The Marvelous Wonderettes is Underselling Itself, It’s Somekind of Wonderful From Sidekick Theatre

I’m a child of the 70’s, teen of the 80’s, but I grew up with the music of the 50’s and 60’s. Sure The Marvelous Wonderettes is a jukebox musical and those can be a little uninspired sometimes, but when the music is this good and the hook so simple and sweet, then I’m all in. If you love the music of this era, girl groups and doo wop and even segwaying into some motown, you’re sure to be wearing a smile throughout this show. What I love about theater is it can serve up such a variety of experiences. Just coming off the Twin Cities Horror Festival, I spent the better part of a week being thrilled at shows that made me laugh, tremble, and sometimes suppress my gag reflex. Other shows make us think about the world we live in, while others create empathy for people who are different from ourselves. As the Byrds sang in 1965 “To everything turn, turn, turn there is a season” The Marvelous Wonderettes is a time to smile. This show filled me with joy and gratitude for these fantastic songs and the wonderful vocal talents of this cast.

The show written and created by Roger Bean is broken into two Acts. Act One is 1958 at the Senior Prom and The Marvelous Wonderettes, four friends and all candidates for Prom Queen, are providing the musical entertainment. There are some rivalries and story threads that playout throughout the show, but it’s basically the four girls up there wowing us with their renditions of classic songs from “Mr. Sandman“, “All I Have to Do Is Dream“, and “Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight“. Act Two takes place 10 years later at the 10 year reunion where The Marvelous Wonderettes have once again been asked to provide the musical entertainment. Just as the music changed from simple bubblegum pop in 1958 to songs with a little more to say, so have the problems of the Wonderettes evolving from stolen boyfriends to unfaithful husbands. But even with the slightly more mature story threads of the second Act, the show never bogs down or gets heavy man. It uses the pop music of the times creatively and pieces together plots and character names in an almost jigsaw like fashion that’s wonderfully satisfying.

I went because I enjoyed the last production by Sidekick Theatre and because Leslie Vincent, a performer I’ve been really impressed with in the past was in it. I knew if nothing else, I would enjoy hearing her sing some of these classic songs. What I discovered was that the entire quartet is amazing. In each Act they all get their own chance to shine as lead singer, but as importantly they all provide the beautiful backup vocals for each other. Vincent plays Betty Jean (BJ) who is always being upstaged both on stage and off by her BFF Cindy Lou played by Camryn Buelow. Vincent is always great, but my favorite moment from her in this show was when she sings “It’s My Party“. Buelow plays the diva of the group stealing the spotlight and whatever else she can from Betty Jean, but her best moments are a more accessible Cindy Lou in Act Two with the one two punch of “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Leader of the Pack“. Debi Kilde plays Missy who’s crush on teacher Mister Lee provides some good natured audience participation. Her performance of “Secret Love” is surprisingly moving for a show that trades in laughs and bubblegum music. Kilde also is the Choreographer for the show and while it isn’t overly elaborate there’s no denying the girls have some nice synchronization and routines that add to the overall charm and feeling of authenticity. Suzy is played by Faith Winship and is wonderful with her characters little comedic bits, in the first act she’s constantly chewing gum, in the second act she gets to be pregnant. Her body language is perfect and adds these little extra moments to each of the acts that just somehow adds to the shows perfection. My favorite song from her was “Respect” which has a fabulous gag in it that I’m not going to spoil. The best way to describe these characters I can think of is to imagine the Pink Ladies from Grease, imagine if Sandy and Rizzo were sidelined and the remaining Ladies got to flesh out their stories and show off their vocal chops.

The show is directed by Brian Pierce with Musical Direction by Gary Rue, both of whom perform in the tight little rock quartet that back the Wonderettes. The scenic design is by Tim Stoltz with costumes by John A. Woskoff and the look of the show matches the sound perfectly bringing us back to the 50’s and 60’s. The show features over 30 classic songs from the 50’s and 60’s all but one or two will be familiar to most audiences. If the music of that era is your jam as it is mine, you’ll want to get out to see this show at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center where it is running until November 12th. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://sidekicktheatre.com/wonderettes . There is the option to purchase a meal before hand. I enjoyed a wonderful brunch before the show and I highly recommend this option. dinner and a show couldn’t be easier!

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