(OUTview NW) RE-view: SMC's QUEEN was Bittersweet!

And Now the show Starts!    Photo by John Pai.

by MK Scott

And now it has began, the long goodbye to the man that has been the visionary of the Seattle Men's Chorus for nearly 35 years, Dennis Coleman is retiring in ONE year, but the mood from this past weekend at the annual June Concert felt like the beginning of a bittersweet year. Queen, a band that was in its prime over 35 yrs ago was the appropriate theme. There is no bigger Seattle Queen than Coleman himself.

The Past Saturday, SMC performed a full QUEEN concert at Seattle's McCaw Hall and it was great for the most part thanks to local musical sensation, Frederick Hargreen as a Freddie impersonator. Hargreen just turned heads in 5th avenue's recent Jasper in Deadland and totally has the singing chops. The only drawback was Hargreen appeared during the Last song out of Eight Songs in Act 1. The songs prior especially Killer Queen, Bicycle Race and Play the game, the soloists (some consisted of season pros) struggled with the higher octave and sounded flat. The Highlight of Act 1 was the classic, We will Rock/Champions Medley and Killer Queen, when Queens from the Queen of Hearts to Frozen's Elsa to the ultimate Killer Queen, Divine from Pink Flamingos. Hargreen came out for the Act One finale in Mercury's infamous Black and white body suit singing, Don't Stop me Now.

Killer Queen!       Photo by John Pai.

In Act 2, the energy was up from Beginning to End. Hargreen returned along with Nathan Wilson as David Bowie for Under Pressure to the Classic I want to Break Free with the Pitch Perfect solos by Chris Hoffman and Paul Peterson and Somebody to Love soloists, Jeff Hu, Quentin Ergane Johnson, and Spencer Vancleeve. Other Act 2 highlights was Captain Smartypants performing, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and the Chorus singing Another One Bites Dust with Dancers and impressive choreography by Nathan Wilson. Some of the Best we have seen in years.

Too Good, but too short was the Flash Gordon parody, but then again, the song is too short anyway.

a QUEEN!    Photo by John Pai.

Bohemian Rhaposdy closed the show with Hargeen coming back in the Queen's Cape. The performance was flawless.

So much that Coleman came back on stage and began to lead an audience sing-a-long of the last chorus of Rhaspody.

I was emotional leaving not because of the Legacy of Freddie Mercury, but most for the beginning of Dennis Coleman's Long Goodbye; a True QUEEN.

Coleman at his Best!                                  Photo by John Pai.

 

Some of the Best Dancing Ever!                     Photo by John Pai.

 

Somebody to Love                            Photo by John Pai.

Photo by John Pai.

I Want to Break to Free!                Photo by John Pai.