This should not have been so much fun.
“Head Over Heels,” Arizona Repertory Theatre’s current offering, is a musical with a labored book and a score consisting entirely of tunes from the ’80s girl band, The Go-Go’s.
And yet, director Danny Gurwin and the cast of wildly talented University of Arizona students turned mediocre into magic.
The story is about a bunch of confused lovers tackling off-the-wall tasks to … well, we are not sure of the purpose, but we think it has something to do with keeping the cool musical beat in their town of Arcadia. It is loosely based on the 16th-century prose romance by Sir Philip Sidney, “The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia.”
This adaptation freely plays with sexuality and gender, and that’s a good thing.
Still, the pairing of the story and the music feels forced.
But back to that cast. They were reveling in fun, singing with joy, and vibrating with enthusiasm. It was impossible not to catch their fever.
Ashling Shockey can hit impossibly high notes and gave her character Mopsa a spunkiness that drew you to her. AJ Taylor, a junior in the musical theater program, had a fierce energy and focus as Princess Pamela. And her voice impressed.
There were few disappointments among the actors, who all sang with heart and expertise. Among them: John Henry Stamper and Erin Rose McDaniel, who played the king and queen of the town; Danny Bass, the hopelessly-in-love shepherd, and Sophia Scarsi, who plays Princess Philoclea, his love interest; and Alex Simpson, who showed a keen comedic sense in the role of Dametas.
On stage less frequently, but rightfully drawing loud cheers from the audience, was Brach Drew, who plays the proudly nonbinary character, Pythio, who sets the tasks and threatens the punishments to the people of Arcadia.
The choreography, by Christie Kerr, was fun, witty and perfectly executed by the ensemble.
Everyone in the cast is a musical theater major, with the exception of Simpson, who is an acting major.
The UA is doing away with its musical theater program, rated one of the finest in the country. So there is also an achiness in seeing this play, knowing that in a few years, Tucson audiences will no longer be able to watch remarkable musical theater students grow and blossom.
“Head Over Heels” continues through April 23 at the Torrnabene Theatre in the UA Fine Arts complex, at North Park Avenue and East Speedway. Tickets are $15-$33 at theatre.arizona.edu/shows/head-over-heels or 520-621-3341.
If you ever wondered what the green dress from "The Wiz" looked like up close, the colorful look of the Ziegfeld Follies costumes, or wanted an extensive view on the elements that make a groundbreaking musical, then the newly opened Museum of Broadway is for you. Broadway's first museum opened this week and provides fans with a combination of history, memorabilia and education. "Showboat," Rent," "Company," and "A Chorus Line" are but a few of the shows that have elaborate displays that let fans get up close and personal. Museum Co-Founder Julie Boardman says one of the hardest parts of setting up the museum was figuring out the story they wanted to tell. "There's so much history. So how are we going to organize it and make it in a way the people you know, really with the guest experience in mind? So we've landed on this idea that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. So had all these people not pioneered, broken ground, taken risks along the way, we would never have the art form and the art that is created today."
