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Ali Walker (pictured above)
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If you're searching for something new in December, Crossover: A New Pop Musical is premiering a fictional musical that is also a singing competition with a streaming-era twist. Crossover is written by Danielle E. Moore, directed by Amanda Pasquini and produced by Chelsea Cylinder and Danielle E. Moore of Green Light Group Productions. In this show competing artists will prove that they're adept at both writing songs and performing across different genres in order to claim the title.
The producers may have been tempted to have take a few hints from American Idol and in the process created a parody of musical competitions. In the beginning, viewers are introduced to west coast singers: Taylor J Mitchell as Regina ("Reggie") Carlyle, Boris Dansberry as Maxine "Max" Green, Chelsea Cylinder as KC Parker, and Ali Walker as Hallie Harper.
Each of the participants are streamed into the setting from a platform akin to ZOOM, this helped with social distancing during the pandemic. In one of the scores, a dancer is in her bathrobe singing into an imaginary mic, three others are warming up and choosing attire in their respective bedrooms. We learn about the artists and the challenges they have had to overcome, for example there's KC Parker whose character is a wannabe rock goddess and the daughter of a famous guitarist. Then there's Reggie who is a soul-singing Stanford dropout. Crossover's scores feature influences from dance-pop, country, R&B, and rap.
Viewers decide who will win. American Idol focuses on the discovery of unsigned-artists and I think there’s something to be said about seeing hundreds of Americans showing up to the audition in droves, waiting for their chance to shine. It creates this energy and momentum that continues throughout the show. Perhaps improvisation may have been preferable to bring out the natural anxiety amongst the performers, but the scripted dialogue still seemed to work.
The host concludes that there is a tie among the four in the first round. One of the performers expresses her outrage: “The tie was rigged and orchestrated by the producers to contrive some kind of girl power momentum... It's The Bachelor but for singing.” Feminism is a recurring theme throughout the show such as when a singer comments that the country genre caters to male artists and that radio DJs are told never to play more than two back-to-back female artists.
Reluctantly, the singers opt to compete on the national broadcast as a group: Four-Way Tie. There are moments of power and affection as the group strives to make the most of this unexpected situation.
Crossover has several catchy tunes and the production team does an amazing job exposing the stereotypes rife throughout the music industry. If more teams took risks like Green Light Group Productions, labels would lose their power.
The show is scheduled for 8:00 pm on Saturday, December 12th, 2020. Crossover will be presented virtually as a live stream. Tickets are $12.00 and are available through the Rogue Theater Festival's ShowTix4U Page.
