Boston music news, October 26, 2007

Notes on the Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra and Jimmy Tingle

By JIM SULLIVAN | October 23, 2007

Jimmy Tingle

The ULTRASONIC ROCK ORCHESTRA are moving up in the world. Having already conquered the Arlington Regent with their revue “A Night at the Rock Opera,” the 23-member troupe will take on the larger Wilbur Theatre in the Theater District over the course of a 10-show run beginning this Friday, October 26. URO got their start in 2004, when guitarist Sal Clemente and drummer Alan Ware attempted to stage their interpretation of Jesus Christ Superstar. When they ran into a legal boondoggle with Andrew Lloyd Weber’s people, they decided to write their own rock opera about the trouble called Will We Rock You? URO eventually did record Superstar (for sale at shows), but it’s just part of an expanding repertoire, and Clemente emphasizes, “We fight hard to make sure it’s rock and roll and not musical theater.” The Wilbur run came about when producer and URO fan Norman Sirk introduced the troupe to the theater’s owners. Which means that, for the first time, URO have backers. “We’re pulling out all the stops,” says Clemente. “A huge light show, everyone decked out in punk-glam. Anyone who comes is going to get a big rock-and-roll fist smack in the face.” The show itself isn’t a rock opera per se — URO perform a mix of melodramatic and often bombastic songs by Bowie, the Who, and Queen, plus the entire second side of the Beatles’ Abbey Road. . . . After five years, JIMMY TINGLE is pulling the plug — that is, not renewing his lease — at Jimmy Tingle’s Off Broadway in Davis Square. Shows by political impressionist Jim Morris and Tingle close out the month. “I simply wanted to stop working so hard,” says Tingle, “and I really want to be free to try and do other things. Write, act, perform, produce, radio, TV, blog, you know, whatever!”

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