By Elise C. Hanson-Barnett
Cottonwood Heights Arts Council has an apparent commitment to finding the very best talent Utah has to offer and serving it up in a warm and welcoming community format. Thus is the case with their current production of Big: The Musical, a colorful romp adapted by John Weidman, Richard Maltby Jr., and David Shire from the 1988 fantasy comedy film of the same name. The play tells the story of 12-year-old middle school student Josh Baskin (Nick Morgan) who is quite astonished at the latest pubescent development he is facing: he now finds the opposite sex terrifying. Aided by his friend Billy, (Drew Fellows) Josh becomes determined to finally be able to talk to his crush Cynthia Benson (Mara Elgrenn). Unfortunately, Josh becomes embarrassed by his mother’s public displays of affection and the fact that he is too short to ride the scary rollercoaster with the rest of his schoolmates. Frustrated, he stands before a Zoltar statue and wishes to become “big”. The next morning he awakens in the body of a 30-year-old man and must navigate through adult scenarios such as finding a job and an apartment and developing a romantic attachment to a coworker.
Though there is some similarity between the musical and the 1988 film—a couple of details like the giant piano and the spooky Zoltar machine will send Gen X-ers and Millennials alike into a wave of nostalgia—the musical is decidedly its own animal. The focus expands to not only rest on Josh’s sudden thrust into the adult world, but also shines a light on Josh’s mother Mrs. Baskin (Teri Lund), and Josh’s love interest Susan Lawrence (Jen Spongberg), as fully-formed and fleshed-out characters. I also liked the expansion on the character of Billy, who gets his own musical number, “It’s Time”, which was my favorite in the show. Fellows is a natural comedian with a strong singing voice, and it is very fun to see all the young talent on the stage dancing with the exuberance of actors twice their age. The youngest of the children’s ensemble seems to be about 8 years of age ranging up to teenage years, and Choreographer Chelsea McCall-Lujan extracted every bit of energy and skill out of the dancers in her show. Indeed, the choreography was my very favorite element. In a play that explores the inner child, buoyant vibrancy is called for, and that is exactly what the choreography executes with panache.
Other design elements such as the costuming by Emily Smith and the set design by Brad Lake (who also served as stage manager), are examples of the stellar effort put forth by community productions. I was pleased to see the specificity in production aspects that requires a degree of commitment, talent, and passion that isn’t required of big, professional houses with a giant budget. The heart put into the set design is exemplified in details like sports posters in the teenage boys’ bedrooms and large-scale scrims with backdrops for the varied locations. All the costumes are carefully selected, my favorite example of this a scene in which life-sized dolls are dressed in any and all styles one’s inner child could dream up. I must also give kudos to Lauri Baird as props master and Jannalee Hunsaker as music director for their deftness in carrying out expansive components of the production. With all the toys in the play, props must be a special challenge, and the live orchestra conducted by Rob Bedont brings an elegant ingredient to the show that I had not been expecting.
The cast as a whole have some astonishing talent that ought to be celebrated. Starting out the show with his young voice, Morgan has the task of grabbing the audience’s attention out of the gate, and he does it beautifully. Morgan has some of my favorite moments in the show, from his beginning notes so clear and bright to his heartfelt and dulcet duet with his older self, “I Want to Know”. As the older version of Josh, McLean Taylor brings a frenetic electricity to the role that offers a childlike effervescence. Taylor’s brassy, beautiful voice is a constant delight, and his acrobatic dancing left me wondering how much effort it would take for me (a 32-year-old woman), to leap onto a table with such alacrity.
Other performances of note are Lund as Mrs. Baskin and Spongberg as Susan Lawrence. Lund’s beautifully-lilting voice is perfectly suited to the anxious, grieving mother, her solo “Stop Time” a sure-fire brush of wistfulness for any mother in the audience. I found myself rooting for Spongberg’s Susan, hoping that she would find true love with a sweet and straightforward man who wasn’t a total skeeze. My favorite moment for Spongberg is a song “Little Susan Lawrence”, in which Spongberg’s hopeful refrain is accompanied by two young dancers depicting her childhood. One of the young dancers, Kesslar Colton, showcases a stunning gift, leaping around the stage with the grace and power of a young Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Being under the healthy weight viagra for sale required can cause a problem when you’re trying to conceive. Impotence is said to be a sexual issue where in only men are the levitra free sample real victims to it. viagra 25 mg ronaldgreenwaldmd.com This natural energy booster can be used by both old and young males. The victim of any age group above 18years can take the help of this wonder solution in order to keep the signals firing, the nerve tissue needs nutritional support, as it relies on ronaldgreenwaldmd.com purchase generic cialis nutrients such as L-arginine and acetyl-L-carnitine to keep performing these critical tasks.
There is an enormous ensemble that makes up this show, so I won’t be able to mention all, but the cohesive brightness and commitment to precision delivers an excellent cast on the whole, led with artful rigor by Director Doug Bishop. With so many different ages on the stage, one might expect variants in talent levels, but there are none. Each and every member is determined to put forth their utmost best, and it shows. The work they have put into their moments is apparent but also effortless, allowing one to escape into the dynamic and spirited world of the story.
The theme of Big is yearning, and yearning is a universal idea to be sure. This is a play to be enjoyed by all ages, as all ages will appreciate the message evoked by the hopeful yearnings and desires of each character. I recommend Cottonwood Height Arts Council’s production to patrons young and old.
Cottonwood Heights Arts Council presents Big: The Musical, book by John Weidman, lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr., and music by David Shire.
Butler Middle School, 7530 S 2700 E, Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121
July 27-28, 30 and Aug 2-4, 6 7:30 PM
Tickets: $10 adults, $9 kids 2-12, seniors 65+
Contact: Kim Pedersen kpedersen@ch.utah.gov
Cottonwood Heights Arts Council Facebook page
Big: The Musical Facebook event
Nice review of an awesome show. I totally agree with you!
Thank you for the awesome review 🙂 we worked hard.