A Utah Theater Review by Rachel Summerhalder
As I walked into Valley Center Playhouse with my mom, my first reaction was “This place is tiny!” A theater in the round that seats just over 150 people, there really are no bad seats in the house. Opened over 30 years go by Jody and Keith Renstrom, the theater is truly a community theater, and it invites you to come in and take a load off. I felt immediately at home in the little theater, and with the set so close to the audience, it felt like I was sitting in someone’s front room waiting for an old friend to appear.
Shadowbrook Manor is in its 19th year at Valley Center Playhouse, and theater owner Jody Renstrom wrote both the script and the music. As the show begins, a cast of classic Halloween characters arrives at Shadowbrook Manor (including Egor (Daniel Tomlinson – understudy for Jered North), the Wolfman (Seth Valentine), Count Dracula (Seth Valentine) and his estranged wife Darsha (Tawni Branton), with their two children, Jonathan (Trevor Jensen) and Alexia (Kaeleigh Tucker), Aunt Tillie (Lynn Bauman) and Loreena, both witches, and an ancient mummy named Victor) for a weekend stay. None of the guests seem to know why they are here, and the only inhabitant of the manor to make an appearance is the butler Grim, played delightfully Kenneth R. Norris. Grim’s gravelly, one-word answers are helping no one, but get a laugh every time he utters them. Eventually The Shadow (Ryan Shaddick), owner of Shadowbrook Manor, makes an appearance but rather than clearing things up, the situation gets weirder. People start disappearing, items go missing, and the affable characters have to solve the mystery before it’s too late. There are great interactions between the characters as they work together to solve the mystery of Shadowbrook Manor, and find that they solve some of their personal problems as well.
The highlight of the show for me was Egor, who came for the weekend because Dr. Frankenstein was engaged elsewhere. Played by Daniel Tomlinson, Egor was equally lovable and pathetic, as Egor should be. I couldn’t take my eyes off him when he was onstage, and his song “Why Am I So Weird” had me laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. I was shocked to discover after the play was over that Daniel is the understudy for this role, and would only be performing two nights. I’m tempted to go back another night to see the Egor that was cast, because I can’t imagine anyone doing a better job portraying this character as Daniel did.
Directors Tawni Branton, Seth Valentine, Kaeligh Tucker, Lynn Bauman, Ken Norris (a cast themselves, it would seem!) did a reasonably good job. The set was very minimal but fit the show well. All of the scenes took place in the study of Shadowbrook Manor, which was outfitted with a couch, some chairs, a desk, an end table, and the prerequisite coffin that every Halloween show should have. The actors used the set well, and it helped with the ambiance of the show.
Jody Renstrom and Lynn Bauman did costuming, and the costumes were very typical for the characters. Dracula and his family were the normal vampire family (before Twilight that is), while Egor looked great in his tattered piles of shirts over his humped back and his toes peeking out of his split shoes. Aunt Tillie looked great in a long dark skirt and sparkly tops, but I had a challenging time with Loreena’s costumes. She was meant to be a “hippster” young witch, and her clothes definitely fit with that. My only issue was that her skirts were so short that all I could think when she was on stage was “Please don’t bend over.”
With the exception of a scrapes and bloody cuts on a few faces, the makeup was also very minimal. There wasn’t much to notice, and it lent an air of authenticity to the show, particularly because the audience was so close to the action of the show.
I thought that blocking was fairly decent, but that the actors could have used the theater in the round aspect a bit more. It seemed like a lot of the action was aimed at one side of the auditorium, and could have been spread around more. They really missed out on the opportunity that a theater in the round gives you to be more natural in your movements.
I really enjoyed The Shadow when he was in his shadow form. His voice was deep and conveyed a sense of urgency with his plight. He was dark and menacing when he was under his cloak and it made it very believable that he would lure the unsuspecting cast to his home to help him, however unwittingly. However, his character seemed to change when he emerged from the cloak in human form, and I had a difficult time believing that it was the same character.
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There were some issues with the sound effects and music, such as the wrong music being played or the creaking front door sound playing after the guests have already been shown in, as well as some moments where it seemed that the actors had forgotten their lyrics. Since this was only their second performance, I’m sure that they can get those issues cleaned up, and they weren’t big enough to really detract from the fun I was having anyway.
If you’re a season ticket holder to the Scera or the Hale, this may not be the show for you. But if you’re looking for something fun and entertaining that you can take your family to, this is the perfect show for you. I’ll be going back with my kids, and I know that they’ll like it just as much as I did.
Valley Center Playhouse presents
Shadowbrook Manor
An original Halloween musical by Jody Renstrom
Valley Center Playhouse, 780 North 200 East, Lindon Utah
October 4-October 26, 2012 Thursday & Friday at 7:30 PM.
Tickets: $7.00, $5.00, $25.00 (Family Pass)
Call: 801-785-1186
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