Reviews/News
see photos - see the video

The Wonderettes are Truly Marvelous
By Wayne Barcomb, Pelican Press

'Wonderettes’ have fun spirit at Golden Apple By Jay Handelman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Wonderetttes is Funderful
By Kim Cool, Venice Gondolier

Take a trip back in time with the Golden Apple's Marvelous Wonderettes. By Kay Kipling, Sarasota Magazine

Return to 2009-2010 Season Listing

The Wonderettes are Truly Marvelous
By Wayne Barcomb, Pelican Press
View Article at http://www.pelicanpress.org

"The Marvelous Wonderettes" currently playing at Sarasota’s Golden Apple Dinner Theatre is a gem of a showcase for four female performers. For an actress who loves to sing and grab the stage in every way imaginable, this is a show to die for.

The Golden Apple’s cast does indeed grab the stage by the throat and never lets go. Their high octane performance holds the audience in thrall throughout. We’re not talking about classic theatre here, only rip-roaring good fun, some terrific songs at times, hilarious comedy, and the Golden Apple’s four ladies going for broke.

For those who have never heard of the show, it’s about four female classmates filling in to provide the entertainment at their 1958 senior prom at Springfield High School. They call themselves The Marvelous Wonderettes, and when they sing together they rock. When they’re not singing we learn about their inner lives. Each of them is vying to be prom queen, and there is no love lost as they compete to see who will win.

Some of the hi-jinks are a bit slapstick, but it’s when the four step in front of their microphones that the show soars. Their voices blend seamlessly, and the high energy of their music is non stop.

The back story (what there is of it) is at times silly and contrived, but it doesn’t matter. The four women are so full of life and personality that they keep the audience smiling, indeed guffawing throughout the show.

There is nothing terribly creative or clever about their comedy, but it’s the wild and wooly way the gals present it all that is so hilarious. Each has her own distinctive personality. Betty Jean played by Kyle Turoff is the volatile one, always rambunctious, teasing others, especially Cindy Lou (played by Heather Kopp). Some of the teasing gets a bit out of hand at times, but as played by Turoff and Kopp, it’s the source of many laughs.

Samantha Barrett is the gum-chewing Suzy– and if there is a stand out it would have to be her. But that’s a tough call because they’re all so entertaining.

Sarah Farnam as Missy with her glasses and serious demeanor is the perfect foil for some of the zany antics of the others.

Heather Kopp as Cindy Lou, made up like a China doll in her pink dress and dark "bubble" hair-do, endures Betty Jean’s harassing, but also gives as good as she gets.

Act Two has the same women back for their high school’s 10th reunion, carrying with them the baggage and joys of the past 10 years. Suzy is pregnant (hugely so) and having marital problems.

Missy has been dating the school’s music teacher for the past five years. Betty Jean is an executive at the hardware store while her husband is still in "raw lumber." And Cindy Lou is back after a failed go at Hollywood.

But it’s when the four of them sing, that the show comes alive. They are clearly loving every minute they’re on stage. And the audience reciprocated. Few of their songs received anything less than an ovation.

If you enjoyed the music of the ‘60s and early ‘70s you will enjoy the many great songs of that era like "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me," "You Don’t Own Me," the especially memorable "Mr. Sandman" and Bobby Darin’s "Dream Lover," to mention only a few.

But if you’re looking for any plot, forget it. Just sit back and enjoy the wacky fun and the highly entertaining songs delivered with gusto by the four performers.

'Wonderettes’ have fun spirit at Golden Apple
By Jay Handelman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
View Article at http://www.heraldtribune.com

The Wonderettes are truly marvelous

You might describe “The Marvelous Wonderettes” as the Plaids in prom dresses.

Roger Bean’s cheery show about four high school friends who get a chance to sing at their high school prom, and then at their 10-year reunion, is a bit like a female version of “Forever Plaid.”

But while it is filled with good spirits and lots of hits from the late 1950s and early 1960s, it doesn’t have the same kind of rich characters of “Plaid.”

You may not get as emotionally invested in their friendships and crushes, but Sarah Farnam, Samantha Barrett, Heather Kopp and Kyle Turoff are fun to watch and hear as a quartet of friends with issues.

Director Larry Raben and choreographer Dewayne Barrett keep them active with smooth gestures and lots of running around when things get testy.

Farnam is wonderfully uptight as the stickler for rules who finds her voice behind the microphone. Turoff is the tomboy trying to be comfortable in a party dress, Barrett is bouncy and flirting with the lighting guy, and Kopp plays the boyfriend stealer.

Their offstage disagreements create comical problems as they run through such hits as “All I Have to Do is Dream,” “Mr. Sandman,” “Leader of the Pack,” “Stupid Cupid” and “Wedding Bell Blues.”

They are outfitted by Dee Richards with a colorful eye for the periods as they play on a nicely appointed school gym set by Michael Newton-Brown.

The women also are accompanied by an energetic band led by John Visser, who gets everyone into the spirit of the music.

Wonderettes is Funderful
By Kim Cool, Venice Gondolier

With shows like The Marvelous Wonderettes, Sarasota¹s Golden Apple Dinner Theatre should continue to be the longest running dinner theater in the country for another 39 years.

It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To, sang Kyle Ennis Turoff as Betty Jean and it was ‹ Kyle¹s party, that is, especially when she super-sized the last note of that song, holding it longer than humanly possible. She also plays harmonica and blows bubbles but mostly she is always in character and what a character. She misses no chance to embellish and polish Betty Jean. The Marvelous Wonderettes² is a show made for Turoff and her fellow cast members: Samantha Barrett as Suzy, Sarah Farnam as Missy and Heather Kopp as Cindy Lou. Suzy is never without her chewing gum, sticking it to the microphone for a song and then popping it back in her mouth. Missy is a bit of a nerd, which makes it all the funnier when she falls for Mr. Lee and Cindy Lou is sort of the class shrew despite being Betty Jean’s best friend.

Director Larry Raben made the most of the talented cast, which was backed up by musicians John Visser (conductor), Don Sturrock, John Januszewski and Tony Rizzo.

Act one is the girls’ senior prom at Springfield High School in 1958 and all four are vying for the crown. Act two is the girls’ senior prom 10 years later. The song list includes the Bobby Darin hit, Dream Lover, It’s My Party, Leader of the Pack, Mr. Sandman Sugartime, All I Have to Do is Dream and so many others hits of the late 50s and the 60s.

The marvelous Wonderettes plays through Feb. 21 at Golden Apple Dinner Theatre, 25 N. Pineapple Ave. For tickets, including lunch or dinner, depending on showtime, call the box office at 941-366-5454, toll-free at 800-652-0920 or visit www.thegoldenapple.com.

Take a trip back in time with the Golden Apple's Marvelous Wonderettes.
By Kay Kipling, Sarasota Magazine

By Kay Kipling

It’s always easy to tell ourselves the good old days were much simpler, happier times, and that certainly is the case with the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre’s current production of The Marvelous Wonderettes. Never mind the Cold War or the various social revolutions of the 1960s; this musical revue with lots of well-remembered songs can make you believe there was nothing more serious than the occasional spat between girlfriends taking place in those halcyon days.

The show, written and directed by Roger Bean, has been a hit elsewhere, and it’s easy to see why. Bean has tied together a slew of songs, from Dream Lover to It’s My Party to Mr. Sandman to Respect, with a slight but affectionate storyline about four girls performing on prom night and then, in Act II, at their 10-year high school reunion. Their characters are differentiated just enough to give the actresses portraying them something to hang their hats on.

There’s Suzy (Samantha Barrett), the ditsy, gum-chewing blonde whose heart belongs to the boy running the lights for the dance; Missy (Sarah Farnam), the good-girl-nerd wearing glasses, who has a secret yen for a teacher; Cindy Lou (Heather Kopp), the flirt who’s always got a guy in her sights; and Betty Jean (Kyle Turoff), the brassy bigmouth who’s also supposed to be Cindy Lou’s best friend—until a man comes between them.

The actresses are well matched to their roles; and, in the tradition of musical revues, each gets a chance to shine on some good vocal material solo as well as together. At times it becomes obvious that their voices are really more suited to stage musicals than singing pop numbers, but they succeed despite that, occasionally letting it rip with renditions of more soulful songs like Son of a Preacher Man or (Love is Like A) Heatwave.

The show’s choreography, by Dewayne Barrett, is simple and sometimes intentionally awkward, as befits four girls who love to perform but were pressed into service at the last minute (to replace the boys’ glee club members, one of whom was caught smoking). Likewise, the costumes (by Dee Richards) bear a deliberate homemade look. And the wigs—well, you could write a whole paragraph about the wigs, but it’s best if you just see them for yourself.

Frequently bouncy and always good fun, in the hands of director Larry Raben The Marvelous Wonderettes is a welcome evening of light, nostalgic entertainment. The show continues through Feb. 21; for tickets call 366-5454 or visit thegoldenapple.com.

Return to 2008-2009 Season Listing