Runway Theatre presents DISASTER!

Disaster!

By Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick

Directed Lon Barrera

Music Director Kristin Spires

Choreographer Christina Kudlicki

Sound Designer Mark Howard

Lighting Designer Cat Luster

Set Designer Emily-Ann Moriarty-Phillips

Costume Designer Logan Broker-Faught

Wigs, Hair, and Make up Designer Nick Lynch-Voris

Puppet Designer Gabrielle Grafrath

Sound Operator Shawn Cummings

Light Operator Lindsey Sinopoli

Stage Manager Hannah Hackley

The Barracuda Band

Conductor/Keys 1 Kristin Spires

Keys 2 Kurt Hilsabeck

Guitar Jesse Ramirez

Bass Bill Zauner

Drums Randy Linberg

The Cast

Jordan Justice

Vinnie Witherspoon

Landry Beckley

Briana Berk

Tripp Jackson

Patrick Bilbow

Samantha Padilla

Kelly Norman

Doug Fowler

Jayden Russell

Hilary Evitt Allen

Conor Clark

Vanessa Anders Crump

Kat Dennis

Audrey Ham

Greg Kozakis

Donovan Marie Lawson

My thoughts on Disaster! or polyester puns and bell bottom belly laughs.

Disaster! is a farce/parody where “The Poseidon Adventure” meets “Saturday Night Fever.” It’s 1979 and we are on a floating casino named the Barracuda that is docked at a New York City pier. Aboard are every stereotypical character you would expect from the scientist to the singing nun. The twist is that in Disaster! every stereotype is turned on its head just like the ill-fated Barracuda. The result is unrelenting, pull out all the stops, over the top (and under the water) laughs accompanied by the big hits of the 70’s from “Hot Stuff” to “Hooked on a Feeling.”

And speaking of songs, Music Director Kristin Spires and her terrific band has all those 70’s songs sounding better than they did coming out of your boom box, making it almost impossible to stay still in your seat. And it’s especially hard not to want to jump up on the cruise ship set designed by Emily-Ann Moriarty-Phillips and join in Christina Kudlicki’s inventive disco inspired choreography.

It’s wonderful to have Lon Barrera, one of DFW’s most beloved actor/directors, back at the helm of a musical and neither his lengthy absence from the stage nor his health challenges have diminished his skills. Barrera is right at home in this farcical send up of disaster movies and he never misses an opportunity to get a laugh. More importantly, his love of actors shows in the staging as everyone, even the unnamed characters in the ensemble, gets their moment in the spotlight.

And Barrera has a very sharp eye for casting. There are at least six people in the cast whose name alone will get me to the theater.and all of whom I have seen in lead or heavily featured roles previously. There are no real star roles here. Everyone is a supporting player and do they ever create a winning team.

Jordan Justice, with a voice for the pop tunes and excellent comic timing, is the ladies man caterer Chad who was jilted at the altar and is working on the Barracuda alongside his best friend Scott played by Vinnie Witherspoon. Scott wants Chad to teach him to be a success with the ladies as they both look for “Hot Stuff.” It was great fun to see the dashing, honey voiced Witherspoon who I have seen in multiple leading man roles play against type as the awkward, socially inept Scott. Chad, beside mentoring Scott, has another problem. Marianne, an investigative reporter and the woman who jilted him, wonderfully played and sung by Briana Berk (she belts the Helen Reddy right out of “I am Woman”}, is on board. Gee, do you think they could possibly get back together?

Marianne is investigating the corrupt Tony Del Vecchio, who owns the floating casino, and is played with slimy, ruffled shirt charm and a fine tenor by Tripp Jackson. Tony, who considers himself quite the lover, and cheats on his girlfriend Jackie, the Barracuda’s cabaret singer and mother of twins Ben and Lisa. Hilary Evitt Allen, one of my favorite comic actors, disappears so far into the character of Jackie (aided by one of Nick Lynch-Voris’s great wigs} that I had to ask my friend at intermission where Hilary was, and this was after she had cracked me up singing the Bay City Rollers hit “Saturday Night.” The twins are played by a remarkable young actor named Patrick Bilbow. Bilbow changes genders repeatedly throughout the show simply by putting on a ball cap with pigtails and handles the characterizations like a pro. Jackie and the twins have one of the most hilarious numbers in the show singing Linda Ronstadt’s “When Will I Be Loved?” The answer to that is right away…by the audience.

Tony’s life is further complicated by the presence on the ship of Professor Ted Scheider, a scientist who warns him of impending danger to the Barracuda. Landry Beckley plays Ted as a sort of sexy nerd with leadership skills. Beckley has outstanding songs with several characters and has tremendous stage charisma. Ted develops a “thing” for Jackie, and could he be our hero?

Also on board the Barracuda is former disco diva fallen on hard times. Levora Verona played by the incredible Jayden Russell. Russell dressed in faded splendor by costumer Logan Broker-Faught and an afro wig looks like Chaka Khan on a bad day and brings her comic and vocal all to Levora and tears up “Knock on Wood.”

Sister Mary, a nun with a not-so-secret gambling addiction, is on board the Barracuda to collect money for an orphanage. I didn’t think Samantha Padilla who plays Sister Mary could make me laugh any harder than she did as Mazeppa in Theatre Arlington’s Gypsy. But how was I to know that just a couple weeks later I would see her dressed as a nun, humping a slot machine, and singing a medley of “Never Can Say Goodbye” and “Torn Between Two Lovers?” Sheer Comic Genius.

Maury and Shirley played by Doug Fowler and Kelly Norman are the senior couple on board the Barracuda celebrating Maury’s retirement. Fowler and Norman play off other like the old married couple they portray and express their continuing love for each other in a delightful duet of “Still the One” and Norman tap dancing out Morse code is hysterical. Maury and Shirley are the couple you wish your grandparents were.

Fellow visitors on the Barracuda include Conor Clark, Vanessa Anders Crump, Kat Dennis, Audrey Ham, Greg Kozakis, and Donovan Marie Lawson. This is a dynamic ensemble of actor/singer/dancers who may not have named characters, but who make this Disaster! next level.

Director Lon Barrera is delivering an early Easter gift with Disaster! but instead of chocolate bunnies and jellybeans, you’re getting unending laughs, disco dancing, and some awesome old songs. It’s all great fun and calorie free.

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