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| Bryce Blair, Susan Crocker, Josh O' Brien & Jennifer Poliskie in [title of show]. Photo courtesy of Little Colonel's Playhouse. |
Book by Hunter Bell
Music and Lyrics by Jeff Bowen
Directed by Janet Morris
Reviewed by Craig Nolan Highley
Entire contents copyright © 2012 by Craig Nolan Highley. All rights
reserved.
A fun little show opened and closed this weekend at the Little Colonel
Playhouse in Pewee Valley, and I hope you got a chance to see it. Known by the bizarrely
literal title [title of show}, it ran for only four performances but will not be quickly forgotten.
The show told the story of its two composers, Jeff and Hunter (Bryce
Blair and Josh O’Brien), as they composed a new musical initially for a
competition, then ultimately to take to Broadway. They were assisted in this
undertaking by their actress friends Heidi and Susan (Jennifer Poliskie and
Susan Crocker) and their mostly silent accompanist Mary (music director Kim
Stover Hartz). It had very little plot-wise, but it made for a nice framework on which
to hang a lot of clever musical numbers and fun vignettes about the many
struggles this small group faced on their journey from obscurity to the lights
of Broadway.
For the most part, it worked; all five of the performers made the most
of the material without a weak link in the cast. Blair and O’Brien turned in
especially impressive turns as their characters carried the brunt of the
emotional element of the show, while Poliskie and Crocker managed to steal
scenes from them right and left. Hartz’s moments were especially funny as she
rarely spoke except when she wanted to remind us she was there (and she was the
sole musician giving accompaniment tirelessly on the piano).
Janet Morris’s direction kept things flowing nicely from musical number
to vignette to musical number. Hunter Bell’s libretto was mostly fun and
comedic, but it seemed to lose steam for a while in the second half when the
tone turned from lighthearted to cynical. But things recovered nicely by the
end. Jeff Bowen’s songs were generally a lot of fun, but there were one or two
that I frankly just didn’t enjoy. (I thought “Change It/Don’t Change It” would
never end.)
But overall, this was a nice departure from the
G-rated fare we usually get from the Little Colonel Playhouse, and this
reviewer hopes it is a sign of great things to come.
[title of show]
Featuring Bryce Blair, Susan Crocker, Kim Stover Hartz, Josh O’Brien,
and Jennifer Poliskie.
September 20-23, 2012
Little Colonel
Playhouse
302 Mount Mercy Drive
Crestwood, KY 40014
(502) 241-9906
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