Review: SNAPSHOTS: A MUSICAL SCRAPBOOK at Creative Cauldron Stage

Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook

Creative Cauldron Stage

Review by: Doug Poms

The works of Stephen Schwartz have made a big resurgence this past year with Wicked still running strong on Broadway (as well as on movie screens and streaming), a new Broadway musical in the form of The Queen of Versailles and a well-received off-Broadway revival of The Baker’s Wife. Thanks to Creative Cauldron’s delightful production of Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook, the DC area can join in the celebration of Mr. Schwartz’s revered and extensive catalog.

Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook acts both as a revue of around 30 of Schwartz’s songs from many of his stage and movie musicals, such as Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, The Baker’s Wife, and Enchanted (with their lyrics often being altered to fit the story) and also features a book of its own by David Stern telling the story of Dan and Sue, recent empty nesters reflecting on their rocky relationship that goes back more than a couple decades to their childhoods. Three different sets of actors portray the couple during three distinct periods of their lives: childhood (Danny/Susie), young adulthood (Daniel/Susan) and their present age (Dan/Sue) at a juncture when Sue is planning to leave Dan.

The Schwartz songs, many of which are familiar but others lesser known, are integrated into the story with revised lyrics in ways that almost always seem natural, avoiding the clumsiness sometimes associated with jukebox-type musicals.  There is an unexpected delight in hearing the better-known Schwartz songs (such as “Popular” from Wicked) cleverly being used in the context of a different show. In many of the numbers, two or three Schwartz songs are meshed together. I particularly enjoyed the fusion of “Lion Tamer” from the rarely performed The Magic Show with “I’m Not That Girl” from Wicked when Susie (Gretchen Midgley Kaylor) contemplates her future in deciding between love and art school. While the show features Schwartz’s music, additional music and lyrics were provided by David Crane, Seth Friedman, Marta Kauffman, Alan Menken and Charles Strouse.

Although Stern’s book is fairly simple and ultimately does not sufficiently probe the problems in Dan’s and Sue’s marriage, it still is fun and entertaining and an effective vehicle for the wonderful songs. Adding to the charm and humor of the show, the incarnations of Dan and Sue from the three time periods occasionally speak to each other, with the younger sets reminding the older version of themselves of things forgotten or misremembered, much like snapshots from a photo box trigger lost memories.

The show, entailing frequent movement by the six principals, flows well and much of the credit for that is due to the sharp direction of Matt Conner. The cast is solid throughout with Jennifer Redford and Joshua Redford playing empty nesters Dan and Sue, Sally Imbriano and Carl L. Williams portraying Susan and Daniel as young adults and Kaylor and Ben Ribler as the childhood Susie and Danny. The same actors also play an assortment of supporting characters in the story. They all have great voices that blend together nicely in the gorgeous ensemble numbers under the excellent musical direction of Elisa Rosman.

The wood-flavored multilevel set by Margie Jevis displaying Dan and Sue’s attic, while also facilitating visualization of several of their memories, is very effective. The lighting by Fern Middleton helps set the melancholy atmosphere. The choreography by Stefan Sittig is charming and makes good use of the limited space.

The “Snapshots” alluded to in the show’s title ostensibly reference the musical moments that Dan and Sue remember throughout the show triggered by photographs, but the songs that fill the show also serve as nostalgic snapshots from the glorious Schwartz songbook that are sung beautifully in this Creative Cauldron production.

Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook plays at Creative Cauldron Stage through March 8. Performance run time is approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.