In the lightweight introduction, Jon Gentry plays an elementary school teacher about to enter his first day of teaching with quite a bit of trepidation. To his rescue come the various 'facets' of his personality, who literally drag him inside his own head to rediscover the joys of education. As expected, the things that come from his mind are those great educational songs and animated bits that played for ten years on ABC during Saturday morning cartoons. So popular were these segments, that there are few, I'm sure, that don't remember the preamble to the constitution without singing it to the tune devised by George Newall and Tom Yohe. The performers perform their own recreations of over a dozen of the tunes, and help the hapless Gentry to remember to bring joy and fun to the education process.
Despite coming from the decade of the polyester leisure suit, lava lamps and disco, the tunes hold up surprisingly well, and it seemed that everyone in the audience at least at one point sang along with their favorite piece. Ensemble members Ellen Benton, Kristen Drathman, Dwayne Hartford, Katie McFadzen and D. Scott Withers shine as they sing about women's suffrage, gravity and the number 8. Newcomer Drathman's sweet and lyrical voice is especially impressive, though there were no faults to speak of in any of the performances. Director and choreographer Michael Barnard's frenetic pacing and high energy dancing keep the show running full tilt, yet smoothly enough to never over-dazzle.
Children probably won't mind the silliness that leads into the musical revue. The shortcoming of every revue, it seems, is the framing technique that binds together the songs, though it is a necessary evil that eventually allows the audience to enjoy their memories or discover new experiences. Inevitably, there will be some older audience members who will be disappointed, since a lot of the famous songs were omitted due to time constraints, though the collected group is a pretty fair balancing of the most popular songs about grammar, math, social studies, science and more.
The brightly colored set, designed by Gro Johre, is littered with giant blocks and wheels, giving the impression of a life-sized toy building set. The pieces are all put to good use, and add much to the preceedings. Paul Black's lighting design is once again bright and dazzling, integrated perfectly into the production. Susan Johnson-Hood designed costumes for the ensemble that gave a comic quality to the childhood antics.
School House Rock Live! is an enjoyable romp through childhood memories for those old enough to have enjoyed these educational masterpieces, and a wonderful introduction to the concept of education being fun and entertaining for those just discovering characters like "My Hero, Zero," and the Bill on Capitol Hill.
Production Details:
"School House Rock Live!"
Childsplay
Herberger Theatre
252-8497
FIRST RUN: April 4 through April 27, 1997
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