ensemble members in Bring It On: The Musical
The Avenue Q book writer, a Tony Award-winning lyricist, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, and the creator of Hamilton collaborate on a musical that's a hybrid of Hairspray, Mean Girls, and Sister Act II.
You in? You should be.
The Spotlight Theatre is presenting Bring It On: The Musical, with its book by Jeff Whitty, music by Tom Kitt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, and lyrics by Miranda and Amanda Green. It premiered on Broadway in 2012 and was nominated for two Tony Awards, including Best Musical. And with their Spotlight production, directors Sarah Greim and Sara Tubbs – alongside assistant director Grace Mottet, music director Matt Bishop, and the cast and crew – have delivered a lively tour de force.
This musical is tenuously based on the 2000 film Bring It On, which inspired six sequels, all having little in common with the original except the title and the high-school cheer-competition setting. Same goes for this adaptation. If you've seen the movie (which I haven't), don't expect identical plot points; even the characters and the ending are different. But both the film and the musical deal with rivalries, racism, and teen treacheries large and small, and although there are a few obscenities (and one very chaste kiss), the younger set will be engaged by the singing and dancing. Actually, everyone will be.
What a fantastic cast! Most of the performers here are teens, like their characters, and the copious notes, moves, and words come at a fast clip. The entire ensemble plays two different cheer squads, and their ability to energetically execute so much song and choreography is staggering. The whole-cast singing started a bit tentatively, but soon enough the volume, power, and blend of these 28 singers, united, soared through. Based on Friday's opening night, I'm convinced they either caused or summoned the eight tornadoes in the Quad-Cities area during rehearsal this past Tuesday.
Molly Weinberger, as Bring It On's central character Campbell, has a gorgeous voice and a huge amount of active stage time. Campbell is cheer captain, and on top of the world at Taylor High School, until district boundaries are changed and she's forced to attend Jackson, which (gasp!) doesn't even have a cheerleading squad. They do have a dance crew, however, and Ivy Jensen plays its leader Danielle. A professional singer in real life, Jensen is one of the show's few over-21 cast members, but is convincing playing teen Danielle: a confident, fiery star whose emotions are close to the surface. Amaris Oliva-VanDeWalle and Aliyah Bendix, portraying Danielle's crew members Nautica and La Cienega, dazzle in several numbers, including "It Ain't No Thing" and "It's All Happening." In the latter, Keelony Cook's Twig and Bryson Maiden's Cameron masterfully crush the rap, spurring me and other audience members to applaud during the number – a theatre etiquette trespass, but we just had to.
Jensen Stoneking is a peppery blast as self-proclaimed “bee-yotch” Skylar, and is as wonderful here, though exuding a much different temperament, as she was playing another cheerleader in March's The Prom at Augustana College. Chloe Knobloch plays Skylar's sycophant Kylar – forced by the former into a rhyming name – with verve, while Grace Wiborg, who was silently hilarious in the Spotlight's Tarzan: The Musical last June, shines again as Bridget, the awkward Taylor High dork who finds acceptance, and a boyfriend, at Jackson. Taylor Tubbs plays Eva, a sophomore in the squad whom Campbell mentors, and is another knock-out vocalist. Her transformation is even more startling than Bridget's.
Campbell's two love interests, Henrick Senne's Steven and Danny Hauskins' Randall, are likable and endearing, though Steven himself stops being both. But isn't it ever thus in romance? Randall, however, falls for Campbell while watching her dance – seemingly a hormonal teen reaction, but as she's dancing in a goofy full-body mascot costume, Hauskins' character clearly has substance, and the performer reveals a fine, clear voice in "Enjoy the Trip." Bring It On's tunes are catchy, and composer Miranda's rap slaps, bursting with runs of ingenious multiple rhymes. This musical predates Hamilton, and I suspect he recycled for the latter work, as here, the characters' repeated "hey, hey" and amatory bravado in calling to "the ladies" in "Friday Night, Jackson" recalls "A Winter's Ball."
The stunt coordinators (and former cheerleaders) for the Spotlight's latest, Jadelyn Agent and McKensie Fortne, wisely didn't attempt showy acrobatics. The numerous half-extensions (three people holding up a standing fourth at shoulder height), some tumbling passes, and a bit of heart-stopping soaring are ample to convey the cheerleaders' athleticism, and the entire playing space in front of the stage proper is covered with a thick gym mat, so there's no worrying about falls. Choreographer Savannah Roseman also deserves a standing O for the extensive dance routines she devised and taught.
The only joy-killer in this production was that perpetual bugaboo of a substandard sound system. Echoes, and music overwhelming the voices, made me miss many of what I'm sure are clever lines and lyrics (because those that I could understand were). Considering all the laughs, emotion, and talent in this Bring It On: The Musical, though, a flawed sound system ain't no thing. Enjoy the trip!
Bring It On: The Musical runs at the Spotlight Theatre (1800 Seventh Avenue, Moline IL) through June 15, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)912-7647 and visiting TheSpotlightTheatreQC.com.
