Fauquier Community
Theatre - ARCHIVE
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October 6 - 22, 2006
Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat
Reviewed by
William Bryan |
Running
time 2:00 – one intermission
A community musical with a big heart
Click here to buy the CD |
Community theater
reflects its community, and the community of Fauquier County must be a
wonderful place judging by the heart, enthusiasm, and spirit contained in
their rendition of this classic Weber/Rice musical. With the lead roles
being played by a junior and senior at the local high school, and given the
small budgets that every small community theater must face, one might expect
this to be a tedious two hours representing a small performance of a big
show. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is a large cast, with
almost thirty people performing and an additional 19 member children’s choir
to listen to the Narrator tell the story of Joseph. Throw in a nine person
band and suddenly this is as large scale a production as many stages ever
see, and everyone working for free to produce a show they are obviously
delighted to be involved with. Combine a big cast, some big hearts, and even
bigger aspirations and you end up with a big night of fun.
Storyline: The up-tempo
musical tells the biblical tale of Jacob’s youngest son, Joseph, who is sold
into slavery in Egypt by his eleven brothers, but rises to be the top
assistant to the Pharaoh after successfully interpreting the dream
prophesying seven years of bumper crops to be followed by seven years of
famine.
There
are reminders that you are seeing a community version of the show. Joseph,
played by senior John Weathers, lacks emotion through much of the show, and
fails to pull off the finale in the big grand way it was meant to be seen.
That aside, his voice is more than adequate for the task and should he
continue in musical theater with proper training and some more
experienc, he will be a fine actor. Aubrey Stanton, the junior in the role
of the Narrator, does have the experience and it shows in her delightful
manner on stage. Her voice is also pleasing and has a good emotional range,
but occasionally lacks the strength necessary to carry the role in the
higher registers. The Pharaoh is disappointing in its Elvis
impersonation. It is a hard role to pull off, and the supporting cast of
screaming girls is believable in their devotion, but what they are devoted
to isn’t made apparent.
Evelyn Rice’s experience
directing ten prior shows at FCT is very apparent with this group of people.
At times it seems she and choreographer Sandy Scheiner must have worked
directing traffic in their prior lives, so well do the multitudes flow
together and around one another. The dance numbers are energetic, and if not
exactly 100% synchronized, they make up for it in the fun the dancers are
having. The costumes are varied and visually appealing as well and even the
go-go outfit the Narrator wears at one point seems to mesh right into this
whimsical night.
This is what
community theater is meant to be. A fun sold out show in a small community
that gives their all in support and dedication to their local theater. It
must be intimidating at times to put on a show in this area, given the large
number, and frequently excellent quality, of the region’s professional
companies, yet the Fauquier Community Theater is undaunted and attacks the
show with zeal and gusto. They present it as best they can, which is as much
as you can ask from anyone, and which is more than good enough for a great
evening enjoying this upbeat musical.
Music by Andrew
Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Tim Rice. Directed by Evelyn Rice. Choreographed by
Sandy Scheiner. Musical direction by Annette Fakoury. Design: Richard
Perryman and Ian Heflin (set) Jeff McWhirt (lights) Bryan Boyd (sound)
Diane King (photography) Richard Perryman (stage manager). Principal
cast. Robert Bach, Dawn Fansler, Peter Hawes, Ian Heflin, Thomas John May,
Jr., Richard Mulder, Kirk Noe, Evan Pierce, Scott Pierce, Tim Sampson, Kevin
Sowers, Aubrey Stanton, Dough Thrasher, Amelia Toms, John Weathers, Blake
Wood. |
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August 5 - 14, 2005
Fools |
Reviewed August 7
Running time 1:55 - one intermission
A cute comedy performed with spirit
Click here to buy the script |
There is a refreshing sense of enthusiasm emanating from the stage of this
youth production of a foolish little piece of light entertainment. Foolish
it is, but only in the sense that it is full of intentional
foolishness. Entertaining it is, both because of the well known felicity
with a quip of its author Neil Simon, and because of the spirit with which
the cast of ten youngsters whip their way through the material. There's no
deep meaning here and no major messages, but love does triumph in the end
and the audience leaves with a lingering smile after sharing a few good
laughs with a few great kids.
Storyline: A Russian village is suffering
under a hundred-year-old curse of chronic stupidity which can only be broken
if one particularly pretty but also particularly stupid young lady is
married to a groom with the proper last name. The new school teacher who
hasn't yet been afflicted by the curse falls in love with the girl and
figures out that he has just one day to trick the remaining man of the
family of that name to adopt him so he can wed her and break the town's
curse - otherwise he, too, will become a fool.
Neil Simon could live well on
the royalties from his flops. This, his first and probably biggest Broadway
flop, was not his first foray into what might be called "Russian Village
Humor." Five years earlier he had a 200 performance run of The Good
Doctor, his 1976 adaptation of pieces by Russian playwright Anton Chekov.
Fools ran just forty performances, but the last laugh was Simon's. It
became a staple of community and school productions and for years was on the
list of the top ten most-produced plays in U.S. high schools. That is in
part because it is completely inoffensive and safe. It is also because it
offers ten parts for young actors and actresses, each with enough sharp
lines that everyone has a chance to make a real contribution to the whole.
Peter Hawes takes the male lead
here as the new school teacher. He's particularly good at showing a certain
quizzical reaction to the foolishness he discovers. (What can you say when
told someone might possibly be related to their front door?) Aubrey Stanton
is sweet as the young lady who captures his heart. She manages to seem
completely genuine with her lines in bits such as "Would you like to kiss
me?" - "With all my heart." - "Ewww! Your mouth would be better!" Ian Heflin
and Maggie Burnside team up nicely as her parents, the bumbling town doctor
and his logically illogical wife. Sam Hale is imposing as the big guy who
really wants to marry the young lady. Making the most of a smaller part is
Zak Ellington as the incredibly stupid shepherd who, when asked for his
first name, thinks long and hard and then responds "How soon do you need
it?"
Unlike many community or school
productions, not one of the members of the cast looked at all uncomfortable
on stage and each delivered their gags with a sense of panache including
Emily Garber (who sells flowers calling them fish), Kaichen McRae, Adam
Gillis, and Lisa Hytner. Fauquier Community Theatre is
still performing in what used to be the post theater when Vint Hill was an
Army installation. The seats are getting a bit threadbare but it remains a
welcoming and comfortable place to see a play. They have filled the stage
with a workable set representing the main street of the small town with
interiors revealed when stagehands remove flats between scenes. The costumes
work nicely as well. Unexplained, however, is the selection of 1960's
popular music to fill the spaces between scenes for a play set in the 1890s.
Written by Neil Simon. Directed
by Richard Perryman. Design: Morgane Viry (costumes) Molly Mueller (set
dressing) Erin Briner (makeup) Brendon Bottle (lights) Richard Perryman
(sound) Bryan Marsh (photography). Cast: Maggie Burnside, Zak Ellington,
Emily Garber, Adam Gillis, Sam Hale, Peter Hawes, Ian Heflin, Lisa Hytner,
Kaichen McRae, Aubrey Stanton. |
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August 9 – 17, 2002
Bay at the Moon |
Reviewed August 10
Running time 1 hour 50 minutes
Price $12 |
Every summer, this ambitious community theater group turns over the reins to
the younger generation for a show featuring a cast below the age of 25. This
year it is a little-slice-of-life play that profiles two sisters, their
father and three men in a story that deals with sibling relationships with a
touch of concerns over Alzheimer’s disease.
Storyline: In a small town in Northern Florida two sisters live next door
to each other. One, who earns her living painting Christmas and Easter
pictures, takes care of their widowed father who is in the early stages of
Alzheimer’s. The other is married and wants to see her sister married as
well so she tries to act as matchmaker. The candidates she comes up with are
disastrous and she seems to have overlooked the available and comparatively
normal male nurse who helps with their father.
Director Jodi C. Marshall draws from the entire cast a level of ensemble
acting that is a step above many community theater youth performances. The
individual characterizations provided by the cast of six are detailed and
well thought out. The strongest comes from Mary Sarah LaFantasie in the role
of the artist/daughter. She has a strong sense of comic timing which works
very well for the droll remarks playwright Ian Mairs gives what is clearly
his favorite character in the story. Katie Whistler has to struggle a bit to
make the other sister a more sympathetic character – but she pulls it off.
While the focus remains on the two sisters throughout the play, there are
opportunities for the rest of the cast to bring their characters to life and
they take those opportunities to create realistic portraits. Even the
"disastrous choice" is given a bit more depth in Derek Knoderer’s
performance than just the buffoon the script provides. Knoderer manages to
show some of his pain at the knowledge of his own lack of social skills,
keeping the part from being a mere plot device. Daniel Talomie’s performance
as the aging father also has a bit more depth than the text actually
provides, although he suffers from a too obvious make-up job. A somewhat
overly soft spoken Ryan Howard is smooth and natural as the male nurse, with
a nice touch of amusement over his surroundings.
The company is currently playing at the Theatre at Vint Hill, the former
movie theater of the Army post that is being disposed of under the
Pentagon’s post cold war base closure process. The company is purchasing a
newer facility but at least for this season, their productions will continue
in this very satisfying house. While the stage is a bit shallow, little wing
space and no flies, the designers managed to come up with a substantial set
design which, with the well executed lighting and sound design, makes this a
solid offering.
Written by Ian Mairs. Directed by Jodi C. Marshall. Design: Jodi C.
Marshall and Elmer Knoderer (set) Derek Knoderer (sound) Beka Sonely and
Blair Cantrall (lighting and sound). Cast: Mary Sarah LaFantasie, Katie
Whistler, Daniel Talomie, Ryan Howard, Derek Knoderer, Nathan Demaree. |
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