I don’t think there has ever been as much anticipation for one of my theatre reviews than this one for Hale Center Theatre’s Hallmarked. Being the host of Hallmarkies Podcast everyone expected me to have big opinions on this musical satirizing romantic comedies and Hallmark movies. In fact, I was actually a little nervous because I wanted to be as fair as possible and give both the average patron and my fellow superfans an idea of what to expect. Fortunately, the show is a lot of fun and while I have my critiques I can confidently say it is a good time that anyone can enjoy.

Before I dive into the story I should mention the new Beehive Stage that it is premiering on. This a traditional thrust stage that seats 322 (Hale’s Jewel Box in comparison seats 467) so it has the most intimate feel of any of the Hale stages and its traditional setup doesn’t have any of the obfuscation issues that can be a problem with both of their other stages. It’s a beautifully designed theater and I can’t wait to see many productions there over the years. I am frankly kind of amazed they have Hallmarked running on this stage until June but then again folks love Hallmark and rom-coms especially here in Utah!

Like many parodies we begin with an over-the-top version of what is being satirized so it’s a Christmas movie called The Christmas Beaus. This is a nitpick but some might be surprised that weddings and even proposals are not very common in Hallmark movies. In fact, there’s a lot of debate within the fandom of whether there should even be an ‘I love you’ at the end of a movie. Pretty much the only time there is such a big declaration or a wedding is if it is a ‘friends to lovers’ story and they’ve known each other for a long time. Otherwise a kiss at the end is usually all they go for.

Another misconception about Hallmark movies is that they are all city girl goes back to the country when really that was more the early part of Countdown to Christmas. This year they only had 1 out of 25 movies with this plot and it was technically a male character going back to the hometown and the hunk was a woman so still some subversion. My point is the genre and channel is not as tired as people think it is, but I get this is a parody and broad caricatures are what sell the jokes, so I’m fine with how they are used here.

Our Hallmarked heroine for this tale is named Julie and she’s cynical about love and relationships. Her sister and Mother love Hallmark movies but she has no interest in them. Unfortunately for her she is hired to work on a reality baking show (which they just had a baking show, Baked with Love, on Hallmark filmed here in Utah so that was a funny touch!) in small town of Idyllic, Vermont. It is everything that you dream about in a small town with nosy neighbors, a beautiful main street and of course the hardware store with the hunky single Dad widower owner named Monty. The night I attended Julie is played by Bo Chester and Monty by Derek Smith. He is your classic man with many jobs and in my opinion the scenes in the hardware store were the funniest and most accurate sequences in poking fun at Hallmark.

Some other sequences are less successful like a long song called “My Hallmark” which is actually parodying Disney princesses with townspeople dressed up as iconic princesses and animated birds projected on the screen. If they were going to ask for my advice I would cut this sequence. Not only does it have nothing to do with Hallmark but Disney has been actively avoiding romance for nearly 2 decades. Ever since Tangled they have been acting like love is a less powerful or profound way for a female character to evolve into but that’s a topic for a whole different essay…

Getting back to my review. I was impressed with the quality of the songs both in music and lyrics and the singing by Chester, Smith, Haley Wawro who plays her boss Ryann, and everyone else in the cast. “On My Way,” “Say Hello to Romeo,” “Afraid to Fall” were all solid entertaining show tunes. Obviously you have to like romantic comedies a little bit to enjoy Hallmarked but the bones of the musical are strong enough most anyone will be entertained by it. I just saw Hello Dolly and while those songs are legendary the romantic comedy framework isn’t that different. Basically if you can tolerate Hello Dolly than you should be fine with Hallmarked.

I actually think the script could have been even more subversive than it was. Like I would have enjoyed digs at the romantic comedy archetypes like fake fiancés or save the family store. A lot of time is spent on the baking show, which is definitely a Hallmark trope (they love a holiday themed bake-off) but sometimes it felt almost like a reality tv parody or Food Network parody more than Hallmark (particularly in Act 2.)

This production is helmed by Hale’s most reliable director Dave Tinney and he combines the projections with real sets well and the choreography by Lindsey D Smith is as bright and bubbly as you could hope for. I particularly liked the opening wedding with the Christmas dresses (costumes by Joy Zhu) and the song “You & I.” It’s a great way to welcome us into this version of Hallmark even if it’s not exactly like the real one I know and love.

I also appreciate that the humor in Hallmarked is never mean-spirited nor meant to insult anyone who enjoys Hallmark movies. That’s not always the case with Hallmark parodies. After all, through her Idyllic experience Julie finds hope again which is the best part of most romantic comedies. So if you are a superfan like me you’ll enjoy Hallmarked at Hale, and if you’re not you’ll have a good time too. It’s one of the better original premieres they’ve put on there and I hope to get the chance to see the alternate cast during it’s long run. It is playing through June 6th and tickets can be purchased here.

Hallmarked is written and composed by Michael Fox with Cameron, Dawn and Quinn Dietlein. This is the world premiere and Sally Dietlein is the producer with Alex Marshall and Quinn as the music directors.

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