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Marvelous and Wonderful
The Marvelous Wonderettes takes audience down memory lane
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The best musical revues tell a complete story through the implementation of just songs and sparse dialogue. These shows, amazingly inventive because of their limited storytelling tools often seem to make the audience feel like they are privy to an inside joke; the performance feels more interactive, less stand-offish. The Marvelous Wonderettes has achieved this and beyond. The show, which follows the prom night, and then ten-year reunion of four friends in mid-American high school, uses classic songs from the 1950s and 60s to tell its story. The result is a story both fresh and familiar—with more fun than most Broadway fare.
The quartet, comprised of four very different girls, offers something for everyone. Kirsten Bracken’s Suzy is a bubble-gum popping ditz with a heart of gold, the sort of dumb blonde whose genuine niceness and wide-eyed view of the world invite everyone to love her. Misty Cotton’s Missy (the actress originated the role in The Winter Wonderettes) is just the right combination of rigid and determined; the sort of girl whose high school accomplishments read like a laundry list but whose purpose is fueled by passion. Christina Deciccio’s Cindy Lou is the quintessential popular girl—the one that every boy wants to date and every girl wants to be. She’s also her own biggest cheerleader, which makes her a terrific foil. Cindy Lou’s polar opposite is found in Lindsay Mendez’s Betty Jean whose boisterous presence and unladylike behavior are prime comic fodder.
The girls are friends, but like all friends come into conflict—especially when the prom queen crown and boys are at stake. The action, which takes place both on prom night and ten years later, when the girls have grown apart and lived their lives in very different directions is aptly led by songs that the audience will feel at home listening to. Classics such as “Lollipop,” “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” “It’s My Party,” and “It’s in His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)” are featured and once the show gets into the second act, the audience (which has been asked throughout to participate) understands the format enough to anticipate the song choices; thus, feeling like it is in on the joke.
The songs are also well-handled by the ladies, whose vocal prowess is evident throughout. Bracken and Deciccio are classically trained and it shows, their crisp voices floating above the audience. Cotton’s stiff characterization is perfectly played even through her singing, and when she finally lets loose (both as a character and singer) the audience delights. Mendez’s voice is the stuff that divas are made of, belting and crooning at the level of any pop great. To laugh, cry, and delight in the wonder of The Marvelous Wonderettes visit marvelouswonderettes.com for more information.