THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES: CAPS AND GOWNS Opens 8/14 at Weston's Second Stage

The Marvelous Wonderettes: Caps and Gowns, Roger Bean's family-friendly jukebox musical, opens August 14th at Weston's second stage and will have audiences laughing, tapping their toes, and singing along (softly, please) with popular songs from the 50s and 60s. If you saw the prequel, which had a very successful run in Weston in 2010, you know you're in for a good time.

The 'Wonderettes' are a group of high school friends who perform together - in Act One, at their 1958 Springfield USA high school graduation, and in Act Two, ten years later at the wedding of one of the group. The characters are familiar to anyone who endured high school. There's Suzy - the happy-go-lucky gal, Missy - the over-achiever, Cindy Lou - the prettiest girl, and Betty Jean - the class clown. Their stories are woven through a trip down memory lane with hit songs from the 50s, such as "Rock around the Clock," "Dedicated to the One I Love," and "What a Wonderful World" and songs from the 60s, such as "Dancin' in the Street," "Hooked on a Feeling," "River Deep, Mountain High," and "Good Lovin'."

As was the 2010 production, the 2014 Wonderettes will be under the direction of long-time Weston Producing Director Tim Fort, who describes the show as "irresistible fun" and notes that the quartet's "harmonies are more extraordinary and present than what you hear in any recordings." Fort is pleased to be working with a cast of Weston alums, two of whom he has directed before as former Young Company members. Ali Gordon was Lucy in 2012's You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Eva Kantor played Penny in the 2007 production of Hairspray. Rounding out the cast are Haley Bond, who played Nina in this year's hit Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and Lauren Marcus, who was in Weston's 2012 world premiere, Pregnancy Pact.

The Marvelous Wonderettes: Caps and Gowns will be performed from August 14 to September 7 at Weston's intimate and air-conditioned Weston Rod and Gun Club, 982 Route 100S in Weston. Show times are Tuesdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2pm, and Sundays at 3pm. The show runs two hours with one intermission. Tickets to the show start at just $15 and can be purchased in person at the playhouse box office, by calling 802-824-5288 or online at westonplayhouse.org.

The Weston Playhouse Theatre Company is an award-winning nonprofit theatre nationally known for its multi-stage summer season, education and new works programs. A $10 million capital campaign is currently underway, with plans to build a year-round cultural center for Southern Vermont - a theatre arts incubator with retreats, workshops and a new studio theatre at Weston's Walker Farm.

Photo by Tim Fort