Review: THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES Sings the Hits at Saint Vincent Summer Theatre

Ten years ago, Greggory Brandt directed a production of The Marvelous Wonderettes to begin his tenure at Saint Vincent Summer Theatre. Ten years later, the summer stock company has built its audience and fine-tuned its programming to a carefully chosen formula: one nostalgic pop jukebox or chamber musical, one farce and one nostalgic jazz/Great American Songbook revue. What better way to celebrate a ten-year victory lap than to bring back the show that started it all?

Roger Bean's franchise-launching jukebox musical comedy, The Marvelous Wonderettes, is that rare musical so successful as to launch a franchise. Its secret seems to lie in its simplicity: the characters are easy archetpyes and the songs are instant nostalgia triggers whether you're a Baby Boomer/Greatest Generation or not. For instance, if you're not old enough to remember the pop song "Sugar Time," you're probably young enough to know how to finish the phrase "when pizza's on a bagel..." Brandt and choreographer Renata Marino have staged this four-woman show with an affecting mix of professionalism and homespun roughness, polish and simplicity. It may look like the best high school prom act ever, but it still looks convincingly like a high school prom act, as well it should.

It's the late 1950s, and Springfield High School girl group the Marvelous Wonderettes (in reality, four girls from glee club) have been asked to perform as prom night entertainment. All four of them are up for prom queen, and jealous spats arise between the four: uptight nerd Missy (Stephanie Wasser), confident sexpot Cindy Lou (Deidre Lynn Thompson), sensible Suzy (Mikayla Thrasher) and goofy, childlike Betty Jean (Madeline Grace Smith). As they sing and try to compete for prom queen, secrets are revealed, friendships damaged, crushes bubble over and small-scale teenage chaos unravels charmingly. Then, in act 2, we rejoin these same four ladies ten years later at their high school reunion. Some of them have changed... others, less so. Can they find their old harmony and repair both their girl group and friendships?

All four of the stars here have ample moments to shine. Right from the start, Stephanie Wasser's bell-tone soprano cuts through with that classic 1950s purity, and her tightly-wound, neurotic Missy is a small-scale comic gem. Deidre Lynn Thompson, as popular Cindy Lou (later going by the more grown-up Cynthia), has a sweet voice and great comic timing; the "talent show" segment where all she does is pose and smile is a laugh riot. Mikayla Thrasher has to play something of the straight-woman as Suzy in Act 1, but her transformation from chipper girl next door to burnt-out, pregnant housewife is the biggest character transition any of the four get to play. Last but certainly not least, it's rare for a role in musical theatre to let a woman chew the scenery and be as comedically unhinged as men often are allowed. Happily, Madeline Grace Smith takes every advantage of this as Betty Jean, finding moment after moment of quirk, physical comedy and many more shades of character. These characters may be thin on the page, but our four actresses bring them to life wonderfully.

The three-piece band, led by Tom McDonough, is small but mighty, bouncing and rocking its way through two decades of pop hits from doo-wop to late sixties progressive soul. Beth Shari, local costumer extraordinaire, has less to do than usual, with each girl getting only two faux-homemade costumes, but this is Wonderettes; it looks how it's supposed to look. Finally, Chad Castillo's set design is simple, but full of neat little surprises that are graudually unveiled throughout the night (in particular, a certain blackboard gag).

What is it that makes Roger Bean's admittedly-formulaic jukebox shows so successful? Probably the same thing that makes the Saint Vincent Summer Theatre formula so successful: a mix of retro nostalgia and more modern humor. It's an established fact of summer stock around the country that a certain amount of reverence must be paid to the blue-hair demographic, since American senior citizens and retirees are statistiaclly the ones who keep the theatre afloat. But this show is far from alienating to the younger generation(s): sure, a few of the songs like "Mr Lee" and "Allegheny Moon" have been basically forgottein in the last seventy years, but the vast majority of these songs would be known and loved to anyone, even if the characters and their antics weren't alternately amusing and relatable. Anyone who has ever been young, and then realized they weren't so young anymore, will find much to relate to and much to enjoy in The Marvelous Wonderettes.

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