As much as I love seeing the classics of musical theatre it’s also exciting when I get the chance to see something new and fresh. Such was the opportunity I had this week at The Empress Theatre with their new production of Between the Lines. I had never heard of this musical but evidently it had an off-Broadway run back in 2022. While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel I found it to be a charming coming of age story the whole family will enjoy.

While watching Between the Lines I couldn’t help but think of a few other shows that try to do a similar thing. In particular I thought about Freaky Friday which I have also seen at The Empress (among other places.) Both shows are about a mother and daughter and both interweave fantastical elements into a modern story. The problem with Freaky Friday is some of the ideas feel more awkward than effective, and I genuinely think Between the Lines gets the balance of tones right with more effective songs.

The story for this musical revolves around a teen named Delilah who is frustrated at school and dealing with her parents divorce at home. Her escape from these problems is to dive into a novel and in particular fairytale stories with princesses and heroes. Her latest discovery is a book from the library called Between the Lines. As she reads the characters literally come alive for her and one day she even ends up inside the story of the book.

With there being a real and fantastical setting there allows to be a lot of different types of songs with the actors getting to play a variety of roles. For example, Dusti Mulder plays the mean girl Allie McAndrews in real life but then plays Princess Seraphima in the fantasy world. Director Austin Kimbell and his team make these changes come off with ease and the writers of the musical do a great job balancing the various tones. I’m particularly amazed how quickly the actors changed costume and hair for the different roles.

Ashley Bates and Alex Parkin lead the strong cast at the Empress as Delilah and Prince Oliver respectively. Parkin is particularly endearing as our frustrated prince who wants to be free from the confines of his book. The highlight for him singing-wise is “Something to Hold On to” and a nice duet with Delilah “In My Perfect World.” I also really enjoyed a number the librarian Ms Winx (Katelyn Johnson) sings called “Mr Darcy and Me.”

As much as I enjoyed Between the Lines at The Empress I do think it is a long sit and the creators would be smart to give it a good edit. There were also some microphone problems the night I attended but nothing that hurt my overall experience. Some of the actors could work on enunciating better- something particularly important as these are all unfamiliar songs for the audience. At the end of the day I’d say it’s one of the more entertaining shows I’ve seen at The Empress and definitely worth your time. It is playing through March 15th and tickets can be purchased here.

Between the Lines has music and lyrics by Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson with a book by Timothy Allen McDonald & Jodi Picoult based on the novel by Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer

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