Review of 'Showstoppers 2019' at Seven Angels

Waterbury, CT - WATR 1320AM's Tom Chute is your host of SHOWSTOPPERS 2019 at Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury. The all-new annual variety show presented by WATR includes a multitude of Show Stopping' numbers that features some of our best local singers, dancers and performers. I was most impressed when Mr. Chute told me that the show was put together in one week.

This year’s theme is all about Great Songs, Great Decades and Great Memories. The musical choices are from the radio, Broadway, and movie musicals and all are perfectly led by the supremely talented music director TJ Thompson. Director/Writer Tom Chute has gathered a cast of many well- known performers from throughout Connecticut and he expertly allows them to showcase a fine mix of favorite tunes and truly spectacular dance numbers. I found this year’s line up to be especially impressive and the opening night crowd loved every minute of the two acts.

I will start with the multitude of dancers who were featured in four of the numbers, because they blew me away with their professionalism. Some of the youngest dancers were included in “Pick A Pocket or Two” with Don Leona in the role of Fagan. The four young ladies sang and danced as the young urchins and added so much to the classic number from OLIVER, which Mr. Leona beautifully followed up with “Reviewing the Situation” as Fagan.

The other three dance numbers were all about the dancers, and just wow! One group performed an extremely quick tap dance to “Motown Review” that was in perfect synch despite its speed. All of the dancers closed the first act with a wonderful three-minute review of the movie version of GREASE, complete with period costumes, some acting and off the hook dancing to the track entitled “Grease Mashup.” Some of the more experienced dancers closed the show with a magnificent, beautifully choreographed number to the music “I’ve Got to Be a Rug Cutter” in great matching costumes.

The talented dancers study at the Connecticut Dance Theatre and the Arts with Nefra Sullivan-Wihbey and I was able to pick out the lovely Leah Kulmann of Naugatuck. The dancers include Shreya Banerjee, Breanna Byrd, Emily Delgado, Abby Diamante, Emily Fine, Bria Gruner, Hannah Levine, Morgan Mancini, Margot Mendes, Thea Miles, Trudy Miles, Kelly Mirando, Melissa Noble, Megan Pelletier, Ashlyn Pierce, Mikayla Poirier, Cristiana Santos, Abby Scott, Reese Tindall, Regan Tindall, Melissa Tracy, and Brayden Wihbey, who danced an amazing solo to “The Pianist” in the second act. Kudos to each and every young lady for their precision and grace.

The cast of beloved area performers all brought their A game on opening night and I enjoyed every single performance of the singing actors that I have seen on many local stages. The suave and debonair Mr. Chute opened the show with “Where or When” as only he can and then was at his comedic best for a duet with a special guest for “You Made Me Love You.” In the second act, he teamed up with the lovely Marsha Maslo for a charming “You Can’t Take That Away from Me” and then returned for a final solo, his signature “NY, NY” after Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.”

My girl Holly Martin nailed “I’m Just a Girl Who Can’t Say No” and took the lead on “These Palace Walls” from ALADDIN with Marcia Maslo and Chrissy Flynn for back up. Holly also sang in tight harmony with Ms. Maslo, Ms. Flynn and Mary Cantoni for “Be My Baby”

What a treat it was to see Ms. Cantoni enchant us with a performance of “Second Hand Rose” as Fanny Brice from ONE NIGHT WITH FANNY BRICE. She returned in the second act for a sultry solo on “The Man That Got Away” that brought a tear to a few eyes in the audience.

The dream team of two of my favorite stage guys, Jimmy Donohue and Chuck Stango, charmed the audience with the comedic number “Brush Up Your Shakespeare.” The venerable Jeff Savage performed “Cheek to Cheek” with a hysterical cameo by Mr. Leona and Mr. Leona returned as himself to charm us with “Pennies from Heaven.” The guys teamed up to open the second act with a baseball theme with “Heart” from DAMN YANKEES and I couldn’t stop smiling.

Mr. Donohue reprised his role of the Big Bopper for “Chantilly Lace” and nailed it, and then showed off his serious side for a beautiful rendition of “If I Can’t Love Her” from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Marsha Maslo came through the aisles to sing “I Have Confidence” from THE SOUND OF MUSIC with the requisite large hat and closed out the musical numbers with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from THE WIZARD OF OZ.

Stephanie Varanelli Miles bravely performed “Life of the Party” from THE WILD PARTY and then took on “What I Did for Love” from A CHORUS LINE in the second act with lovely results. Two especially memorable duets were Ms. Maslo and Ms. Cantoni for “Marry the Man Today” from GUYS AND DOLLS and the Judy Garland/Barbra Streisand version of “Happy Days/Get Happy” with Ms. Martin and Ms. Maslo. Mr. Stango and Ms. Veranelli Miles teamed up for an adorable duet on "Friendship."

Last but certainly not least was the amazing Phil Maiorano who was in the building as the one and only Elvis. This talented impersonator made a few false entrances before he performed “Viva Las Vegas” and then changed costumes to sing “Suspicious Minds” in the second act, much to the delight of his fans in the audience.

The band that accompanied all of the singers was led by Mr. Thompson in his usual seat at the keyboard. The 7A resident drummer Mark Ryan was on the drum kit and Dan Kraszewski played bass. Kurt Berglund will sub on drums.

The mark of Ms. Sullivan-Wihbey was seen in all of the staging choreography and it was charming throughout. The lighted set was just enough and lighting by Hayley Moretti made everyone look their best. Sound designer Matt Martin, the husband of Holly, made sure that everyone was heard perfectly as always. Thomas Gilman was the lone backstage crew member.

Everyone in the cast looked like there were having so much fun on the Seven Angels stage and thank you to Semina De Laurentis for hosting the show this weekend in celebration of the radio station’s 85 years on the airwaves. And I must add that my favorite surprise of the evening was to hear the voices of WATR personalities Christopher Fortier and Barbara Davitt (or as Mr. Chute has nicknamed her “Babs Davenport”) introducing upcoming sections of the show. All WATR listeners will be delighted by their charming recordings.

Click for tickets for the two remaining performance.

Photo courtesy of Bob Dorr

The Tuxedo Challenge - Tom Chute vs. Bob Dorr. This photo was taken at Seven Angels Theatre in the lobby on opening night, after SHOWSTOPPERS the Tuxedo Challenge was on. And SHOWSTOPPERS is a musical delight directed by Tom Chute.

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.