You Can't Stop the Beat at WDL's Hairspray

By Jeff Gudzune
Jeff writes book reviews for a variety of publishers and is active in community theater. Since 2013, Jeff has owned and operated Matrix Notary Service.

A hallmark of good theater is the ability to entertain and inform. This is certainly the case with Hairspray, which opened to a sold-out audience at Wilmington Drama League (WDL) on Friday, May 30. This upbeat, toe-tapping explosion of hair gel and taffeta is the perfect cap for a wonderful season. Hairspray was an informed choice, as its themes parallel the world today.

The social issues confronted by the ensemble are the very same social issues facing young people today. Race relations, generational divides, body image, and socio-economic disparities are ever-present reminders of harsh reality. It is altogether fitting that WDL elected to cap its season with a show that encapsulates these concerns.

Hairspray at Wilmington Drama League. Photo by KRL Photography/Rich Lee.

Before the first note of the Introit, the audience is treated with a set that manages to be busy but in no way obnoxious. Grainy black and white monitors take us to a time when local television programs knitted the community together. In an opening number that stuns in its execution, the ensemble sets the scene. It is 1962. JFK is President. Rock and Roll is the zeitgeist of America’s youth. Hair is teased up and held together with aerosol spray and God’s work. Tracy Turnblad, rotund but stunning, wakes to another beautiful day in Baltimore. As she goes through her morning routine, the pressing social specters of communism and racial injustice are unimportant. She is America’s innocence personified.

With joy in her heart, Tracy sees the world as it should be. Jane Haracz shines as Tracy, bringing an energy to the role that had me entranced from the first scene. Tracy manages to captivate the heart of local all-American boy Link Larkin, who is first seen as self-absorbed but later revealed to be a young man at war with himself. Cole Miller’s vocal acuity is amazing and his visible transition from the veneer of stereotypical self-obsessed youth to a real kid with his own personal struggles provides wonderful context. Ashley Grantham is amazing as Edna Turnblad.

Supporting Tracy in her journey to stardom is Penny Lou Pingleton, played with such zest by Haley Hughes that it was difficult to hear her lines due to the audience laughing so vigorously. Shana Roberts performance as “Motormouth” Mabel ran through such a range of emotions that there was an audible pause after her rendition of “Big, Blonde and Beautiful” immediately followed by a standing ovation from the audience.

Hairspray is a timeless classic, wildly entertaining and spiritually uplifting. It makes a social commentary that is needed in the world of today. Through acrobatic choreography and musical performances that resonated so profoundly that the house itself vibrated, the show strikes all the right emotional chords. This performance is not to be missed.

Hairspray runs at Wilmington Drama League May 31 (SOLD OUT) and June 1 (2:00pm); June 6 & 7 (8:00pm) and June 8 (2:00pm); June 13 & 14 (8:00pm) and June 15 (2:00pm). Tickets are available at wilmingtondramaleague.org. 

We're Head Over Heels for Bootless' Final Season Kickoff

By Mike Logothetis
Theater reviewer Mike Logothetis grew up in North Wilmington, performing in school and local theater productions. He lives in Newark, but you can find him wherever the arts are good.

Bootless Stageworks kicks off its twenty-second and final [sniffle...] season with a lively production of Head Over Heels, a jukebox musical that fuses the plot of The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia – a 16th Century work by Sir Philip Sidney – and the music of The Go-Go’s.

The multi-faceted love story features the all-female group’s hit songs “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” and “Vacation” plus Belinda Carlisle’s solo efforts “Heaven is a Place on Earth” and “Mad About You.” Many people in the seats sang along to the tunes they loved as radio staples in the 1980s.

A mash-up of posh and punk, Head Over Heels is an unpredictable romp about what happens when the court of Arcadia is threatened by the mystical Oracle with the loss of its “Beat,” the divine power that ensures the kingdom’s prosperity. In order to save their beloved realm, the royal family embarks on an extravagant journey wrought with mistaken identities, jealous lovers, sexual awakening, scandal, and self-discovery. Not everything and everyone are what they seem.

Diving into the intricacies of the plot would be foolhardy and though some subtle wordplay got lost in the theater space, the audience joyously followed the broad antics of the company.

Will Rotsch was a standout player as the kindhearted shepherd Musidorus. A highlight of the show was a disguised Musidorus tempting both King Basilius (John Jerbasi) and Queen Gynecia (Tara Herweg) simultaneously during the lovely duet “This Old Feeling.” Rotsch’s physical humor – wielding his crook, acting as an Amazon warrior, etc. – and his warm yet powerful vocals made his character one to root for.

Princesses Pamela (Samantha McNerney) and Philoclea (Maria Leonetti) were strong individually and as sisters encouraging each other in their quests for true love. Kudos to Director Andrew Dean Laino for his use of a faux mirror during “Beautiful” when Pamela sings of her beauty while Philoclea is supporting her in their chambers. Leonetti and McNerney have big voices, but use them differently – McNerney tended to be more rock-heavy (“How Much More”) while Leonetti vocalized more gently throughout. Both styles were appropriate for the characters they portrayed.

The Oracle Pythio (Nathan Hale) was a commanding presence with a booming voice while donning Costume Designer Rosanne DellAversano’s extravagant outfits. “Vision of Nowness” was a fun ensemble number led by Pythio as was “Heaven is a Place on Earth” – where a projected screen insinuated some amorous activities afoot.

The cast was rounded out by Aubrey Murphy (Mopsa), Sedric Willis (Dametus), Rosanne DellAversano (Ensemble), Genevieve Francis (Ensemble), Abbey Ketterling (Ensemble), and Jen Rotsch (Ensemble).

Musical standouts included “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “Head Over Heels” but the highpoint was “Mad About You.” Shepherd Musidorus proclaims his unconditional love for Philoclea in a field…with sheep…singing the backup chorus, “Maaaaaad about you,” like baa-ing sheep would sing. The audience ate it up.

Music Director James W. Fuerst led a talented band who both played behind the actors and let those great Go-Go’s riffs break through. There was a lot of foot-tapping going on.

Head Over Heels preaches unconditional love and acceptance of yourself and everyone you know, no matter their gender or sexual identity. And there’s a happy ending. And it has a rockin’ soundtrack.

The performance schedule of Head Over Heels, The Musical is:

• Saturday, September 28 @ 8:00pm
• Sunday, September 29 @ 3:00pm
• Friday, October 3 @ 7:30pm
• Saturday, October 4 @ 8:00pm
• Sunday, October 5 @ 8:00pm

Tickets start at $31 and tickets can be purchased via website (https://www.bootless.org/hoh/) or by calling Bootless Stageworks at 302.887.9300. Tickets are also available at the door, subject to availability. The run time is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes which includes one 15-minute intermission. Bootless Stageworks offers a full selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks plus some snacks at its concessions stand. The theater space is in the basement of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church at 1301 N. Broom Street in Wilmington.

I encourage you to “celebrate the [final] season” of theater at Bootless Stageworks filled with the “Beat.”

CTC Rocks this "Wicked Little Town" with Revival of Hedwig & the Angry Inch

By Hannah Leposa, guest blogger
Theater fan Hannah Leposa is excited to be living in Wilmington where there is a lively theatre community and high quality performances.

Hedwig and her Angry Inch band. Photo by Joe del Tufo/Moonloop Photography.

City Theater Company's Hedwig and the Angry Inch follows Hedwig and her stage show as she tells the story of her botched sex change operation, leaving the titular Angry Inch behind. We also follow her journey from an angry woman to self acceptance and loving herself for who she is. The show is a cult classic, written by John Cameron Mitchell with music and lyrics by Stephen Trask.

Hedwig, portrayed by Diva Baby, was emotional and a little over-the-top, which is expected from the character as a drag queen headliner. Her portrayal of Hedwig's breakdown was raw and captivating and a 180 turn from the levity she brought to the opening. I did not expect to be laughing as hard as I did during this show, but Diva Baby’s delivery of the cheeky jokes in the first half of the show were impeccable. Her performance of Wig in a Box was a standout of the night as it allowed the line between actress and character to blur. The song, which started out vulnerable, ended with a silly audience sing-a-long directed by Hedwig, who had more notes for the audience than they sang.

Hedwig is joined on stage by her rock band, The Angry Inch. The musicians were part of the show, as they are in costume and on stage interacting with Hedwig and her husband/backup singer Yitzhak for the entire show. The performance was truly like a rock concert at times. CTC did provide earplugs for those whose ears are more sensitive to loud music.

Hedwig's husband Yitzhak, played by Mackenzie Brockmeyer, is the final cast member of the production. Her portrayal of the quiet Yitzhak surprised me, as I caught myself watching her on more than one occasion. She beautifully portrayed the emotions of Yitzhak and I could imagine exactly what her character was thinking without her having to say a word. Her voice shined in The Long Grift and her reveal at the end was beautifully executed.

City Theater Company is celebrating its 30th season and is reviving Hedwig for the second time, having previously staged the show in 2004 and 2005. Despite CTC having produced this show before, the interpretation of the show felt fresh. 

The wigs were beautiful — if not temperamental — but being a true performer, Diva Baby worked that into the show so beautifully that I barely realized it wasn't scripted. The costumes and makeup mirrored Hedwig's dissolution of her image of her life, starting grand, and fun and dissolving into nothing more than a holey shirt and shorts.

Set in the early 2000s, the intimate cabaret-style seating at The Delaware Contemporary made the perfect venue for this performance, making it feel more like an authentic stage show. When I first saw the set, I was apprehensive, as I usually feel screens as set pieces are not used well and they detract from what is happening on stage. That was not the case for Hedwig. The images and videos shown added so much, the show would have been great without them, but they added just enough to elevate the actors' performances. The drawings by Echo Chappelle made the already great performance of The Origin Of Love superb, and the videos used during Hedwig’s breakdown heightened the emotion and intensified Diva’s portrayal of Hedwig’s emotional state.

The remaining performances of Hedwig and The Angry Inch are December 10 at 2pm and December 13-16 at 8pm. All shows are at The Delaware Contemporary.The show runs around 90 minutes with no intermission. 

Tickets are $45 and can be purchased at tickets available now at city-theater.org.