The Firehouse Theatre presents VIOLET

Directed and Choreographed by Ashley Puckett Gonzales

Music Director

Ashley Ryan Mullings

Assistant Director/Dramaturg

Danny McMann

Sound Design

Dylan Hearn

Lighting Design

Hank Baldree

Costume Design

Dayna Dutton

Stage Manager

Katie Irwin

Master Carpenter

Dennis Williams

Props Mistress

Linda Bambina

Scenic Design

Ashley Puckett Gonzales

Owen Beans

Run Crew

Keeley Culhane

Kayden Culhane

My Thoughts on VIOLET or…scars outside and in

The Firehouse Theatre presents

Violet

Music by Jeanine Tesori

Lyrics and Book by Brian Crawley

Based on “The Ugliest Pilgrim” by Doris Betts

Directed and Choreographed by Ashley Puckett Gonzales

Violet is not your typical musical. The score is nice and serves the story well, but not memorable, there’s not much choreography, and no flashy costumes. Violet is a tender, mostly gentle, chamber musical that quietly works its way into your heart and Director Ashley Puckett Gonzales lets the story unfold slowly, almost as if you were turning pages in a book.

The story of Violet time shifts between her life as a young girl, mostly before her face was disfigured in a tragic accident, and her present (1964) journey from her home in Spruce Pine, North Carolina to Tulsa, Oklahoma to see a tv evangelist, who she believes can rid her of the facial scar. The story is actually more about the journey than the destination, as the people Violet meets on the bus become important players in her life, most especially two soldiers, one white and one black.

Violet explores what it’s like to be an outsider, from the perspective of both the disfigured young woman and the black soldier in the early days of the Civil Rights Movement. Violet also questions what true beauty really is and reveals that love has much more transformative power than any faith healer/evangelist in whom Violet has so much misplaced faith.

The clever scenic design of Violet is an asset to the storytelling. Most of the scenes with Young Violet and her father take place in their home which is on an upper level of the set. The bus passengers sit on trunks (lots of traveling symbolism here) placed on a moving platform that splits in two for scenes that take place off the bus including a rooming house, a restaurant, and more. Scenic Designers Gonzales and Beans have made all the transitions quick and seamless.

All the characters in Violet except the leads play multiple parts and do them all and sing extremely well. Indeed, Music Director Ashley Ryan Mullings gets great vocals from everyone. Audrey Ham is especially good as the racist woman working in a diner. Justin Taylor is much fun as the creepy guy on the bus wanting to talk to everyone about Jesus. Elizabeth Moose is terrific as Lula, an outstanding soloist in the gospel choir. Hayley Ewerz is hysterical as the Old Lady on the bus, taking those tiny steps across the stage and giving Violet advice. Bryan Brooks, who I have seen on stage in Garland six times this summer, is forceful as the tv evangelist and seems like he just stepped out of the pulpit for real.

R. Bradford Smith is Violet’s father, who is still grieving his wife’s death, and is uncertain about how to raise his daughter. Smith, looking every bit the working man in bib overalls, courtesy of costumer Dayna Dutton, makes the father a slightly befuddled, but caring man. Smith has a pleasing voice and is quite good in his duet with Young Violet and in his solo.

Reese Olsen, who plays Young Violet and looks like she could be the real sister of Violet, is a fourteen-year-old wonder. She has the acting skills of someone who has been studying for years and sings with maturity as well. I admired the forthright, strength of character she brought to Young Violet as it is reflected in the adult Violet.

Jacob Wyckstrom, as the womanizing, cocky soldier Monty, is a most appealing actor and makes Monty into a fully dimensional character. It took me a long time to decide if I liked Monty or not and Wyckstrom makes us well aware of Monty’s flaws as well as his virtues. Wyckstrom also has a strong singing voice whether in a solo, duet, or trio.

The real surprise for me in this production was Nick Hill as Flick. I’d only previously known Hill as a director, but he is a fantastic actor, singer, and dancer. Hill skillfully shows the hurt Flick endures from the racism he encounters and how his love for Violet slowly develops. Hill has enormous stage presence and one of those voices that is butter smooth but can also raise the roof.

Anyone who has read any of my previous reviews knows I am a huge fan of Lucy Shea who plays the emotionally and literally scarred Violet. Although she will forever be Alice Murphy in Bright Star to me, Shea makes Violet equally thrilling. Her Violet is willful, misguided, a bit profane at times, and even sexy. Shea’s angelic voice fills the Firehouse and her last duet with Nick Hill, the reprise of “Promise Me, Violet” is truly emotionally stirring.

Violet, though a small musical, addresses some big themes and brings a humanity to its characters that larger musicals often do not. Everything about this fictional tale has a ring of truth to it. Perhaps it is because we are all a bit like Violet, trying to hide our scars from the world and wanting to find that someone who will love us, scars and all.

Photo by Jason Anderson/Pendleton Photography