Review: 13 THE MUSICAL at The Studio Theatre Raises the Bar for All-Teenage Casts

Can you imagine being 13 again? Directed by Caelon Colbert, The Studio Theatre, 320 W 7th St, in Little Rock, helped jolt some memories long forgotten with their newest production 13: THE MUSICAL, which was sold out for most of their shows. Showing from October 27 to November 6, the audience has raved about this musical. "This is one of the best shows of the season!" Central Arkansas staple performer Ben Barham said. "I LOVED what Caelon Colbert did with it and the kids are fantastic!" Barham is correct, of course. This teenage cast oozes with talent and has some real superstars on the stage.

Set in the 1990s, 13: THE MUSICAL, music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn, is a coming-of-age story of Evan (Collin Carlton), a Jewish boy who is uprooted from New York and moved to a small town in Indiana. He decides he wants to make friends with the popular kids, because he wants the best Bar Mitzvah party. Evan immediately befriends Patrice (Isabella Nguyen), but once school starts, he quickly finds out that everyone hates Patrice, except Archie (David Garrett), who has a crippling disease, and becomes a jerk to impress them. Popular boy Brett (Miles X. Tillemans) wants to date Kendra (Sascha Bass), and so does Archie. Brett has Evan set up the date and pay for everyone to go to the horror movie. Things don't go well and mean girl Lucy (Ruby Reeves) moves in on Brett. Brett's friends Eddie (Brooklyn Swindle) and Malcolm (Jack Rossi) doesn't like Brett with Lucy and team with Evan to get their friend back. More hijinks are had, Evan finally realizes he doesn't need all those kids at his Bar Mitzvah anyway, and they all grow a little more into adults.

Like I said, the talent in this cast is phenomenal. They embraced their roles, they did some amazing dancing, and their singing was rival to any adult ensemble. Carlton commanded the theatre. He had charm and was comfortable on stage. In fact, a lot of the cast's confidence was evident. Nguyen's singing was top-notch and elicited extra applauses from the audience. Garrett as Archie was so convincing that we all felt sympathy for him. Tillemans' Brett and his friends had a great collective chemistry about them, as did the girls Nguyen, Reeves, and Bass, along with Lauren Lasseigne as Molly, Annabelle Redenius as Charlotte and Dra'a Dokes as Cassie. And not that I am fond of girls who are mean, but Reeves' Lucy was the epitome of reigning Queen B**** of the school. She rocked that role!

The choreography was on point. Led by Co-Choreographers Samantha White and Annslee Clay, the cast moved and grooved like any other 90s kids. I appreciated the worm and Kid-n-Play moves that were added to the mix.

Everything about this show was so much fun. I enjoyed the blast from the past setting, especially since I was a teenager in the 90s.

"Our version of 13 is like none other, because I decided to set it in 1996 instead of modern times like it's normally produced," Director Colbert said. "The 90s sitcoms in my opinion are the pinnacle of television. It's when television shows took away the lens of the "perfect family" and started sharing real, meaningful conversations, topics, and social issues with its viewers."

So, even though I'm a little offended that Colbert doesn't consider the 90s as modern times, I still think he did an awesome job leading this stellar cast of teenagers. I am also thrilled they had a live band. Led by Music Director Christian Waldron, the musicians supported the cast perfectly.

Currently, The Studio Theatre is in the middle of some serious fundraising efforts. Though I loved the production, it is evident that they do need some audio upgrades.

"If you haven't heard, thanks to the amazing generosity of our audiences, we reached our first $10,000 goal and filled our Kinky Boots!" Producer Kelly Lasseigne said. "We are now "Feeding the Brain" with the help of the cast of 13: The Musical!"

The Studio would like to thank Ashley Cope, Art Teacher at Pulaski Academy, for painting their new fundraising wall. All proceeds go to audio upgrade and signage for front of building.

To help Feed the Brain - follow the link below!
https://checkout.square.site/buy/76KOMFHVBMZLOJM5P6JSVWOY?utm_source=sqmktg_email

Thank you to Matthew Sewell of Matthew Sewell Photography for the use of these wonderful pictures. Visit their website at https://www.msewellphotography.com, for all of your photography needs.

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