Review: 'Leader of the Pack' by Seven Angels Community Theatre

Dedicated to my mother

Waterbury, CT - I was so excited to hear that Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury was launching a production of LEADER OF THE PACK, a rock and roll musical that I first saw at Watertown High School. This great rock and roll musical is based on the life of Ellie Greenwich, an American pop music singer, songwriter and record producer from the 1960’s to the early 2000’s, that I am embarrassed to admit that I had not heard of before seeing the musical for the first time.

Ms. Greenwich was responsible for co-writing “Be My Baby,” “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” as well as the iconic title song. The show opened at the Bottom Line in 1984 with music and lyrics by Ellie Greenwich and friends, book by Anne Beatts and with additional material by Jack Heifner; it was based on an original play by Melanie Mintz and it opened on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre. The show was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Musical and a Grammy Award for the cast album and the New York Music Critics’ Award for Best Broadway Musical.

This wonderful show is credited as the first modern Broadway musical of its kind to tell the story of a real person through their songs, a kind of precursor to BEAUTIFUL before the jukebox musical genre was popular and/or well-worn. (loosely quoted from Playbill.com)

The Seven Angels production is a presentation of Stage Seven Community Theatre wing of the hidden gem in Hamilton Park in Waterbury. That means that the cast is made up of talented community theatre performers, including some of my absolute favorite performers in CT. As an added bonus, the show was directed by Foster Evans Reese, who won a Seven Angels’ Halo Award for Best High School Musical Award for his production of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND and LEADER OF THE PACK at Watertown High School. Mr. Reese directed THE BIKINIS and BEEHIVE as Seven Angels, as well as MAMMA MIA! And MEMPHIS at Landmark, just to name a few of my favorites.

LEADER OF THE PACK is based on an original concept by Melanie Mintzwith. This jukebox musical (created before the term was coined) celebrates the life and times of Brooklyn-born Greenwich, whose doo-wop sounds skyrocked to the top of the pop charts in the early to mid-60s. Beatts’ “liner notes” serve as the book that link the songs and provide a look into the songwriter’s professional triumphs and personal misfortunes. The initial presentation of LEADER OF THE PACK: THE SONGS OF ELLIE GREENWICH (as it was originally titled,) with a cast of six, had a brief run at Greenwich Village’s The Bottom Line in the winter of 1984. - Foster Evans Reese

Mr. Reese is a wonderful director of heavy dance shows and with this production he has outdone himself with the copious and delightful dance numbers. The choreography rose to the level of another character in the show. My favorite numbers were “Do Wah Diddy Diddy,” “And Then He Kissed Me,” and “Hanky, Panky.” If I had to make one criticism of the director’s work, it would be that I wished that there even more dancers in the ensemble to join the leading characters to bring to life the stellar choreography.

Brittany Mulcahy (THE WHO’S TOMMY, THE BIKINIS, BEEHIVE at 7A) was the perfect choice for the role of Ellie Greenwich. She sang beautifully and did so well at making the character smart, driven and adorable.The renowned Darlene Love was brought to memorable life by Samantha Rae Bass. Ms. Bass appeared in BEEHIVE, THE 60’s MUSICAL, ROCK N ROLL REDEMPTION and was Shrug Avery in THE COLOR PURPLE. Wow, did she rock one of my favorites, “River Deep, Mountain High.” It was such a treat to see WAMS grade Zani N. Scott (THE COLOR PURPLE, MEMPHIS) in the important role of Annie Golden. Her best songs were “Be My Baby, ” “Look of Love” and “Keep It Confidential.”

Rob Girardin, the real-life love of Ms. Mulcahy, portrayed Ellie’s one-time husband Jeff Barry so, of course they made a cute couple. Mr. Girardin was last seen at 7A as Buddy Holly in ROCK N ROLL REDEMPTION, and was memorable in THE FULL MONTY, FIRST DATE and THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY. Rodney K. brought a wonderfully cute quality to the role of music mogul Gus Sharkey and proved himself to be a fine dancer as well.

In the ensemble, were some very talented dancers. Zachary Geiger (AMERICAN IDIOT with Landmark,) an NVCC student, made his 7A debut. Lucia Greene (IN THE HEIGHTS,) who has studied dance for eight years and it showed, also made her debut on this stage. Jewell Hearon (AMERICAN IDIOT) danced and sang very well indeed. Alex Polzun is a gifted dancer that teaches in Torrington and South Windsor and is always a joy to watch. Alexa Santos, a lovely dancer who began dancing at the age of three, made her 7A debut. Loren Pelosi, normally working behind the scenes, came onto the stage to portray the role of Ellie’s mother.

The Saturday performance I attended was actually the opening night for the cast because the scheduled Friday performance had to be cancelled due to an electrical problem in the theatre. It is unfortunate that one of the performances had to be cancelled when this show was only scheduled for a two-weekend run, so I recommend ordering your tickets right away.

Mark Ceppetelli served as the able music director and led the small orchestra from behind his piano. Lou Romeo played guitar, Ken Nigro covered the reeds, Dan Kraszewski and Rick Scarola share the bass line and the resident drummer is Mark Ryan. The scenic design by Karina Paul set the time period with vinyl records and a jukebox and Tesia Childs designed the somewhat uneven period costumes.

I got to hug Justin Torres in the lobby and sat near Mr. Reese’s love Patti Guarantano during what was essentially opening night. Only 5 Performances remain. Show times are: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM. Sundays at 2 PM and one Saturday matinee on January 18 at 2 PM.Tickets are $28. Doors and Devil’s corner bar open 1 hour before the show. To purchase call the Seven Angels Theatre box office at 203-757-4676, online at sevenangelstheatre.org, or stop in on Plank Road in Waterbury. Free Parking. Just off I-84. For GPS directions use Hamilton Park, Waterbury.

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts well over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.

Click here to read about Naugatuck/Bethwood Patch Mayor Nancy Sasso Janis.