Tag: 5-star-cabrillo

There are some shows where you can just safely turn off your brain and be like a Scarecrow, because you know them so well. The Wizard of Oz is one of those shows. Why? Because, because, because, because, because… because of the wonderful… oh, right.

When I learned of the 5-Star season and the fact they would be doing The Wizard of Oz as their summer musical in the large theatre, my first thought was: Sigh, not again. My second thought was: Well, it will bring in the families.

The good news is that the show was as entertaining as it always is. You know the stage version from the movies, and it doesn’t veer that far from that source. Not a single reference to Elphaba or GALinda or that upstart version from Stephen Schwartz. The bad news is: It didn’t draw them in. We were there for the second Saturday night, and the Orchestra section of the Kavli was barely 50% full. This is bad news for 5-Star, which has already downsized two of its shows to the smaller Scherr Forum. Back in the Cabrillo Theatre days, the Orchestra was full, the Mezzanine was mostly full, and the upper Balcony was about half-full. The quality of the shows hasn’t gone down, so all I can surmise is that the economy is hitting the discretionary pocketbook. This is bad news for 5-Star in a number of ways. First, they will stay with safer shows that will draw folks in instead of the lesser-known gems they used to occasionally do. Second, it will impact them in the pocketbook, hurting their ability to be in the community doing the things they love. Third, it might well impact their future survival. On the hopeful side, there was a note in the program about a “bold new educational initiative” that was about to take center state, and is “built to inspire, teach, and nuture our youth with programs that expand beyond the stage”. My guess is that this “academy” is a youth training program similar to the classes that the Pasadena Playhouse has started, and the Rubicon is doing in Ventura. I’m not aware of a major program like that in the Thousand Oaks/Camarillo area (although there is the Hillcrest Center for the Arts/YAE and Camarillo Jr Theatre, but 5-Star has a much stronger cache, and a much-stronger pipeline to industry. It could well save the company, much more so than donations.

Back to the Wizard of Oz. When I heard that 5-Star was doing the show, I was wondering if they would license the most recent version of the show with the additional songs by Andrew Lloyd Weber. I had heard those songs, but haven’t seen them in concert. Alas, that’s not the version they licensed. Instead, they went with the 1987 Royal Shakespeare Version. Distinguishing characteristics of this version are: (a) they add the opening introductory verses to “Over the Rainbow”, “If I Only Had {A Brain, A Heart, The Nerve}” and “Merry Old Land of Oz”; (b) they double-role Aunt Em with Glinda, and Uncle Henry with the Guard; (c) they add back in the Jitterbug dance to Act II to tire our heroes out before they are taken to the Witch; and (d) they add some reprises of songs in the second act because the movie has a dearth of songs there. Of the versions available, this is probably the best, as the 1942 MUNY version is strange (although far too many folks just make up their own versions, as this strange mashup of Wizard of Oz, The Wiz, and much more that Nobel MS did ages ago)

As with any of these old musical chestnuts (cough, The Sound of Music, cough), the key distinguishing factor is the execution. This is 5-Star’s strength. They cast using primarily local talent (and often serve as a stepping stone to better places, be it Broadway or National Tours). They use very talented directors; in this case Richard Israel who is an expert at musicals. They used to do their own sets, but now they rent great ones (which saves both cost and waste). Their contracted orchestra is top-notch.

This production was no exception. The on-stage talent was great, although the ensemble and the children’s ensemble was a bit female heavy (especially in the Munchkin sequence, it was obvious with the Mayor, officials, and Coronor being female). As Dorothy, the lead Hannah Sedlacek did a great job (although her look was atypical for one used to Judy Garland). She sang very strongly, was an equally strong dancer, and was able to handle Toto well. It was also a delight watching her face: There were some sequences where you could see the behavior of the Lion was just cracking her up.

The team-of-three was equally strong. Most notable was Tom Anawalt as the Lion/Zeke, who brought loads of physical humor and playfulness to the role. Lucas Alifano brought strong dancing and characterization to Tin Man/Hickory, and Eric Stanton Betts had the appropriate loose-limbness needed for a Scarecrow with no bonds. Watch their dancing during the Jitterbug number, or their playfulness during “King of the Forest”, and you would see what I mean.

Cassandra Marie Murphy was strong as Em/Glinda (and I love how they changed crullers to cookies, which are probably easier to obtain in Thousand Oaks). Becky Lythgoe made a strong witch, although the shade of green on her face was a bit too bright.

And then there was total, played by Winnie. A papillion/terrier mix, it was quite a bit of fun to watch her reactions to what was going on around her on stage.

The ensemble sang and danced well, especially Gibson Day and Nick Ley, who were easy to identify. But all of them were strong.

Turning to the production side: In general, the production was strong. I appreciated that they attempted to reproduce the sepia-toned nature of the opening and the closing, and the execution of the tornado was a great way to achieve a lot with a little. I took issue with the colors of Munchkin-land and the colors of the Emerald City. The books defined a specific color scheme for the lands of Oz: blue for Munchkins in the East, yellow for Winkies in the West, red for Quadlings in the North, green for the Emerald City in the Center, and (in works after the first) purple for the Gillikins in the South, which region was also not named in the first book. However, in the 5-Star stage version, the dominant color in the Munchkin scenes was red. That threw me off: they should have emphasized the blue. Similarly, in the Emerald City (which, traditionally, is green because everyone is required to wear green glasses, but only The Wiz and Wicked got that right), they had a number of the female dancers with bare or yellow stockinged legs. Green stockings or green pants should have been used.

Other technical aspects worked well (module some problems with one segment of the Yellow Brick Road). They had a nice walkway over the orchestra, costumes were generally quite good (especially for the Jitterbugs), and the flying effects were well used.

The Orchestra, as always, was quite strong. I’ve never heard a bad 5-Star orchestra.

Alas, as I am typing this the final performance is occurring. “Watch this space”, as 5-Star will be doing Les Miz in the smaller Scherr Forum space in October. That should be interesting to see.

Credits

The Wizard of Oz. By L. Frank Baum. With music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg. Background music by Herbert Stothart. Adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Based on the classic MGM motion picture owned by Turner Entertainment Co. and distributed in all media by Warner Brothers.

Cast (^æ indicates Actors Equity): Hannah Sedlacek Dorothy Gale; Winnie Toto; Cassandra Marie Murphy^æ Aunt Em / Glinda; Mike Baker Uncle Henry / Emerald City Guard; Noah Kaplan Professor Marvel / Wizard of Oz; Becky Lythgoe^æ Miss Gulch / Wicked Witch of the West; Eric Stanton Betts^æ Scarecrow / Hunk; Lucas Alifano^æ Tin Man / Hickory; Tom Anawalt Cowardly Lion / Zeke. Ensemble: Aaron Michael-Rees Camitses, Ali Marquez-Qadiri, Amanda Kang, Angelica Roque, Bar Daniel, Barbara Ann Reed, Bayley Tanenbaum, Calista Zajac, Jacob Ray, Josh Igarashi, Lauren Lorati, Nicholas Ley, Samantha Bell, Sam Davidson, Spencer Reese Sharp, Xavier F. Reynoso. Youth Ensemble: Ameline Lynch, Anna Marie Holland Melendrez, CC Adeva, Gibson Day, Kaylie Cho, Malia Johnson, Ryan Bohmholdt.

Music Department: Anthony Lucca Music Director / Conductor; Peter Howard Dance and Vocal Arrangements; Larry Wilcox Orchestrations; Rhondda Dayton Flute, Piccolo, Recorder; Ian Dahlberg Oboe, English Horn; Darryl Tanikawa Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Sax, Orchestra Contractor; Gary Rautenberg Tenor Sax, Flute, Clarinet; Matt Germaine Baritone Sax, Flute, Clarinet; Melissa Hendrickson Horn I; Jennifer Bliman Horn II; Bill Barrett Trumpet I; Chris Maurer Trumpet II; Nathan Stearns Trombone, Bass Trombone; Sharon Cooper Violin I, Concertmaster; Cyndi Hall Violin II; Bang-Eunn Lee Cello; Andrew Lederman String Synthesizer; Elaine Lister Harp; Chris Kimbler Piano, Celeste; Shane Harry Double String Bass; Alan Peck Set Drums; Tyler Smith Percussion; Tanikawa Artists Management LLC Orchestra Producer.

Production and Creative: Richard Israel Director; Clarice Ordaz Choreographer; Brittany Lorin Assoc. Choreographer; Olivia Riddle Production Stage Manager; Ava Ferreira Asst Stage Manager; Jonathan A. Burke Sound Design; Julia Pinhey Asst Sound Design; Isa Underdahl Sound Engineer; Brandon Baruch Lighting Design; Alex Choate Prop Design; Luis Martinez Wig / Hair / Makeup Design; Christine Steele / Gail Garon Wardrobe Coordinators; Tuacahn Costume Rentals Costumes; The Music and Theatre Company Scenic Elements; EK Dagenfield Production Manager; Jack Allaway Technical Director; Jacob Holcombe Deck Captain; Michael Donovan CSA and Richie Ferris CSA Casting; Fresh Interactive Marketing; David Elzer / Demand PR Publicity.

Key Producers: Cindy Murray Executive Director 5-Star/Producer.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a retired cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, Chromolume Theatre, and 5-Star Theatricals.

Want to find a show: Check out the Theatre Commons LA show list. Other good lists are the Theatre in LA listings; the TodayTix listings; OnStage 411 (use the “shows” drop down); and Theatermania. If you are looking for discount tickets, TodayTix (unlike their predecessor Goldstar Events) doesn’t handle the small theatres in LA. Luckily, Theatre Source LA has a new initiative: StageRushLA for discount tickets.

Upcoming

Key: 🎭 Theatre / 🎼 Music /  Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (🎫 indicates ticketing is pending).

• July: 🎭 If/Then at Chromolume Theatre.
• August: 🎭 Beauty and the Beast at BIH/Pantages;
• September: 🎭 Water for Elephants at BIH/Pantages; 🎼 Sutton Foster at The Soraya; 🎭 The Visit at Pasadena Playhouse; 🎭🎫Every Brilliant Thing at The Main;  🎭🎫 Catch Me If You Can at The Colony Theatre; 
• October: 🎭 The Outsiders at BIH/Pantages; 🎼 Branford Marsalis & Dianne Reeves Celebrate John Coltrane at The Soraya; 🎭 Les Miserables at 5-Star Theatricals; 🎼 Gershwin and the Golden Age (feat. Michael Feinstein) at The Soraya; 🎭 The Who’s Tommy at BIH/Pantages.

Back when you were in high school, you would often get assignments that would have you compare and contrast various things. That particular exercise doesn’t go away, especially if you are an avid theatregoer. After all, how many productions of The Sound of Music will you see over your lifetime? The story doesn’t change: What changes is the execution, and how one particular production team brings that production to life, on a different stage, with different actors. We saw that earlier this weekend with The Color Purple, where we were able to compare and contrast a production of that musical in a 74-seat black box, as compared to the original version on the Ahmanson Stage and the revival version on the Pantages stage.

We had that chance again yesterday with The Play That Goes Wrong, which is being presented for two more weekends by 5-Star Theatricals (nee Cabrillo Music Theatre). Here, the interesting contrast was between the original Broadway tour (which we saw at the Ahmanson in 2019) and a community theatre production (mounted by Canyon Theatre Guild in 2024). Here you have widely varying budgets and actor skill levels, from a Broadway-caliber touring set and a full union cast to a community theatre with no budgets for rentals and a home-grown cast (I won’t say amateur or unskilled, tho, as CTG’s talent pool often draws from local regulars as well as other theatre industry folks, but not AEA). 5-Star is somewhere in the middle: They have the budget to rent reasonable sets (although I miss the days they built their own), have a small number of AEA actors, have a casting team that identifies strong up-and-coming actors (I still remember seeing Katherine McPhee, prior to American Idol, on the Cabrillo Stage leading “Annie Get Your Gun” in 2005), and get strong directors.

First, some background to this particular play. As I wrote back in 2019:

The premise of The Play That Goes Wrong is a simple one: an amateur British theatre company, the Cornley University Drama Society, has been afforded the honour through a British-American Cultural Exchange Program of presenting a play on tour in America: The Murder at Haversham Manor, written by Susie H.K. Brideswell. Unfortunately, during the production, everything that can go wrong during the production does. Miscues. Misplaced props. Non-cooperating sets. Bad actors. Technology issues. Trying to summarize the story is pointless — the story exists only to provide a framework for the mayhem, and the mayhem is so rapid-fire that trying to describe it is (a) impossible, and (b) would destroy the humor.

The Play That Goes Wrong is a farce. Farce exaggerates things, with broad stereotypical characters, often intentionally bad acting, and extremely tight timing. Perhaps the best known example of a farce is the play Noises Off. The problem with farce is that repeat viewing often destroys the humor as you become aware of the intentional missteps. Some find the humor fresh each time; some find it diminishes. I’d avoid seeing the same farce too frequently; if you do, look for what is fresh and new in the execution.

The good news is that 5-Star has found an extremely strong cast (more on that in a sec), with a strong director that was able to bring out their playfulness. They got the timing right (or is that wrong?). They hit the humor beats, and were able to bring their own flair to the production. The bad news is that 5-Star didn’t strongly commit to the conceit of the show. I remember that the community CTG had flyers in the bathrooms and around the theatre about the missing dog (it is a plot beat in the story). They had a fake program within the real program about the Cornly University Drama Society play, with fake bios of the characters on the stage, and fake ads that had real working websites. 5-Star missed that little extra (which, truthfully, would not have cost a significant amount). Those who have seen this farce before would notice. For the T.O. audience that was new to this play, perhaps they might not; but that little extra does add to the humor.

Setting that aside, the execution was flawless (although it seems wrong to say that when discussing a play whose purpose is for everything to go wrong). They did have the pre-curtain schtick, with audience involvement. They did play with the usual opening announcements. The show was entertaining and funny, with appropriate overacting and missteps.

In many ways, the “star” of TPTGW is the set. Alas, here 5-Star didn’t take the risk of building their own set (as Canyon TG did). They rented it from Studio Tenn Theatre Company, which meant the set was shipped from Tennessee, where Studio Tenn is located. The set worked well and supported the requisite antics. Renting vs. building takes away the fun of seeing whether the company can execute the tight set building needs. As with intentional overacting, intentionally building a set (and props) that are designed to fail is an art. The rental set did that just fine; I just missed the extra local touch. However, I will note that set rental is better environmentally as set reuse prevents that large amount of waste that comes after the show ends.

Where this production shines is in the casting and the direction. Director Larry Raben brought out the playfulness in the cast, which was a mix of local and AEA talent. He got the timings precise, and knew when to play up the comedy moves to bring out the laughs. All of the cast was strong, but there were some notable highlights. The first was Gabi Manoukian as Annie, one of the stage managers. In her stage manager role, she conveys a sufficient back-stage personality to make the later uncomfortable transition to actor believable. She’s fun to watch in the opening sequences, and her closing transformation is just great. Adam Hagenbuch knocked it out of the park, both in his early portrayals of the dead Charles Haversham and his final portrayals as the same character. Justin Michael Wilcox was a strong Chris/Inspector. I particularly liked his audience interaction early on, and his (apparent) ab-libbing at points as things go awry. John Shartzer was great as Max, the seeming neophyte actor who played to the audience reaction. Hell, all of the cast was really strong, and each deserves recognition.

Should you go see this? Probably. About the only caveat might be if you’ve seen a lot of productions of TPTGW, simply because you know the beats. Still, even in that case, this is worth seeing because of the flawless execution by this cast. The Play That Goes Wrong continues at the Scherr Forum at the Bank of America Thousand Oaks Plaza Theatre, presented by 5-Star Theatricals, until March 29, 2026. Tickets are available through the 5-Star website.

Credits

The Play That Goes Wrong. A Mischief Theatre production. Written by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, and Jonathan Sayer. Directed by Larry Rabin.

Cast (^æ denotes members of Actors Equity): Timothy Willard Trevor Watson – Lighting and Sound Operator; Justin Michael Wilcox^æ Chris Bean – Inspector Carter & Director; Adam Hagenbuch^æ Jonathan Harris – Charles Haversham; Mark Gagliardi^æ Robert Grove – Thomas Colleymoore; Travis Joe Dixon Dennis Tyde – Perkins; Lyndsi LaRose Sandra Wilkinson – Florence Colleymoore; John Shartzer^æ Max Bennett – Cecil Haversham; and Gabi Manoukian Annie Twilloil – Stage Manager. Swings: Noah Kaplan, Smantha Lawrence-Mata, and Calaway Swanson.

Production and Creative: Larry Rabin Director; Coby Rogers Asst. Director; Olivia Riddle^æ Production Stage Manager; Morgan McDonald^æ Asst. Stage Manager; Cody Tellis Rutledge Scenic Designer; Studio Tenn Theatre Company Set Rental; Brandon Baruch Lighting Design; Jonathan A. Burke Sound Design; Julia Pinhey Asst Sound Design; Isa Underdahl Sound Mixer; Alex Choate Tech Director/Prop Design; Jacob Holcombe Asst Prop Design/Crew Chief; Gail Garon Costume Design; Luis Martinez Wig and Hair Design; EK Dagenfield Production Manager; Michael Donovan Casting Director; Richie Ferris Casting Director; David Elzer Publicity; Fresh Interactive Marketing; Cindy Murray Executive Director/Producer. Also worthy of note for this production is the 5-Star crew: Destin Washington-Wolfe, Sierra Armstrong, and the Stage Crew: Cameron Probe, San Dyck Forum Technical Supervisor; Finn Traxler Forum Lighting; Ben Blonigan Forum Audio, Form Rail Operator.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a retired cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, Chromolume Theatre, and 5-Star Theatricals.

Want to find a show: Check out the Theatre Commons LA show list. Other good lists are the Theatre in LA listings; the TodayTix listings; OnStage 411 (use the “shows” drop down); and Theatermania.

Some interesting shows that have caught my eye. Wisteria Theatre is doing Reefer Madness: The Musical (in April), as is Long Beach Playhouse (in October/November).  Wisteria was overpriced for a black-box; I might look into Long Beach’s production (but have to factor in the drive). Ebony Rep is doing Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the end of May into June. I love the show, but the prices are a bit high and I’m still trying to decide. I have a hold on the calendar. Casa 0101 is doing the play version of Real Women Have Curves from the end of March into May. Conundrum Theatre is doing a bunch of shows, but notably Big Fish in December 2026. And, as noted earlier, the Colony Theatre is doing Catch Me If You Can in the September/October 2026 timeframe. I’ll look into ticketing the fall shows once I know the CTG Season, to prevent conflicts. Broadway in Hollywood has announced its 2026-2027 season, and it is spectacular. The only major shows missing are Oh Mary, Boop: The Musical, and Just In Time. I expect Oh Mary to show up at the Ahmanson, and possibly Boop; Just In Time might be in the following Broadway in Hollywood season as I haven’t seen it announce any tour dates. Perhaps some local theatre will decide to mount Real Women Have Curves – The Musical or Dead Outlaw. One can hope. I do know the Segerstrom is doing Curves in Concert on March 20, but we just can’t make it due to the distance and a busy busy March. Lastly, I’ll note Group Rep in NoHo has announced their season, which includes a mounting of Applause in the July-August timeframe. That’s useful if you missed the MTG one-nighter; I haven’t yet decided if I want to see it again (although Group Rep does a great job with older and rarely done musical re-visits).

I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming

♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• March: ♦ The Play That Goes Wrong at 5-Star Theatricals;  ♦ Here Lies Love at CTG/Mark Taper; MRJ Man of the Year Dinner at Temple Beth Hillel; MoTAS Poker Tournament; ♦ Spamlot at BIH/Pantages.
• April: ♦ Kim’s Convenience Store at CTG/Ahmanson; ♦ Ride the Cyclone at The Main; ♣ Jeremy Jordan at The Soraya; California Science and Engineering Fair at CLU; ♦ Flower Drum Song at East/West Players; ♦ Real Women Have Curves at Casa 0101. NOTE: We need judges for the California Science and Engineering Fair. If you have a degree in the sciences and are available to judge April 12 at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, sign up to judge here.
• May: ♦ Falstaff at LA Opera; ♦ The Sound of Music at BIH/Pantages; ♦ Brigadoon at The Pasadena Playhouse; ♦ Hells Kitchen at BIH/Pantages.
• June: ♦⊕ Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Ebony Rep; ♦ Elegies at Chromolume; ♦ Primary Trust at CTG/Taper; ♦ Mamma Mia at CTG/Ahmanson; plus whatever I schedule from the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

When you think about the musical Hairspray, what comes to mind? An early 1960s musical, perhaps like “Bye Bye Birdie”, that reflects the exuberance of its times. That’s certainly the most common memory. But when you look at it closely, Hairspray is a musical about rebellion. It is about the fight to integrate television in Baltimore, and it is about the fight for size acceptance. It is, in many ways, a fight FOR things that our current political leadership seems to be very strongly against: integration, more visibility for minorities, acceptance of people that that don’t fit the white thin blonde look, acceptance of trans or cross-dressing women, and most importantly, freedom to speak out for what you believe in. This fight for acceptance of the downtrodden is a common theme in John Waters work (and I still wish that, someday, someone will revive the Cry-Baby musical that failed on Broadway its first time out). So Hairspray is in many ways a timely musical (and its themes seem a bit out of place in Thousand Oaks, a white-bread area of California that leans Republican).

But Hairspray is a bit of an overdone musical, and you tend to forget its strong themes in the memories of the music. When 5-Star Theatrical (a dba of the former Cabrillo Music Theatre)  announced it as part of their 2025 season, I was unsure about seeing the show again. After all, we had recently seen the tour of the show at the Dolby Theatre back in May 2023. It was a good non-equity production. But the 5-Star production had two interesting things going for it (one of which, the director, we didn’t know at the time we renewed): it was in the Scherr Forum, not the Kavli, and it was to be directed by the original Broadway lead, Marissa Jaret Winokur. The first was the primary factor of interest. Everytime we’ve seen Hairspray, it has been in a large theatre. We first saw it in the original tour at the Pantages in 2004; we’ve seen school productions; and of course we’ve seen the movie. Had this production been in the Kavli — the large theatre that does the Broadway tours in T.O — I would have been “meh”. But the Scherr Forum is a small space. It is a 394 seat theatre, with limited fly space and stage space. How would a big production like Hairspray work in the small space? Then the director was announced: Marissa Jaret Winokur. We saw her as the lead back in 2004. How well would she do at directing this show, with the additional challenge of the small space? There are times moving from the stage to directing works: Look at how many times Baayork Lee has directed or choreographed A Chorus Line. There are times it does. All of this made this particular production of Hairspray interesting; so yesterday afternoon, we trudged to Thousand Oaks to get our answers.

[As an aside: I’ll note this was a two-show weekend: Saturday night we saw “Fly Me to the Moon: A Tribute to Quincy Jones“, featuring the Pacific Jazz Orchestra^® (Chris Walden, Conductor), with Special Guests José James & Ms. Lisa Fischer. As a musical concert, this is hard to write up other than listing the playlist. It was a great show, but I’m still disappointed that the Soraya has gone to digital programs only.  You can see the full digital program, including the playlist and artist information, at this link (for as long as the link works). There were a number of songs that I liked quite a bit, and Jose James was quite good. I was less enamored with Lisa Fischer: She had a strong voice, but some of her stylings I was less sure of (although she may just have been following the stylings of the original artists).]

Back to Hairspray. First and foremost: This was a very entertaining show. The casting was very strong, and the production team figured out how to use the Scherr Forum space well. It was a very very enjoyable production, and if you can, you should go see it. If there was one thing I didn’t like, it was the confetti cannon at the end. I’ve gotten tired of confetti and glitter cannons in shows. They don’t do anything for the story; they make a mess for the crew to clean up; and they create loads of trash (and often plastic waste) that is unnecessary. If you’re thinking about using a confetti or glitter cannon in your show … just don’t. Spend your money elsewhere.

So let’s work our way through the show. I presume I don’t need to summarize the story for you — if you need a synopsis, go read the Wikipedia page. First, the question of how the show did in the smaller space. My impression was that the choreography was a bit less expansive, and the sets were a bit smaller. The sets, which were from San Pedro Playhouse in San Antonio TX, worked for the space and were probably less expensive than full-size theatre sets. More significant was the lack of overhead fly space, so stuff came in from the wings. But in general, the show worked well for the space and it enabled the audience to see the performers well.

This takes us to the performers, and I’d like to highlight some performances. As always, I note that I find it hard to separate what the director brings from what the actor brings; in a true collaboration, that should be seemless. But what is clearly director should be more in the blocking and movement and larger stuff.

In the lead was Lexie Martin as Tracy Turnblad. I was unsure about her at first, but I grew to really like her performance. She brought a lot of fun to the performance, and her stature (short — she’s 4’10”) and shape made her a very realistic Tracy. She was always really cute (but I tend to have a bias towards that size/shape, if you’ve met my wife). Strong singing and strong performance. A real joy to watch over the show (and I thought I saw a bit of her real personality shining through in Act II).

I really enjoyed the performances of Ryan O’Conner (Edna Turnblad) and Travis Joe Dixon (Wilbur Turnblad). I was unsure originally about the casting of O’Conner, as he seems a bit thinner than the typical person in the role, but he was able to make the character work with costuming. But what more important was the performance he brought, the humor, and the chemistry he had with Dixon. I think “Timeless to Me” is one of the best love songs out there, reflecting the reality of love (as opposed to the picture-perfect love of the Hallmark Channel). These two were believable as that couple, and their adlibbing was hilarious. They rolled with the punches and played with each other, and it was a delight to watch.

Jennifer Leigh Warren was a knockout as Motormouth Maybelle. A strong voice and a singular stage presence shone whenever she was one the stage. She was great in both “Big, Blonde, and Beautiful” and “I Know Where I’ve Been”.

Garrett Clayton (Corny Collins) was more of a weak point for me, although I don’t know how much of it was direction vs actor. He came off as a bit stiffer-faced; I would have liked to see more expression and playfulness. You would expect that in a teen TV host.

A few additional notes: Hannah Sedlacek (Penny Pingleton) started out a bit stiffer (esp. in “I’m a Big Girl Now”), but really warmed up as things moved into the second act. Her performance is one worth watching. Also worth watching is Alexander Brown (Seaweed), who had a lovely voice and stage presence. Michael Baker (Mr. Pinky, as well as Sphritzer) made me think of my Cousin Les, for some reason.

Looking at the ensemble, I was really impressed by Dara Adedara (Dynamite Judine, and other roles): Her movement, her dance, and her voice were all strong. I particularly enjoyed watching her when she was dancing with Christian Tyler Dorey (short, balding black kid, so I could have the name wrong). Luz Rodriquez had strong movement and voice, but had a problem that is common now with younger actors: tattoos. I understand they are personal expression, but for performances consider a sleeve to hide them, as their presence can be incongruous for that character in that era, just distracting from the character they are so carefully creating.

Overall, this was a very strong production, proving again the value of 5-Star for the Ventura County area. It really is the training ground for actors and production members that enables them to go much further. There are so many significant actors that have been showcased and developed through the 5-Star/Cabrillo team; this is one reason we keep going back to them (even with the outrageous parking fees — $16, unjustified for T.O. — and overdone security checks). There is one more weekend for the production: You can get tickets through Ticketmaster; more information on the show is available through the 5-Star Site. Hairspray continues through October 26, 2025.

Credits

Hairspray: The Broadway Musical. Book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan. Music by Marc Shaiman. Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman. Based on the New Line Cinema film written and directed by John Waters. Directed by Marissa Jaret Winokur. Choreography by Clarice Ordaz.

Cast (^æ indicates Actors Equity): Lexie Martin Tracy Turnblad; Ryan O’Connor^æ Edna Turnblad; Garrett Clayton^æ Corny Collins; Jennifer Leigh Warren^æ Motormouth Maybelle; Becky Lythgoe Velma Von Tussle; Bobby Hogan Link Larkin; Logan Eliza Amber Von Tussle; Alexander J. Brown Seaweed J. Tubbs; Hannah Sedlacek Penny Pingleton; Travis Joe Dixon Wilbur Turnblad; Malia Johnson Little Inez; Rachel McLaughlin Prudy Pingleton; Michael Baker Mr. Pinky; Dara Adedara Dynamite Judine; Luz Rodriguez Dynamite Kamilah; Reiza Landers Dynamite Shayna; Luc Clopton Fender; Amy Smith Brenda; Christian Tyler Dorey Duane; Brody Tarrant Sitton Brad; Charlotte Scally Tammy; Almand Martin Jr. Thad; Wyatt Larrabee Sketch; Irelynn TerraNami Lou Ann; Matthew Smith Gilbert; Madison North Shelly; John Candelaria IQ.

Music Department: Anthony Lucca Music Director and Conductor; Darryl Tanikawa Orchestra Contractor; Gary Rautenberg Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax, Soprano Sax; Matt Germaine Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax; Bill Barrett Trumpet; June Satton Trombone; Sharon Cooper Violin 1; Laurel Diskin Violin 2; Oliver Walton Cello; Cody Cadena Acoustic & Electric Guitars 1; Dylan Gorenberg Acoustic & Electric Guitars 2; Anthony Lucca Keyboard 1; Sean Alexander Bart Keyboard 2; Chris Kimbler Keyboard 3; Shane Harry Electric Bass; Satoshi Kirasawa Set Drums; Tyler Smith Percussion.

Production and Creative (^æ indicates Actors Equity): Marissa Jaret Winokur Director; Clarice Ordaz Choreographer; Chadd McMillan Associate Director; Mitchell Gerrard Johnson Asst. Director; Camal Pugh Assoc. Choreographer; Vernon Willet^æ Production Stage Manager; Olivia Riddle^æ Assistant Stage Manager; Johnathan A. Burke Sound Design; Julia Pinhey Sound Design; Mia Crocker Sound Mixer; Brandon Baruch Lighting Design; Alex Choate Prop Designer; Taylor Bax-Kuhlmey Props Design; The Theatre Company (Upland CA) Costumes; San Pedro Playhouse (San Antonio TX) Sets; Javier Sanchez Scenic Design; Jacob Holcombe Asst. Prop Design / Crew Chief; Luis Martinez Wig and Hair Design; Tanya Apuya Costume Design; Brian Hashimoto Technical Director; EK Dagenfield Production Manager; David Elzer Publicity; Fresh Interactive Marketing; Michael Donovan CSA and Richie Ferris CSA Casting.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• October: ♦ ha ha ha ha ha ha at Pasadena Playhouse
• November: ♦ Jaja’s African Hair Braiding at CTG/Taper; ♦ Paranormal Activity at CTG/Ahmanson; ♦ Suffs at BIH/Pantages;
• December: ◊ ACSAC Conference; ♣ Ben Platt: Live at the Ahmanson at CTG/Ahmanson; ♣ Nochebuena: A Christmas Spectacular at The Soraya; ♦ Stereophonic at BIH/Pantages;
• January: ♦ The Notebook at BIH/Pantages; ♦ All the Devils Are Here at The Broad;

Disclaimer: This writeup talks about ice, and not chilling version of the substance that has lately been in the news. With respect to that form of the substance, we need a society that is warm hearted and cares about others, for ice should not be chilling our hearts, and we don’t need that form of cold in our farms, factories, streets, cities, or countries. Hmmm, I guess the musical I’m about to discuss is more political than I thought: It’s all about how true love for others can melt the ice that is threatening to destroy us: at home, down the street at farms in Camarillo, and in our nation. That said, on with the writeup.

What’s the difference between refrigerator ice and cocktail ice? Cocktail ice is made with special professional equipment: It freezes from the inside out so that it is crystal clear and perfect. The ice we make in our refrigerator freezes from the outside in, trapping air bubbles and making the cube cloudy. Our drink doesn’t care about these imperfections: It gets cold just the same, and gets diluted just the same. But we’ve been convinced we need the perfect ice, and we’ve been convinced that we need to pay more for it.

Back in January 2020 — shortly before the pandemic hit — I saw Frozen at the Hollywood Pantages. Much of what I wrote then still applies to the show itself, and I’ll take the easy way out and repeat it below. But I’d like to emphasize one thing I said in that writeup, so pay attention to the text I have bolded:

Q: So, when Elsa gets hungry in that Ice Palace™ of hers, what does she eat?

A:  Frozen foods.

Are we going out on that joke? No, we’ll do an overdue writeup of a Disney™ animated movie turned into a stage musical first. Will that help? Not much, no.

OK, Stan Freberg aside: Yes, we saw Frozen at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) last Sunday, and this writeup is way way overdue. But it has been a busy busy week in the evenings (which is when I have time to do the writeups), and its not as if this writeup would do much to change the trajectory of this musical, which has its expected popularity with particular audience segments.

The way I’m starting this writeup makes it appear that this was a bad musical. It wasn’t at all. It was essentially the Disney musical on stage, with some adaptations to better fit the limitations of a real, non-animated world. The story was musical to begin with, so there wasn’t the question of whether this should be musicalized. It is clear that Disney intended for this to eventually move to the stage with the structure of the story and songs. The larger question of whether this needed to be on the stage is a different one: is it making an important point or message that isn’t being made elsewhere, or is this a profit calculation. I do think this falls into the latter category — this isn’t a Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away, or Hamilton. It is clearly motivated by profit and parents, as evidenced by the length of its sit-down run at the Pantages.

That, by the way, doesn’t make this a bad musical. It is just not one of lasting social importance. But it is revolutionary, in its own way, for a Disney musical. You have princesses wearing pants, for example. But more importantly, you have a princess story where the goal is NOT the princess getting the prince. In fact, the prince is a cad. The true love in this story is the one between the sisters. It is that “true loves kiss” that moves the story forward (and sorry for the spoiler if you haven’t seen the movie). There are some who believe that this story even has a lesbian subtext. I don’t see that — neither sister seems to express a strong sexual desire towards anyone, so this could be asexual at best. But it is a strong story based on the sibling bond, and that’s something you don’t see in Disney that often. That could be one reason why shows like Frozen and Wicked have such a strong following from young women: they center on relationships between women that are/love each other as sisters, and that aren’t centered around the men on the periphery. That’s a message of female empowerment, something that is decidedly not the Disney of Yore.

The stage production is also a technical marvel. First and foremost is the puppetry. There are two primary puppets: Sven (the reindeer) and Olaf (the snowman). Sven is marvelous, with no real hint that there is a human actor inside. Realistic movements, playful, believable. Not at all a cartoon. Olaf, on the other hand, is intentionally cartoonish. You can see the human moving him behind him. But the attachments are such that Olaf really comes to life, and is an equally believable characters. Second and, umm, duomost, is the magic. This is a combination of projection, LED manipulation, stage magic, flying effects. They create Arendale, but more importantly, they create the ice effects and the magical ice palace. They create the magic costume transformations. This magic will make this production memorable for the youth in attendance, and may go a long way to creating lifetime theatre lovers. That’s the good thing. What’s bad? Think regional and smaller productions of this. This will be licensed at some point, and there will be regional and smaller productions of this. How will they reproduce the puppetry and stage magic, within limited budgets? That remains to be seen. Hopefully, the Disney juggernaut has planned ahead for those situations. I’m curious how the productions of Frozen Jr. handle this?

The songs are generally those of the movie, with some substitutions based on the changes in the story — primarily involving how the hidden folk that raised Kristof are presented and integrated in the story. More notably, in terms of music, this is NOT the production that is on Broadway. A new song has been integrated into Act II: “I Can’t Lose You”, which does a great job of showing and emphasizing the sisterly bond between Anna and Elsa. This helps center the story, and foreshadows the conclusion much better. This is as good a place as any to note that the music and lyrics are by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, with a book by Jennifer Lee, who also wrote the Disney animated film, which was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee.

Saturday night, we were out in Thousand Oaks for the second production of the 5-Star Theatricals season: Frozen: The Broadway Musical.  Like my original writeup, this one has been delayed from my usual schedule, simply because we were travelling on Sunday. Also, like my original writeup, this one won’t change the trajectory of the show, as it closed Sunday night. Such are 5-Star runs. Further, like the original production, the audience was filled with little girls dressed as Elsa and Anna (and the occasional boy as Olaf … for some reason, they never dress like Sven or Kristoff); for many of whom, this was their first taste of live theatre. It is clear that older adults like us are not the audience of this show.

But what I would like to focus on is the bolded text. This production was one of a wave of the first regional productions of the show. How did they do with preserving the Broadway magic? A reviewing colleague of mine was slightly disappointed, comparing the production to a recent one from a company with more budget and resources. I think each production needs to stand on its own. In this respect, I think 5-Star did well. The puppets were professional and effective, although credit for that belongs to Theatre Under the Stars in Houston TX, source of the puppets. The magical projections here, however, were home-grown. Read the credits: The projections weren’t rented or provided by MTI (the licensing organization) or Disney: they were locally created by Nicholas Santiago. Understanding that, they were remarkably effective, especially considering the budgetary limitations that 5-Star must be working under [from having 3 productions in the larger Kavli theatre, they’ve gone to two in the smaller Scherr Forum, and only one in the big house — and that house was only about 40% full at our show … 5-Star has never recovered from the pre-pandemic highs]. Further, the primary audience of this show — the Disney lovers and the kids — won’t notice the difference. This show, for what it was, was effective.

What made this show special was less the production, and more the talent. That’s where 5-Star has traditionally excelled: they cast exceptionally well, especially for what is a large quasi-community/quasi-professional company that has limited AEA (^æ) spots available. In this case, the Elsa and Anna were spot on. Monika Peña^æ (Elsa) we saw as Nancy in 5-Star’s Oliver, in the cast of the Deaf-West American Idiot at the Taper, as Lizzie Borden in Lizzie at the Chance. Ella Smith^æ (Anna) was the lead (Bonnie) in the recent Bonnie & Clyde at the Rubicon. Strong singers, and strong performers. These two made the show.

The supporting folks were equally strong. Notable here was Frankie Zabilka, who we’ve seen in a number of 5-Star productions, notably their versions of Newsies and Something Rotten. Zabilka has a humor and charm that shone through as Hans of the Southern Isles, making the ending twist even better. Sawyer Patterson^æ, the third AEA actor, made a strong and effective Kristoff, and Landon Starkman puppeted Olaf well.

Also notable were Catherine Last and Amy Sorensen as the young Elsa and Anna, respectively. Sorensen was so cute as her headpiece kept falling off, and the two of them couldn’t hide their childish playfulness.

The show had a few flaws: I think the second act opener, “Hygge”, suffered from being overplayed and having poor enunciation, making the lyrics hard to hear in the back of the orchestra. That’s less a problem with the actors, and more with the direction. But other than that, I think the show served its audience well. This is not a deep show. It is a show designed to entertain little girls and Disney-lovers. It is a trifle. It doesn’t have the long-term lasting depth of other Disney shows, such as The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast, both in terms of plot or quality of the songs. But it succeeds for what it is.

Should you go see it? Here is where I get off easy: You can’t. It closed Sunday. Knowing 5-Star’s track record, you should consider seeing their production of Hairspray in October, which will be directed by Marissa Jaret Winokur (the original Tracey on Broadway), in the smaller Scherr forum. I’m curious to see how Hairspray works in the smaller theatre that doesn’t have the fly space or the wing space. I’m also unfamiliar with Winokur’s directing experience. But, in general, 5-Star productions are strong so it should be good.

Cast and Crew

Frozen: The Broadway Musical. Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez. Book by Jennifer Lee. Directed by Yvette Lawrence. Choreography by Cheryl Baxter. Originally directed on Broadway by Michael Grandage. Based on the Disney film written by Jennifer Lee and directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. Originally produced on Broadway by Disney Theatrical Productions.

Cast (^æ indicates Actors Equity): Monika Peña^æ Elsa; Ellie Smith^æ Anna; Landen Starkman Olaf; Sawyer Patterson^æ Kristoff; Frankie Zabilka Hans; Sebastian Guerro Sven; Travis Joe Dixon Weselton; Javier Garcia Oaken, Ensemble; Ceron Jones Pabbie, Ensemble; Jodi Marks Bulda, Ensemble; Eleen Hsu-Wentlandt Queen Iduna, Ensemble; Richie Ferris King Agnarr, Ensemble, Casting Director; Amanda Aceves-Lopez Ensemble; Melissa Musial Ensemble; Aaron Michael-Rees Camitses Ensemble; Jeff Garrido Ensemble; Luc Clopton Ensemble; Angelikah “Jelly” Chun Ensemble; Chloe Johnson Ensemble; Lielle Kaidar Ensemble; Matthew Smith Ensemble; Micah Nicholson Ensemble; Rasha Willes Samaha Ensemble; Catherine Last Young Elsa; Amy Sorensen Young Anna; Charlee Marie Youth Ensemble Ava Giselle Field Youth Ensemble; Conner Noson Youth Ensemble; Madison North Youth Ensemble; Sophia Sedik Youth Ensemble; Zander Chin Youth Ensemble.

Music Department; Anthony Lucca Music Director, Conductor; Dave Metzger Original Broadway Orchestrations; Stephen Oremus Original Broadway Music Supervision and Arrangements; David Chase Additional Broadway Dance Arrangements; Gary Rautenberg Flute, Piccolo, Alto Sax, Soprano Sax; Darryl Tanikawa Clarinet, Tenor Sax, Orchestra Contractor; Christopher Maurer Trumpet 1, Flugelhorn; Bill Barrett Trumpet 2, Flugelhorn; Matt Evans Tenor & Bass Trombones; Melissa Hendrickson Horn; Cody Cadena Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Banjo; Chris Kimbler Keyboard Synthesizer 1; Benjamin Ginsberg Keyboard Synthesizer 2; Lloyd Cooper Keyboard Synthesizer 3; Shane Harry Electric & Acoustic Double Bass; Satoshi Kittahama Set Drums, Extra Percussion; Joe Martone Large & Hand Percussion; Tanikawa Artists Management LLC Orchestra Production.

Production and Creative: Yvette Lawrence Director; Cheryl Baxter Choreographer; Lorelai Snow Bishop Asst. Choreographer, Swing; Cameron J. Turner^æ Production Stage Manager; Gavin Lattimer^æ Asst. Stage Manager; E. K. Dagenfield Production Manager; Jonathan A. Burke Sound Design; Julia Pinhey Assoc. Sound Design; Isa Underdahl Sound Mixer; Brandon Baruch Lighting Design; Alex Choate Prop Design; Luis Martinez Wig, Hair, Makeup Design; Nicholas Santiago Projection Design; Front Row Theatrical Rentals Scenery; Olney Theatre Rentals Costumes; Theatre Under the Stars Puppets; Jack Allaway Technical Director; Jacob Holcombe Crew Chief; Richie Ferris Casting Director; Michael Donovan Casting Director; Elzer/Demand PR Publicity; Fresh Interactive Marketing Team.

Thoughts on 5-Star Theatricals

We’ve been subscribers at 5-Star Theatricals, or its predecessor Cabillo Music Theatre, for over 20 years (since 2001), except for one year. This may be our last year. There are some clear and simple reasons why, none of which are the specific fault of 5-Star. More, most are the fault of Thousand Oaks and the management at the Bank of America Theatre.

• First: Parking. Parking at the Kavli has gone up to $16. Expensive parking I can understand in a place where there isn’t a lot of available parking, such as near the Pantages. But when LA County can do $10 parking at the Ahmanson, there’s no reason for $16 in the empty structure at the Kavli. $9 was acceptable. $16 is not.
• Second: Security. At the Music Center — a much higher profile target being downtown near the LA City hall — there is little to no security. No bag inspections. No scanners. At the Pantages: There are metal scanners and sometimes bag inspections, but they are reasonable (and my wife can bring in her knitting). But at the Kavli? It is worse than going to the airport. Empty all the pockets. Empty all the liquids. Knitting needles are verboten. There is no solid reason for this: The threat profile is negligible there. It just serves to annoy the patrons.
• Third: Prices. This I blame on the venue, not the company, because prices at the B of A Theatre are high for all Thousand Oaks productions, be it 5-Star, Broadway in Thousand Oaks, or their concert series. This turns away audiences.
• Fourth: The shows. Not the quality, but the selection. In order to survive, there is greater dependence on retreads and family-friendly shows, such as Frozen. For all the hassles listed above, there’s not a lot of attraction when the show being presented is one I’ve seen many times before, or don’t really care to see again.

When we started with Cabrillo, prices were reasonable, parking was reasonable, and there weren’t security worries. Today, there’s so much friction to attend a 5-Star show it takes away the joy. This shows in the audience size. When once the orchestra was full, the mezzanine was full, and the balconies were reasonably full, today, everyone is down in the orchestra, and the mezzanine and balconies are closed. Shows have moved from the big theatre to the small forum. I wonder if this company will survive, given these problems and the continuing leadership changes (I still miss the announcements from the stages, and the kids hawking raffle tickets before the show and at intermission).

There’s a good chance we’ll move this subscription to the Rubicon in Ventura. It’s about the same drive, for a smaller theatre with more adventurous shows. Free parking. No security. Tickets are about the same prices, alas.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• August: ♦ Some Like It Hot at BIH/Pantages; ♦ & Juliet at CTG/Ahmanson
• September: ♦ Shucked at BIH/Pantages; ♦ Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish at The Soraya; ♦ Eureka Day at Pasadena Playhouse
• October: ♣ Fly Me to the Moon at The Soraya; ♦ Hairspray at 5-Star Theatricals

When 5-Star announced their 2024 season, I wasn’t super excited. I knew I would subscribe and support them, because they are very important for the entertainment ecosystem of Ventura County, and have proven to be a wonderful starting ground for actors. But really? Million Dollar Quartet, The Sound of Music, and Little Shop of Horrors. All are shows that have been around a while; perhaps they create excitement in Ventura County, but I’m from Los Angeles County. But 5-Star is well known for nailing the execution, going back to their days as Cabrillo Music Theatre.

But really? The Sound of Music. What could I find of interest in this old chestnut? This is one of those shows where the movie musical that came afterwards has served to define (and in some senses straightjacket) the show. People expect a Julie Andrews performance; they expect the songs in the movie order. But I wanted more. As I went into the show, I was thinking: Could someone to a revisical: a reimagined production, along the lines of the recent Oklahoma (which we saw at the Ahmanson in 2022)? Could someone find a way to make people see this story in a new light; to find that inner bite that Rodgers and Hammerstein tend to have beneath the surface of their musicals? More on that in a few paragraphs; first, I want to talk about what made this production stand out.

The answer is: The performances. I was blown away by Shannon O’Boyle as Maria. Throughout the first act, I was blown away by her voice, her characterizations, her facial expressions, and how she interacted with and responded to the other cast members, especially the children. But what sold me on her was her performance of “Something Good”. She did something I love in a musical theatre performer: She brought to a song more than just a vocal performance. You could hear the happiness in her voice; you could hear the playfulness of her character. She reminded me, in many ways, of a young Sutton Foster: One of those unique performers that can bring personality to a song. O’Boyle does that, especially on songs like “The Lonely Goatherd”, the aforementioned “Something Good”, and even “Edelweiss”.

Also strong was Jon Root as Captain von Trapp. Although a bit young for the character (think: If the Captain has a 16 year old daughter and a strong Naval career, he’s got to be at least in his early 40s), his performance was spot on. A beautiful singing voice, but even more so for Root, watch his facial expressions and reactions. You can see them in “Something Good”, but equally well in “No Way to Stop It” and, notably, in his interactions with the children. 5-Star gets three AEA contracts per show, and they chose well for their two leads from the AEA pool.

Also notable, performance-wise, were the children. Hannah Sedlacek (Leisl) and Ivy Kaplowitz (Lousia) had lovely singing voices, and watching the interaction between Mikki Schwartz (Marta) and Ginny Cary (Gretl) was a delight. It was clear that this was all overwhelming for Cary—at times you could see her checking her dress, her hair, her shoes. She’s done things before, but not in such a large venue. But Schwartz was clearly there helping her through, guiding and providing reassurance. Now, this could all be an act from Cary (after all, she is an actress), but the relationship between the two youngest girls in the cast… indeed, the way all the children interacted with each other… cement the fact that this was a family on stage. This is best seen in “The Lonely Goatherd” as they pile on the bed, or “So Long Farewell”

As the show was starting and I was reading the program, II was wondering the logic about bringing this out again. But one answer is that The Sound of Music is a great stepping stone for actors. The characters are known, people know the story, and because of this the performance can shite. Cabrillo/5-Star is well known for its ability to find and promote talent (I think that’s why it is so heavily supported by donors). I still remember seeing a young Katherine McPhee in a 2005 CMT production of Annie Get Your Gun; many other actors have gotten their start in Cabillo/5-Star productions. So, even though this is such a well-known show, I urge you to go see it. The performances are what make this production special.

But now let’s turn our attention to the story. Although immensely popular, this clearly isn’t Rodgers & Hammerstein’s best work. It was the last show they did, and it is clear they were tired. There are far too many reprises of songs; a demonstration that they were stretching the music. The bite of the show is tempered by the main love story. Love stories are great, but they tend to be predictable and not have much depth. In particular, the antagonists in this love story really don’t pose much of a threat.

This begs the question: Is The Sound of Music  relevant today? Listening closely, it is. The situation presented in the show of the rise of Hitler and Germany in the backdrop of people that want to ignore it—of people who think they can just go with the flow and ride it out—has an eerie echo to the rise of Trumpian politics today. At one point in the second act, as the song “No Way to Stop It” is starting, the Captain questions whether there is any way to stop the Germans, whom he hate, from taking over his country? Austria may not have had that ability, but here in America we do have the one tool they didn’t have: The Ballot Box. This show is a reminder of what might happen if we don’t use the tools we have. We will have brainwashed legions enforcing their view of what we can think, of what we can say. It is clear from the messages in their shows—a hatred of racism, a hatred of indoctrination, a hatred of violence against women—that Rodgers and Hammerstein would have stood against Trump and his Project 2025 agenda. Could a timely revival of Sound of Music reinforce that message? It is an interesting thought.

WIth artists such as Stephen Sondheim, we see regular revivals of their works. Indeed, yet another revival of Gypsy hits the boards in 2024/2025 with Audra McDonald. The performances will surely be spectacular and Tonys will be won, but did we need another revival so soon? We need someone to do something similar with the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalog: Bring these shows back with a new vision and approach (as was done with Oklahoma): not changing the words or the songs, but present them in a way that brings out the bite and commentary that was already there, and enables audiences to see how subversive and forward thinking Rodgers and Hammerstein were. The last Broadway revival of Sound of Music was back in 1998. It is well overdue.

Mentioning the audience does highlight a continual problem 5-Star is having: Audience. We were there for the first Saturday night performance, and the Orchestra was half-full. We remember the days when Cabrillo/5-Star filled the Orchestra, Founders Circle, and Mezzanine, and about a quarter of the top balcony. Today, the balcony is closed, and Mezz. subscribers get Orchestra seats. Supposedly, the afternoon matinee had better attendance: old folks and children will do that, and afternoon shows draws those demographics. But this company will die if people don’t buy tickets. So tell your friends: They need to support regional professional theatres. They are a key training ground for our future acting stars, and production stars.

A few nits on the show. My wife noted that the nuns dress was done by someone who was clearly not Catholic, and who clearly didn’t know the standards nuns had in the 1940s. Wrinkled wimples, indeed. I was also less impressed by Christopher Karbo (Max) and Eleen Hsu-Wentlandt (Elsa). Their two duo songs just didn’t hit right, and they failed to bring their characters to life in the songs. They were fine in the non-musical areas, but their execution of those songs had some problems.

To summarize: The 5-Star production of The Sound of Music has one more performance this weekend, and 5 performances next week. For the performances alone, you should see this production. Beyond the performances, you should go in with an eye of finding something new in the story: in particular, see how the underlying political story echoes today’s time. Ask yourself what Rodgers and Hammerstein are saying and whether there is really “No Way To Stop It”. The Sound Of Music  continues through July 28. Tickets are available through the Kavli Box Office website.

One additional complaint about the Kavli itself, not 5-Star: Their security is overly draconian, and actively deters me from attending events at their venues. They enforce policies more restrictive than TSA: no water bottles, no wooden knitting needles, and they make you go back to your car if they find as much as a protein bar in your bag. Emptying your pockets and searching your bags. Perhaps security needs to be wearing the costumes of the people in the Austrian Concert hall. You know: the ones with the armbands. This is made worse when I compare it to other venues: The Ahmanson (another city-owned facility) does no bag searches. The Pantages has a simple metal detector, but you don’t need to empty pockets (but you still can’t bring in water bottles, although knitting is OK). I’ve been doing cybersecurity for 35+ years. The threat response needs to be appropriate for the threat. Thousand Oaks: You are not that level of threat target. Sure, check for guns and real weapons. But making someone (who is clearly mobility limited) walk back to their car for a protein bar? Not allowing knitting (what are they going to do? Stab you with a 2″ needle?)? That is overboard, and Thousand Oaks clearly needs to get over itself. We need to make it clear that their overly restrictive policies will deter people from attending shows at their venues.

———

The Sound of Music. Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Howard Linsay & Russel Crouse, suggested by The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp. Directed by Richard Israel. Choreography by Christopher Albrecht.

Cast: Shannon O’Boyle ^AEA Maria Rainer; Jon Root ^AEA Captain Georg von Trapp; Cathy Newman ^AEA Mother Abbess; Brody Tarrant Sitton Rolf Gruber; Christopher Karbo Max Detweiler; Dana Shaw Frau Schmidt; Daniel Stromfeld Ensemble; Dia Day Brigitta von Trapp; Eleen Hsu-Wentlandt Elsa Schraeder; Elias De Paula Kurt von Trapp; Jack Cleary Herr Zeller; Georgia Besnillian Ensemble; Ginny Cary Gretl von Trapp; Hannah Sedlacek Liesl von Trapp; Ivy Kaplowitz Louisa von Trapp; Jackson Murrieta Ensemble; Jason Whitton Baron Elberfeld, Ensemble; Jennifer Teague Baroness Elberfeld, Ensemble; Jonah Meyer Ensemble; Lauren Han Ensemble; Martha Thatcher Sister Margaretta; Melissa Musial Ursula, Ensemble; Mikki Schultz Marta von Trapp; Mollie Navarro Sister Sophia; Paul McCrillis Admiral von Schreiber; Sadé Ayodele Sister Berthe; Tudor Munteanu Franz; Zander Chin Friederich von Trapp.

Music Department: Anthony Lucca Music Director & Conductor; Darry Tanikawa Orchestra Contractor. Orchestra: Rhondda Dayton Flute, Piccolo; Ian Dahlberg Oboe, English Horn; Darryl Tanikawa Clarinet 1; Gary Rautenberg Clarinet 2; Melissa Hendrickson Horn 1; Jennifer Bliman Horn 2; Bill Barrett Trumpet 1; Chris Maurer Trumpet 2; June Satton Trombone 1; Matt Evans Trombone 2, Tuba; Sharon Cooper Violin 1 (concertmaster); Laurel Diskin Violin 2; Eugene Mechtovich Viola; Bang-Eunn Lee Cello; Charlie Ferguson String Synthesizer; Chris Kimbler Keyboard Synthesizer; Shane Harry Acoustic Double String Bass; Alan Peck Set Drums. The program had no credit for orchestrations.

Production and Creatives: Brandon Baruch Lighting Design; Jonathan A. Burke Sound Design; Kenneth Foy Scenery Design; Pittsburgh CLO Scenery and Props; Tuacahn Costume Rentals Costumes; Luis Martinez Wig, Hair and Makeup Design; Alex Choate Prop Design, Crew Chief; Chris Steele & Gail Garon Costume Coordination; Cameron J. Turner ^AEA Production Stage Manager; Talya Camras Asst. Stage Manager; E. K. Dagenfield Production Manager; Jack Allaway Technical Director; David Elzer/Demand PR Press Representative; Fresh Interactive Marketing; Michael Donovan Casting – Michael Donovan ^CSA and Richie Ferris ^CSA Casting; Julia Pinhey Assoc. Sound Design; Gavin Higa Sound Mixer.

♦ ♦ ♦

Administrivia: I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending):

• July: ♦ The Sound of Music at 5-Star Theatricals;
• August: ♦ Clue at CTG/Ahamanson Theatre; ♦ Company at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♣ Postmodern Jukebox at The Magnolia, El Cajon.
• September: ♦ Hamilton at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; Cyrano de Bergerac at Pasadena Playhouse; possibly Randy Newman’s Faust ⊕ at The Soraya
• October: ♦ American Idiot ⊕ at CTG/Taper; ♦ Little Shop of Horrors at 5-Star Theatricals; ♦ Kimberly Akimbo at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages.
• November: ♦ Back to the Future: The Musical at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; possibly ♦ Fiddler on the Roof ⊕ at La Mirada PAC; ♦ La Cage Aux Folles at Pasadena Playhouse; possibly Santa Claus Conquers the Martians ⊕ at Maverick Theatre

On the Theatrical Horizon:

Patrick Page will be bringing All the Devils Are Here to the Broad Stage in Santa Monica in April 2025. Looks interesting.

This afternoon, we trudged out to Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza to see the 5-Star Theatricals production of Million Dollar Quartet. Now this isn’t a new show to us: We saw the national tour back in June 2012 when it was at the Pantages. My opinion of the show itself really hasn’t changed: it is a good jukebox show constructed around a real-life incident, and it has appeals to those who grew up on that music. More on that in a minute.

About the show itself: For those unfamiliar, he’s how I described it back in 2012 (any updates are due to links moving):

[…]let’s start instead with the real history, summarized by Sun Records: According to Sun, the jam session seems to have happened by pure chance. Perkins, who by this time had already met success with “Blue Suede Shoes,” had come into the studios that day, accompanied by his brothers Clayton and Jay and by drummer W.S. Holland, their aim being to cut some new material, including a revamped version of an old blues song, “Matchbox.” Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Records, had brought in his latest acquisition, singer and piano man extraordinaire, Jerry Lee Lewis, still unknown outside Memphis, to play the piano on the Perkins session. Sometime in the early afternoon, Elvis Presley, a former Sun artist himself, but now at RCA, dropped in to pay a casual visit accompanied by a girlfriend, Marilyn Evans. He was, at the time, the biggest name in show business. After chatting with Philips in the control room, Presley listened to the playback of the Perkins’ session, which he pronounced to be good. Then he went into the studio and some time later the jam session began. Phillips left the tapes running in order to “capture the moment” as a souvenir and for posterity. At some point during the session, Sun artist Johnny Cash, who had also enjoyed a few hits on the country charts, popped in (Cash claimed he was the first to arrive at Sun Studio that day). The event was captured by well known photograph of Elvis Presley seated at the piano surrounded by Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. The session tapes have been released on CD.

That’s what we know happened. Around this story a musical was constructed. The basic plot elements added by book writers Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux revolved around the following: (1) At the end of 1955, Phillips sold Presley’s contract to RCA to prevent Sun Records from going bankrupt; now RCA wanted to buy Phillips and the studio to get someone who knew how to work with Elvis; (2) Cash had been increasingly absent from the studio, and Phillips wanted to lure him back by presenting him with a 3-year contract; (3) the tension between Perkins, who had written “Blue Suede Shoes”, and Elvis, who made it a hit on the Ed Sullivan Show, and (4) Perkins, who was trying to find his next hit, and the just-hired Jerry Lee Lewis, a brash young upstart trying to prove himself. The songs chosen were some (but not all) of the ones from the original session, plus a number of well-known hits that may have come a little later. This isn’t a true story.

This also isn’t an impersonator show. You want that, go to Vegas. The actors in this show have hints of the mannerisms of the original artists, but are not going for exact impersonations or impressions. They have hits of the vocal quality. What they do have is the musical skills, which combined with the hints makes you see them as the artists.  This is the contribution of the original concept and direction by Floyd Mutrix.

So what makes or breaks this show is the quality of the music talent, as there is no other orchestra. Luckily, 5-Star cast reasonably strong, both in vocal and musical quality. We thought the strongest musical talent was Garrett Forestal Jerry Lee Lewis on piano and Benny Lipson Jay Perkins on bass. They were remarkable. Also strong musically were Will Riddle Carl Perkins on Electric Guitar, and Lonn Hayes Fluke on drums. We were a little less sure about the acoustic guitar work of LJ Benet Elvis Presley and Peter Oyloe Johnny Cash.  It was good, but not as remarkable as the others.

Vocally, the singing cast was strong, most notably the four leads mentioned above as well as Summer Nicole Greer Dyanne (who was a composite for Marilyn Evans). Having listened to all of the original artists, I think they leads captured the vocal characteristics well. Oyloe (Cash) could have used a bit more gravitas in his voice, but this was the younger Cash and that hadn’t fully developed yet. The remaining lead cast member, Adam Poole Sam Phillips really didn’t do any noticeable singing, but gave a strong performance providing narration and stringing the show together.

However, the show did have one major problem: The audience. This afternoon matinee was about 40% full, and that is after closing the balcony and moving the mezzanine subscribers to the back of the orchestra. A company cannot survive with audiences like that. We were talking about 5-Star’s season choices: Million Dollar Quartet, Sound of Music, and Little Shop of Horrors. All of these are shows aimed at folks who were in their teens or later in the 1950s and 1960s. That audience is dying, and with shows like this you’re not going to draw in the kids. I’m at the tail end of that generation (my teen years were in the 1970s), and even I think we need to move past the classic rock being the 1950s and 1960s. That’s like someone of my age being nostalgic for the 1910s.

Regional theatre companies must get past the classics of the 1960s and 1950s “Golden Age” of theatre; they must get past jukebox shows that harken back to the 1950s and 1960s (the recent Wonderettes – Dream On being a good example of that). These theatres need to be bringing in the latest “near Broadway” and recently released to regional theatres that they can. They need to partner and experiment with shows on their way to Broadway with sounds of the 1990s and later. For companies to survive, they need to be bringing in new audiences, and younger audiences. Don’t keep doing the shows that have been done to death; don’t keep bringing in jukebox shows that only the senior citizens will appreciate.

To sum things up: 5-Stars production of Million Dollar Quartet was excellent, and if you like the music of Jerry Lee Lewis, early Johnny Cash, early Elvis Presley, and Carl Perkins, you’re in for a wonderful jam session. But I question the skew of the 5-Star season, and encourage theatres planning their seasons to think about what will bring in younger new subscribers that are needed to thrive, not just the older seniors who (like the companies) are just existing.

Lastly: The TO Civic Arts Plaza isn’t helping. They are now charging $15 for parking. For that facility and location, it’s a ridiculous prices that will also turn away people. The Ahmanson downtown is $9. The Pantages is $25 or more, but that’s a much more space limited area using private garages. A price of $9-$10 would be much more appropriate. Further, the security at T.O. is excessive given the risk. It’s stronger than at the Pantages or the Ahmanson, for a much lower threat target. Again, this creates friction for patrons—something a struggling theatre company does not need.

Million Dollar Quartet plays for one more weekend, closing March 24, 2024. Tickets are available through 5-Star Theatricals, and possibly your favorite discount joints.

———

Cast: LJ Benet Elvis Presley ; Garrett Forestal Jerry Lee Lewis; Summer Nicole Greer Dyanne; Lonn Hayes Fluke; Benny Lipson Jay Perkins; Peter Oyloe Johnny Cash; Adam Poole Sam Phillips; Will Riddle Carl Perkins.

Production and Creative: Book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux. Original Concept and Direction by Floyd Mutrux. Direction by Tim Seib. No credit for Choreography. Other production credits: David Lamoureux Music Director/Conductor; Brandon Baruch Lighting Design; Jonathan A. Burke Sound Design; Alex Choate Props Design; Tuacahn Costume Rentals Costume Design; Derek McLane Original Scenic Design; Gail Garon and Chris Steele Wardrobe Supervisors; Phil Gold Production Stage Manager; Cameron J. Turner Stage Manager; David Elzer/Demand/PR Press Representative; Fresh Interactive Marketing.

♦ ♦ ♦

Administrivia: I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; Geffen Playhouse (Mini-Subscription); 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending):

• March: ♦ Chicago at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♣ Go Jazz Big Band at The Main; ♦ Fat Ham at Geffen Playhouse.
• April: ♦ Funny Girl at CTG/Ahamanson Theatre; ‍◊ Renaissance Pleasure Faire; Xanadu at Canyon Theatre Guild; ♦ Spongebob Squarepants – The Musical at CSUN Theatre; ♣ Gordon Goodwin and the Big Phat Band at BofA/Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks. Possible: ♦ Head over Heels – The Musical at Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center – COC.
• May: ♦ Hands on a Hardbody at Charles Stewart Howard Playhouse; ♦ Girl from the North Country at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♦ The Play That Goes Wrong at Canyon Theatre Guild (⊕)
• June: ♦ Jelly’s Last Jam at the Pasadena Playhouse; ♦ A Strange Loop at CTG/Ahamanson Theatre; ♦ Mrs. Doubtfire at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♦ You Can’t Take It With You (⊕) at Group Rep; and potentially some ♦ Hollywood Fringe Festival shows, although June is pretty well booked already.

On the Theatrical Horizon:

Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica has announced their Mainstage 2024 Season, and it includes Bat Boy the Musical running Sept 28 through October 18. We saw Bat Boy back when CSUN did it in 2014; it is a wonderful musical about how a society treats outsiders. I also just learned about a theatre company in Fullerton, Maverick Theater. They are doing Evil Dead: The Musical , which is a hoot if you’ve never seen it (we’ve seen it twice). They also have some interesting other stuff on their season, and we might drive down for Santa Claus Vs The Martians in November.