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‘THE BOYS NEXT DOOR’ PULLS OFF A TRICKY BALANCING ACT AT PG PLAYERS (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

It’s always a tricky thing whenever a play or musical is portraying a marginalized group especially if that group is not the one creating or authoring the production. With their play The Boys Next Door the good folks at PG Players are faced with this challenge in portraying those with mental handicaps and disabilities, and I’d say for the most part they succeed. While not perfect, The Boys Next Door is overall a warm and endearing portrait of an often ignored group without turning them into the inspiration porn we sometimes see.

Set in the 1980s The Boys Next Door tells the story of 4 men with differing mental disabilities that live in a group home in the Boston area. The men are helped by a social worker named Jack (Matthew DelaFuente) who is genuinely friends with the men even if he does become exasperated with them on occasion. For the most part, the first act is a comedy with the men getting into varying shenanigans like accidently flushing the neighbors hamster down the toilet and trying to impress the girls at the local dance.

In Act 2 things get more serious particularly for a character named Barry (Harrison Kaylor) who is the subject of abuse and trauma that is tough to watch. Anxiety-ridden Arnold (Dennis Purdie) is also the victim of bullying at work, a situation that is not really tied up in a bow which I appreciated for its realism.

The biggest issue with The Boys Next Door is one of pacing. This play would be so much better at a good 90 minute runtime but it goes on for 2 1/2 hours. It’s hard to maintain the momentum and not run into caricature with such a long play. It’s like playwright Tom Griffin is asking for trouble. I also didn’t love having Jack speak for the men in long diatribes in-between scenes. These are grown men and we don’t need an able-bodied person to narrate their struggles to us. We see it on the stage.

That said, directors Howard and Kathryn Little have taken imperfect material and put together a meaningful experience. The cast has a nice chemistry together and one can easily tell the performances come from a place of advocacy and compassion. They even have a section of the program ‘Notes from Friends About Living with Neurodiversity and Mental Health Challenges.’ This did not go unnoticed by me and was greatly appreciated.

The acting is all excellent with Purdie giving his 53rd production with PG Players. He has played the role of Arnold before and one can sense his experience and comfort-level with the character. Delafuente is one of the best actors working in amateur theatre in Utah, and he is terrific as Jack even full-on crying at a scene in Act 2. Kaylor is also quite devastating as Barry. You’d never guess in a tiny theater in a library to get this good of performances.

Even with its flaws The Boys Next Door is worthy of your time and certainly the good folks at PG Players are. If you haven’t discovered this gem of Utah County what are you waiting for? It is playing through May 12th and tickets can be purchased here.

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. 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.

‘WICKED’ NATIONAL TOUR IS THE SPECTACLE ENTERTAINMENT THAT’S MADE IT SO POPULAR (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

Writing a review for the national tour of Wicked seems almost like an exercise in futility. With the musical’s incredible popularity has anyone not made up their mind whether to see or not see this show? Nevertheless, that is the task assigned to me, so I will do my best to fulfill it.

If you have been living under a rock Wicked is the incredibly popular musical first produced in 2003 on Broadway and still running to this day. Part 1 of the feature film debuted last year to huge success and now the national tour is going to be in Salt Lake for 6 weeks, which is pretty remarkable (Life of Pi in contrast was here for 4 days!)

In some ways I resent Wicked and its success because it started this horrible trend of both the ‘fresh take’ on a fairytale (which is usually remarkably unfresh see recent Snow White for example) but also the humanizing of classic villains which often leaves them bland and personality-less (I’m talking to you Maleficent.) It feels like we can’t even have villains any more. They are all surprise villains (thanks to Frozen) or really not so bad after all. Groan. While it can be valuable to find the humanity in evil it also can lead to a sameness in storytelling that can be frustrating and lead to a moral neutering of our heroes and their heroic journey (ie if Dorothy isn’t facing off a great evil than where’s her bravery in just walking through the forest to get a broomstick from a nice lady?)

Anyway, it’s no surprise that everyone would want to copy Wicked after its success but that doesn’t mean the original is not of value and very entertaining. Surprisingly I have actually only seen the stage musical of Wicked once before in 2006. My Elphaba was Ana Gasteyer believe it or not and my Galinda was Kate Reindeers. It was a blast and every bit the spectacle entertainment with the great songs I was hoping or.

I interviewed Company manager Steve Quinn prior to the Wicked national tour

The spectacle entertainment is really the reason to see the national tour of Wicked. It’s a grand big show with lots of bright lights and big colors- everything you could want from a production of this musical. This iteration is directed by Joe Mantello and its probably boldest move is casting Lauren Samuels and Austen Danielle Bohmer in our two leads as Elphaba and Galinda respectively. They are both very talented singers but with Samuels being the more petite of the 2 (by 4 inches) it defies casting stereotypes as usually Galinda is the smaller of the actors. I enjoyed this dynamic because it helped make Elphaba into more of an underdog in the scenes at Shiz and even in her interactions with Galinda (Kristin Chenoweth, who premiered the role of Galinda is only 4’11” to Idina Menzel’s Elpheba at 5’6”). Fortunately both Samuels and Bohmer are up the task of the singing with challenging songs like “Defying Gravity,” “For Good,” “Popular” and “The Wizard and I.”

The ensemble in the national tour of Wicked is also mostly solid although I felt underwhelmed by Blame Hammond’s Wizard. He could have leaned into the camp of the role a little more and supported his singing better (although he does have two of the weakest songs of the musical in “A Sentimental Man” and “Wonderful.”) Aymee Garcia, on the other hand, gave me everything I could want in a Madame Morrible. Dripping with disdain and disgust for all around her. She stole every scene she is in. I also enjoyed Xavier McKinnon’s swoony take on Fiyero and his confidence in songs like “Dancing Through Life.”

Like I said, the spectacle entertainment is everything fans could hope for with the national tour. I do think the first Act of Wicked is much stronger than the second but it’s still satisfying and certainly gives us enough catchy songs to make for an entertaining night of theatre. Certainly seeing a show like Wicked is a chance to get children excited about musical theatre and that’s why I most encourage families to go and see this show while it is at Eccles for 6 weeks. Particularly your girls will be talking about if for weeks and they just may be inspired to audition for their local community musicals. Popular shows like Wicked have that ability to speak to new musical fans like Les Miserables or The Little Mermaid did for me as a young person and that is important and valuable. So go see Wicked while you have the chance and take the whole family. It is playing May 25th and tickets can be purchased here.

Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman based on the novel by Gregory Maguire.

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. 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.

TEENS AND ‘GREASE’ GO TOGETHER PERFECTLY AT HOPEBOX (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

I always love a chance I get to support teens and high school theater. Maybe it’s because that’s the only time I have ever acted in productions is high school (and it was such a positive experience) but I love supporting the students in any way I can. Plus, the teen productions in Utah are so good that it hardly seems like a hard task to review their work. This week I had the chance to see teens put on Grease: High School Edition and it was a really fun night of theater. The young people should be very proud and I’m glad Hopebox gave them this opportunity.

In so many ways Grease is a perfect choice for a high school or teen production. Most obviously it is set in a high school and is about teenagers and even though it is set in the 50s a lot of the issues the characters at Rydell High are dealing with are still faced by teens today: Fitting in, being the new kid, falling in love, what are you going to do with your life, dealing with adults etc. This high school edition does tone some of the darker themes down (such as Rizzo thinking she’s pregnant) but it’s still more real than sometimes given credit for as a show.

The production at Hopebox is directed by Wyatt Welch, and he has cultivated a nice chemistry among his teen actors and given them all choreography and moments to shine, which is what I like to see in a high school production. They also have a bright jukebox diner inspired set by Curtis Dalton and props that moved and transformed with ease. I particularly admired a car they put together in pieces for “Grease Lightnin’ and then they used it again for a very clever drive-in setup before Danny sings ‘Sandy.’ They even have a make-shift movie screen with clips of James Dean and other 1950’s films. One doesn’t expect those kind of details from a production like this. (The costumes by Livvy Noonchester are also really impressive.)

While the leads are good, it was the ensemble members that stood out most in this show. I saw the Silver cast but Grant Sorensen plays Eugene/Teen Angel in both casts and he is really terrific as both the nerd and singing star. Emery Andrus is a standout as Marty doing a very good ‘Freddy, My Love’ and Clara Gittins and Caden Carver are fantastic as Jan and Sonny respectively. Avery Koford is probably the best singer of the group as Rizzo in ‘Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee.’

Everything went off pretty smoothly the night I saw Grease at Hopebox. There were a few odd lighting choices where the spotlight moved around too much and the characters were left in the dark for too long but nothing too distracting. Hopebox does have a wonderful mission and the high school shows are no exception. This production is donating to a high school senior Afu Fiefia who is undergoing chemo treatments currently. What a wonderful purpose making a night of entertainment even better and more impactful. Grease: High School Edition is playing through April 26th and tickets can be purchased here.

Grease has music, lyrics and book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey

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. 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.

ps. I used to think Grease was too outdated but a few years ago I had a change of heart about it. See my review

‘A CHORUS LINE’ AT WVA IS ONE SHOW NOT TO BE MISSED DESPITE A CHALLENGING STAGE (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

It’s funny. I would never call A Chorus Line underrated as it is a classic of musical theatre, but I do feel like it isn’t mentioned as much as it should be in discussions of the greatest shows of all time. It’s certainly one of my favorites. I love how honest and authentic it feels. Written in 1975 based on interviews done of Broadway chorus members it feels like something that could be released new now and not feel outdated one bit. West Valley Arts is putting on this landmark show and while their theater-in-the-round does cause some challenges it is still well worth your time.

If you are unfamiliar with A Chorus Line it takes a group of dancers auditioning for a chorus role in a Broadway show and tells their individual stories (again based on real interviews.) There isn’t a traditional plot like we usually have in musicals but is more of a what we call in the film world ‘slice of life’ narrative. We as the audience are a fly on the wall watching these people audition and learning about their life.

It is this voyeuristic aspect of this show that make many of co-director/choreographers Izzy Arrieta and Ben Roeling’s choices so brilliant. I particularly loved having director in the show Zach (Joseph Spear) mostly a voice from above calling out orders to our dancers. In many ways Zach is us and speaks for the audience making when he does step on to the stage extra impactful.

Another effective directorial moment is the opening number “I Hope I Get It” we are introduced to each character with the actors holding up their headshots to Zach’s voice from above but again it made it feel like they were each auditioning for us and we were going to be the ones judging them worthy or not.

The casting for this production of A Chorus Line is across the board outstanding. I would challenge any non-equity theater across the nation to produce such an incredibly talented group of dancers, actors and singers. It’s hard to pick a favorite because they are all impressive but Angel Martinez as Paul (I honestly believe Paul’s Act 2 monologue to be one of the most stirring monologues in musical theatre history and he performs it with heart and soul), Heather White as the jaded Sheila, and Annie Jones as the tone-deaf but very funny Kristine are the standouts.

It being an audition environment the sets and costuming are simple so it’s the performances and the choreography by Arrieta and Roeling that give the production its flavor. I love how each performer has unique choreography while all still working together to make the iconic kicklines of the show. Again, we are put in the position of Zach and can see who he should and should not pick.

The problem with WVA is that the theater-in-the-round setup is a challenging space for A Chorus Line. I wish the directors had used the aisles and the platforms around the stage for some of the solos to stretch things out into the audience. It is a reality of this stage that some of the time the performers will be facing away from us as an audience. This is a major barrier for A Chorus Line because we can’t see what the dancers are doing. We can’t look into their faces and see their expressions. I wish I could lift this cast and choreography onto a traditional stage so I could see what was happening at all times. There are times when theater-in-the-round is an advantage making the audience surrounded by the experience but for A Chorus Line where there so often is a literal line of actors it’s problematic.

That said, I don’t think this downside is enough to throw off the many positives in A Chorus Line at WVA. It’s a stirring look into the lives of performers and just people with their hopes and dreams. Plus, there are some terrific tunes and dance sequences well performed. A Chorus Line is playing at WVA through May 3rd and tickets can be purchased here. Don’t be the one to miss out!

A Chorus Line features music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kieban and a book by James Kirkwood Jr and Nicholas Dante.

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. 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.

‘YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN’ AT COVEY TAKES A FRESH LOOK AT CLASSIC BY GOING SENIOR

| Rachel's Reviews

Last year I saw a production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and was honestly underwhelmed with the material. It wasn’t bad but not as funny or endearing as I was expecting. I think I was anticipating a laugh riot similar to Spelling Bee (which of course was much later but a similar dynamic) and it’s just not that kind of show. Still I didn’t have a great desire to see it again but then Covey Center for the Arts in Provo announced they were doing a special revised version of the material and I was intrigued. The new production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown takes the show and makes slight alterations but has it cast with senior citizen actors giving the musical a whole new level of heart and soul. I really loved this production and I hope readers make time in their schedule to see it.

This season at The Covey they’ve been doing a terrific job of using the black box stage to its advantage. Whether it’s the creepy closeness of Woman in Black or the cramped apartment of Barefoot in the Park. Now for Charlie Brown director Heidi Mendez with scenic designer Robert Sealy have recreated the iconic Peanuts world to create an immersive experience. Of course they have Snoopy’s iconic red house but also a background box that turns from a mantlepiece to a sofa with ease. Jessica Moody has also recreated our team’s signature looks with adorable costumes.

The cast is drawn from some of Utah’s most well known theatre and screen stars with James Arlington leading things off as Charlie Brown. He is very endearing in the role and captures Charlie’s signature melancholy disposition as he tries to impress the red-headed girl and make friends. Peggy Matheson gets the best song of the night with “My New Philosophy” and Jayne Luke is hilarious as Snoopy (you can tell she is having a ball playing a dog at her age!)

Naturally as this show is about children much of the dialogue is about growing up so it’s an interesting experience to hear those kids-lines spoken by older actors. For example, when Charlie Brown says “I wonder if anyone would even notice if I got out of bed today.” That line rings different said by a senior citizen who is more likely to be under-visited and left alone. When Charlie see’s Snoopy getting more valentines than he did one can’t help but think of nursing home residents with little to no mail or signs of love from loved ones.

I honestly think one would have to be really cynical to not enjoy Covey’s You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. I did find the whole marketing push of it being a reunion to be a little confusing as the actors had never done it before but whatever. It’s so endearing and fun you can’t help but be charmed by the evening of fun. Plus, it’s not that long so you don’t go home fatigued. You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown plays through May 3rd and tickets can be purchased here. Take the whole family. You’ll have a blast!

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown has music and lyrics by Clark Gesner with a book by John Gordon and a 1999 revision by Andrew Lippa

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. 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.

UTAH THEATRE LOG 3/30-4/11 (JERSEY BOYS, RIDE THE CYCLONE) (RACHEL’S THEATRE LOG 120)

| Rachel's Reviews

Hi friends! I hope you are doing well and having a great time enjoying community theatre near you. I have 2 shows to do my quick logs for you tonight. These logs are my thoughts on shows I saw as a patron not as a formal critic. I would love to review as many local shows as possible so if you are interested contact me on social media or at rachelsreviews65@gmail.com and we can get that set up.

JERSEY BOYS- THE RUTH, PLEASANT GROVE

First up we have Jersey Boys at The Ruth. This is the iconic jukebox musical about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons that set the standard for this type of biographical jukebox musical. I really enjoyed a production I saw at Pioneer Theatre last Fall but that was the full version whereas this is the edited version, which I didn’t like as much. Nevertheless, I actually do think it was a bold show for the Ruth to pick and I was alarmed at how many empty seats there were the night I was in attendance.

Despite lacking the edge to make it feel more authentic this is still an entertaining night of theatre. I particularly think the second act of Jersey Boys is effective. I love the sense of humor it has (jukebox musicals can be overly serious sometimes when showing us these people’s dramatic lives.) This production at The Ruth is directed by David Morgan and the 4 men have a nice chemistry together with nice harmonies for the many songs they are required to sing. It took me a bit to warm up to Kristian Huff as Frankie Valli and his version of the falsetto but it grew on me. Brock Dalgleish plays Tommy, David Matthew Smith is Bob and Bronson Dameron is Nick the night I was there. They are all excellent in their roles and in the harmonies together. I also really liked The Angels when they sang “My Boyfriend’s Back”

The set by Danny Rash moves easily between the different time periods. The lighting by Michael Gray is immersive and colorful and overall the whole thing went off without a hitch. Jersey Boys is playing until May 10th and tickets can be purchased here. If any of you have seen the authentic vs the cleaned up version let me know which one you prefer?

RIDE THE CYCLONE- WESTMINSTER UNIVERSITY, SALT LAKE

I had honestly never heard of the musical Ride the Cyclone before but I always like to try out new shows so when I saw it was playing at local Westminster University I decided to give it a shot. While in the end it wasn’t a show for me I always love supporting the students and their efforts.

The setup for this musical is fairly simple. A tragic accident in an amusement park has 7 teens to the afterlife and now they must decide which one of them deserves a chance back at earth. This reminded me of many other shows like Beetlejuice, Assassins, Our Town and even Cats. Each character gets their own segment and the actors are all talented and charismatic. The highlight is Jane Doe played by Chloe Mizantzidi who goes from belt to opera with ease in her “The Ballad of Jane Doe” number.

In a way my problem with Ride the Cyclone is a little unfair. The night I attended was sold out, which is great, but the boisterous crowd was ready to laugh at seemingly anything. Don’t get me wrong there are some chuckles but the show is also trying to say something about life and death and the laughter from the audience seemed to not appreciate those more thoughtful moments. As the night continued I became increasingly annoyed as it was clear those around me had come to cheer on their friends and not see a piece of theatre. I felt like I could barely appreciate the dialogue that was actually funny because I was distracted trying to figure out why people were laughing at a sad story being told. By the end, I was so annoyed that I was eager for it to be over and ready to head home.

This production of Ride the Cyclone is directed by Mark Fossen and has an incredible set design by Spencer Potter. The final performance is tomorrow 4/12 and tickets can be purchased here.

Jersey Boys features a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice featuring music by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Ride the Cyclone has music, lyrics and book by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell.

These logged shows I pay for out of pocket and I’d love to do that as much as possible. If you have a show you’d like me to take a look at and write a full review let me know. I also have my patreon which is a great way to support what I do and get some really fun perks. Find out more here.

‘STEEL MAGNOLIAS’ IS TRUE GIRL POWER AT MILLCREEK COMMUNITY (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

One of the best parts about community theatre is the element of surprise. When I go to see a Broadway show I expect the talent to be top-tier and the production to be incredible but with community theatre, especially a company I haven’t seen before, I never really know what I’m going to get. For example, on Saturday I was invited to see a small production of Steel Magnolias put on by Millcreek Community Theatre and it was a wonderful experience I won’t soon forget.

Believe it or not I actually had never seen Steel Magnolias. It is performed fairly regularly I just for whatever reason had never seen it. This production kind of reminded me of when I saw Enchanted April at Sugar Factory Playhouse last year. Both are women-centric plays with minimal sets that make them ideal for a community theatre to put on (both productions were also in city hall buildings!) Steel Magnolias is a play written by Robert Harling about the women in his town and how they rallied together after the death of his sister from diabetes. It of course was turned into the popular feature film with Dolly Parton and Julia Roberts in 1989.

With a play like this it really comes down to the casting and can the group of women create believable chemistry together on stage. Fortunately the cast at Millcreek achieve these criteria in spades. I can’t overstate how impressed I was with every performance and how easy it was to get emotionally invested in their friendships. Alexandrea Tara-Brett leads things off in the Parton-like role of Truvy in a performance Dolly would be proud of. Brittney Smith and Libby Mitchell make a believable mother/daughter combo playing Shelby and M’Lynn respectively and M’Lisa Bailey-Hansen is hilarious as crotchety Ousier. They are all also very good with their accents creating believable Southern characters.

This production of Steel Magnolias took place in an office room at Millcreek City Hall. The seats are just office chairs and the stage is an elevated platform where they create Truvy’s in-home beauty salon the women flock to for gossip and haircare. Nothing is fancy but I was impressed they got the sink to work for the hair shampooing. I’m not sure how they did that but it looked like M’Lynn got her hair wet in the sink.

As far as critique I might try to find a different gunshot sound effect. The one they used sounded like a light saber more than a gunshot. Other than that this was a wonderful afternoon of community theatre, and I’m so glad I got to take part in it.

This production of Steel Magnolias is directed by Traci Nelson and creative director Jim Nelson with stage manager Jax Jessup. All of these individuals have my attention. I will be curious what they do next because they accomplished so much with so little to work with here. The only sad part is (aside from what happens to poor Shelby) is the play only ran this weekend so only a handful of people got to experience it. (That’s always the sad part of live theatre. It’s so ephemeral unlike film that is archived for generations to watch.) Evidently next up for Millcreek is A Midsummer’s Night Dream which should be a ton of fun. Find out more on their facebook page.

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. 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.

‘DOGFIGHT’ IS A GOOD LOOKIN START TO SENTINEL THEATRE (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

It’s always an exciting event when a new theatre company enters the Utah theatre scene and it is even more exciting when they do so with a bold ambitious choice that I’ve never seen before. Such is the case with the debut production of Dogfight from Sentinel Theatre at the Valentine Theater in American Fork. The mature content of this show won’t be for everyone but if up for the challenging material the audience will be richly rewarded. What a triumphant start to a new company, and I can’t wait to see what they do next (which is Bright Star so of course I’m thrilled about that!)

I first heard about Dogfight from a friend of mine on my podcast and especially it being the first music of now EGOT winners Benji Pasek and Justin Paul I was intrigued (book by Peter Duchan.) It tells the story of 3 soldiers in 1963 that are heading to the Vietnam War with a stop-over in San Francisco after basic training. The trio decides to enter a ‘dogfight’ competition where they all try to bring the ugliest girl they can find to a party to be judged. This pushes Eddie Birdlace into the company of a girl named Rose who may not appreciate the cruel joke the soldiers are playing.

If that plot feels too dark and cynical it may not be your cup of tea but we are dealing with foolish young people and the harsh realities of war so dark and cynical is not inappropriate. There are enough moments of humanity within the material to give hope and keep me engaged throughout.

The cast at Sentinel are all outstanding with Adam Moore as Birdlace and Sam Bennett and Nathan Bowser as Bernstein and Boland. They have a believable chemistry and they are all complex characters that do a mixture of good and bad things (like most humans even without the threat of war looming over us.) Moore is a very gifted singer but he also is endearing enough for us to not completely hate him for what he is doing to Rose (she also slaps him in the face which is more than deserved.)

Rose is played by Alison Gordon and she is wonderful at playing shy and awkward teenager. I like that she is insecure but never a complete pushover. River Robinson is also terrific as Marcy and I particularly enjoyed a duet she does with Rose called “Dogfight.” She is very funny in the role but also captures the deeper cynicism needed to teach the boys a lesson.

The whole team at Sentinel deserves praise for the thrilling production. Director Andrew Jefferies has left no detail unattended. I love how the actors are constantly moving with the entire large stage being used. Caleb Wallengren does mesmerizing work with the lighting and sound design creating everything from a simple diner, to a party, to a war with explosions and gunfire. The costumes by Kristin Christensen are period accurate from everything I know (I’m not a military expert but they appeared correct.) Liz Whittaker continues her incredible work across this valley as the intimacy coordinator (I found it very impressive thanks to Moore and Gordon that the intimacy scenes worked as well as they did when things are so cruel at the party.)

As far as critique my main feedback would be for the leads to try and enunciate a little bit better. I know it’s hard when doing accents but there were times when I had a hard time understanding the dialogue and was a little confused. I didn’t even realize what the dogfight actually was until the dance contest started. I think I missed something in the earlier dialogue that should have given me a clue.

Like I said, I know Dogfight will not be for everyone but I hope enough people take a chance on something bold and new to encourage Sentinel to keep going and producing more theatre. As theatre patrons it’s exactly the kind of ambitious work we should be promoting and supporting and I hope all my readers see it. It is playing through April 12th and tickets can be purchased here.

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. 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.

‘LIFE OF PI’ INCREDIBLE PUPPETRY AND VISUALS MAKE IT A HIGHLIGHT OF THE ECCLES SEASON (REVIEW)

| Rachel's Reviews

Typically I am not a style over substance girl when it comes to live theatre (or film for that matter.) If the story doesn’t impress me usually it doesn’t matter how visually impressive a production is. I say usually because there is an exception to every rule. Such is the case with the national tour of Life of Pi playing at Eccles until April 6th. The story is fine and has its thoughtful moments but the visuals including the puppetry are unforgettable.

At its core Life of Pi is a simple survival story. An Indian young man named Pi gets shipwrecked as his family is fleeing India with their zoo animals. Eventually he ends up (in one variation at least) on a boat with a bengal tiger named Richard Parker. This is based on the book by Yann Martel and was adapted to the stage by Lolita Chakrabarti. Readers may also be familiar with the Oscar winning film by director Ang Lee released in 2012. Chakrabarti tries to bring a lot of spirituality and existentialism into the script but a lot of that felt cloying and clunky where it was trying to be sincere.

The aspects of the script that worked better for me were the alternate realities and when things become practically a horror show with events getting very dark for poor Pi. These sections felt more fresh than the bland new age spirituality of the supposedly profound moments.

Anything lacking in the script is more than made up for in the mesmerizing visuals. It’s hard to throw something at me I’ve never seen (especially in a play!) but these animal puppets are jaw dropping. The puppeteers are unbelievable. They create the feeling of a real animal everything from the movements of the muscles to the sound of the animals breathing. They even have a giraffe for a small scene at the beginning that took my breath away.

Taha Mandviwala is also outstanding as Pi. He understands the physicality of the role and is up for the emotional range required to go through a 227 day marooned at sea struggle. The other elements brought together by director Max Webster are outstanding and one can hardly help but get caught up in the drama of what is happening. I loved the lighting by Tim Deiling and Tim Lutkin and the way projections were carefully used to further the story and make nature a real character in the piece beyond just the animals. There are some strobe lights used to create lightning and other effects that might be hard for some people but they totally helped me get engrossed in what was happening with poor Pi on this boat!

I almost didn’t need the callouts to God and religion with this story. Sheer survival and the test of the human spirit is enough to think about and ponder. How far would you go if tested and desperate? What kind of person do you want to be and what is the difference between human and animal natures. That’s enough without bringing in 3 faiths for Pi to juggle.

In the end, however, squabbles with the script didn’t keep me from having a great time at Life of Pi and giving it a strong recommendation. It’s a stunning work of theatrical art that one has to see to believe. It is playing through April 6th and tickets can be purchased here.

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. I have some really fun perks. Please take a look here.