Theater Review: 'The Marvelous Wonderettes' by Goshen Players

Review by Nancy Sasso Janis

Baby boomers can take a gentle step back in time with the Goshen Players as they close their 74th season with the smash Off-Broadway hit, “The Marvelous Wonderettes.” The jukebox musical comedy was written and created by Roger Bean, with music arrangements by Brian William Baker and orchestrations by Michael Borth.

We are invited to join Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy, and Suzy at the Springfield High School Class of 1958 Super Senior Prom. The Wonderettes, a girl group with tight, four part harmony, take us on a charming musical journey through some of the biggest hits of the ’50s and ’60s. This is a non-stop pop musical that always has me smiling from the first number to the last.

Act I: The Super Senior Prom, set in 1958, includes “Mr. Sandman,” “Secret Love,” as well as a “Dream Medley” and a ”Man of My Dreams Medley.” Act II: The Reunion, which takes place ten years later, opens with “Heatwave,” moves through “You Don’t Own Me,” “Respect,” and “Rescue Me.”

Producer Joe Guttadauro, the president of Goshen Players, writes that this musical with “lots of heart” has been on the list to produce for several years and he is excited to see it finally come to vibrant life on the Goshen stage.

The first in Bean’s “Wonderettes” series is a showcase for four female performers. This supremely talented Goshen cast of four ladies is directed and creatively choreographed by Katie Brunetto, a triple threat herself. Dan Ringuette helped the four wonderful singers to learn the impossibly long list of musical numbers, all accompanied by its own specific choreography.
Melissa Green returns to the stage to play Suzy and is quite adorable as the happy-go-lucky Suzy, who is dressed in blue and is in love with the light operator Jimmy.

Katie Leone is a vision in green as the practical joker Betty Jean in her first Goshen production. At the Warner, she played Acid Queen in “The Who’s Tommy” and Waitress #1 in “Rock of Ages.” The actress is the sister of Noel Roberge, who made his directorial debut last weekend with Landmark’s “Beautiful.”

Kennedy Morris, a multi talented young performer, is a delight in the role of the bespectacled Missy in her debut with the Goshen Players. Morris plays piano, bass, guitar and ukulele and teaches private vocal and instrumental lessons. She is so much fun to watch as the slightly bossy Missy always dressed in orange.

Kelly White also makes her Goshen Players debut in the role of the flirty Cindy Lou, always decked out in pink. White has played Miss Honey in “Matilda,” Katherine in “Disney’s Newsies,” and Molly in “Peter and the Starcatcher,” all at the Warner Theater, as well as the role of Missy in the Little Theatre of Manchester’s production of “The Marvelous Wonderettes.”

In sugary sweet colors, two sets of costumes designed by Mary Beth Higgins and Joe Guttadauro faithfully reflect the two decades. The girls wear dresses with colorful crinolines, white gloves and wrist corsages in the first act, and then change into sleeker (and shorter) ensembles when the music heads into the sixties.

Each character sports her signature color and everyone wears two wigs designed by Mary Beth Higgis and Guttadauro that beautifully reflect the style of the appropriate decade. My favorite features included the capelet on Missy’s orange first act dress and the cutout back of Cynthia’s sixties ensemble. A collection of props curated by Assistant Stage Manager Cassie McKenna include big lollipops, hearts on the microphone stands and there is a (slipping) crescent moon.
Lighting designed by Cheyenne Fortier adds bits of color to the work of scenic artist Ringuette on the set designed by master carpenters Dave Boscarino and Alan Turner.

Paper flowers decorate the cabaret tables that brought back memories of the sixties for many of us. Towards the end of the prom, the audience is invited to vote for the prom queen and the ladies collect the ballots in baskets and turn them over to their French teacher for counting. An audience member is chosen to play Mr. Lee in the first act and on opening night it was community theater actor Tony Leone.

“The Marvelous Wonderettes” runs through May 14 in the Old Town Hall at the rotary in Goshen. Limited cabaret seating remains. You are invited to bring your own beverages and light snacks to enjoy during the show. Reserve your tickets today at goshenplayers.org

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. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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