Displaying items by tag: Brandon Acosta

It’s dark on the Neverland ship, and Molly, Prentis, Ted, and Boy are hiding in a corner – waiting for the coast to clear. As they huddle and watch, the four begin talking about dreams. All have experienced their fair share of hardships, but for the briefest moment, they look to a world of what could be.

Boy has been fairly quiet to this point – only following Molly with the promise of better food. However, at this discussion, he perks up, and whispers his dream aloud:

“The world will be so beautiful that no one will ever have to say sorry again.”

Many of us know the story of Peter Pan. The story of a boy who never wanted to grow up. All he wants is to fly around Neverland with the Lost Boys – fighting Pirates and finding adventure after adventure. The heart of the story is full of magic, and all the wonderful possibilities that come with a youthful energy and imagination.

Being a prequel to the famous tale (and based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson), Peter and the Starcatcher carries much of the same wonder. As Boy whispers his dream to the audience, you might find yourself reminded of that original story. Perhaps if you, like myself, grew up a fan of Peter Pan, you will even find yourself smiling and leaning in upon hearing the sweet innocence of the fantasy. Even in a moment where everything feels dark and uncertain, Boy, dares to dream – exploring a childlike wonder that so many eventually lose, but to which can be so fun to return.

Peter and the Starcatcher follows Boy (or later named Peter – played by Terry Bell), who is held captive on the Neverland ship with two fellow orphans - Prentis (Michaela Shaprio) and Ted (Brandon Acosta). When they meet Stardust Apprentice Molly (Shelbi Voss), their whole world is turned upside down. A quest for better food turns into an unexpected adventure when Pirates come on board – attempting to steal back a trunk full of precious stardust, which Molly and her father are sworn to protect. Drawn to Molly’s heroism, Boy takes it upon himself to protect this stardust at all costs – even if it means going toe to toe with Pirates and a terrifying ocean.

Directed by Nate Cohen, Paramount Theatre’s intimate production is intensely theatrical. Rick Elice’s play carries a storybook charm, with various forms of narration throughout and actors playing multiple roles depending on the needs of the moment. Sometimes actors step out of the action to narrate the next event, while other characters have moments of speaking in third person. Cohen and his team lean into the storybook feel – particularly in the collaboration between Scenic Designer Myra G Reavis and Props Designer Ivy Treccani.  The set is minimalistic, and primarily comprised of various objects one might find in a theater. Ladders, stools, sheets, and chairs are utilized in multiple ways to represent various locations – all moved by the actors themselves. The effect? The audience is witnessing the story unfold and reconfigure in front of them with each scene, creating the feel of being inside the storybook alongside the characters. We are invited to use our imagination alongside the performers to fill in the dots, and with the intimate feel of Paramount’s Copley Theatre space, you might find that this adds to the experience.

As many of us know, Peter Pan is full of magic, and Peter and the Starcatcher is much the same. Lighting Designer Jackie Fox utilizes gold fairy lights to create the illusion of stardust – creating stunning stage pictures throughout the production.

One such moment occurs towards the end of the first act. Boy asks Molly for proof of what stardust can do. If he is going to risk his life to save it, then he may as well know why. Begrudgingly, Molly takes out her stardust, and whispers the following:

“To have faith is to have wings.”

From there, the surrounding lights dim and the specks of gold brighten. Molly is lifted above by actors, and as we see her spread her arms, Boy looks up in pure awe. Voss and Bell play the moment wonderfully – particularly as Voss’ Molly enjoys the feel of proving Bell wrong when he doubts her abilities. Most impressive though, at least personally, is the way in which Cohen stages the magic. As we see Molly lifted above by her ensemble, we too are invited to use our imagination - to have faith.  From there, Cohen once again invites the audience to return to their own childhoods and enjoy the magic of storytelling and believing in the impossible.

Full of stunning performances and remarkable stage magic, Peter and the Starcatcher will leave you on the edge of your seat – eager for what’s next and wishing there was more beyond the final lights down.

Peter and the Starcatcher runs at Paramount Theatre’s Copley Theatre – 8 E Galena Blvd in Aurora  through September 1, 2024. See the Paramount Theatre Website for tickets and information.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Who will the best speller be? Who will be able to withstand the pressures of competition? Who wants it the most? I’m sure these are among the questions you must be asking yourselves once the play begins. Well, without giving the ending of the story away, I’ll just say that it’s the audience that has the most F-U-N, FUN. 

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this bright, funny and talented cast in Music Theater Works’ brand new production of the Tony Award-Winning musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, now being performed in the North Theatre at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. The hit musical, conceived by the mind of Rebecca Feldman is superbly executed thanks to its fine direction and choreography by Christopher Pazdernik, Keeley Vasquez who assists in both said areas, and with music direction by Michal McBride. 

The Putnam County Spelling Bee is exactly what you would imagine happens every year when a collection of the nerdiest, most sensitive and intelligent students from the local county schools come together to face their fears on the big stage to take home the first place trophy for best speller. And, to add a little more fun to this particular spelling bee, it also requires a good amount of improvisational participation from audience members who might just be called down to compete with the students. Even if you’ve seen this play before, there will always be new “cast members“ chosen from the crowd that create unpredictable comedy performed on the spot each night making every experience unique.

The musical, while on one hand provides so many humorous moments, also brings to light the very real pressures of student competition. We see the occasional tears and panic attacks while students compete against each other for a small prize (literally a 12” high trophy and $200 that goes toward future education). We see that winning or not can have big consequences at home and/or in their own psyche. But we also see how competition can bring people together and how it can help us learn about ourselves.

Neala Barron who plays the zealous, rule-following spelling bee supervisor (and one-time winner), Rona Lisa Perretti, pairs up with Zach Kunde who takes on the role of Vice Principal Douglas Panch to conduct the competition. Kunde and Barron have great chemistry together and draw lots of laughs from the audience as they provide the words for the students to spell, along with their definitions, use in a sentence and countries of origin. Michael Davis Arnold plays Mitch Mahoney, the assigned “comfort counselor” who is ready with both a hug and a juice box for the next eliminated student. Arnold and Barron both have tremendous singing voices that stun the audience with their solos in this mostly ensemble piece.  

Will Koski, who plays William Barfee’ has stand-out comic and physical timing comedy as his character finds it necessary to spell out each word with his “magic foot” on the floor. Jamie Dillon Grossman is terrific in her role as the adorable, super intelligent, activist, future Congress-bound Logainne Schwartzandgrubeniere, who is under a tremendous amount of pressure to win because her dads “hate losers”. 

Mai Hartwich is a perfect fit as Marcy Park, the student who is capable of speaking “six languages” but is under a great deal of inner pressure to be perfect in everything she does, which includes winning every spelling bee she enters. Hartwich has a great aha moment during the song “Marcy’s Epiphany,” where Marcy realizes that by deliberately spelling a word wrong and losing the spelling bee on purpose, she’s, in many ways, actually taking back her own power so she relax, have fun and return to pursuing what she really wants to wants to do with her life. 

This is a production where truly the entire cast delivers. Joe Lewis is well cast as cape-wearing Leaf Coneybear while Brandon Acosta tackles his role as Chip Tolentino and shines in his performance of “Chip’s Lament,” a whimsical number about how he was distracted by his “unfortunate erection”. Rachel Guth is a pleasure to watch as she plays the sweet and anxious Olive Ostrosky, an only child whose father does not show up for the spelling bee. With her parents on the go so often, Olive has spent most of her lonely childhood at home alone reading the ancient family dictionary because there was no one around to talk to. During the competition she repeatedly looks to row eight to see if her father has arrived to take the seat she reserves for him. Guth has a strong singing voice and especially displays her vocal talent, along with Barron and Arnold, when they team up for the number “The I Love You Song.”      

Director, Christopher Pazdernik does a great job with the pacing and movement of this bright and breezy production. Pazdernik mentions in the program the life lessons that this play should remind us of - to work hard and be proud of ourselves, but that winning isn’t everything! Also, be kind to others and don’t take life so seriously! The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee points out that as children and adults we put way too much pressure on ourselves to be perfect - to WIN first place and to impress ourselves and others in our family, and by doing so miss out on the joy of the moments completely.

I wasn’t a spelling bee kid, but I was a thespian competitor in high school and, as one spelling bee student after another had to be eliminated, I couldn’t help but relive my own memories of intense anxiety arising before, after, and during our national thespian competitions - which had no cash prize at all. That being the case, I really related to Michael Davis Arnold’s “Prayer of the Comfort Counselor,” which he knocks out of the park vocally.

I highly recommend this Music Theater Works production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee staged in the lovely and intimate North Stage in the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts for audiences of all ages.