A Very Brady Musical
I have been a Brady Bunch fan since I was a five-year-old, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in front of the television, clueless to the fact that two years later my life would emulate the plot almost exactly. When I was six years old, due to a family tragedy, my brother, two sisters, and I would move in with my uncle, who was divorced with custody of his three children. A year later, he would meet and marry a widow with two of her own children. The youngest of nine, my problems were never solved in 30 minutes, but I always related to The Brady Bunch in every other way, except the fashion.
Director and potentate, Lloyd Schwartz, was [if not the youngest] one of the youngest television producers almost 40 years ago when his father, Sherwood Schwartz, created the TV show that was almost named The Brady Brood. It amazes me that the show ended after its 5th season, won no awards through its tenure, and was never in the top 25 watched shows is the most remembered and beloved by so many Americans. What is even more remarkable is that the Schwartz family still makes a living some 40 years later, only now spoofing the family that made theirs a Hollywood legend.
A Very Brady Musical is a colorful, nostalgic, far-out, groovy, musical romp!
Scenic Designer and Painter, Richard DeSiato, creates a beautifully intricate pop-up-book-like background to highlight the ideas of Set Designers, Daniel Keough and Joseph M. Altadonna. The creative design team has also replicated that staircase we all recognize, placing behind it a colorful backdrop of stained glass, [just as phony as George himself.] Paul Denniston, along with Kelly Stables, cloned the simplistically corny
choreography for the stage, resulting in hilarity and cast-wide glee!
Adam Conger, an award-winning actor for the company, takes Bobby Brady into a much-taller-than-Cindy world and still makes it work, especially in the number, "Someday," where he uses the youngest one in curls as a bendable prop. Kathy Garrick portrays Alice without any sort of impersonation whatsoever, and, for her, it works. Garrick is a musical theatre star, having recently performed in Falsettos with Jason Alexander and singing "All The Good Men Are Gay" in the hysterical cast album of The Gay 90s Musical The Absolute STAND-OUT performance is that of Cindy-portrayer, Kelly Stables. Stables [or 'Th-tay-bul-th']is a Broadway baby! Her performance Is nuanced and evokes the cute Cindy Brady we fondly remember, with a powerhouse of a performance concocted with an adult energy that sometimes steals the show right from under the cast.
Elliot Kevin Schwartz, as Greg, continues the family tradition of being luminary. There are moments when E.K.S. poses into almost the exact expression of Barry Williams. One "wood"y think that nepotism controlled
the casting process; however, I couldn't imagine a better Greg Brady than the grandson of his creator [and I'm pretty sure it was a tougher audition for the young Schwartz prince].
Erin Holt (Marcia) and Laura Marion (Jan) are divine in their roles, especially in the Mr. Cellophane-esque song, "Totally Useless," where Jan sings in and out of the spotlight, choreographed flawlessly with the use of Yancey Dunham's outstanding lighting design. Justin Meloni is a terrific actor and singer, but as Peter Brady, Meloni doesn't have much to work with. Then again, I've always thought of that character as being the least interesting of the Bunch. Barbara Mallory is EXCEPTIONAL as Carol Brady.
Mallory never tries to get a laugh, therefore receiving one on nearly every punch. John Cygan as Mike Brady, like Kathy Garrick, does not impersonate the original actor (in this case, Robert Reed), and again, it works. Mr. Cygan is genuine to this role, creating his own sexually frustrated head of the house character.
I cannot possibly mention all the great, wonderful things without mentioning the less engaging aspects. First of all, the theatre needs to invest in microphones, especially for this production. Theatre West has many donors. I'm sure they can scrape up a few bucks to electrify the dazzling music written by Hope and Laurence Juber. In the end, we are allowed to sing along to the original theme song and are asked to do something, but because we couldn't understand what we were asked, nobody did it. [Well, the front row did.]
Secondly, in this story, Jan's diary speaks of Desi Arnaz, Jr. However, The reference is incorrect. On the TV show, it is Marcia's diary in which Desi Arnaz, Jr. is mentioned. These facts are true, but I continue to second guess my clarity because the same people who wrote this, wrote that. Or has it been so long that they don't remember? I would have missed that, if that episode hadn't been televised this week.
AFTER THE SHOW:
I had the pleasure of meeting Christopher Knight (the original Peter) and taking a photo with him on the staircase along with Erin Holt (Marcia). I also had a fantastic conversation with Lloyd Schwartz, who, with everything else, wrote my favorite Brady movie, A Very Brady Christmas. I confessed to the down-to-earth gentleman that, as a child, I would rewind the end of the film and watch it again and again. (Mr. Brady was trapped in a collapsed building, and the Brady family, directed by Carol, sang "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" before Mike Brady walked out of the building.) Mr. Schwartz replied to my adoration, "Yeah. Ever wonder how he got out of there?"
I laughed out loud, thinking that I never even thought of it. "He got really strong all of a sudden and pushed a boulder off of himself." Mr. Schwartz grinned. The remainder of the cast and crew with whom I spoke were
absolutely lovely people, and there were no signs of taking themselves too seriously. Theatre West is a company I would want to work with one day!