Review: [TITLE OF SHOW] at Roxy's Downtown

[title of show] now onstage at Roxy’s in Wichita

 

Co-directors Ann-Marie Rogers and Dan E. Campbell had mounted a previous production of [title of show] eight years ago and before the pandemic approached producer Rick Bumgardner about re-creating the musical on Roxy’s intimate stage.  Their love and appeal for the show inspired Bumgardner to finally slate it for the 2024-2025 season. 

 

Audience members of Roxy’s opening night of [title of show] were treated to a visit with Larry Pressgrove, one of the original production team members and pianist.  A graduate of Wichita State University, Pressgrove shared tales with the Roxy crowd about how the musical came to be and “how crazy that it should happen.”  He mentioned that the musical had been written in his apartment in New York and referenced another production of the show when he was asked to fill in for the onstage pianist at the last minute.

 

Roxy’s seems to be the perfect venue for this show as Rogers and Campbell manage to capture the wit, pace and passion of this theatrical love letter. The staging is extremely un-Broadway-like with a cast of five, original choreography by Rogers and a simple set of four chairs and a piano seamlessly woven together to bring the piece to life.  According to the show itself, the musical was conceived when one of the script’s authors received an announcement about The New York Musical Festival’s search for new musical scripts. 

 

The authoring duo, Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell (their real names and the names of the characters in the script) decided that they could, in three weeks, accomplish the deed. Along with a couple of female friends, the team wrote a script about them writing the script. Much to their surprise, it was accepted by the Festival for production. During the summer of 2004, the team performed it at The Manhattan Theatre Source. Their set? Four chairs, a couple of cellphones, an electronic piano, and a lot of imagination. In September 2004, they performed it again for six more performances.

Five new songs were written, a minor conflict between the team members was added, some more short runs followed, and then the big break: a short 2006 off-Broadway run. Then a bigger break: a 2008 Broadway production that ran 102 performances.  Not bad for a show conceived on a spur-of-a-moment impulse!

 

So, what’s the story? You just read it. The tale of how the script was written, how it got its first performance, and the stresses and joys in developing the piece.

 

The show opens with Jeff (played by Jackson Dorris) and Hunter (played by Matthew Purdom) chatting about entering the upcoming New York Musical Theatre Festival. The deadline is three weeks away, but they decide to go for it and try to make their mark in the theatre world. They recruited their friends Susan (played by Sisilia Shaffer), Heidi (played by Jaslyn Alexander) and pianist Larry (played by Greg Kuykendall) to help them with the project. The boys will write it and everyone will perform and if their show is a hit, they can take it to Broadway.  In a 90-minute span, they write and perform their show and most importantly learn lessons about themselves as people, friends and artists.

“[title of show]” is the great-grandchild of those Mickey and Judy “Hey! Let’s put on a show in the barn!” movies. This one, however, has a far more convincing take on the jealousy, rivalry, and treachery often found backstage. And there’s never been a musical with so many inside jokes.  Frequent theatergoers will pick up the references to “Wicked,” “Into the Woods” and “Rent.” 

Perhaps the best reason to  see [title of show] is to watch a tight ensemble at work. Within seconds of the lights going up, we believe that Dorris as Jeff and Purdom as Hunter have been friends forever – a feeling reiterated when the girls arrive a few scenes later. Purdom has a sweet tenor voice that brings grace to ‘Part of It All’, but belts to provide some explosive moments in the hilarious ‘An Original Musical’. If Purdom has the funniest lines, then Dorris is perhaps the straight man – at least in the vaudeville sense – highlighting the necessary argument needed for any narrative to move forward. These two seasoned actors carry most of the show.

 

Alexander’s’ Heidi is a delightful version of a Broadway baby, optimistic and prone to vocal flights of fancy, such as the hilarious ‘secondary characters’ scene. She shines in the song, “A Way Back to Then.” Shaffer’s Susan, the ‘corporate slave’ is perhaps the more easily recognizable character with her more practical approach to the arts. Shaffer is a new transplant from Kansas City and I hope we see more of her.  Alexander and Shaffer inhabit these secondary characters perfectly and provide something of the outside world, be it auditions or office politics, to the story.

Kuykendall’s pianist/Larry is certainly not to be left out.  Unlike the other characters, Kuykendall never leaves the stage and while his lines make him the smallest role, he is indeed the star of the show with his talent on the eighty-eights.

Roxy audiences have come to love and appreciate Simon Hill’s musical direction work in the past few years.  In this musical, Hill’s work is once again flawless.  Light design by Arthur Reese and sound design by Jason Huffman are top-notch and are well executed.  Louise Brinegar’s prop design was well noted, especially for the period flip-top cell phones.

[title of show] runs through February 1, 2025.

Roxy’s announced their next season lineup to include a revival of the comedy “The Play That Goes Wrong,” “Evita,” “Rocky Horror Show,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and “Parade.”  An original Christmas show and an annual revisit with “The Golden Girls” complete the next season.

The musical “Once” is next up and will play February 19 through March 8.

Roxy’s is located at 412 ½ E. Douglas in downtown Wichita, Kansas.  They can be reached at 316-265-4400.

 

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