The Firehouse Theatre presents Saturday Night Fever
Directed by Ally and Owens Beans
Music Directed by Jason Philip Solis
Choreographed by J. Austin Eyer
Scenic Design and Build by Logan Utenwoldt and Maggie Sproul
Lighting Design by Hank Baldree
Sound Design by Michael Marbry
Costume Design by Dayna Dutton
Stage Manager Hannah Tolle
Props Design Ally Beans
Dance Captain Sarah Jo Adams
Deck Captains Max Morgan and Ally Varitek
My thoughts on Saturday Night Fever or…your best ever one night stand.
Trying to put a movie on stage rarely works. I’ve seen some real clunkers like The Bodyguard and Dirty Dancing. Saturday Night Fever fares a bit better than those two and if you can ignore the often inane dialogue and the bad to serviceable songs written for the show, you are going to have a great time. And that great time is due to the slick direction of Ally and Owen Beans, the superb music direction of Jason Philip Solis, and all that amazing retro choreography from J. Austin Eyer.
The scenic design from Logan Untenwoldt and Maggie Sproul and Hank Baldree’s lighting place us firmly in the 70’s disco world. (I was told there were lighting problems on opening night, but they were undetectable from where I was sitting.} Dayna Dutton’s costumes capture the era when polyester was king, although no one would have been caught dead in sneakers at the disco. We had boogie shoes.
The Beans have assembled a diverse singing, dancing, acting wonder of a cast that make this Bee Gees infused journey to the past totally groovy. I was impressed by how authentically Brooklyn and Brooklyn Italian many of the characters sounded. Tony’s family played by Hunter Lewis, Andi Allen, and Jolie Lambert were so Italian I could almost smell the marinara sauce and Tony’s boss played by Charles Barry was equally strong. Alexandru Estrate also has the accent down and makes Tony’s brother and former priest Frank Jr. a compelling, conflicted character.
There are many people in the orbit of the central character of Tony Manero. There’s his gang that includes Bobby, Joey, Double J, and Gus played by Devin Johnson, Lucas Haupert, MattJohn West, and Max Morgan. All of these young men bring the required bravado to their street wise characters, and all are excellent singers and dancers. Johnson’s character of Bobby has the most interesting story arc as he is struggling with the pregnancy of his girlfriend Pauline, well played by Emma Gervasi. Johnson brings a vulnerability to Bobby that sets him apart from the others and endears him to the audience.
Also endearing is Caitlin Martelle as Annette, who is willing to do literally anything to win Tony. Martelle, who knows how to “act” a song, brings a plaintive quality to the usually upbeat “If I Can’t Have You” that makes us sympathetic to her character.
Inhabiting Tony’s favorite haunt the 2001 Disco is the deejay Monty played with appealing high energy and wit by Preston Isham and the supreme disco diva Candy played by the beyond talented Nicole Palmer who could start a disco inferno without matches. Why Palmer isn’t touring in The Donna Summer Musical right now is beyond me. Those vocals!
Dancers at the disco include Ally Varitek as Connie, Sarah Jo Adams as Shirley, Victoria Gomez as Maria, Octavian Lewis as Chester, and Danny Vanegas as Cesar. At the climactic dance contest, Adams and Lewis do a fabulously inventive dance with all sorts of surprise moves, while Gomez and Vanegas bring so much fiery passion to their dance they could literally “burn the mother down.”
The starring roles of Tony Manero and his love interest Stephanie Mangano are played by Edward Michael Escamilla and Averie Bishop, and they create a sensational stage couple. It’s hard not to fall in love with them falling in love with each other. Bishop, to borrow a line from another musical is “one singular sensation every little movement she makes.” I’m willing to wager that you will be telling people you saw her in this five years from now. As for Mr. Escamilla, he out Travolta’s John and loads the character with sweet, charming sex appeal and judging from the screams from the audience, he infected quite a few people with “Night Fever” with those smooth moves. If Escamilla and Bishop had been the leads on Broadway, Saturday Night Fever would have played much longer.
Saturday Night Fever is never going to be a great musical, but with a dynamite cast and a top tier creative team at the helm, it is certainly a wonderfully entertaining one. It’s a big, glitter covered hit for The Firehouse.
