[NEohioPAL] Rave Review for ROUTE 66 at Actors' Summit

[Neil Thackaberry]

*Theater review: ‘Route 66’ at Actors’ Summit*

June 26, 2012 by Akron Beacon
Journal<http://the330.com/author/akron-beacon-journal/>


By Kerry Clawson
Beacon Journal staff writer


Actors’ Summit has been high on Roger Bean lately, producing his perky,
campy holiday revue *Winter Wonderettes* at Christmas and now turning to
his all-male musical ode to American
automotive<http://the330.com/featured/theater-review-route-66-at-actors-summit/>
history
— *Route 66*.



Both shows are full of silly humor but they do deliver the best of what
musical revues should offer — nicely arranged and sung harmonies. In *Route
66,* male quartet Frank Jackman, Shawn Galligan, Adam Klusty and Gabriel
Riazi bring to life Bean’s rock ’n’ road assemblage of ’50s and ’60s pop
hits that celebrate that American need for speed and travel.



It’s too bad, though, that for about a year, Actors’ Summit has turned to
recorded tracks as accompaniment for most of its musicals. It’s a
money-saving measure that director MaryJo Alexander says also ensures
consistency in sound balance throughout the house. Even with the canned
music, though, the sound balance Sunday made it difficult to hear some of
the vocals at the start of this show.

As a musical theatergoer, I’m a purist who never wants to get used to a
lack of live instrumentalists<http://the330.com/featured/theater-review-route-66-at-actors-summit/>,
no matter what the reason.



This show’s framework has performers taking the audience on a road trip of
favorite traveling tunes down Route 66, from Chicago to Los Angeles. The
four men, dressed as Texaco car mechanics, are humorously folksy as they
yell out to audience members about oil
changes<http://the330.com/featured/theater-review-route-66-at-actors-summit/>
and
other services.



They launch into fun-loving songs ranging from the hoedown-flavored *Truck
Drivin’ Man* and manly *King of the Road* to the speed-themed *Hot Rod
Queen *and a final medley of racing tunes.



Riazi was an emergency replacement after original cast member Stephen
Brockway, an Actors’ Summit regular, died unexpectedly June 11. The show’s
entire run is dedicated to the Cuyahoga Falls native, 39, who had performed
with Actors’ Summit for nearly four years and appeared in three productions
in the last year alone.



Brockway, a Baldwin-Wallace
graduate<http://the330.com/featured/theater-review-route-66-at-actors-summit/>,
had sung in national tours and on cruise ships. His thrilling voice and
brilliant comedic timing were a gift to Northeast Ohio audiences.



Theater co-artistic director Neil Thackaberry said losing Brockway ‘‘was
like a huge punch in the stomach’’ for the Actors’ Summit family.

“He was just a remarkable human being,’’ Thackaberry said. “His
concentration onstage was fantastic and his connection with the audience —
it’s something that you can’t teach.’’

Riazi had just one week to learn the show’s songs, choreography and
blocking but his performance was so strong Sunday, nobody would have known
this. He excels with the musical revue’s broad comedy, including his
characterization as an over-the-top Texan in *Long Tall Texan *and his zany
turn as a woman in *Truck Stop Cutie*. He also creates a believable
emotional arc in *The Girl on the Billboard.*



Under Alexander’s fun-loving direction, Equity actor Jackman has a unique
way of putting the pedal to the metal in *The Little Old Lady from Pasadena
*and also milks plenty of humor from a wimpy little horn in *Beep Beep*.
It’s a credit to the four actors that they can keep a straight face as they
roll around the stage in contraptions cleverly constructed as the front
ends of cars<http://the330.com/featured/theater-review-route-66-at-actors-summit/>
and
trucks.



There’s a lot of sheer goofiness in this show but things slow down for a
couple of tender moments, including Klusty’s emotional solo *Oklahoma Hills*,
by Leon and Woody Guthrie, as well as his lovely melody in *The Long Red
Line*. The quartet
offers<http://the330.com/featured/theater-review-route-66-at-actors-summit/>
plenty
of rich harmonies and some nice falsetto singing by both Klusty and Riazi.

* *

*Route 66* isn’t as endearing as *Pump Boys and Dinettes* or *Forever Plaid*,
but if you’re looking for some light summer fun, this could be your ticket.
The cast and audience certainly were getting their kicks Sunday on *Route 66
*.
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