[NEohioPAL]Review of "Sugar"

[E. Osgood]

Since the Brecksville Gazette does not review theatre,
we at Brecksville Little Theatre wanted to submit this
unsolicited review of "Sugar" to NEOPAL.  Even though
it came from the wife of one of the cast members, you
will see in her first paragraphs that she is in no way
biased - and in fact may have been even harder on her
critique of the show because of it!

*******************************************************
Those of us fortunate enough to spend time with Mike
(Rogan) have literally been dreading the prospect of
sitting thru Michael's newest theatrical endeavor,
"Sugar".  This is a musical being presented at
Brecksville Little Theater and is based on the Marilyn
Monroe movie "Some Like it Hot".  I personally have
been listening to almost three weeks solid whining
about how this play will never be ready on time, how
the cast members aren't appearing on stage on time,
how the musical numbers just aren't gelling, and how
props seem to be missing when needed.  Well, since
Anne Marie was only going to be doing the 50 Free in
last night's swim meet, I decided to be brave and go
see the play on opening night.  The family that I
recruited to go with me also had excuses not to go see
the play.  Rosie had a headache and was tired. 
Grandma  said that she had a cold and her coughing
would only disturb others.  I said, "Too bad, you're
coming with me."

So-- we jumped in the Suburban and got on 271 South. 
I was talking so much about Cherie's plans to transfer
to another college that I forgot to  take 480 to 77
South and had to take the long way to the theatre--
getting off at route 82 from 271.  Was this a further
sign of an impending theatrical disaster?

We got there in time, found a place to park easily and
got tickets in the 4th row without any reservations. 
There were only about 25 other brave souls in the
theatre and nobody looked particularly pleased to be
there.  We were all fulfilling our family/friend
obligations and I got the feeling that others were
dreading this performance as much as I was.  Rosie
gave Grandma instructions NOT to wake her up if she
fell asleep.  Brecksville Little Theatre seats about
100 people and has comfy chairs, which is why Rosie
was concerned about falling asleep.

The first pleasant surprise was the opening music. 
Generally when I go to community theatre musical
productions, the music is marginal.  This music
sounded, well-- pleasant to the ear.  The music wasn't
perfect, but should improve once the musicians have a
few more shows under their belts.  There also isn't
much that the musical director can do about the 
theater acoustics-- there were a few scenes where the
music was on the loud side compared  to the singing
onstage.  The bottom line musically was that the music
appropriately complemented the action on stage.

The play itself has a corny plot-- but for the most
part the actors and singers are excellent.  The two
male leads, Joe & Jerry (Eric Oswald and Joe Svihlik),
are perfectly cast as men who are forced to pretend
they are women.  They both have superb voices and seem
a bit too comfortable in pantyhose and high  heels. 
Hmmm...  They both play their roles beautifully.  I
also thought that Spats (Robert LoConti) stood out-- 
his death scene was particularly protracted and
farcical, but had me laughing out loud.  Tonya Duus as
Sweet Sue has an incredible alto voice also and is
convincing as an ex army lady turned female band
leader.  The facial expressions on the gang member in
the yellow suit (Joe Vartorella) are priceless.

Michael seemed perfectly cast as a elderly classy
millionaire looking for a floozy.  His performance was
flawless.  It's true that the writer of this review is
his wife, but those of you who have read my reviews in
the past know that I don't hold back if I have
criticisms.  Grandma was laughing so hard that she had
tears running down her face watching Michael courting
"Daphne" (Jerry).

The dance numbers were fun to watch.  Yes it's true
that not all chorus members were on the same leg, but
it didn't really seem to matter-- the wrong foot and
being slightly off time seemed to just add to the
hilarious mood of the play.

One of the funniest parts of the play was when Joe
couldn't find his wig and put a table cloth instead
over his head.  The stage hand then located the wig
and stuck the wig under the curtain and started to
wave it around so that Joe could see it.  The audience
laughed so hard that it looked like several of us
would fall out of our seats.  I am still chuckling
over this incident today.  Hopefully this snafu will
remain a permanent part of the play.

Hats off to the costume manager-- Wow!!

I personally didn't care for the set design.  Seemed
like most of the action took place out the front 3
feet of the stage-- this made the small stage  seem
even smaller.

The bottom line is that seeing this musical is an
extremely enjoyable way to spend an evening.  I hope
that the cast doesn't try to get the play perfect in
the next several weeks-- I think that this will truly 
detract from the  play's humor factor.  Don't expect
an intellectual play-- this is strictly a corny farce
that is fun to watch!

Here is the link to Brecksville Little Theatre:

http://www.brecksvillelittletheatre.com/boxoffice.html

Enjoy the play!

Helen Rogan


		
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