{"id":11255,"date":"2014-04-21T11:51:12","date_gmt":"2014-04-21T18:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=11255"},"modified":"2014-05-01T10:11:31","modified_gmt":"2014-05-01T17:11:31","slug":"sleeping-cutie-almost-ready-for-prime-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/sleeping-cutie-almost-ready-for-prime-time\/","title":{"rendered":"SLEEPING CUTIE almost ready for prime time."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Jesse Caldwell and Marissa Joy Ganz<\/p><\/div>\n

Sleeping Cutie<\/em>:A Fractured Fairy Tale Musical. Music by Doug Katsaros .Lyrics and book by Diane Sampson.Directed by Cindy Goldfield.Music Direction by David Aaron Brown.\u00a0 Off a Cliff ProductionsSponsored by Playground @ Thick House – 1695 18th St. (Between Arkansas & Carolina Streets), San Francisco, CA 94107 Tickets: www.sleepingcutiemusicaltix.com<\/a>or 415- 992-6677World Premiere – Limited Engagement \u2013April 17 \u2013 May 11, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

EXTENDED THROUGH MAY 21, 2014<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

SLEEPING CUTIE<\/em> almost ready for prime time. [Rating:3] (3 of 5 stars)
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

PlayGround is the Bay Area\u2019s incubator for new playwrights and this 18th<\/sup> year of supporting fledgling writers is their most ambitious. They have elected to begin with a world premiere musical commissioned and supported by the New Play Production Fund. The play began as a ten minute Monday night reading in 2012 and is now a full length two act barrel of fun receiving its world premiere at the intimate Thick House. Although it provides a fun evening there is much to be done before it is ready for the road.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is a very clever but hardly original concept that is outlined in a sprightly opening number \u201cWhat it Isn\u2019t\u201d by the seven member cast and three man onstage band. It is a fairy tale with \u201caction in a modern vein\u201d, \u201cnot big or fancy\u201d, and \u201cno orchestra and no pit\u201d because the \u201cstage is too small.\u201d Diane Sampson\u2019s lyrics fit the eclectic music with an occasional banal rhyme earning a chuckling groan.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The promise of the rousing opening number is lost with Marissa Joy Ganz\u2019s rendition of \u201cDrummer Queen\u201d a witty patter song listing the names of notable former drummers. Those names are unintelligible and Ganz never gains the audience\u2019s approbation in this promising musical. The rest of the enthusiastic cast almost regain the momentum and get to have a reprise of \u201cWhat it Isn\u2019t\u201d to open the second act.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The story line \u201cin the modern vein\u201d is based on the machinations of Bernie Madoff, who engineered the Ponzi scheme Enron Scandal. His role is listed as Father (Jesse Caldwell) with Ganz as his estranged teenage daughter Lucy. Lucy\u2019s caretaker Mary (Stephanie Prentis), in an underwritten part is given two ballads to sing. One of those ballads \u201cSome Way to Get Through the Night\u201d is shared witha charming Luke Chapman playing blind Charlie, the love interest.\u00a0 Then there is the semi-mysterious Woman (excellent Gwen Loeb) who is instrumental to a \u201chappily ever after\u201d finale.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Filling in the gaps with multiple roles are Man 1(John Patrick Moore) and Man 2 (Buzz Halsing) who give the show a boost when they make their entrances and exits. They get to perform soft shoe dances complete with canes as well as a cacophonic \u201cApocalypse\u201d rock\u2019n role number. They bring down the first act curtain with \u201cLawyerese.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

A label cannot be assigned to this show since the music is a pastiche of Broadway, jazz, rock and classical music that adroitly fit the storyline and add pizazz to Sampson\u2019s lyrics. The finale by the company of \u201cDeus Ex Machina\u201d is a must see production number that partially erases the ambivalent feelings generated by this uneven production. Running time under two hours including an intermission.<\/strong><\/p>\n

CAST: Jesse Caldwell* (Father); Luke Chapman (Charlie); Marissa Joy Ganz* (Lucy); Buzz Halsing* (Man 2); Gwen Loeb* (Woman); John Patrick Moore* (Man 1) and Stephanie Prentice* (Mary).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Production: David Aaron Brown, Keyboard; Lily Sevier, Drums; Vincenzo DeLaRosa, Bass; Producer, Jim Kleinmann; Stage Manager, Bethanie Baeyen; Lighting Designer, Mark Hueske; Costume\/Props Designer, Cindy Goldfield; Sound Designer, Josh Senick; Dresser, Melissa Kallstrom; Production Manager, Marcus Marotto; Production Assistant, Solia Martinez Jacobs; Publicist, Lawrence Helman; Casting Consultant, Annie Stuart; Associate Producer, Peter B. Miller<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kedar K. Adour, MD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sleeping Cutie:A Fractured Fairy Tale Musical. Music by Doug Katsaros .Lyrics and book by Diane Sampson.Directed by Cindy Goldfield.Music Direction by David Aaron Brown.\u00a0 Off a Cliff ProductionsSponsored by Playground…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11255","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-kedar-k-adour"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"