Seacoast Rep Offers Gleeful Winter Relief with THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES, 2/26 - 3/20

The Seacoast Repertory Theater is offering some light relief from the presidential campaign hoopla and a gray winter with its production of "The Marvelous Wonderettes," the hit revue portraying high school classmates with a gleeful parade of pop music from the 1950s and '60s.

The show opens Feb 26. It features an all-woman cast, live band, and a set by the design team that helped make "Avenue Q" and "Oliver!" visually dazzling successes at the Seacoast. It is directed by Portsmouth's Taryn Herman, who directed Seacoast Rep's "Guys and Dolls" last year. She also choreographed the award winning "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and helped with the musical staging of the last season's "Into the Woods."

"We're really trying to make the whole place feel like everybody is at prom, and then being in the groovy 60s 10 years later," Herman said. As director, Herman draws on her experience putting on numerous other revues, and on her memories of growing up with parents in a doo-wop band.

"I feel like I really have a niche. You really want to try to find a creative way to make every song its own," she said. Referring to her Illinois childhood, she said, "I know all of these songs very well, so that's exciting to me."

"The Marvelous Wonderettes" depicts four best friends at Springfield High School, all members of the song-leading squad. Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy and Suzy are portrayed as 18-year olds jockeying for title role of prom queen in 1958, then a decade older at a class reunion. As they experience the loves, losses, and social gymnastics of their age, they sing. A lot.

Among the 30 classic hits of the '50s and '60s are: "Stupid Cupid," "Lucky Lips," "Lipstick on Your Collar," and "Heatwave."

In the second act, set at the school reunion in 1968, the song list includes more rock and soulful reflections as the young women take stock of their growing up. The pop hits from that era include "Respect," "Son of a Preacher Man," and "Heatwave."

"There is some audience participation. It's a fun part of the show," Herman said.

Among the stars of "Wonderettes" are Rachel Pantazis, who is stepping into the spotlight again after her first Rep performance in "Oliver!" The other three stars are all new to the Seacoast Rep, coming from New York and Manchester. "It's exciting to see more new faces on the stage," Herman said.

Ben Hart and Brandon James, who created the retro-modern steampunk look for the Seacoast's holiday-season production of "Oliver!" last year, designed the set for "Wonderettes." The team came to the Seacoast Rep last summer to direct and hand-craft scores of puppets for "Avenue Q." They have stayed around to add their distinctive playful touch to productions at the theater.

"The Marevelous Wonderettes" was written in 1999 by Roger Bean, author of several period musical revues including "The Summer of Love" and "Route 66." After its debut in Milwaukee, "Wonderettes" was a hit in Los Angeles and New York. The Los Angeles Times said the show had "an aerated glee that is virtually irresistible."

The Seacoast Rep's audience will get a chance to see "The Marvelous Wonderettes" before another off-Broadway run opens in New York this April. When it played at the Westside Theater in 2008, the New York Times called the show "an utter charm bomb."

"The Marvelous Wonderettes" runs February 26 through March 20. Show times are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are available through the Seacoast Rep box office at 603-433-4472 , or online at www.seacoastrep.org. For student discounts, call the box office The 2016 Seacoast Repertory Theatre's Season is sponsored in part by Bondgarden Farms, New Hampshire Public Television, Portsmouth Public Media, MacEdge and Mesh Agency.

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