Theater Review: 'Gutenberg! The Musical!" at Playhouse on Park

Review by Connecticut Critics Circle member and Naugatuck Patch Neighbor Nancy Sasso Janis

“Gutenberg! The Musical!” is described as “A joyfully absurd ride through one of history’s most unlikely Broadway pitches!” (All exclamation points are theirs!) Playhouse on Park in West Hartford has launched this riotous production, with performances continuing through Feb. 17.

“Gutenberg!” is a unique musical produced by the minds of Anthony King and Scott Brown, who are also responsible for “Beetlejuice.” The show that the pair wrote and composed was originally produced as a 45-minute one-act musical and workshopped at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City by its creators. The musical opened off-Broadway in 2006 and a 2023 Broadway production starred Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells.

The plot features two earnest theater writers who have rented the space to present a hilariously inaccurate musical about the life of Johannes Gutenberg to potential investors seated in the audience.

For the uninitiated, Johannes Gutenberg was a German inventor/craftsman who is famous for introducing the movable-type printing press to Europe.

In the musical, the starry-eyed Bud Davenport and Doug Simon do not have a cast or an orchestra, so they play all of the roles themselves, wearing hats with their character’s name on them (helpfully arranged on two portable tables and discarded into plastic tubs.)

The two juggle the caps to indicate when they become a new character and sometimes hold the cap of supporting characters in their hands as they voice them. The multi-talented actors also use a variety of extremely simple props, including labeled cardboard boxes and often dangerous pencils.

The script is loaded with coy explanations of what makes up a Broadway show, including a charm song, the eleven o’clock number, metaphors, foreshadowing, the requisite dance break and much more (and not necessarily in that order.) Songs include “The Press,” “Biscuits,” “Tomorrow is Tonight,” “We Eat Dreams,” and multiple reprises of “I Can’t Read.”

Sasha Bratt (“All is Calm”) directs the three-person cast, which includes the music director onstage in the role of Charles. Equity actor Jeremiah Michael Ginn takes on the role of Bud Davenport and Equity’s John Wascavage plays Doug Simon. Dr. Bratt admitted to me at intermission that he does not know how the two actors are able to pull off their fast-paced roles, but that is exactly what both of them manage to do under his admirable direction. Julia Solecki worked as assistant director.

It is a testament to the concentration of both actors that they can master the cues required for the multiple roles that they tackle. Just keeping track of which labeled cap to wear for each line is a monumental task. Bud and Doug are purported to be minimally talented performers, but the talent of the two leads is impossible to hide.

In his Playhouse debut, Ginn takes on all of the characters that Bud Davenport must play, including the villainous Monk and the love-struck Helvetica. The actor performed in the demanding “Murder for Two” in NYC and on tour. He also was part of the first national tour of “Anastasia.”

Wascavage also makes his Playhouse debut covering all of the roles performed by Doug Simon. The actor has worked in “Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song" and also performed in “Murder for Two” on tour.

Miles Messier, a Hartt School graduate, plays piano at the back of the stage and often reacts to the action. ” Messier was the music director/Ben in “The Ugly Christmas Sweater Musical” on the Playhouse stage and was part of several off-Broadway shows.

The inimitable Jimmy Donohue makes his Playhouse debut as the swing for this production. The audience “plant” at the performance that I attended was Stop Time Dance Theater’s Amanda Forker.

Arthur Wilson has put together both the scenic design and the costumes which are marked by a low-budget theme. Lighting design by Kyle Stamm can be described as fun and Joe Krempetz worked as the sound designer. Unfortunately, there were some issues with Ginn’s microphone throughout the two acts, probably due to the hat changes, and he was given a handheld to finish his performance.

Artistic Director/Co-Founder Darlene Zoller is credited with the myriad of props and set dressing, and she also decorated the Playhouse lobby to match the story. Zoller outdid herself with the “Guttenberg” lobby, including an interactive dream wall. Be sure to leave a dream on a Post It note.

Katrina Paul is credited as the technical director and was certainly kept on her toes for this one.

“Gutenberg!” runs about two hours, including a 15-minute intermission and moves very quickly. There are plenty of laughs to brighten a winter day.

Now running through February 8 at Playhouse on Park playhouseonpark.org