[Free Lance-Star Review] Sweet, silly 'Marvelous Wonderettes' hits all the right notes
By GAIL CHOOCHAN THE FREE LANCE-STAR
June 17, 2021
Summer is almost here and there’s a certain radiant energy in the air as life is starting to feel a little normal again. And one bright spot can be found at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, with its new show “The Marvelous Wonderettes.”
The past year has been a long and challenging one, and this charming jukebox musical takes audiences on a welcome journey to another era—making you forget we’re living in pandemic at least for a little while.
“The Marvelous Wonderettes” is set during a time when fluffy crinoline skirts, bouffants, mini dresses and go-go boots—and not masks and hand sanitizer—were the norm. The show follows an all-girl group performing at their 1958 prom at Springfield High School (“Go Chipmunks!”) after the boys glee club had to bail. Replacing the Crooning Crab Cakes for prom entertainment, The Marvelous Wonderettes make it through a marathon of songs, but not without some teenage drama, hissy fits, pranks and plenty of giggles. The musical circles back to their 10-year reunion and shows how far they’ve come in love, work and friendships. For two of them, the wounds from high school rivalry still run deep.
The off-Broadway musical by Roger Bean features more than 30 songs from the 1950-’60s, exuberantly performed by a tight-knit cast of four actresses (Sarah Mae Andersen, Elizabeth C. Butler, Sheri Hayden and Brittny Smith) and a solid two-man band consisting of Carson Eubank on keyboard and Kyle Smith on percussion. The head-bopping “Mr. Sandman” kicks off this jam-packed musical ride down memory lane, which also includes classics such as “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” “It’s My Party,” “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me,” “You Don’t Own Me” and “Leader of the Pack.” One of the show’s biggest highlights is a mashup of “Rescue Me” and “Respect,” with the women stepping up their support for one another.
Each of the four characters are so well defined in personalities, and marked with their own color scheme. Kyna Chilcot’s bold costumes add fun and fashionable flair as the show jumps decades.
Riverside has recruited a fantastic cast to bring these vibrant characters to life and the actresses are playing them up to the absolute fullest. Suzy, the bubbly and not-so-bright blonde, is adorably played by Sarah Mae Andersen. Butler, who boasts some serious vocal stamina with her never-ending notes, is nicely suited as Missy, the bespectacled and most grounded character of the bunch. Hayden and Smith are a delight to watch as Cindy Lou and Betty Jean, the girl group’s most combative members. Smith brings a feistiness to her role as the mischievous Betty Jean (my pick for prom queen) and Hayden is well cast as the attention-seeking boyfriend-stealer Cindy Lou.
“The Marvelous Wonderettes”—wonderfully directed by Patrick A’Hearn—launches the theater’s 24th season on a sunny, feel-good note after its delayed March opening. “Grumpy Old Men,” “Meet Me in St. Louis” and the long-awaited bluegrass musical “Bright Star” fill out the theater’s 2021 schedule.
Being back at Riverside after all these months, it’s such a treat to see live theater again and it sounds so good to hear these performers singing it loud onstage and doing what they love for all the community to see.
If You Go
"The Marvelous Wonderettes," Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, 95 Riverside Pkwy. Wednesdays through Sundays. $60; $55 for seniors 65 and older and children ages 3-12. 540/370-4300; riversidedt.com
