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You'll Never Get There This Way
by Roger Martin on July 16, 2010
Take the four fine musical comedy actors Allan Baker, Christopher A. Kent, Lisa Manuli and Meghan Colleen Moroney, all under the direction of David Arisco with musical direction and piano playing by David Nagy and what could go wrong?
Well, “ordinary” could peek its ugly head in here at at the Actors' Playhouse summer show Are We There Yet? and it certainly does when it comes to the writing by James Hindman, Ray Roderick and Cheryl Stern. Purportedly a show about the seven stages of life, we get sketches and songs about birth, school, marriage, death and more. You get the idea. You should; you've seen variations of them all before. Except perhaps the baby rapping about his poopy diapers.
The actors sell this show well and that's the fun part. The sad part is that they don't have a better product. The music is by John Claudini but despite the fine performances you won't be singing these songs in your bath tub. But there is some good news: we have to watch adults playing children for only a brief period.
There's a simple set, a bare stage with David Nagy playing his piano facing the audience and in front of a kindergarten painting on the back wall. Rolling furniture moves in and out. Directional sign posts on both sides of the stage are changed to indicate the passage of life. And the journey.
I saw Are We There Yet? (damn, I hate that title) at a mid-week matinee and, at a guess, 97% of the audience were ladies of a certain age. They seemed to enjoy themselves. But I heard one lady say “I like it, but I've seen better.” That kind of belied my thought that this show would do well in a retirement village social hall.
Costume designer Ellis Tillman helps the show considerably, especially with his baby rapper outfits and the money suits in Cha-Ching, one of the better numbers. Gene Seyffer's scenery, Patrick Tennent's lighting and Alexander Herrin's sounds all work well for what the show is: Summer Fare Light.
Are We There Yet? plays through August 15 at Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables. Call 305.444.9293 or visit www.actorsplayhouse.org.
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