Review: FUZZY at Barrington Stage Company

The world premiere of a new musical is currently playing at Barrington Stage Company’s St. Germain Stage.  BSC regulars may be thinking wait- what?  A musical, and it is not on the Boyd-Quinson (mainstage) theatre?  Well, this is a “little musical – about big things”.  The venue is not the only thing slightly out of the norm.   While BroadwayWorld.com follows a standard of displaying show titles in all capital letters, this one is called “fuzzy”.  It is also both rather charming and well done.

Fuzzy also happens to be the name of the main character- a red fluffy monster of a puppet.  We encounter him as he learns of his mother’s health-related situation and his visit home to help her with it.   fuzzy is a little musical about big things in life – how we take care of one another, and, in doing so, take care of ourselves, even if you are just a little fuzzy puppet.  The production features book & lyrics by Jeff Talbott and music & lyrics by Will Van Dyke, directed by Ellie Heyman.

fuzzy stars John Cariani as The Human, Cass Morgan as The Actress, and Teddy Yudain as The Puppeteer.  The production also features Shraman Ghosh as The Pianist, Ben Clark as The Guitarist and Carl Carter as The Bassist. Remember the revival of SWEENY TODD where the music was played by members of the cast?  In fuzzy the band members have dialogue and interact with the cast throughout the 100-minute (in one act without intermission) production, giving the concept of an ensemble a rather unique and different spin.  I don’t want to give anything away but will say that all members of this ensemble as well as the creative team are quite good at what they do and know both their craft and their characters very well.

Music Direction is by Patrick Sulken. Scenic Designer is Raphael Mishler. Costume Designer is Johanna Pan. Lighting Designer is David Lander.  Sound Designer is Jason Crystal. Puppet Designer is Amanda Villalobos. Production Stage Manager is Leslie Sears. Assistant Stage Manager is Aurora Courcy.

The eleven original songs are pleasant, reminiscent of pop / folk rock, and had my head nodding throughout. Equally as enjoyable to me as recent hits from Jason Robert Brown, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, or Sara Bareilles.  Another thing you should know is that fuzzy is not complicated or deeply thought provoking.  “fuzzy is an invitation to sit with other people and remember together that it’s alright to feel things”.  It is a darling maybe even adorable little piece of musical theatre, you will likely be glad you had the chance to experience.

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