MUSE/IQUE: AMERICAN SOUND TAKES FLIGHT
Muse/Ique ended their season on a high note. Well, actually, since it’s a music show, on many of them!
Their final presentation of 2026 is titled American Sound Takes Flight, and featured works by several assorted composers. It started off with Hoe-Down, Aaron Copland’s gorgeous very famous composition from his ballet Rodeo. And then they regaled us with important American music through the decades, including a jazzy version of Paul Simon’s Mrs. Robinson from The Graduate that made me almost like that song.
Photo by Karen Salkin.
I saw this one with my friend Laura, (who had never seen a Muse/Ique show before, and is now a fan,) at The Wallis in Beverly Hills this past weekend, but you can still see the show elsewhere on the 28th, which I suggest you do. And that one will be free to all! (I believe you just have to RSVP on their site, the link to which is at the bottom of this review.)
Muse/Ique is an intriguing musical organization I’ve told you about several times before. In case you missed those reviews, it’s a wonderful orchestra led by Artistic Director, Rachael Worby. She explains the background of each piece they’re about to play, along with a lot of little tidbits we most likely wouldn’t know or even think to look up! For example, at this one, we learned that Sinner Man by Nina Simone is one of President Obama’s Top 10 songs. Her info even extended to baseball player Joe DiMaggio! And they accomplish it all in just ninety-minutes!
They even covered the late great Dolly Parton with I Will Always Love You. That song was the favorite of my precious Clarence, The Singing Dog to sing on our TV show, so I teared-up a bit extra hearing soloist Liv Redpath’s lovely rendition that night.
Guest artists Liv Redpath and Brandon Victor Dixon, with conductor Rachael Worby in the middle. Photo by Haoyuan Ren, courtesy of MUSE/IQUE, as is the one at the top of this review.
The other guest artist for American Sound Takes Flight was Brandon Victor Dixon, and all I can say about his performance is OMG! His very first song had many in the audience already jumping up to cheer for him. Even Rachel could not contain herself while Brandon sang Prince’s iconic Purple Rain, with a fabulous guitar solo from Michael Abraham, which brought the house down, and prompted Rachel to declare, “If the American songbook has a color, I’m itching to say it’s purple.”
And it was a pleasure to hear Brandon sing Sam Cooke’s always-stunning A Change Is Gonna Come. I knew its emotional background before Rachael even told us about it. (I can’t tell the tale as succinctly as she did, so you really should look into the story for yourselves.) There is no song I wish I was still a young dancer to express myself to than this one. It gets to my soul like no other.
The always-happy curtain call. Photo by Karen Salkin.
Speaking of dancing, Muse/Ique presented a dance video this time, featuring Jordyn Santiago, a very talented dancer I recognized from BodyTraffic’s shows at The Wallis. It was shown on their signature giant screen above the musicians, along with many beautiful paintings and a plethora of other interesting images. I adored all the visuals of this one!
And we were introduced to a surprise—a new-ish (2022) opera written by two Americans. It’s the Pulitzer Prize-winning Omar, which I had never heard of before. (The opera; I’m very familiar with the name—it’s that of my ex-boyfriend!) I’m glad to know about it now, but I almost wish I hadn’t researched it after the show because it’s a heartbreaking true story of slavery. (Are there any stories of slavery that aren’t heartbreaking, though?)
The duo “dd’s blues,” (L-R Davasaté Phelps and dré Elijah,) playing on the Wallis patio before the show. Photo by Karen Salkin.
But let me bring the room back up by telling you that Muse/Ique’s presentations always begin with music by students entertaining the crowd for about an hour before we go into the theatre. This time it was the duo “dd’s blues,” (dré Elijah and Davasaté Phelps,) playing several instruments on the Wallis’ lower patio. Dré’s trumpet strains drew me in even from the floor above, and made me feel like I was in an old, smokey movie; I almost expected to see Kirk Douglas or Chet Baker down there!
In the middle of the show, I wrote a note, “I could not love The Wallis more!” And I discovered that, especially for a show that’s all music and giant projections, I loved sitting in the back row for the first time ever, proving once and for all that every seat in the Bram Goldsmith Theatre is wonderful.
Muse/Ique: American Sound Takes Flight running again on October 28, 2026
Ambassador Auditorium
131 S. St. John Avenue, Pasadena
www.muse-ique.com
I also suggest that everyone check-out The Wallis’ schedule because there’s always something fabulous going on there: thewallis.org.
