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Ruby Griffith Critique Direction Director and Choreographer, Lorraine Magee, assembled an energetic and talented cast for this production. The cast was well rehearsed, believable, and comfortable on stage. Blocking was exceptionally well executed, with some numbers being very energetic. Much attention had gone into developing the characters and the strength of their relationships. The younger cast members, in such key roles, were handled very well and performed admirably. The overall look of the show was beautiful — the visual presentation of set, costumes, the colors and lights was magnificent. The pacing was very well done with nicely executed scene transitions. On all nights attended the cast had high energy levels and performed demanding scenes such as the Port Authority and the Toy Store very well. The Musical Directors, John-Michael d’Haviland and Leah Stein, presented a fine blend of voice and instrumentals for this production. Most leads and the ensembles worked very well. However, the two young leads — Billy and little Josh experienced difficulties with their songs. As an alternative, it may have been better to minimize their singing with shorter verses or substitute dialogue for song. Acting In general, the acting in this production was strong. From the leads to the chorus members, all actors worked very hard on stage remaining in character and reacting to the situations around them. Very powerful and engaging performances were given by both Jennifer Greene (Susan) and Christopher Smith (Josh). The chemistry between them was palpable, especially with numbers such as “All the Time in the World” in Act II. Both had tremendous stage presence. Ms. Greene exuded wit and charisma. She also demonstrated a fine comedic sense of timing. Mr. Smith turned in a very touching performance as the alternatively confused and exuberant man-child. He showed excellent timing and athleticism. J. M. Watkinson (Little Josh) and Joey Kasura (Billy) turned in excellent acting performances, demonstrating good timing and very believable characters. They worked well together and projected their spoken lines very well. Gordon Kiefer (MacMillan) was excellent as the President of the toy firm. His delivery was perfect. Jack Sheer (Paul) was strong as the conniving and unscrupulous corporate schemer. One fine aspect of this production was the great performances by given by minor characters in various scenes. They uniformly showed excellent timing, energy and stage presence. A good example of this was the four young girls who opened the Toy Store scene in Act I. This was equally true of the actors playing “Susan‘s Friends” who were hilarious as the curious and bemused couples entertaining Susan and her latest beau. The trio of actors performing the “Welcome to MacMillan Toys” number were also outstanding in this regard. |