There are some musicals I fall in love with instantly and then there are others that have to grow on me over time. Tuck Everlasting: The Musical is the latter. The first time I saw it I thought it was a real bore but each time I’ve seen it since it’s improved and while I still think it is a bit bloated I find it to be a very sweet and fulfilling musical. In their new production of Tuck Everlasting Sandy Arts Guild continues its outstanding tradition of prestige community theater with a lovely, tender version of this show that is well worth your time.
With direction from Lisa Noyes they tell the story of young Winnie Foster who stumbles upon the Tuck family- a family with a mysterious secret. As she spends time with them (particularly brother Jesse) she learns they mistakenly drank out of a fountain of youth and are immortal. Winnie thinks this is a great idea at first having recently lost her father but she quickly learns this has been mostly full of pain for the Tuck family.
I’m always amazed what Sandy Arts Guild can do with a school assembly hall stage (The Theater at Mount Jordan Middle School.) Auditoriums like this are notorious for being big and boxy and difficult to perform in but they put on such lavish productions you hardly notice. Here they have one beautiful setpiece after another (set design Ricky Parkinson.) I loved the circles surrounding the stage that looked like bubbles coming out of the spring. The carnival set was also bright and colorful. The boat for the fishing scene moved smoothly across the stage. You don’t expect those kind of visuals from a show done at a school like this.
Fortunately the cast lives up to the beautiful stage with Paige Hochhalter capturing all the unbridled optimism of Winnie. The role of Jesse can be on the weird side since he basically propositions a child and tries to get Winnie to agree to join him in immortality in 6 years but Jonah Blaney brings a softness to the role making it palatable. Jennifer Kroff has some devastating moments as Mae Tuck- one can sense her deep loneliness immortality has caused her to feel.
Tuck Everlasting is a show that lives and dies on its dancing. The ballet at the end celebrating Winnie’s life is my favorite part of the whole show (and I’m normally not the biggest dance person so it’s unusual for that to be my favorite.) I love how it captures the highs and lows of life and I loved how they showed the way people joined Winnie’s life and then left along the way. The ensemble also does a great job with the dancing throughout helping make transitions and some of the less exciting musical numbers easier to watch (choreographer Abigail Baugh.)
I still think this musical would be a lot better edited down. Like I’m not sure I need Hugo and the Constable to have songs or the Man in the Yellow Suit to have multiple numbers. It’s too much!
Still, I’d recommend Tuck Everlasting at Sandy Arts Guild for the tender storytelling and striking sets and dance. It’s a big auditorium so we need to fill up those seats! It is playing through October 17th and tickets can be purchased here.
Tuck Everlasting has music by Chris Miller and lyrics by Nathan Tysen. The book is by Claudia Shear and Tim Federle based on the novel by Natalie Babbitt. It first premiered on Broadway in 2016.
If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. Right now I am crisis with my channel being removed so I could really use your support. I have some really fun perks like bonus episodes, patron polls and monthly Q&As with actors, directors and writers. Please take a look here.
