BWW Reviews: FOR THE RECORD: DEAR JOHN HUGHES - A Must-See, Kick-Ass Mash-Up of Hughes' Greatest Hits
By: Gil Kaan Feb. 17, 2015
BWW Reviews: For the Record: Dear John Hughes - A Must-See, Kick-Ass Mash-Up of Hughes' Greatest Hits
For the Record: Dear John Hughes/created by Anderson Davis, Christopher Lloyd Bratten, & Shane Scheel/directed & adapted by Anderson Davis/DBA/thru April 5, 2015
John Hughes mined gold in his 1980's films on the most popular subject of teen angst. For the Record: Dear John Hughes resonates and reverberates these times to anyone with relatable high school experiences. Anderson Davis cleverly adapts Hughes' tales deftly weaving them into a seamless plotline while mixing in recognizable 1980's jukebox hits. Davis directs his kick-ass cast of triple-threats like a racing car pro on a NASCAR speedway allowing the audience no time to breathe between all the applauding, the laughing, and the singing along. With voices that soar and dancing feet that nimbly synchronize; each of this multi-talented ensemble have their individual solos to shine amidst their harmonious teamwork. (Cast members change with the seven characters triple-casted)
Olivia Harris as the not-cool-enough girl just turning sixteen first shows off her gorgeous voice in David Bowie's "Changes."
Payson Lewis - as the jock with a heart - smartly uses his killer abs, and knock-out high notes to just nail Spandau Ballet's "True."
Zach Villa - perfectly cast as the snarling, rebellious bad boy - has a fierce field day with Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell."
Evan Rachel Wood, already known for her cinematic acting skills, displays her quite-as-effective vocal pipes, especially in Suzanne Vega's "Left of Center."
Alex Wyse as the initially introverted brain/nerd wows with bravado vocal chops in his trio with Harris and Lewis in Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness." Then, as Hughes' leading man Ferris Bueller, Wyse soothes the audience with Wayne Newton's "Danke Schoen." And, in a flash of a light cue, slays everyone with The Beatles' classic "Twist and Shout." Yeahhh!!!
The two "adult" figures in For the Record: Dear John Hughes also get their due. Patrick Mulvey as the teacher/authority figures possesses just the right touch of self-awareness and self-deprecation as a shiny silver-suited Vegas lounge singer. Then secures his moment in the spotlight in OMD's "If You Leave."
Ruby Lewis in her variety of adult (and some teenage) roles gets to exhibit her melodious voice and wide acting range grabbing her centerstage in Blue Room's "Cry Like This." And what an ideal female robot Lewis makes in Oingo Boingo's "Weird Science."
Choreographer Spencer Liff has faithfully recreated dance routines (reminiscent of "Pretty in Pink," "The Breakfast Club," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Sixteen Candles," "Some Kind of Wonderful," and "Weird Science") making amazing full use of all the available spaces of the 6,000 square-foot nightclub (now revamped into DBA)-on the barcounters, up and atop of the bar shelves, in between booths, on small dance platforms mid-room and throughout all the narrow audience walkways. Most hysterical choreography has to be with the cast alternately aerobicizing and sexually thrusting to David Bowie's "Young Americans." Simply brilliant!
Musical director Christopher Lloyd Bratten (on keyboard) soundly leads his smoking band providing the sturdy musical backbone of this fine production; with Nicholas Connell also on keyboard, Nicolas Perez on guitar, Joel Gottschalk on bass, Robert Humphreys on drums, and Hitomi Oba on sax.
The non-singing scenes, well-acted by all, bring the anticipated awes, sobs, or guffaws. What a loving homage to Hughes filmography! Oh, to be young and a John Hughes teenager again!!! Sighhh!
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