Marshall’s book reveals a real affection for the genre of musical comedy. Indeed, he slips in some references to other shows for adults and older kids to pick up on – lines like "its good to be the king" and "I really need this job" ring out to the Broadway fans. He has some good old-time vaudevillish routines including an extended discussion where every other word seems to start with an explosive "p" sound. His characters are clearly structured if a bit predictable. He gives Terry J. Long all the material he needs to make the King something of a mix of Captain Hook and Dame Edna.

The opening number is a flashy piece that would seem right at home in a lot of successful Broadway shows and "The Secret of Gold," which is well sung by fourteen year old Jessica Liegh Campbell in the title role, is as sweet as is her entire performance. The score includes a dozen songs in a wide range of styles, all featuring a contemporary sound supported by the driving percussion of Dan Gugliuzza’s drums, some nice lines from Tim King’s guitar and the fully synthesized keyboard work of musical director/arranger Jason Brown. As a whole, they are stronger musically than lyrically. The melodies are consistently interesting and appropriate. The lyrics, on the other hand, are cleanly structured so that younger ears can follow the points but the rhyme scheme is frequently unnecessarily repetitive and what inventive word play there is often stumbles on an awkward imprecision.

Marshall is directing this first production. Without a director who isn’t also the author, the production lacks the fresh look at the material that could reveal ways to streamline and polish material that seemed so good in the typewriter – or on the word processor. As it is, the first act lasts nearly an hour and a half. The show has no less than twenty-seven scenes in a dozen different locations. This may give set designers Jones and Shipley plenty of opportunities but it also means that even fairly short scenery change blackouts can add up to a lot of dead time. Some of the families with young children at the performance we attended left at intermission, with their youngsters apparently happy to have had a pleasant experience but not anxious to sit through more. They missed the better-structured portion of the show, however. The first forty minutes or so of that overly long first act are devoted to establishing the background for the story. This is what is called "exposition" in those director’s labs. As Officer Lockstock tells Little Sally in Urinetown "nothing can kill a show like too much exposition." Once things pick up, the show gets to be a lot more fun.