What's the Buzz? Tanglin Hearts Shines at The Waldo Opening Night
Tanglin’ Hearts, a big, fun, and funny musical comedy opened at the Waldo Theater last Friday to an audience that cheered and whooped it up
The show is loosely based on AS YOU LIKE it and true to Shakespeare’s comedies, Tanglin’ Hearts features mistaken identity, falling in love, subterfuge and more.
The cast of 10 actors/singers, a live band, Texas-inspired choreography, and 16 original songs make for an entertaining night.
Nick Azzaretti shines and slimes as the “bad guy” Ben , who seeks to open a theme park for men “Ben World” which will feature a NO TELL Motel among other things, and is actually a front for his true plans- a toxic waste dump. Azzaretti never fails to make his character bigger badder and still fun, As Ben here- you always kinda know Nick is twinkling under there
Soren Barker (Webb) wanders home with his guitar ever in hand, charming and beautifully singing his way into the heart of “Rosalind” played sweetly by Mallory Smith-Adams. Barker is a chameleon who can tackle pretty much anything. Delightful. Unshaven and rough as his character should be but a pleasure to watch. He also has the BEST one word retort in the entire show.
Honora Boothby (Phebe) just wants to leave home like every girl in a small town, but is pursued by Rowdy ( Niall Lessard) who stole the hearts of the entire audience. Boothby and Lessard are pure delight together onstage. Both can dance REALLY well but go full on comedy- which is HARDER. Bravo- that’s the mark of a pro. Lessard brough this extensive training to the choreography for the show- and it pays off.
Cameron Kinney as Webb, the clueless political hopeful and Katie Fearn as Celia, his love interest and sidekick to Rosalind, sing and dance their way through the show with style and big smiles. They are a hoot.
Carole Florman brings a level-up in Texas mannerism and an honesty that helps to balance the absurdity of the farcical comedy. She has strong clear singing voice as well, and we could have done with more of her character overall. You just know her ‘saloon’ is the heart of the town and that gets a bit lost, Florman is one to watch and this reviewer is plotting...
Skip Simonds as Duke, the Narrator of the tale, is the conscience of the story. He has a natural talent that makes his character real, as is Florman’s. Simonds has a mellifluous voice both singing and speaking and anchors the story. The two small scenes with Florman were perfection. He has a sweet charisma that shines across the footlights.
Stephen Wallace as Cal, the money hungry televangelist who has discovered TikTok as and sinners.com as way to the gold at the end of the rainbow is late to the show. Plot wise, having him woven in sooner would have been a bonus. He and Azzaretti are truly the ( un) Holy Trinity - "you me n god") He gets better in every role.
The band is wonderful, the choreography outstanding, bright beautiful costumes, and specifically the use of set, projections and the theater side walls all contribute to a good time. Of note the outfits of DUKE and BEN were standouts- subltle but making the good guy/ bad guy connection nicely.
The book and music themselves could use a touch of judicial editing here or there. While the mistaken lovers storyline is standard Shakespeare, a song or two could have been trimmed or cut for length to tighten the plot and running time a bit. Seeing more of some of the secondary characters could make this a tight ensemble piece. All works need tweaking and that is how they fine tune into what you see in larger venues. This show has all the bits to make a move to larger stages. Zora Margolis has a wonderful piece here and it would be great to see it grow bigger and reach a wider audience.
Bravo to Director Lynna Harrison, Choreographer Niall Lessard, and Music Director Guy Scott,
Book and lyrics are by actress, playwright, and Edgecomb resident Zora Margolis with music by Peter Spelman. Tanglin’ Hearts is a fun and funny, toe tappin’ good time for audiences of all ages.
Tanglin’ Hearts is co-produced at The Waldo by George Bates and Zora Margolis. Congrats!!
The show continues on Oct 4 & 5 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 on the day of and at the door on day of performance if available. Youth tickets are $10 each. Tickets available online at: https://www.thewaldotheatre.org/tanglin-hearts
About this blog:
What's the Buzz" covers what's happening, what might be happening, and what should be happening in the opinion of the author.
Eleanor Cade Busby is an unpublished award-winning writer, photographer and blogger & simply loves writing about herself in third person.She published this absolutely all true bio.
Busby grew up all over New England,a preacher's kid who set out to destroy every single stereotype about a "Minister's Daughter."
She attended Goddard College, The Rhode Island Conservatory of Music and The School of Life, majoring in everything she could stuff into her head. She once had her own office and a red stapler. Her employees learned quickly never to touch it.
Much of her very long life has been spent on or back-stage at theaters. She penned a couple of plays, directed many more and acted in scores of productions. She's done it all except hanging lighting. You can't make her climb a ladder.
She won awards locally & nationally for social services and customer care. Most recently she was awarded the PEN/Toni and James C. Goodale Freedom of Expression Courage Award along with 3 million of her closest personal friends for "galvanizing a potent global movement to resist infringements on the rights and dignity of women and many other groups."
Busby has been a theater, art and dance reviewer and commentator for several publications, including CRACKED magazine.
Opinionated, obstinate, much-abused, and under-appreciated, she believes that if it isn't funny or relevant, it isn't worth it.
Eleanor Cade Busby lives in Midcoast Maine with two cats who like to stand on her head at 3 AM demanding a sacrifice, often her sanity.
Suggestions for topics and comments are always welcome at eleanorcadebusby@hotmail.com
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