Review: '[title of show]' by Goshen Players

"I'd rather be nine people's favorite thing than a hundred people's ninth-favorite thing..."

Dedicated to the memory of “Moe” Renzullo, who was more than nine people’s favorite

Goshen, CT - [title of show] is an original (with emphasis on “original”) broadway musical with music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and book by Hunter Bell. Because it is a musical about two “nobodies” who decide to write a musical starring themselves and their attractive and talented friends, the main characters in the show are named Jeff and Hunter; they are writing a musical in three weeks so that they can submit it to the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

The production of this quirky piece envisioned by the Goshen Players was slyly directed by Colleen Renzullo (IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU,) assisted by Jane Coughlin, and it featured musical direction by the fine keyboard player/actor Scott Stanchfield, who gleefully sat onstage in the role of Larry. When I saw the names of the community theater actors that were cast as the four cast members, I knew that I had to head to the rotary in Goshen to see this production.

[title of show] is a peek behind the scenes at the creative process that is set in a rehearsal space in NYC; it very much has the look and feel of a small Off-Broadway show. Theatre fans like me will delight in some of the insider references, although many are obscure at best.

“We could. Ask significant questions”

Kudos to Equity member Lyn Nagel (Miss Mona in WHOREHOUSE) for taking on the role of Susan, a quirky actress with a corporate day job. The vocal requirements for this alto role might be described as brutal, and as for every one of the singers in this show, the accompaniment offers very little help. Ms. Nagel made it all look very easy because she has the vocal chops to hit the notes; I appreciated how hard she had to work to make it look easy.

Ashley McLeod reprised her role as the other “secondary character” of the cast, the role that was originally played by Heidi Blickenstaff and is therefore called Heidi. As I wrote about her TheatreWorks [title of show] performance, Ms. Mcleod has a wonderful belt that was exciting to hear when she sang “I Am Playing Me” and her half of “Montage Part 2: Secondary Characters” with Susan, but my favorite was her solo “A Way Back to Then.” This marks her Goshen Players debut, but I have enjoyed every one of this talented actress’ performances that I have seen. They include Miss Hannigan in ANNIE, The Witch in INTO THE WOODS, Elizabeth Benning in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, and Lady of the Lake in SPAMALOT. It was interesting for me to see Ms. McLeod perform the role of Heidi with a completely different cast in a different space in a similar costume; she once again nailed the role.

Justin Torres made his Goshen debut as the book writer named Hunter. In his Goshen Players debut, Mr. Torres gave his all as the zany author trying to finish the writing project in time while dealing with loads of self doubt. This young actor just recently graduated from Torrington HS (where he played Usnavi in IN THE HEIGHTS) and has appeared in FOOLS at Phoenix Stage Company and as Cousin Kevin in THE WHO’S TOMMY with Landmark. His strong acting and singing will take him far.

It was a pleasure to see the host of “Backstage” on FM 97.3 WZBG, a clean-shaven Eric Lindblom, back on the Goshen stage. His lack of facial hair helped him to look closer in age to his young costar. A high school English teacher by day, he easily stepped into the role of Jeff the music writer. Mr. Lindblom was last seen in Goshen as Marty in IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU and played Man #1 in FIRST DATE; he also has a plethora of credits at the Warner Theatre. His wonderful singing voice blended well with the quartet and I can never resist the onstage charm he brings to every role.

And let us not forget that Mr. Stanchfield had to deliver a few nicely-placed reaction shots and just a handful of lines, and of course, he didn’t miss a beat.

I very much appreciated the tight harmonies and the duets done by the guys were among my favorite numbers. My personal favorite remains “Nine People’s Favorite Thing,” but this time I appreciated the number “Filling Out the Form,” a song about filling out the form to submit the show to the festival, which yields the show’s non-title. The Tim Gunn reference remains, as does the nod to WICKED, Shields and Yarnell and Dinah Manoff. Click for a guide to the more obscure references in the show.

The requisite four mismatched chairs that appear on the show poster and the cover of the program were definitely part of the set designed by Ms. Renzullo and dressed by Ingrid Smith, who also was in charge of props. And while the set definitely had the look of a very small rehearsal space, it could not be described as bare. Mr. Stanchfield sat at the small piano in full view of the audience, and the room included two large windows, a door and some other touches to flesh out the space. The directors used the small wings at the front of the Goshen stage to suggest the apartments of the two men and the two male actors moved “their” chairs in and out of their respective abodes. It made for a very different look than I remembered, but the slightly bigger space worked for me. Please do not expect chairs encrusted in diamonds.

Rhiannon Carta (ALMOST, MAINE) designed the sunny choreography that fit the theme and it was well-performed by the cast. Wes Baldwin, who attended the final dress, designed the lighting and John Fabiani was in charge of the offstage sound bites. The producers of the show were Lydia Babbitt and Lynne Wilson.

I highly recommend a trip to Goshen for those who work in the theatre and those who admire them. Be forewarned that there is a lot of foul language that comes out of the mouth of the character “Blank Paper” in “An Original Musical” and in other parts of the dialogue. The show is presented with one intermission.

Goshen Players was established in 1949.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.