Barn Players "Shout!" review by JLin

A Colorful Performance

Rating: 3

Shout!  The Mod Musical

The Barn Players, Inc.

The Mother's Day performance of Shout! The Mod Musical had a thin crowd, as was to be expected, but that did not keep the cast from giving an energetic performance.  The six actresses and three-piece band were entertaining and obviously talented.

The scenery, designed by April Bishop, was bright and colorful providing a perfect atmosphere for the musical romp through the 60s in England.  J. Patrick Inlow's lights were complimentary – clearly the evidence of a great collaboration between designers (all of which are to be commended).  Costumes, by Francie Kapono, were flattering and period appropriate.  However, Blue's costume looked slightly out of place with the others (thought I don't claim to know everything about 60s fashion).

Director Guy Gardner, who received training in Florida with Disney, provided some stellar choreography and five loveable and relatable characters.  (The sixth played the part of antagonist.)  The singers sounded great together and it was clear that musical director Mackenzie Zeilke worked hard with them to ensure that the harmonies were spot on and well blended.  There were a few sour notes, but not more than to be expected at a community theatre.

The Show started with a very cute video of five young girls projected onto a screen.  At the end of the video they all struck a pose and the screen was dropped to the floor, revealing our characters in their places.  It was a great start to the show that let the audience know the fun that was to come.

The characters (aside from the advice columnist, Gwendolyn Holmes) are named simply by the colors that they wear.  A humorous voice over reads an article from Shout Magazine that describes the personalities that the colors represent (my favorite of which – and the shortest – being "Green is a bit of a slut").  I wish they had given these descriptions at the beginning of the performance because it seemed that they did not take on their personalities until afterwards.

Between the songs there were little vignettes in which the characters responded to articles in Shot.  These were absolutely hilarious!  My personal favorite was concerning marijuana.  Each character reacted differently to the drug, and with a clever use of flash lights they really made the scene pop.  It also had a terrific segue into "Goldfinger" (which got the band, Beth and the Boys, in on the fun)

Kristen Altoro (Yellow) played an American drawn across the pond by her love for Paul McCartney.  This girl's voice stole the show.  Every time she had a solo I found myself saying "you go girl!"  I was so happy when it was her that sang the title song "Shout!" This was her third production at the Barn and I hope to see her in many more.  She also had a beautifully touching monologue about spousal abuse.

I can only use one word to describe Red (Chelsea Anglemeyer): adorable.  The audience couldn't help but love this Mizzou musical theatre major, the nerd of the group.  Her singing was weak on the low notes and she lost her British accent, but she had an impressive belt and amazing breath control.

Whitney Armstrong as Green was hilarious!  Her singing was strong and her comedic timing was spot on.  She was definitely my favorite character.  I especially enjoyed "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" during which she had a fake wedding with an audience member (who happened to be orange's husband, and who also had to be dragged out of his seat).  This is also Armstrong's third Barn production and I have no trouble seeing why she is continually cast.

Orange, played by Alicia Stutlz, adopted her role as a typical, disgruntled house wife easily.  She had a weak accent and was clearly more comfortable with the lower notes, but she really shined in the ballad "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me."  I was caught up in the emotion of it and didn't look down at my notes a single time.  However, as the show went on, she seemed to slowly lose steam and fell behind their energy of the other performers.

Blue was originally played by Samantha Ware, but for this, and all future performances, understudy Teal Holliday has taken over the role.  It was clear that she had not rehearsed enough (though I commend her for taking on the task of learning all five parts); there were times that she dropped out from the singing entirely and had to watch the other girls for choreography.  With such a high energy show, her timid demeanor stuck out like a sore thumb, even though her character was described as confident.  It was not until her solo in "You're My World" that we got to see some life in her performance.  Her accent seemed to fade from American to something like South African throughout the show, but none of them held a British accent when they were singing anyway.  I don't blame her in the least for her weak performance; she obviously just needed more rehearsal time.

Rachel Szmed played the one non-singing role, Gwendolyn Holmes.  She was absolutely terrible – in all the right ways.  The audience loved to hate her, which means she did her job well (though, with the way the character is written, it would be almost impossible for her to fail).  My only complaint (again) was the less than convincing accent.

The show ended with an uplifting "where are they now" segment and a mash up of "Pictures of the Past" and "Downtown".  It was a pleasant end to a generally entertaining production.  However, the curtain call number was "Shout!", and while I was glad to hear Altoro sing another solo, I was a little put off by the fact that the audience was basically pressured into a standing ovation.  If you have read my other reviews, you know that I don't give those out lightly.

All things considered, I did enjoy the show.  However, due to the poor accents, Stutlz's loss of energy and Holliday's poor preparation I can only give it three out of five stars.

There are still three more chances to see Shout! on May 13-15.  Call the box office at 913-432-9100 for reservations.

read the review at KC Stage