each cast member has their chance to shine with vocals, dancing or playing music instruments, and sometimes all three.<\/p>\n
Some of the standout \u201cwow\u201d moments in the show are performed by Ashley Chavarria, an athletic and inexaustible dancer. Her dance partner is the energetic Josh Bradford, making his Lamb\u2019s company debut.<\/p>\n
Petite powerhouse singer Natasha Reese rips things up with the song \u201cCry Me a River.\u201d Van Angelo gives a heartrending performance of the 1929 protest song \u201cBlack and Blue,\u201d then amuses with Little Richard\u2019s \u201cTutti Frutti.\u201d Singer-guitarist-harmonica player Michael Cusimano shows his range performing songs by Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and Kurt Cobain.<\/p>\n
Angela Chatelain Avila, Caitie Grady and Joy Yandell-Hall team up for one of the show\u2019s best moments as the harmonizing Andrews Sisters during the 1940s era. Sydney Joyner stands out with performances of \u201cMambo Italiano,\u201d \u201cCrazy,\u201d \u201cStand By Your Man\u201d and more.<\/p>\n
Band conductor Ben Read is able to step away from the keyboard to sing several solos, since cast member and singer Caleb Schanzenbach, is also a talented pianist. The other band members are also exceptional, including Rik Ogden, Oliver Shirley, Stefanie Schmitz, Dave Rumley, Russ Mitchell and Logan Stevens.<\/p>\n
Some of the 2-1\/2-hour show\u2019s dialogue, like a corny Prohibition era section, sounds dated, but it takes nothing away from the show itself. \u201cAmerican Rhythm\u201d is a fast-moving history lesson that\u2019s never bores its audience.<\/p>\n
\u2018American Rhythm\u2019<\/p>\n
When:<\/strong>\u00a02 and 7 p.m. Wednesdays; 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 2 and 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. Through Oct. 4<\/p>\n