BWW Reviews: Tony-Winner Bailey Ryon And More at Gettysburg Community Theatre CINDERELLA BALL

The young Tony-winner (one of four) for last year's smash Broadway musical MATILDA, Bailey Ryon, headlined at Gettysburg Community Theatre's CINDERELLA BALL, a fundraiser and extravaganza for the theatre and its various projects held on March 7 at the Gettysburg Hotel.

Chad-Alan Carr, artistic director of GCT, emceed the evening, which featured a silent auction and several video tributes as well as a cabaret of both child and adult performers. Cabaret is a longstanding part of GCT's entertainment as well as of its fundraising, making it one of the few outlets in the area to feature the art form on a regular basis. Following the theme of the evening - which ties into the show currently on stage at GCT, Rodgers and Hammerstein's CINDERELLA (a junior version of the current Broadway production) - and since Cinderella is one of the great Disney Princesses, all of the music was from various Disney movies and shows.

The children's performances came first, opening with the entire youth cast performing "It's Possible" and "Ten Minutes Ago" from CINDERELLA, which many adults who haven't seen the Broadway production certainly remembered from their own childhoods based on the sheer quantity of singing along. Although all the children who performed during the evening were fine, special mention must be made of Jared Herr and Brandon Gladfelter. Herr, who performed "Under the Sea" from THE LITTLE MERMAID has a surprisingly relaxed stage presence and mature delivery, resembling nothing so much as a very young Matthew Broderick. Gladfelter, who performed with the talented Tori Keefauver and Brenna Yingling in "Everybody Wants to be a Cat" from THE ARISTOCATS and with a delightful Izabella Cosden in the ever-popular "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," has an easy delivery and delightful stage approach with some great comic instincts. One may hope to see more of Jared and Brandon, as well as of Tori, Brenna, and Izabella, who are fine young talents in their own rights.

The Penguin Project will be heard mentioned by GCT and in these pages for some time; it's a project for enabling disabled youth, with youth mentors, to participate on stage as performers. An Illinois project founded by Dr. Andrew Morgan, who was present at the Ball, it has found its first satellite outside of Illinois in Gettysburg, in a partnership between the Theatre and Gettysburg Area School District. A video was shown of the development of the Project in Illinois. The cast members of the upcoming Penguin Project production of PETER PAN enthusiastically performed songs from the show, "You Can Fly" and "Fly to Who You Are" on the ballroom stage for a receptive audience. More on the Project and on GCT's production of PETER PAN will be featured here in further articles.

Bailey Ryon, Tony-winner and Grammy nominee for her work in MATILDA, who is also a Central Pennsylvania resident, performed "When Will My Life Begin" from TANGLED, to applause and approval from the adult guests and from the children present for the youth cabaret. Ryon was a nationally touring artist prior to MATILDA, and her performing style and delivery are accordingly highly mature, which was of great interest to the other youth performers who also had opportunities to meet her.

Adult performers included many GCT favorites, Eric Mota, Kyleigh Grim, Carrie Trax, Emily Falvey, and Bruce Moore among them, accompanied by pianist Mary George. Jane Johnston, newly retired from Bermudian Springs, sang a delightful version of "Colors of the Wind" from POCAHONTAS, a sadly underperformed gem of a song, while frequent GCT collaborator Ken Williamson was kind enough to resurrect the equally underperformed "Out There" from THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. Carrie Trax delivered a splendid "Mother Knows Best" from RAPUNZEL. Bruce Moore, along with performing Disney music, entertained the crowd with anecdotes from his career in working on Disney animated features. Kyleigh Grim, who gave the audience a spirited "Someday My Prince Will Come" from SNOW WHITE, also announced her absence from GCT next year in order to work on her master's degree at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Other announcements during the evening included the general public announcement of what many people present already knew: GCT, which has been performing and working out of Gettysburg's old Elks Lodge building, has had the building purchased by Artistic Director Carr's family, insuring that the theatre will be able to maintain control of the property for the long term and that it will be able to develop currently unused space on the premises. Carr's parents were present for the announcement.

Gettysburg Community Theatre's special youth production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's CINDERELLA will be on stage through March 16 at the theatre. The first weekend featured sold-out audiences. Disney's PETER PAN Jr., performed by The Penguin Project, will be May 9 and 10 at Gettysburg Area High School.

Information on these shows, and on the rest of the season, is available at www.gettysburgcommunitytheatre.org, or by calling the theatre at (717) 334-2692.

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