Displaying items by tag: Elin Joy Seiler

Beloved children’s author Roald Dahl’s timeless story of the quirky and mysterious candy-maker looking for his heir apparent comes to life in an energetic and magical performance in the Theatre for Young Audiences’ musical adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory now on stage at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire.

The 70-minute-long performance is a wonderful mix of old and new. Older members of the audience appreciated the familiar tunes from the 1971 film starring Gene Wilder, such as the iconic “The Candy Man,” “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket,” and “Pure Imagination” while the younger audience was captivated with the “Queen of Pop” (and next “It Girl”), Violet Beauregarde, Mike Teavee’s all-things techno obsession, and the very spoiled and demanding antics of Veruca Salt.

Upon entering the theatre, with the centerstage bathed in cool purple lighting and musical tributes featuring candy playing in the background, the audience is immediately transported to another place and time, where “pure imagination” reigns. The magic continues as the show opens with a flash news report from “Cherry Sunday” (Megan Long) about the famed candy-maker’s search for a suitable replacement to take over his workshop.

A delightful chorus of Oompa-Loompas, bedecked in colorful multi-patterned coats, jaunty bowler hats, and oversized sunglasses, appear in every aisle, allowing the young audience to feel part of the show, as they introduce us to the main man himself. Willy Wonka, wonderfully played by George Keating, brings just the right amount of quirkiness, charm, and empathy to his character.

The story continues as Mr. Wonka announces a worldwide contest, hiding five golden tickets in his chocolate bars. The lucky “finders” will be invited to visit his famed factory and be eligible for the grand prize. We meet young Charlie Bucket, played by the very talented Kai Edgar, who lives for Willy Wonka chocolate bars and dreams about winning a ticket. But his family is so poor that they can only afford to buy Charlie one candy bar on his birthday.

Charlie shares his dreams for helping his family and writes a letter to Mr. Wonka, telling him about the many wonderful candy confections he would invent for each family member, then sends it sailing out into the world, knowing there is little chance that he would ever win.

And, as the four golden tickets are quickly won by an assortment of spoiled, ill-mannered kids from around the world – the sausage-consuming Augustus Gloop (Elias Totleben), the foot-stomping demanding Veruca Salt (Elin Joy Seiler), the gum-chewing social-media queen Violet Beauregarde (Avelyn Lena Choi), and the techno-obsessed Mike Teavee (Gordon Henry Heisler) -- Charlie’s hopes dim. And when he, at last, does receive a Wonka bar, alas, no golden ticket. Charlie is distraught.

Yet, the kindly candy-story shopkeeper, who is unbeknownst to Charlie is Mr. Wonka himself, drops a dollar bill, and with it, Charlie buys the very last Wonka bar in the world. To his amazement, Charlie wins the last golden ticket. The audience broke into delighted applause as Charlie and his grandfather cavort around the stage in celebration.

Under the skillful direction of Amber Mak, who also choreographed the show, the magical world of Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory comes to life through a combination of artful staging, colorful costumes, and confectionary props that looks almost good enough to eat. Throw in some bubbles and the clever use of large lighting panels that surround the stage and enhance the action on stage, and voilà – your imagination takes you right into the very heart of Wonka’s enchanted workshop.

The audience squealed in part dismay, part approval, as one by one the obnoxious cadre of children, brilliantly played by Totleben, Seiler, Choi, and Heisler, were eliminated from the competition because they crossed the line and broke the rules. And yes, thanks to an ingenious costume design, the gum-chomping Violet Beauregarde, does turn into a blueberry to the wonder of the crowd.

Finally, Charlie and his grandfather are the only ones left, and Mr. Wonka invites them into his sacred workshop where all the delicious designs are born. Leaving his book of creations behind, with a warning not to look inside it, Mr. Wonka and the grandfather go off to sign some papers for awarding the grand prize. As Charlie walks toward the forbidden book, the audience yelled at him to stop, but of course, he cannot help himself and opens the book.

When he discovered there were empty pages in the notebook, Charlie begins to sing again of his own dreams and visions for confectionary creations. When Mr. Wonka returns, rather than banishing Charlie from the factory as he did the other children for disobeying his rules, he tells Charlie that he indeed has won the grand prize because of his good heart and his pure imagination. Charlie is now the next “Candy Man” and inherits the factory.

As the young crowd applauded its approval and left the theatre thoroughly satisfied and entertained, the words to “The Candy Man” came back to me, “Who can take tomorrow and dip it in a dream?” The Candy Man can, and for one magical hour, the accomplished cast of the Marriott’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory did as well.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Theatre for Young Audiences is running through March 28 at the Marriott Theatre, located at 10 Marriott Drive in Lincolnshire. Performances take place on most Wednesdays through Sundays at 10 am with select 12:30 pm performances. Visit www.marriotttheatre.com or call 847.634.0200 for the exact schedule, as show times and dates may vary.

This review is proudly shared with our friends at www.TheatreInChicago.com.

You got trouble, my friends, if you’re going to put on Meredith Willson’s The Music Man.

If you’re going to stage a show that’s been staged ten thousand times since its 1957 Broadway debut—from Hugh Jackman on the stage to Matthew Broderick on the screen to every doggone high school from Clear Lake to Mason City.

A show lovingly recreating an era (Willson was born in turn-of-the-century Iowa) and themes (Willson’s virtuosity on the piccolo found him playing in John Phillip Sousa’s band and Toscanini’s New York Philharmonic) that aren’t quite old enough to be ancient but aren’t familiar enough not to seem dated.

To try and recreate those songs.

“Trouble”

“Till There Was You”

“Seventy-Six Trombones”

To try and attempt to touch the hem of the salesman’s trousers worn by Robert Preston’s Professor Harold Hill—Preston not only originated Hill and played him for much of the original production’s 1,375-show run and the beloved 1962 Hollywood adaptation, he is Professor Harold Hill. Nobody—not any one of those ten thousand (or more) high school or professional actors, not even Hugh Jackman—can be the band instrument-peddling flim-flam man like Preston was and is and always will be.

My friends, if you’re going to attempt all of that… well, you’ve got trouble.

Unless you’re Katie Spelman, who is directing and choreographing Marriott Theatre’s current production of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man. Spelman’s production lovingly embraces and focuses on some aspects of Willson’s original, while avoiding the pitfalls such an iconic show presents. But what this production does best is it knows its strengths, and it leans into them, giving Spelman’s show its own unique flair.

We see the sort of Harold Hill we’re going to spend the evening with right away aboard the train from Rock Island. In most productions I’ve seen, me and the rest of the audience know the first scene’s big reveal, and our eyes remain glued to a particular passenger despite the cast’s best efforts at the syncopated opening number, “Rock Island.” But even though we spot KJ Hippensteel at the back of the train car, we don’t focus on him. Instead, we focus on the enthusiastic ensemble that everyone—Marriott’s in-the-round setup means it’s always the best seat in the house—sees up close and personal and from all angles. Ron E. Rains, all dolled up like a turn-of-the-country fellow, leads the charge, while his fellow passengers run through Spelman’s clockwork choreography. Right away, I was glad to see a familiar face, Michael Mahler, who brought the same charm to each role in this play as he has in many past.

After Hippensteel’s Professor Harold Hill disembarks from the train to River City, Iowa, this closeness and intimacy we felt aboard the train transfers right into town. This production doesn’t try to recreate River City on a Hollywood scale. But it really focuses on certain things and gives us a good, close look at them, which we might not have gotten on the Broadway stage or the silver screen.

The citizens of River City are each and every one unique. And, as they move around the round, allowing us to see each and every one of them, we appreciate the details of each of their costumes (by Raquel Adorno), we appreciate that each one is someone. Particularly charming are youngsters Emily Ann Brooks and Sam Linda, Janet Ulrich Brooks’ Widow Paroo, Elin Joy Seiler’s Amaryllis, Alex Goodrich’s Mayor Shinn, Melanie Loren’s hilarious Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, and the spot-on barbershop harmonies of the school board quartet (Matt Edmonds, Quinn Rigg, Michael Potsic, and the afore-mentioned Mahler).

Besides the ensemble’s vocal strengths, the singer who really shines is Alexandra Silber as Marian Paroo, the town librarian. No shrinking violet, no old-maid-against-her-will, and not even Mrs. Partridge (although I do love Shirley Jones’ Marian the Librarian), Silber brings her Grammy-nominated vocals to the fore. This production’s brought Julie Andrews-caliber pipes to the party—Silber’s soprano as she sang of “My White Knight” gave me chills.

But while all of these strengths—the ensemble’s skill, the cast’s charm, the performers’ pipes, the theater’s—are recognized and utilized and add up to a unique and charming take on an old favorite, I’ve not yet addressed KJ Hippensteel as Professor Harold Hill. And that’s because, like the production itself, Hippensteel’s Hill reads the room and knows what the room needs, or he knows how to sell the room what the room thinks it needs.

Hippensteel’s Hill doesn’t try to go toe-to-toe with Preston’s over-the-top traveling salesman—he’d have failed like every other Hill since Preston caught his last train ride. But Hippensteel’s Hill knows his own strengths.

He’s city pretty and, while out of place in a place like River City, he’s a curiosity. He’s slippery, slinking around with an easy physicality that sometimes seems to be at twice the speed of the Iowans moving around him. And Hippensteel’s Hill seems like he might just be a nice enough fellow—while Preston’s Hill, played by an actor who up until then had usually played screen villains, is a bad guy you hope could see the light, Hippensteel’s Hill is a good guy who you hope can right the ship after some bad life choices.

But, because this is The Music Man, a show we music theater folks know and love, Hippensteel’s Hill does give us the flourishes, the hand gestures, the hops, the dips, all the pizazz we came into the theater expecting from the professor. However, Hippensteel does it on his own terms, as his own Harold Hill. Just like the entire charming and unique production of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man does, playing now through June 2 at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire.

'Gypsy' is an excellent musical about a family in Vaudeville. The mother is overbearing trying to make the children, specifically the daughters, create a wildly famous act. It is at Marriott Theater in Lincolnshire, Illinois directed by Amanda Dehnert.

An initial striking character is Rose, played by Lucia Spina. She brings great energy and urgency right from the get-go that captures the audience's attention. Rose intensely rushes and pushes her children, Louise (Lauren Maria Medina) and June (Tori Heinlein), to fulfill bold theater dreams as a family. There are spirited performances at the beginning with Young Louise played by Elin Joy Seiler and Baby June played by Daryn Whitney Harrell.

The production takes an exhilarating turn at the song "Mr. Goldstone," when the family gains the connection to a powerful theater figure Mr. Goldstone played with an idiosyncratic charm by Sawyer Smith. The "Mr. Goldstone" number highlights the epic singing skills of Lucia Spina as Rose. All musical numbers have great choreography.

Another force in Act I is Tulsa, played by J'Kobe Wallace. The budding romance between Tulsa and June (Tori Heinlein) has a more carefree tenderness that is expressed in standout dance choreography. The more relaxed yet gleeful pacing of the number "All I Need Is the Girl" toward the end of Act I contrasts the relentlessness overdrive of the musical numbers starring Rose. This demonstrates the excellent quality of this production of 'Gypsy' that the pacing and sense of speed frequently varies, which makes it highly engaging for viewers.

Set design and lighting shines in Act II, where characters are constantly on tour in different areas. The stage set up demonstrates their changes in location in clear and innovative ways. The joy of many different locations, from Wichita, Kansas to New York City, adds to the charm of the Act II.

The production comes to a captivating emotional climax towards the end of Act II, powered by dialogue expertly directed by Amanda Dehnert. Dialogue between Rose, played by Lucia Spina, Herbie, played by Nathaniel Stampley, and Louise, played by Lauren Maria Medina, is extremely expressive. One of the core narratives of mother-daughter conflict and expectation is made widely resonant to all viewers by the amazing acting.

The themes of ambition, expectation, family, adventure, and joy are expressed in a thought-provoking and relevant way to all viewers.

'Gypsy' is scheduled to run Wednesdays at 1 pm and 7:30 pm, Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 4 pm and 8 pm, and Sundays at 1 pm and 5 pm. To reserve tickets, call the Marriott Theatre Box Office at 847.634.0200 or go to tickets.marriotttheatre.com.