My husband and I have been taking our granddaughter Ava to stage presentations since she was three. She is now eight and has her own opinions about what makes good theatre, and one of her complaints about some productions is that they require adult actors to play children. As Ava insists, "It just isn't believable." I agree. It often seems forced.

Kaitlyn Casanova, Deborah Kennedy, Tom Walljasper, Rachelle Walljasper, and Kay Francis in The Church Basement Ladies in The Last Potluck SupperThe fifth time is apparently the charm for writer Greta Grosch and composer/lyricist Drew Jansen, as the final installment in the Church Basement Ladies series is, for me, the most cohesive and amusing from beginning to end. Primarily, this is because there's a clear plot that ties together the story as, through flashbacks, we learn about the founding of the show's rural-Minnesota church, the initial introduction of the titular ladies to their basement kitchen, and the eventual disbanding of the congregation. This musical is the history of the ladies' Lutheran church in its entirety, a thread that pulls together the proceedings in a beautiful way.

Lauren VanSpeybroeck, courtesy of Nick West PhotographyAs with many things in life, it can be blamed on a friendly purple dinosaur.

Canaan Cox, Nina Schreckengost, Jody Allan Lee, Jonathan Scott Roth, AJ Haut, and Rachelle Walljasper in Hank Williams: Lost HighwayAfter seeing Friday's performance of Hank Williams: Lost Highway at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, I am reassessing my typical disdain for jukebox musicals, particularly those that are biographies of particular artists wrapped inside collections of their greatest hits. Playwrights Randal Myler and Mark Harelik, here, managed to create a work that - in addition to being cohesive and easy to follow - nicely weaves Williams' hits into the story and is incredibly interesting to boot. And thanks to a pleasingly lengthy, Hee-Haw-esque scene in the middle of the second act, Myler and Harelik also avoid the seemingly too-frequent theatrical trend of shows with second acts that are much too serious and downbeat.

Grace Moore, Laila Haley, John Payonk, Katie Casel, and Krianna Walljasper in Miracle on 34th StreetThe Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse opened its presentation of Miracle on 34th Street on Friday, and if you're familiar with the 1947 film classic this musical version is based on, you should know that Laila Haley, who portrays Susan Walker, isn't on a par with the movie's Natalie Wood. She's actually so much better than Wood that it's not even funny.

Carrie SaLoutos, Rachelle Walljasper, Serena Vesper, Autumn O'Ryan, and Lora Adams in The Dixie Swim ClubGiven its "sorority" sort of feel, the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's The Dixie Swim Club - which concerns the annual, beach-cabin gatherings of five former members of a college swim team - will likely appeal to the women in the audience. However, not being a woman myself, I can also say that I quite enjoyed Friday's performance of the show for the chemistry between the actors, the stunning set, and the humor that playwrights Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten put into their comedy.

 

Rachelle Walljasper, Brad Hauskins, Chad Willow, Tristan Layne Tapscott, Andrew Crowe, and Steve Lasiter in Southern CrossroadsA sign in front of the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse includes a description of the theatre's current show, Southern Crossroads, as "an inspiring and hilarious story about one musical group's struggle against impossible odds, as they find new hope through music." That line fits Circa '21's production to a T, as the tone of director Curt Wollan's offering is clearly joyful, despite the sense of desperation in its setting. With the appropriate exceptions of those playing villains, Wollan's cast does not play up any silliness written into their comedic lines. Instead, they choose to play them straight, and in doing so, add to the musical's air of Great Depression uncertainty.

Jesus Christ Superstar in rehearsalOdd as it may seem now, there actually was a period in the Harrison Hilltop Theatre's history - a run of 12 shows, to be precise - in which the company didn't produce any musicals whatsoever. Yet after staging a dozen plays between June 2008 and May 2009, co-founders Tristan Tapscott and Chris Walljasper chose to open the theatre's second season with a production of Jonathan Larson's rock musical tick ... tick ... BOOM!

Rachelle and Tom Walljasper in Sweeney ToddWhen the cast for the Harrison Hilltop Theatre's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was revealed several weeks ago, I'll admit I was concerned. While I'd previously admired the work of most of the actors, I wasn't sure they were up to the tasks of the roles they'd been awarded - chiefly Tom Walljasper, cast as the titular barber. While Walljasper excels at comedic roles, I worried that, with his smirking, tongue-in-cheek style of delivery, he wouldn't be able to carry the dramatic weight of Stephen Sondheim's killer character. But after seeing Thursday's opening-night performance, I'm pleased to admit that I was wrong. Very wrong; Walljasper's ability to handle the role was apparent with the first lyric he sang, which carried with it a dark, sinister, intense appeal.

Jennifer Weingarten and Michael Karraker in All Shook UpGood 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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