I am a die-hard Fansie, and I have loved this incredible musical since the film version came out in 1992.
When the stage version came out in 2011 I was excited to see how it would be adapted for the stage.
I wasn't disappointed in the least! In fact, Harvey Fierstein's adaptation of the film to the stage was nothing short of brilliant! It vastly improved the story and made it even better in my opinion! Well, this piece finally made it to the SCERA stage and it was not only a fun production it was also very endearing and kudos to the entire cast and crew for a job well done.
Even before the show started I was immediately transported back to turn of the century NYC with M’liss Tolman's incredible set; one of the most complex and beautiful sets I have ever seen on the SCERA Shell Stage. The pre-show music added to this tremendously. The wonderful casting of equal girls and boys as Newsies rounded out this package to bring the audience a very well crafted, historically accurate production of this wonderful show! Deborah Bowman's wonderful costumes were a delight to see! You could distinguish between each character very well! Deborah is a master at this and I love and adore her! Elizabeth Ottley Griffiths lighting design was equally stunning! I loved in particular, the gas lamps; very invocative of the time period.
Michael Carrasco's wonderful concept and direction of this piece were superb! He brought his own flavor to this show and in particular I loved what he did with "Letter from the Refuge" which helped to really show the deep suffering that Crutchie suffers at the hands of Snyder and his ugly brand of "Juvenile" reform; having this as an actual solo, different from the original production with other kids sleeping around him as well as having him situated above the set, helped this a lot. It was an awesome directorial choice! Tyne Valgardson Crockett's choreography, as always, was inventive and exciting to watch! I adore Tyne and I loved her take on this story from a choreography POV, particularly with this show because sometimes the emotion is so high that only dance can communicate to the audience what is happening with the characters on stage. Some of my favorite numbers were: "The World Will Know," "Seize the Day," "King of New York," and "Once and For All." Delayne Bluth Dayton, as always, delivered the music so brilliantly to the stage. The harmonies were awesome and it was so wonderful to hear such a large cast come together as a true ensemble from a music standpoint!
The entire cast was incredible. Their energy was infectious and I was rooting for all of them from the very beginning. This was a true ensemble and they all worked so well together! A standout for me though in this particular production was the characters of Jack and Katharine, played by Paul Cave and Avonlea Simmons respectively. Each brought a whole new and different take on these characters than I ever have seen before and it was so refreshing and endearing! I loved Paul's youthful exuberance and boyish energy, particularly his reaction to Katharine's admission of her love for him in "Something to Believe In;" in fact, it was this scene, in particular, that was handled so well by both these terrific artists! Avonlea's performance as Katharine was so feisty and youthful as well. In particular, a stand out of me was her incredible performance of "Watch What Happens." She captured so well this "actor's" musical number; each thought was brought carefully forward to the audience and she portrayed Katharine's struggle to fit in this new world of turn of the century America as a woman so well! This was the character that changed this show for me! Her creation by Harvey Fierstein was a brilliant choice and it is this character that makes Jack Kelly's character so much stronger! I personally feel that this was the main flaw in the original film: Jack's out of nowhere romance with Davey's sister, who was a throw-away character. This relationship was so much more honest, realistic and helped to make Jack's journey so much more cathartic and touching! Congratulations to two very talented and gifted artists!
Again, congratulations to everyone involved for a job well done! I also want to thank SCERA for not cutting the language from this production. I know that Utah County audiences are very conservative and even dams and hells generates letters from time to time. Even the inclusion of "Bastards" helped to honor the intent of the playwright. In that opening scene, "Santa Fe" that word is very important and it helps to convey the frustration of Jack and Crutchie from the very beginning. Language is important and sometimes so-called "Profanity" is needed to convey the intent of the character. I applaud SCERA for leaving the material fully intact! Thank you to everyone involved for such an enjoyable evening under the stars!
