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Regional Reviews: St. Louis Classic Adventure Movie; Or Never Say Die Also see Richard's reviews of The Cottage and Raisin
This world premiere runs about two hours and fifteen minutes with intermission, but there's not a dead spot to be found under the taut and lively direction of Rachel Tibbetts. A circle of young friends and their families face eviction from their homes for dubious reasons, unless they can track down a fortune in gems to buy back their neighborhood. These tweens are played by popular millennial St. Louis actors in a story based on a concept by the director and one of her actors, the terrific Cassidy Flynn. It's all intricately adapted and lampooned by another one of the fine comic performers, the playwright who's known in these parts simply as Keating. The characters are regularly scattered into a state of panic by an escaped criminal named Jake Fratelli (Anthony Kramer, in his funniest performance to date) and by his family, LaWanda Jackson as the nefarious Mama Fratelli and Victor Mendez as Francis Fratelli, fearlessly chewing the scenery in service of it all. There is one quiet "F" bomb in a climactic moment, but otherwise it's great innocent fun. The band of kids are smothered by touching in-group allegiances, as they search for a pirate's booty from the 17th century. And the show has a wonderful childish chemistry that binds us all together by the final curtain. Carl Overly, Jr. and Ricki Franklin are flawless as bickering young brothers, in a search that leads them all to an abandoned restaurant, with lots of references to other movies as well. The visually chaotic set design by Erik Kuhn is largely made up of wooden lath covered in movie posters. And there's a sort of wall of memories, where several of the actors get to hang tributes to their own favorite childhood films. The short monologs about how each of these films affected them growing up become especially lovely in the final half-hour. The stage's frenetic-looking backdrop matches the story 100%. Frankie Ferrari is great as Cyndi Lauper, and playwright Keating is a lithe cartoon character as Chunk. Hailey Medrano is excellent as the reluctant final addition to the group, Andy, an imperious cheerleader. And Ashwini Arora, Courtney Bailey, Katie Donnelly and Marcy Wiegert go all the way in comic enthusiasm in a show that unexpectedly makes a home for us too, in a funny, fast-paced tribute. Classic Adventure Movie; Or Never Say Die, produced by the Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble, runs through September 27, 2025, at the Chapel on Alexander, 6238 Alexander Drive, St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.satestl.org. Cast: Production Staff: |
