By Jason and Alisha Hagey; Front Row Reviewers
SLAC’s Summer Show: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (ABDITN) is pure joy (but not for children – this production is for mature audiences only; this is NOT a children’s show).
Some of my earliest childhood memories revolve around PBS-produced and syndicated programming. I was one of those kids who lived in an inner city from a low-income home (my father was a teacher) and so I was one of the statistics by which PBS used to garner fiscal support. Mister Rogers was my best friend (or so my 4-year-old brain thought as much). When Salt Lake Acting Company put out a promotional image for their summer show featuring 3 muppets, I was already hooked. The show is set around an annual telethon (a familiar enough setting for those of us who love our public television and other stations like NPR). Smart and funny, ABDITN gives new life to Salt Lake City’s very own Sagebrush Street (a Sesame Street parody).
Satire is all about making statements. Olivia Custodio (Playwright) uses the structure of a public television station’s annual fundraising campaign to make several statements about Utah. She hilariously attacks Utah politics, religion, and cultural trends with children’s television parodies of Sesame Street, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Antique Roadshow, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and Reading Rainbow (among others). In times past, SLAC’s summer shows (previously called Saturday’s Voyeur or SLACaberet) have been irreverent and politically incorrect, taking aim at Utah’s peculiarities. This year, Custodio is just as quick, intelligent, and fresh as the summer show always is, but she doesn’t suffer fools. Not only does she point up to the silly and absurd in Utah, Custodio exposes the hypocrisy and madness with comedic brilliance, making people laugh as they swallow the bitterest of pills. And she backs up her satire with facts and figures (helped out by the stellar work of Latoya Cameron [Dramaturg]). There is a sidesplitting social conscience at work here. Already Utah’s Tina Fey, with this one show Custodio becomes the Jon Stewart or John Oliver of Utah (with a little Lewis Black thrown in for good measure).
With the same grace and joie de vivre, she brings to everything, Cynthia Fleming’s (Director/Choreographer) approach to Custodio’s hilarious text is vibrant and intoxicating (even without the ubiquitous alcohol that accompanies every SLAC summer show). Fleming knows how to draw the comedic timing out of her actors, to help them punctuate every silly moment, and to maximize the audience’s giggles and guffaws. While the hilarity is fast and furious, Fleming is able to strike the best balance of humor with seriousness, keeping the show entertaining regardless of how heavy the underlying critique may be. Fleming is a skilled practitioner of irony, ridicule, and humor.
Bringing this exaggerated world of public television annual fundraising to life takes a talented and versatile ensemble cast: Madison Archibald, Trevor Bird, Sean J. Carter, Trevor B. Dean, Wendy Joseph, David Knoell, James Wong, and Akina Yamazaki. Each actor performs a multiplicity of roles, the following are some standout performances:
- Archibald’s Mr. McTouchy is hilariously understated and perfectly captures the current real estate climate with impressive clarity. Her Post Malone is impeccable, and the seriousness in performing this role makes it all the funnier.
- Bird is a fantastic Brigh Bird (a Big Bird parody), but his turn as Rita Book is one of the highlights of the show. The Reading Rainbows “episode” is not one to be missed, and this is in large part because of Bird’s miraculous drag queen performance.
- Carter shines in all of his roles, but Gordy and Lamar Burgess are his biggest and best. His ever-positive LaVar Burton parody is spot-on, “but you don’t have to take my word for it…”
- Trevor B. Dean: Puppeteer Extraordinaire. Dean’s Mike Lee the Trash Person and Cookie Creature are not only stand-out performances because of their being puppets, but also because Dean is exceptional in both roles. He has marvelous line delivery even through a puppet’s mouth; his medium only enhances his already impeccable talent.
- Is there nothing Joseph can’t do? She embodied the carefree feelings of being a kid in SLAC’s “Elephant & Piggie,” and was both understanding and terrifying in SLAC’s “Hairy and Sherri.” In this production, Wendy Joseph shows off her talent for comedy and wit. Joseph is a rising star in Utah theatre with an absolutely gorgeous voice.
- Knoell continues to amaze with his superb satirization of Mister Rogers as Mr. Robert and his uproarious Bob Nood the Science Dude. His mannerisms are spot on for both beloved children’s television hosts, but his lampooning of Utah culture through them is remarkable.
- Wong astounds with his Tesla Hale (and all the ex-husband references) and is absolutely mesmerizing as Snatchma Wig in the already referenced, phenomenal Reading Rainbows scene.
- Perhaps the most versatile actor, with so many subtle characters to portray, Yamazaki is able to transform into multiple citizens of the Sesame Street knock-off with virtuosity.
A SLAC summer show wouldn’t be a SLAC production without its incredible creative team. Michael G. Leavitt (Music Director) is fantastic. Live music is such a rarity, it seems. Not at SLAC, though. Spencer Kellogg (Saxophones) and Zach Hansen (Keys) bring Leavitt’s vision to life. I love the moment that Kellogg even becomes a part of one of the scenes, killing it on the stoop of Sagebrush Street. Joe Killian (Sound Designer) harkens back to the old foley days of slide whistles and funny sounds. Killian’s work is harmonious with Leavitt’s leadership.
Projection Designer Michael Francis creates familiar images with their own Utah twist. It’s relatable but ever-so over-the-top in the best ways. Matching Francis’ projections is Props Designer Erika Ahlin. Whether it is covered in glitter or brightly painted, Ahlin creates pieces that are functional and funny.
Following the trend of preposterous delight is Erick Reichert (Scenic Designer). ABDITN requires constant movement and changes in location. Reichert makes it easy and fluid. He finds such creative ways to build connections. You see this in small moments with pieces like actors blocks (usually wood boxes covered in muslin and painted black) and the rolling in and out house/fence/trashcan for Sagebrush Street. Nothing calls attention to itself but the carefully crafted details are not overlooked. This is a staple of the quality of SLACs work in general.
Jesse Portillo (Lighting Designer) and Heidi Ortega (Costume Designer) create a depth of work that interweave so well and so fluidly. The sheer amount of quick changes required is mindblowing. Rita Book’s dress is much coveted in this household.
We don’t get to talk about this as often as my puppet-loving heart would wish, but Linda L. Brown and Steven Glenn Brown (Puppet Designers) are fantastic. They create their version of muppets and revel in the joy that comes with puppetry. It’s fresh and familiar.
Now is the time in the review when I get to make a blatant plug for one of my favorite places in Salt Lake City: The King’s English Bookshop. When Rita Book and Snatchma Wig come out in glorious drag, I was smitten. For those unaware, The King’s English is the fantastic bookstore on 15th South and 15th East in Salt Lake City. Imagine an independent bookshop in all its quirky glory and you will find The King’s English. Direct from their website, “Join us for a special all-ages Drag Queen Storytime at the bookshop featuring local drag queen and storyteller Tara Lipsyncki. Drag Queen Storytime happens on the last Sunday of every month at 11 am. and captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models.” It is all things fierce and fabulous. ABDITN uses this lovely (and very real) event to help us see more of our idiosyncrasies (all while reminding us that certain school districts have banned genuinely lovely and important pieces of literature).
Back to our regularly scheduled programming: SLAC’s Summer Show: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is new and fresh, painful at times (those statistical facts are mind-boggling), but so full of hope and love. As a little enticer: if you love Radio West with Doug Fabrizio (and who doesn’t), there is a moment of gold for you in the second half of ABDITN. We live in a country that is wonderful for its first amendment rights that allow us to both celebrate and critique our cultures, societies, politics, and experiences without fear of repercussion. ABDITN is a performance built around the idea that we can laugh and look at ourselves with humor and humanity. This is the kind of party we need in Utah.
Don’t forget to subscribe for your season 2023/2024 tickets so you too can have the much-coveted swag SLAC tote bag.
0 Comments