Peter and the Starcatcher at Winnipesaukee Playhouse (Meredith, NH)

Opening Winnipesaukee Playhouse’s Summer Season is Peter and the Starcatcher, a play by Rick Elice, with music by Wayne Barker and based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. It tells the story of a young starcatcher, Molly, her father, Lord Aster, their mission and the friends and enemies they make along the way. One of these friends is an orphaned boy who just wants “to be a boy for a while”; and who comes to be known as Peter Pan.

Superbly directed by Neil Pankhurst, this imaginative and heartwarming production features both Playhouse veterans and first-timers. In the few musical numbers, (led by musical director and keyboardist Judy Hayward, with choreography by Lisa Travis), the cast excitedly sang and danced about the stage to the great amusement of the audience. One such highlight was the fantastically funny mermaid number at the top of act two.

As if a nod to Monty Python, the cast creatively performed as set pieces, such as walls and doors of the ship as well as generated their own sound and lighting effects.  The simplicity of the set (designed by David Towlun) provided the perfect backdrop for showcasing the strength of the cast’s physical comedy skills. The cast was fully committed to their characters and together they brought life and magic to the play.

Playing Molly is the only female in the cast: Katrina Michaels. Full of energetic spunk she dominated the stage. Pirate Black Stashe was played by Playhouse favorite, Nicolas Wilder, with impeccable comedic timing. The lost boys: Ted, adorably played by John-Michael Breen, Prentiss, well played by Kristian Sorensen and Will Champion, engaging as Boy, who, through the course of the play, discovers his capabilities, learns the meaning of family and becomes Peter Pan.  Each cast member provided memorable, playful moments and not a weak link was found among them. Rounding out the cast was Charles Baran, Versee Damien, Kevin Killavey, Mike Newman, Ty Pearsons, William Vaughn, and Mark Stephen Woods as Lord Aster.  

A well-deserved, rousing, standing ovation ended the evening after a quick two hours and a 15 minute intermission.  The Playhouse has added a symposium presentation on June 21^st and a “Talk-Back Wednesday” on June 22^nd for added enjoyment.

Peter and the Starcatcher is playing at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse until July 2^nd and is a fun family friendly production. For additional information and tickets visit winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org

 

Photo Credit: The Winnipesaukee Playhouse

World Premiere of Lobster Girl at Stoneham Theatre (Stoneham, MA)

The final show of the season, Lobster Girl, is an original story and book by Director Weylin Symes, with music and lyrics by Steven Barkhimer, and choreographed by Ilyse Robbins. Hank takes his soon-to-be stepdaughter, Cora, out on the lobster boat for the day with high hopes of bonding. Things start out awkwardly for Hank and Cora, but with the help of Jake, Hank’s right hand man on the lobster boat, things quickly become slightly less awkward and even more amusing for the audience. It’s an interesting concept for a musical and because it takes place locally, on Cape Ann, Massachusetts, the audience easily understands the premise which makes the jokes land even better.  The set, designed by Katy Monthei, is simple and includes two wooden boats, one is a mid-size lobster boat and the other is smaller and moves across the stage a number of times during the production with Ol’ Joe seated inside. 

                                                                                                                                            

The opening number “The Ballad of Ol’ Joe” sung by Ol’ Joe, William Gardiner, had a fun, bluegrass, Irish pub song - kind of feel to it which the audience really relished. It was a great way to capture the audience’s attention right from the start. Throughout the show Gardiner continued to be a source of comic relief: if things got a bit tense between Hank and Cora, he would come “floating” by the boat, singing or muttering something as he passed that would instantly lightened the mood. Bryan Donovan’s characterization of Hank was real to life and his awkwardness was very funny to watch. Both Brigit Smith as 14yr old Cora and Felix Teich as Jake, delivered solid performances with great comedic timing and vocals. Rounding out the cast as Nancy, (Cora’s mom and Hank’s fiancé), is Ceit Zweil.

Felix Teich*, Bryan T. Donovan*, Brigit Smith. Couresy Stoneham Theatre

A few more highlights from the show include a fun air guitar rendition of Boston’s “More than a Feeling” played by Hank, Cora and Jake and the consistently, rhyming lyrics in many of the songs that were all highly entertaining. The slower songs, though still nicely performed, seemed to drag the momentum of the show down a bit. That being said, it was made up for by up-tempo and very funny numbers such as “Lobster Girl and Professor Sharktopus”.

The most enjoyable moments in this production were the tight harmonies done in numbers like “The Tao of Jake”, a three-part harmony between Hank, Cora and Jake, and “A Fine Mesh We’re In”, a four-part harmony between Hank, Cora, Jake and Ol’Joe. The voices blended beautifully in both pieces.

Brigit Smith, Felix Teich*, William Gardiner*, Bryan T. Donovan*. Courtesy Stoneham Theatre

Though it pushes past musical comedy into musical farce, the audience clearly enjoyed the 90 minute, no intermission production giving it enthusiastic applause at the end. The family friendly musical Lobster Girl plays at the Stoneham Theatre through June 26^th. More information can be found at https://www.stonehamtheatre.org/lobster-girl

Carousel at Reagle Music Theatre (Waltham, MA)

Opening the 48^th Anniversary Summer Season is Rogers and Hammerstein’s classic musical Carousel. It tells the story of carnival barker Billy Bigelow and mill worker Julie Jordan who meet at the carousel and quickly fall in love. In addition to the clear love theme, the show also delves into the themes of violence, hope, and redemption. The “Carousel Waltz” was an entertaining start to the show and the audience enjoyed the turning of the carousel center stage as various performers moved about the stage enticing the locals with different carnival acts such as acrobats, a dancing bear, clowns and of course the main attraction: the carousel.

Jennifer Ellis as Julie Jordan (left) and Jessica Kundla as Carrie Pipperidge. Courtesy Reagle Music Theatre/©Herb Philpott

Jessica Kundla as Carrie Pipperidge delivered a magnificent performance both with her vocals and strong character work. Her rendition of “Mister Snow” was absolutely lovely. Ciarán Sheehan as Billy Bigelow performed with strong vocals throughout, but his best performance of the evening was in “Soliloquy” towards the end of act one. His voice boomed through the theatre capturing the audience’s attention with his rich tone as he powerfully sang each note. Jennifer Ellis as Julie Jordan and Leigh Barrett as Nettie Fowler also delivered beautiful vocals throughout.

Female dance ensemble from Carousel. Courtesy Reagle Music Theatre/©Herb Philpott

The best part of the show was the choreography by Director/Choreographer Rachel Bertone. The choreography was rooted in Ballet technique and well executed by the cast. My one complaint regarding choreography comes from the opening of act two: “This Was a Real Nice Clambake”, when the cast’s actions and lyrics led us to believe they were too full from the clambake to move, but some got a bit too energetic with the dancing especially the turning. If someone was that full they wouldn’t be turning and bouncing around unless they wanted their lunch to come back up. The boisterousness took away from the reality and authenticity of the number.

The highlight of act two was the beautifully danced “Ballet”, largely performed by Kyra Christopher as Louise Bigelow, Zachary Eisenberg as the Carnival Boy and Ensemble dancers. Christopher’s emotional connection to the music and the movement was stunning. Her technique was tremendous and she is clearly a very talented and trained dancer of whom I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of in the future.

While this musical is a classic, its’ length of three hours including intermission (in part due to a seeming lack of urgency as many scenes drag on) is certainly a deterrent and explains why a number of people left after the first act. However, if you love Rogers and Hammerstein or this musical, you’re sure to enjoy it.  If you’re not an enthusiast of the classics you may want to sit this one out and wait for the next one. Carousel plays from June 9-19, 2016 at the Robinson Theatre (617 Lexington Street, Waltham, MA). For information and tickets visit www.reaglemusictheatre.com

Funny Girl at North Shore Music Theatre (Beverly, MA)

Funny Girl, music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill and book by Isobel Lennart, originally stared Barbra Streisand when it opened on Broadway in 1964. It is the story of comedian Fanny Brice and her rise from the Vaudeville stage to becoming a world-renowned Ziegfeld star. In Bill Hanney’s North Shore Music Theatre production, Shoshana Bean of Broadway’s Hairspray and Wicked, takes on the role of Fanny Brice and from the moment she walks on the stage through the final note she sings, she embodies every comedic moment, emotion and gusto of the character that makes the audience truly believe she is the “greatest star”.

Shoshana Bean has everything it takes to pull off this iconic role: fantastic vocals, perfect comedic timing, and the emotional depth needed for the dramatic scenes within the show.  Everything she did was genuine and the audience couldn’t have loved her performance any more than it did giving her a robust standing ovation.

Other highlights of this production include Rick Faugno as Eddie Ryan, Fanny’s longtime friend and mentor, Bradley Dean as Nick Arnstein, Fanny’s husband, and Susan Cella as Mrs.Brice, Fanny’s mother. Faugno delivered solid vocals and incredible tap dancing skills both as a solo in act one and then in a duet in “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat” in act two. His sounds were clearly executed and his rhythms were superb. He danced effortlessly across the stage even while singing and was a joy to watch. Dean as smooth talking Nick delivered a strong performance with terrific vocals and acting. Cella was amusing as Fanny’s mother, Mrs. Brice, also delivering a solid performance and receiving tremendous applause during “Who Taught Her Everything”, a duet with Faugno, in which while singing, Cella slid into a full right split with ease.

The staging and choreography  by James Brennan was well done and worked great for the circular stage with entrances coming from a variety of aisles in the audience or up from below the stage via a square cut out in the floor. Costume coordination and additional designs from Mark Nagle were colorful. The show girl outfits were especially well done and a nice nod to the originals worn in Ziegfeld’s productions. Additional production credits include Mark Hartman as music director, Stephen Dobay as scenic designer, Jack Mehler as lighting designer and Charles Coes as sound designer.

Though the run time is 2 hours and 50 minutes including intermission, Shoshana Bean as Fanny Brice makes every minute worth it and her performance is not to be missed. Funny Girl plays Tuesdays-Sundays through June 19^th. For tickets or more information visit www.nsmt.org , call 978-232-7200 or visit the box office in person at 62 Dunham Rd. Beverly, MA.

Regional Premiere of The Taming at Shakespeare & Company (Lenox, MA)

Lucy Lavely, Maddie Jo Landers, Tangela Large. Photo by Enrico Spada.

The Taming, wittily written by Lauren Gunderson, is an entertaining, eccentric comedy that brings together an ambitious beauty queen with two headstrong, political opposites in a way that will have you laughing throughout. Miss Georgia the night before the Miss USA pageant decides that in order to make her dream of rewriting the constitution a reality she must lock herself in her hotel room with a Liberal activist blogger and a Conservative Senate staffer and forge an alliance between the parties. Sounds amusing, doesn’t it? And that’s only the beginning.  

Perfectly directed by Nicole Ricciardi the three fantastic females in this cast work together with great chemistry and comedic timing. As dialect coach, Susan Cameron, honed the ladies accents; each magnificently executed and perfectly fitting their characters. Maddie Jo Landers plays the determined Miss Georgia, Katherine, Tangela Large plays the career focused Conservative Patricia, and Lucy Lavely plays the eccentric Liberal activist Bianca. The actors were completely committed to the characters they played with each line and movement deliberate and purposeful. The subtle nuances and gestures of each character were clear and precisely placed amongst the boisterous banter in each scene. Even as they portrayed other personalities in a trip back in time, thanks to some powerful, medicinal water guns, their incredible talent and understanding of the text continued to impress the consistently chuckling audience. Though these ladies are making their Shakespeare and Company debuts with this play it will certainly not be the last we see of them.

The show was not only fantastic because of the work done on stage, but also because of the work behind the scenes before it opened. Set designer John McDermott did a great job creating a functional and easily transitioned set. I especially loved the red, white and blue Mylar curtain that enclosed much of the set at the top of the show. Sound designer Amy Altadonna brought life to each scene with subtle sound effects such as the “Twitter bird”. Nicely designed lighting and costumes, by James Bilnoski and Esther Van Eek, rounded out the well done technical aspects of this production.

If you find yourself in the Berkshires and in need of a good laugh go on over to Shakespeare and Company and enjoy this 90 minute hilariously, relevant play. The Taming is playing in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre until July 30^th, 2016.  Tickets and more information on the can be found at www.shakespeare.org.

Maddie Jo Landers. Photo by Enrico Spada