'13, the Musical' at Middletown Teen Theater - My Review

Middletown Teen Theater is a program of the Middletown Stage Company; the teens have presented at least one production since 2009. Middletown Children's Theater began in 2011 and MCT Tiny Tots will present their first production Winnie the Pooh, Kids this summer. Marco Gaylord, the Middletown Public Schools K-12 Fine Arts Director, serves as the Executive Director of the Teen Theater, while Ali Sinicrope is the Artistic Director. There is also a new MTT Community Edition that recently put on Sweeney Todd, so this is a busy group of actors of all ages.

The Teen Theater put on their shows at the absolutely stunning Middletown High School theater. The huge stage is fronted by an equally huge pit and the large seating area was impressive. Many friends and family filled the seats for the Friday night performance of 13, A New Musical.

The director, Spencer Bazzano, writes that he wanted to choose a show for his directorial debut that would "be fun to direct and also engage and connect with the teens in our program." He "re-found' the show that he was first introduced to when it was coming to Broadway after premiering at the Goodspeed in Chester. "A high-energy, fun rock musical written specifically for teen...for me, it was an obvious choice."

Mr. Bazzano goes on to warn his readers that to say this is a "kid show" could not be farther from the truth. The story follows a modern thirteen year old Jewish-American boy in his daily trials with his peers. (I only mention his religion because it figures importantly into the story.) I would certainly agree that the musical includes some life lessons, lots of funny lines and some great song and dance numbers. Under this first time director's able guidance, these teen from all over the state of CT put on a wonderful performance.

The ensemble included 17 members and they sang beautifully and danced as one. The supporting characters were equally good. As five backup singers (both literally and figuratively,) Nick Maturo as Eddie, Mark Sumner as Malcolm, Andrew Gilliand as Simon, Phillip Coffey as Richie and Tim Halvorsen as Andre were in sync and very charming, especially in their featured number "Bad, Bad New." As the conniving Lucy, Cristina Shea was impressive, while Maya Eriksen as her best friend and ingenue Kendra was sweetly clueless.

In the role of Patrice, Olivia Davenport was quite wonderful. An amazing voice and fine acting made her character a stand out. In an ad in the program, her parents tell the story of this young lady when she was five. She attended the musical Les Miz and walking down Broadway after the show, her father said the actors were professionals. "Young Olivia stopped dead in her tracks and said 'You mean they get paid to do that?! And a star was born." Heartthrob Brett, who tries to woo the lovely Kendra, was well-played by Drew Cietek. Tyler Felson as the handicapped Archie was endearing, funny and feisty.

In the lead as Evan was the always amazing Carey Cannata, whose mother arranged for my complimentary ticket. I could watch (and have watched) this young actor play anything, but this was a real chance for him to shine. He is simply a natural onstage and a young man to watch. Mr. Cannata (Les Miserable at Taft and Over the Tavern at Seven Angels) and Katie Stango (who appeared with her father Chuck in Richter's Bye Bye Birdie) will also appear in this musical when it comes to TriArts Sharon Playhouse in August. In this version, Mr. Cannata will play the role of Brett and Miss Stango will be playing Patrice.

The four-piece orchestra, under the direction of music director/piano/conductor Aaron Sinicrope, were dwarfed by the massive pit area, but sounded perfectly loud enough as they played the rock-based score. The choreography by Kate Ingram was modern and tight, right up to the curtain call. There were a few sound issues and the lighting was a little off at times, but the simple scenery by scenic artist Don Coffey added value to the stage, especially the projected photographs to set the scene. 

Click here to watch a video of the cast members.