By Hannah Cass
The Big Five-Oh at Brigham’s Playhouse is just what everyone needs to see; a hilarious, heartwarming and uplifting performance. Given the current state of the world, it sometimes seems overwhelmingly depressing every time you unlock your smartphone. After a bit of scrolling the headache comes on, and in order to maintain sanity, you wisely decide to turn off your device and try to relax. You think to yourself after minutes of contemplation, “I need to get away from it all for a bit. I want to forget all this.” There must be some good, wholesome, uplifting activity or event that could revive your current state somewhere, right? Something you can take anyone to and all can leave feeling happy and hopeful, but not another movie or yoga class. Preferably something comical to help pull you out of the muck. Friend, I know of just the thing.
The Big Five-Oh tells the story of a man named George Thomas (Kelly Olsen), who has his 50th birthday approaching and seems to bear the personality traits of the “feeling old” stereotype; crankiness, moodiness, and irritability. His wife, Marie Thomas (Barb Christensen), is quite the opposite, being optimistic in nature even though she believes her time will come before her husband’s. She also enjoys baking, though her family and friends do all they can to avoid her creations. Both of their older children cause quite a stir for them in a short span of five days. Their son, Eric Thomas (Porter Christensen/Caleb Christensen), earns a living from his rock band and finds himself always desperately calling every girl he knows in order to get a date and is rejected at every turn. Their daughter, Julie Thomas (Maren Smith), seems fairly normal until her agenda is finally revealed: attempting to get her parents to fall in love with her new fiancé Douglas (Jimmy Gibbs). Even the neighbor Kathy Walters (Jo Davis) causes a stir for the family. George thinks he might have a relationship issue of his own with his student Sara Donovan (Ambrie White). In the days leading up to his birthday, we get some of the funniest and downright entertaining scenes of any show that’s played around here in a long while.
Before the performance even began, arriving at Brigham’s Playhouse and taking my first steps into the building was exciting in its own right; not only because it was my first visit there, but because everyone is so friendly and the feel of the establishment is so cozy. I was offered a free sample of their snacks right after I walked in, and although I didn’t realize until a while later, the people managing the concession carts and ushering people to their seats were the cast members themselves. I had never seen that before and it was such an interesting experience to interact with them before seeing them in character. Smith took notice of my Celtic Woman bag and commented that she liked it, which lead to us both inevitably geeking out over our favorite Irish musical group. After I was seated, (by Olsen, but me being as dense as I am didn’t even realize that he was, in fact, THE LEAD IN THE SHOW) they did a drawing for free concession items and lo and behold, I won something–a cookie! It was delicious, and I went up on stage during intermission and proclaimed its decadence to the crowd. It was so good that I bought a root beer float to wash it down with. Being able to eat it in my seat was so nice and also an experience I hadn’t had before in a performance space. Enough of that though, I’m ready to talk about this cast.
Kelly Olsen’s performance as George Thomas reminded me a lot of my own dad. The men in the audience nodded their heads many a time to his remarks about getting older and the ‘joys’ of being a parent. His sheer “dad-ness” is oh-so-perfect for this kind of role and I loved watching him interact with the other members of the cast. Barb Christensen is such a wonderful Marie. The feel of her interpretation of the character reminded me a lot of Kitty Forman from That 70’s Show, and it is such a treat to watch. I related to her role especially since I, myself, like to bake and am met with reluctance when I offer my food to others.
Eric Thomas is played by both Porter Christensen and Caleb Christensen, and I had the delight of seeing Caleb in the role he was born to play. That boy is every bit his character in real life. He’s a personal friend of mine, so perhaps I’m a little biased, but I want to watch him again and again. Maren Smith does such an excellent job as Julie, and the chemistry between her and Douglas and Eric is hilarious. Any girl that has been in her shoes dealing with boyfriends and siblings will find themselves laughing their heads off. I love Jo Davis as Kathy Walters! She has the perfect demeanor of a crazy neighbor lady, but also the charm of a good friend or grandmother. Both combined is hysterical, especially near the end. You won’t want to miss it.
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Jimmy Gibbs is Douglas, and he is PERFECT. My gut still hurts from laughing so hard during his scenes, and I pray just like he does. He may just be my favorite. Ambrie White plays Sara Donovan, she’s so sweet and excellent for the character. Her meekness and shyness reminded me of myself at Sara’s age. The Big Five-Oh is produced and directed by Jaime Young with Jasmine Anderson as the Stage Manager and Sound and Light board Operator, Dale Hoopes as the Light/Sound designer, Tina Forsyth as the Costume Designer, Set Design by Tonya Christensen, Properties by Susan Ort and Josie Robinson as the photographer. Everyone’s efforts are shining so vividly in this production.
I’m definitely seeing The Big Five-Oh at Brigham’s Playhouse again. And maybe again. I loved it so much, and so did everyone else in the audience. Older, middle-aged, and younger individuals filled the seats and all were laughing and smiling, chatting up one another during intermission and after the show had ended. I’m so happy to have had that experience and look forward to another very soon.
Brigham’s Playhouse presents The Big Five-Oh by Brian Mitchell
25 N. 300 W. Building C1, Washington, UT 84780
January 11- February 17, Thursday-Saturday 7 PM, Saturday 2 PM
Tickets: Adults: $23; Seniors: $21; Children 5-17 and Students w/ Valid I.D: $17
Brigham’s Playhouse Facebook Page
The Big Five-Oh Facebook Event
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