Lots of people have a good time during this up-tempo spoof of teenage
horror movies that were the rage during the drive-in movie era. The people
in the audience have a great time, in part because it is clear that the
people on stage are having a ball. The cast of ten delivers this confection
as if they really love the material and want the audience to fall under its
spell as well. With a simple (but effective) set, efficient lighting and a
costume design that is as witty and clever as the script, the entire package
delivers a short, highly charged evening. The leads are Kelly Garland,
making her theater debut, and Kyle VanZandt who doesn't seem to have a
bashful bone in his body. So often in community theater there is a certain
reticence, a reluctance to really let go. Not so with VanZandt. He throws
himself into the role. He has a good, but not well trained voice, and belts
out his big notes. Some of the time, however, it is the energy and sincerity of
the delivery that makes them so much fun, not any strict conformance with
the key structure. Garland holds the stage comfortably and delivers her
songs with style. Together, they make an appealing couple, and it is
refreshing to see a musical about teenagers in love played by people who
look like teenagers
rather than twenty-somethings trying to pass as youngsters.
Storyline: In the age of black leather jackets and poodle skirts, the
students at Enrico Fermi High are excited about the upcoming prom ("an
evening of miracles and molecules") when pretty Toffee and handsome Jonny
(who spells his name without the traditional "h") fall in love. Her parents
and the school principal insist they break up and Jonny kills himself by
throwing himself into the main waste treatment silo of the Francis Gary
Powers Nuclear Plant. He comes back to life, however, as a teenage nuclear
zombie and wants to take up with Toffee again and pursue his diploma. When
the school principal bans him from the prom, the rights of the undead become
a hot political issue.
Before Dana P. Rowe and John Dempsey wrote the musicals The Fix and
The
Witches of Eastwick, they collaborated on this musical spoof. The score
isn't "sung through" in the manner of the Les Misérables /
The Phantom of the Opera mega-musicals that often trudge through
minimally melodic recitative. It is, however, almost all singing. What is
more, almost all of the story and most of the character development is
delivered in song. The key here may be the fact that both book and lyrics
are by the same man, John Dempsey, and he clearly is comfortable telling his
story in the kind of rhymed couplets that Dana Rowe can set to infectious
tunes. He certainly isn't afraid to reach for a wild pun or stretch to set
up a great sight gag with a descriptive lyric. Both collaborators have
turned out material that is a great deal of fun.
Because so much of the story is told through
the score, the rhythm and pace of the entire production is dictated by what
Dempsey and Rowe wrote, leaving the director little choice but to have his
cast go with their flow. First, however, the director needs to attract a
talented cast and then he has to get them to trust their material and feel
comfortable giving it a full-out delivery. Director Jason Wilson has done
just that, and with the help of inventive work by choreographer Elizabeth Fette, who gives the cast moves that use their skills without exceeding
their abilities, the troupe performs with pizzazz.
Rick Robertson throws himself into the role
of a gossip reporter with so much conviction that he seems like a role model
for the younger cast members. Of course, with the raspberry shirt and orange
tie under a silver suit that Margo Harvey provided, anyone would stand out.
Kristen Zwobot doesn't quite get all the mileage out of the role of the
dictatorial school principal, but she carries her part of the plot along
without a dip in the energy of the production. All six of the supporting
ensemble are good as well. Music director Michael Tan gets everyone to
concentrate on their enunciation so all the material Dempsey implants in his
lyrics can be understood and appreciated.
Music by Dana P. Rowe. Book and Lyrics by
John Dempsey. Directed by Jason Wilson. Choreography by Elizabeth Feete.
Musical direction by Michael Tan. Design: Jared Davis (set) Margo Harvey
(costumes) Alex Zavistovich (makeup) Michelle Harmon (properties)
Lauren Kolstad (lights) Denise Bailey (photography). Cast: Sara Collison,
Kelly Garland, Andrew Lamb, Chris Marino, Dan McQuay, Erica Reinsch, Rick
Robertson, Robin Samek, Kyle VanZandt, Kristen Zwobot. |
