<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML xmlns:o = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.5803" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">SUN COURIER
</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">July 23,
2009</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">REVIEW</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 31.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=2></FONT></o:p></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 31.5pt">'Into
the Woods, Jr.' is sure to please <BR>audiences of all ages </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 4pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 4.5pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">By Ted
Larsen<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><I><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Correspondent<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Youth theater
usually is viewed through the "for" lens - as in "this show is entertaining,
<EM>for a kid's show.</EM>"<EM> </EM>or "that singer was strong, <EM>for a young
voice.</EM>"<EM> </EM>Not so in Broadview Height's Spotlights Community
Theatre's entertaining production of "Into The Woods, Jr." There is no "for"
about it. It's just an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable production on its
own.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">A youth
adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's original "grown up" musical, "Into The Woods,
Jr." explores several well-known fairy tales in unique ways. In this magical
world, all the stories overlap and coalesce, pulled together by a new tale about
a baker and his wife.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">The appellation
"Jr." often implies "dumbed down," but not so here. Sondheim is hard, yet this
show uses the 'same challenging music as the original, and the music is
ubiquitous. </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">This remarkably
talented cast, without exception, is more than up to the challenge, both as
singers and actors. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Nicole
Velotta</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> as Cinderella
is a wonderful actress with a gorgeous voice. <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Emily Johnson</B> as Little Red Riding Hood
is engaging, with superb stage presence. <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Krista Shorf</B> as ·the baker's wife is
funny and polished and has a terrific voice. As the baker, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Jordan Cree</B> is equally funny and
commands the stage during every scene.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Of special note
is <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Mary Clare Meyer</B> as the witch.
Acting behind a scary witch's mask that virtually obscures her face, she
superbly creates a character through voice and body language.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">The rest of this
strong cast is filled out by <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Maggie
Majercik</B>, <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Tyler Clegg</B>, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Sarah Laferty</B>, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Mark Gulick</B>, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Nicole Tomak</B>, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Maddie Pierce</B>, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Nicole Pellachia</B>, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">George Costanzo</B>, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Brittany Paige</B>, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Peter Landoll</B>, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Eli Shively</B>, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Lindsay Tryon</B>, and <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Katie Landoll</B>. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Tim
Anderson's</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> direction is
assured and clever. He has the actors confident and in control. This is a tiny
stage, and moving this large cast through the imaginative set is challenging.
Anderson has </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: HiddenHorzOCR">utilized
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">the
space with alacrity.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">This is youth
theater, but you don't need to be a kid, or a relative of a kid, to enjoy this
rich, textured work. It's immensely entertaining and a tour de force for
Spotlights.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><I><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">"Into The Woods,
</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Jr."
<I>continues through July </I>26 <I>at 9543 Broadview Road. For tickets or
information, log onto <A
href="http://www.broadview-heights-spotlights.org">www.broadview-heights-spotlights.org</A></I></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><I> or call
(440) 526-4404.</I></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>