By James V. Ruocco
Something's afoot at Mockingbird High School.
Halloween is vastly approaching.
Time is running out.
The school is scheduled for demolition.
The students - not your squeaky-clean or preppie types - are in a panic.
A member of the faculty is up to no good.
The plug on a big Halloween talent show fundraiser is about to be pulled.
The spirits of three teenaged high schoolers who vanished without a trace and make Mockingbird High School their place of residence also hang in a balance.
Whodunnit?
Who's good?
Who's bad?
Who's lying?
Who's telling the truth?
Who has everything to gain if the walls of Mockingbird High School come tumbling down?
Not to worry.
In "School Spirits," a new musical entertainment from Pantochino Productions, these and other questions are rightfully processed, addressed and answered in glorious Technicolor, but not before the light-hearted jocularity of the scenario casts its spell, teases and taunts, rattles your senses and pushes you over the edge right before the big reveal and a dynamic climax you never once saw coming.
Cotton candy, anyone?
Light, flavorful and brimming with ghoulish delight, "School Spirits" is an assured. snappy, slap-bang musical comedy entertainment that unfolds with an arch silliness and madcap aesthetic that is completely irresistible.
It's Halloween candy and trick-or-treat all rolled up into one.
It's funny.
It's clever.
It's eerie.
It's jammy dodger, time warp delightful.
It also reaffirms Pantochino's ongoing commitment to plays and musicals that utilize talent - both new and established - in productions produced and mounted at the highest level of quality for both musician, director, actor, audience and design team.
As director of "School Spirits," Bert Bernardi creates a high-energy, standout musical, flanked by just the right amount of hyper-detailed fun, cheer, riff, surprise and recurring spookiness. Here, the accent is on laughter, heft and throbbing beats of silly, full-on storytelling, all of which is awe-inspired and gussied up with an extended nod to Halloween, netherworld utopia and all those crazy, ghostly spirits of one's imagination.
Not one to disappoint or shape and mold with the skill and mindset of a great originator, Bernardi's narrative is well-charged with superb comic timing, slap-band chatter, crafty stage management and knockabout rush and mystery. It's non-stop pandemonium that's refreshingly staged, stated and paced with tickling images, story arcs, gags, situations and dialogue that keep coming and coming in rapid succession much to the delight of everyone on stage and in the audience.
The plot-driven musical score for "School Spirits" - a playful mix of humorous, spirited and inspired musical numbers - has been configured with plenty of bounce, vigor and melody by Bernardi (lyrics) and Justin Rugg (music). The songs - eleven in all - are: "Just Like That," "Right Here," "Room Thirteen," "The Rules of Miss Cassowary's Classroom," "Schoolegy," "Talent Show Crossover," "Welcome to the Horror Show Rehearsal," "Flash Loose Foot Dance," "This Better Be Good," "Recitative Reveal" and "Welcome to the Horror Show Finale."
An expressive, free-flowing and charismatic achievement, maintained by sweet, distinct accompaniment, sound and rhythmic programming, the songs themselves are fun, enjoyable, entertaining and perfectly in sync with the story at hand, the humor and the melodrama, the Halloween theme, the high school setting and the rota of specific characters who have been asked to bring them to life. Here, as in other Pantochino musicals including "The Littlest Christmas Tree" and the more recent "Checking in on Charles," Bernardi and Rugg create lofty, frisky and festive-like songs, anthems, duets and ensemble numbers that are thoroughly fresh, clocked in and full-bodied.
Their love of musical theatre is engaging and perfectly clear as is their total involvement to music and lyric, right down to the smallest detail, beat, gesture and emotional moment. That command and commitment gives "School Spirit" its scholarly lift, its contrasting pleasures, its dispelled musicality and its significant detail.
Doubling as musical director, Rugg makes all the right moves and choices with vocalists - teen and adult - who complement and grasp the size and scope of the material, the mood, the surprise and the delivery of every individual musical number, its buildup, its climax, its execution and its importance to the evolvement of the actual story. Rugg also allows his cast to have great fun with the music, which, of course, they do, thus, bringing out all their vocal strengths, tones, virtuosity and sensibility alone, in pairs, in groups or as an ecstatic ensemble.
The cast - a megawattage of kitsch, camp, cartoonishness and B-movie, horror film mono - are an invigorating bunch of performers who wondrously morph into Bernardi's colorful lot of teens, spirits and high school faculty with truthfulness, equality, sizzle, influence and playfulness. Casting is key here, as is vocal ability, stage presence, personality and characterization.
That said, all twelve make "School Spirits" fly, snap, soar and excite. The adults - Valerie Solli as Miss Cassowary, Hannah Duffy as Miss Raven and Jeremy Ajdukiewicz - bring a collective madness and punch to their respective roles. All three provide the necessary magnetism, voice and thunder associated with their colorful, stereotypical roles.
The teens - Annabel Wardman as Crystal, Connor Rizzo as Ace, Christopher Serrano as Liverwurst, Maya Barnes as Ginger, Nathan Horne as Baze, Delia Canarie as Shellac, Jamie Lamb as Keen, Fiona Pasley as Spooki, Ali McLaren as Kane - incorporate a wide range of emotions, assumptions and high school accent and persona into their individual roles, offset by perfectly-pitched poise and musicality, which makes every one of their musical numbers a thrilling showcase of fun, merriment, spark and horror film dollop.
Another "star" of the production is Jimmy Johansmeyer's choice, inspired and inventive, red, white and black costume designs, all of which have been tailor-made for all twelve cast members in accordance with the Halloween-esque conceit envisioned by the show's creators and musical collaborators. Design wise, every one of them is different, as well they should be. But the presentation itself, a creative blend of color, fabric, style and culture is shaped by Johansmeyer's strong sense of confidence, point of view, identity, tailoring, line and individuality. That feeling of fashion is fused and crafted to perfection throughout "School Spirits."
An invigorating megamix of song, trouble, glee, wit, dance and sparkle, "School Spirits" is a breezy, original Halloween musical paraded around in perky gadabout fashion that never once ceases to amaze and entertain.
It's frothy. It's playful. It's vigorous. It's surprising. It's exciting.
It's powered and performed by a committed, hard-working cast whose blast-out, room-filling energy ignites Bert Bernardi's high-decibel script.
The music - Bernardi and Rugg united as lyricist and composer - is joyously festive with track-race finesse and feeling. And the ending - happily-ever-after, of course - not only brings the ghost/ghoul/teen story to a close in very surprising, uplifting ways, but from the applause and happy smiles of everyone who bought a ticket, one wonders whether or not "School Sprits" should be a seasonal event at Pantochino every Halloween.
The answer: YES!!!!
Without question - Go for it!
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