DISASTER – Written by Jack Plotnick and Seth Rudetsky; Directed and Music Direction by Tanner Kelly; Choreography by Heather Westenskow. Produced by StageDoor Theatre Company (25797 Conifer Road, Conifer) through June 28. Tickets available at 303-838-0809 or StageDoorTheatre.org..
I will start off by saying, “You HAVE to make a DISASTER plan.” Not that Conifer has anything to worry about . . . . except that their theatre building might be in danger from the shaking caused by the laughter that will be coming out of the building for the next month. Unequivocally, I can say that this is the funniest show I’ve seen since the first time I saw NOISES OFF – but this show has music. And what music!! This is the way jukebox musicals should be written – making the music part of the joke. For instance, the show starts with a rousing all-crew ensemble singing “Hot Stuff” with three or four illustrations of what ‘hot stuff’ might mean to different characters. Later on, when a group of characters is trying to locate missing passengers, they literally “Knock Three Times” on walls and the floors to determine where they are.
My enthusiasm for this wacky piece is scattering my thoughts. I can’t wait to tell you about this or that crazy thing this cast came up with to show you the next new disaster. But let’s start with a bit of the story. A floating casino (The Barracuda) is having their opening night ceremony when it is discovered that they have built their mooring pier over a fault line that could blow at any time, sinking the boat and everyone on it. The remaining evening is spent working up to the impending disaster, the rapid-fire solution to various emergencies that develop (piranha’s, explosions, addictions, broken romances rekindled, missing people, earthquakes, a lost dog, and on and on . . . and on).
But watching this particular crew of characters move through this disaster shit storm with compassion for their fellow passengers, with an everlasting hope for survival, with faith in a new and better future, with a sense of humor . . . makes it all worthwhile. Comic solutions such as tap dancing in Morse Code, swimming through shark-infested waters, and crawling through a portal in the bottom of the boat (now sticking out of the water because the boat is upside-down) (and wait till you see how they turn the boat upside down!!!) proves the inventiveness of the cast and crew who made all of these situations plausible but silly at the same time.
The genius of the writing and the gift of this cast is that you “know” all these people from the moment they step on the stage. By the way they each approach their role, how they are dressed, how they treat the people they are meeting for the first time, you know their stories immediately. And you care. You want Jackie to find a man to marry her and take care of her two adorable children, Ben and Lisa. You know who the bad guy, Casino Owner Tony, is, and you want him to get his comeuppance in the end. You want Sister Mary to get on board and sell her raffle tickets for the orphans – and stay away from the slot machines (“Torn Between Two Lovers”). You want Maury and Shirley Winters (see what they did there!) to have a wonderful anniversary and survive the ultimate destruction. Each of the main characters and the ensemble dancers have specific moments when they provide an answer or become heroic or show kindness to one another. So, you care what happens to them. A disaster musical with heart. Who woulda thunk it?
But all of this would have been impossible without the group of people gathered by director Tanner Kelly to bring this story to life. Tanner’s ability to move people in a constructive, illustrative manner is unmatched. He gets the best performances from his cast members because of his gift for casting and his artistic partnership with Heather Westenkow, his choreographer. If you lived through the 70’s, the era of the music used in the show, you will recognize the dance moves. It’s how “we” (us old fogies) used to dance – only they did it better. Heather has the gift of taking relatively simple steps and making them look slick, polished, and professional. This cast was up for it with their Bandstand and Soul Train moves.
On top of everything else, this is a cast with voices. Everyone gets a song or three and knocks them consistently to the ceiling. Seeing Jennifer Burnett and Brian Trampler singing and dancing to “You’re Still the One” is to be desired. Watching Thurzday rock out in multiple scenes stops the show each time. The beautiful voices of the male leads, Andy Ray and Gavin Juckette, in multiple musical renditions was lovely (“Feelings” was my favorite!); the magnificent singing of the female leads (Brekken Baker and Cooper Rae) was breathtaking; Cooper Kaminsky as Tony, the bad guy, wasn’t SO bad that you couldn’t laugh at his villainy; Isabelle Duran as a wise and worldly nun cracked me up. Everyone in the total ensemble got a chance to shine – and shine they did!
I have to give special kudos to an actress who did double-duty in this little romp. Sarah Holmes is a wonder to behold playing both twins in a family, Ben and Lisa. Changing hats and voices allowed her to convincingly become two people right in front of you. Watch for the scene behind the casino table and be amazed.
Not only the cast, but the crew too, went above and beyond to provide a workable set for this demanding show, great sound effects that created more than one disaster, and the lighting kept us in the dark as much as in the light to great effect. OMG, the costumes!! These poor people get totally beaten up as the show goes on, and so do their costumes. What incredible work went into making all the disasters realistic and hysterical.
Have you gotten the picture yet? There are too many good shows being done in Colorado right now to take the time to see a show twice. But I’m going to go to this one again and bring a bunch of people with me. Wanna go???
A WOW factor of 10!!