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October 1, 2010
Fringe pick a must-see
The musical 13 rocks with youthful enthusiasm.
TOVA KORNFELD
High School Musical move over, here comes Evan Goldman and his bar mitzvah, brought to you by 13 energetic teenagers who will knock your socks off with their talent.
It all starts when, after his parents’ divorce, Evan leaves his private school in New York City to move with his mother to Appleton, Ind., where he will be attending Dan Quayle Junior High. To fit in, Evan tries to befriend the in-crowd, and get them to attend his bar mitzvah (as he describes it, the Jewish equivalent of a Superbowl) party. And so, we are taken on an adolescent journey of high school angst, replete with the stereotypical characters: football hero, popular head cheerleader, bully, skinny nerd and outcast loner. It is the classic battle of geek versus cool, good versus evil, told through song and dance; a coming-of-age story of teens told by teens, who “discover that cool is where you find it, and sometimes where you least expect it.”
With music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, based on the book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn, the original show ran on Broadway for five months in 2008/2009. This production, the Canadian première, is presented by the newly formed youth theatre Awkward Stage Productions, and was a surprise hit of the recent Vancouver Fringe Festival. Against 83 competitors, this terrific little show, with the youngest cast ever in the history of the festival, was one of the six Pick of the Fringe finalists.
The cast and band are all teenagers, broken into junior (12-15) and senior (15-18) casts, with a total of 26 actors, three of whom are Jewish. Double casting allows the seniors to mentor the younger, less experienced group.
In the senior production, David Cohen plays the rabbi, as well as football hero Brett, who forms the base of a puppy-love triangle; Zach Wolfman plays Evan. Both Cohen and Wolfman said that being bar mitzvah boys themselves helped them give authenticity to their respective roles.
Fiona McIntyre puts the perfect spin on nasty Lucy, the “pretend to be your best friend, stab you in the back gal” we all knew in high school. Morgan Roff plays the disabled Archie with pathos, humor and timing that many professional actors would envy. But the highlight of the show was the performance of Kristin Bunyan as Patrice, the outcast (who eventually gets her man). This girl can sing!
Directors Corwin Ferguson, Cara Tench and Andy Toth have done wonders with the group. Author Horn saw the juniors perform Sunday afternoon and said it was one of the best performances he had seen of his beloved show.
Many of the cast members and two of the directors were at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver’s Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery last weekend. Almost all of the actors come from theatrical backgrounds and some are JCCGV Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance! alumni. Many of them participated in the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies.
The kids were enthusiastic about 13. A camaraderie developed from the intense two months they spent together in rehearsal and performance. Through the development of their respective characters, they have had to deal closely with issues common among teens: bullying, emerging sexuality, popularity and the contemporary use of social media for networking.
These are the up-and-coming stars of the local theatre scene and, boy, do they ever shine bright. Do yourself a favor, do not miss this show. While there are some marginally risqué moments, 13 is appropriate for 13-plus. It runs six times from Oct. 7-11 at the Norman Rothstein Theatre, with tickets at $18/$15 (plus tax) from awkwardstageproductions.com or ticketstonight.ca.
Tova Kornfeld is a local writer and lawyer.
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