Theater Review
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”
Produced by: The John W. Engeman Theater, Northport
Reviewed by: Jeb Ladouceur
;)
The Dwarfs: Christina Faicco, Samantha Carroll, James Tully, Paul Velutis, Natalie Seus, Hans Hendrickson, Michael Spencer. Photo by Michael De Cristofaro
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the stage musical, premiered at Radio City Music Hall in 1979. The show was based on the immensely successful 1937 animated feature Disney film of the same name. As entertainment historians will recall, the live production is known for thankfully having saved the world renowned Music Hall from being razed.
That ’79 show starred Broadway veteran Anne Francine as The Evil Queen, with Richard Bowne as Prince Charming, and the unknown ingénue Mary-Jo Salerno playing Snow White. A testament to the success of the live version of this internationally acclaimed show (directed and staged by Frank Wagner) is its selection in 1980 for HBO television … and its ultimate 1987 airing on the Disney Channel. And Snow White has been on a roll ever since. Currently, this excellent version (under Mark Adam Rampmeyer’s skillful direction) runs on Saturday and Sunday mornings, at Northport’s Broadway-caliber John W. Engeman Theater, thru March 9th.
Most theater critics view stage shows in the evening … usually at Saturday night Press showings. Occasionally, we make our observations during weekend matinees. Never, however, are we called upon to show up at the box office at 10:30 AM on Sunday!
But that’s exactly what this reviewer was assigned to do last weekend. And although I never could have predicted it, the timing proved absolutely fortuitous … and here’s why.
If one hopes to grasp the essence of a theatrical production whose target audience is pre-K to 3rd Graders, then it seems foolish for the critic to attend such a show at a time of day (or night) when small children feel out of their element. The fact is that all actors … youthful as well as adult performers … invariably react to their audiences, and vice versa. Surely something in that interplay is lost if, through inappropriate timing, a reviewer is deprived of the opportunity to observe the networking phenomenon first hand … to feel it viscerally.
The packed Engeman house for Snow White was, by my estimate, sixty percent 5, 6, and 7-year-olds last Sunday morning (and I’m guessing ninety percent of those kids were nicely dressed-up little girls). Before the show started, I said to myself, uh-oh, this is gonna be a rough assignment. The theater was alive with squeals, giggles, and even the occasional shriek as show time drew near.
But promptly at 10:30, the house lights dimmed and all that shrill exuberance turned to whispered amazement as only the stage was brightly lit—an absolute magnet for any child’s attention. Then Jack Kohl’s music … and onto the stage marched familiar members of the cast singing their upbeat introductory number, and for the next hour and a half not a single line in the play was obscured by audience noise.
This play might be named Snow White (she’s played by Brittany Lacey) and the Seven Dwarfs (they’re pictured here and named in order), and along with Prince Charming (Nicholas Mannino) they all do a bang-up job, but the show truly belongs to Suzanne Mason (first playing the Wicked Queen, then the beautiful but sly Esmeralda, and finally the nasty Old Hag) all of which parts she interprets to perfection. I’d love to have seen Mason when she appeared in Kiss Me Kate!
Naturally, the charm of the Seven Dwarfs is largely that each has his own uniqueness, but it seems that the most challenging Dwarf role is the one handed to James Tully (Slowpoke). For one thing, he’s the smallest … always bringing up the rear … and as such is the constant focus of attention. Every actor longs for that spotlight, but with it come correlated responsibilities. ‘Slowpoke’ Tully (though he might be Snow White’s youngest actor) doesn’t miss a cue, a step, or an expression.
And wait ‘til you see the magic Costume Designer Lauren Paragallo works with Suzanne Mason’s outfits … fabulous!
The younger set adored this show. Me too.
Award-winning Smithtown writer Jeb Ladouceur is the author of eight novels, and his theater reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. In Ladouceur’s next thriller, “Harvest” due in late summer, an American doctor is forced to perform illegal surgeries for a gang of vital organ traffickers in The Balkans