Search - Fred Barton :: Miss Gulch Returns

Classic Comic Characterization, with a heart

efrex | New York, NY USA | 08/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How to begin to describe this show? Fred Barton, music directing genius, adopts the persona of perhaps the least-remembered character in the Wizard of Oz and, in a dazzling series of witty, slightly raunchy, and bitter songs and monologues, creates an event simultaneously gut-splittingly funny and heartfelt. To do either with the craft that Barton puts into his material is remarkable; to do both is fantastic."Pour me a Man" contains more double entendres than you can shake a stick at (assuming that you stop convulsing with laughter long enough to grab a stick), "Born on a Bike" is a splended parody of Judy Garland's "Born in a Trunk," and "Not My Idea of a Gig," the piano bar pianist's lament, contains some of the most virtuoso rhymes this side of Cole Porter.The comedy is not contextless, however; all this leads to the sobering "Everyone Worth Taking," which concludes both halves of this show and gives it a human heart so lacking in most parody artists.Easily one of the most original cabaret shows ever conceived and brilliantly executed."

This one's worth taking!

lurquer | Canada | 08/03/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Master songwriter Fred Barton brings to life Almira Gulch, the snippity, crotchety, black-and-white alter-ego to the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz. Did you ever wonder what might have made her so bitter?With the skill of a musical journeyman, Barton takes a throw-away character and gives her hopes and dreams, frailties and fears, and carries you deep inside the mind of a woman on a life-long search for love.With brilliant parodies, haunting melodies, and a fair dash of hilarity, this album also manages to poke fun at cheating lovers, unappreciative mates, and even Dorothy herself. The song "Pour Me a Man" is worth at least twice the cost of the album (and maybe more, since there's even a reprise on track 9!) Does Miss Gulch find love? I won't spoil that for you, but I can guarantee that when you hear this album, you won't be disappointed! (And the liner notes will keep you captivated for hours!)"

Fred Barton - Wickedly Funny!

Never a customer again | Shoreline, Washington USA | 06/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fred Barton (unknown to the mainstream audience) has taken his love for movies ("A Star is Born", "Wizard of Oz," etc) and created a wickedly funny musical based on Almira Gulch (The Wicked Witch of the West BEFORE the cyclone) and her life pre and post "Wizard of Oz." With marked inspiration from other classic movies, Barton picks up your imagination with his cyclonic humor and drops you in the middle of "pour me a man" land and leaves you laughing, commiserating but mostly wanted more. Highly recommended listening when you want "the whole story.""