Prior to the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's opening-night performance of Smokey Joe's Café, and immediately following the Bootleggers' "birth of rock 'n' roll"-themed pre-show, my partner's daughter, Hannah, tried to argue that the doo-wop style of music heard in the wait staff's entertainment was not rock n' roll because ... well, because she's 13 and knows everything, the history of the genre be damned. Yet despite also proclaiming that she hated this sort of "it's not really rock 'n' roll" music that I warned her would populate the entire evening's entertainment, Hannah was all smiles at intermission, excitedly talking about how much she loved the songs, and even citing a few favorites by name. I hope Hannah's changes of opinion and attitude are testaments to the quality of Circa '21's endeavor. It's truly fantastic.
The Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's Hairspray lacks polish from what seems to be, in the chorus roles, a fairly green cast. Yet even though that softens the strength of the production, it doesn't seem to diminish any of the fun. I had an incredibly good time watching Saturday night's performance, and while the entire show isn't quite worth the standing ovation it received, the final song, "You Can't Stop the Beat," does deserve that special accolade intended for exceptional performances.
Good God, is the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's All Shook Up fun. The high energy on stage kicks into overdrive with the first song, "Jailhouse Rock," and barely lets up as the cast sings, dances, and emotes its way through many of Elvis Presley's hits. I was thrilled with the opening-night performance, and my lingering excitement has me still smiling as I write this the day after seeing the jukebox musical.
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