Review: DO BLACK PATENT LEATHER SHOES REALLY REFLECT UP? at Little Theatre Of Mechanicsburg

Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? opened on Broadway in 1982. Based on the book by John R Powers, this show features music and lyrics by James Quinn and Alaric Jans. It takes place in the 1950s, following a class of students through their Catholic elementary and high school years. Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg presents this musical through September 13th under the direction of Steven Filer Munley with assistant director Stephanie Goodling, music director Brandon Rexrode, and pit director Lindy Mack.

As always, Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg wows the audience with their creative use of their small space when it comes to set design, lighting, and props. The costumes may give some audience members flashbacks to Catholic school days. The sound balance between the pit and the actors is perfect, and musicians Michael Blasser and Lindy Mack are fully engaged in the production as they bring the music to life from stage right. Opening night also featured ASL interpretation, which adds a new level of accessibility to the production.

Opening night definitely had some hiccups with the occasional forgotten word and pitch issues; however, the cast delivers an electric, emotional performance that makes it easy to forgive those short-comings. The cast features Toni Carosella, Mackenzie Heikel, Marianne Krahulec, Duffy Batzer, Andy Isaacs, Sarah DeMarco, Annie Hart, Denise Saunders, Nigel Warren, Anthony Ariano, Matthew Stewart, Ellen Frantz, and Joshua L. Schwartz. Krahulec, Batzer, and Isaacs take on the roles of Sister Helen, Sister Lee, and Father O’Reilly, who teach the students. They each infuse their roles with a wonderful combination of strict discipline and compassion. Batzer’s Sister Lee is an audience favorite—the most-feared teacher who turns out to have a deep well of wisdom, caring, and wit.

DeMarco, Hart, Saunders, Warren, Ariano, Stewart, Frantz, and Schwartz take the stage as students Nancy Ralansky, Mary Kenny, Virginia Lear, Mike Depki, Felix Lindor, Louis Schlang, Becky Bakowski, and Eddie Ryan, respectively. These actors are delightful to watch as they portray their characters at 2nd grade, 5th grade, 8th grade, and high school. Their gestures, movements, facial expressions, voices, and interactions are perfectly crafted to fit each time period of their characters’ lives. While most of the songs aren’t overly memorable, Stewart, Hart, and the rest of the company give a crowd-pleasing performance of “Doo-waa, Doo-wee”, and Ariano’s performance of “Mad Bombers and Prom Queens” is one of the best of the evening. Frantz and Schwartz are adorable as Becky and Eddie, giving wonderfully emotional performances that are immensely relatable. Frantz has a lovely voice that is highlighted beautifully in “Friends, the Best Of”. Schwartz’s vocals are exceptional. His performance of “I Must Be in Love” is absolutely gorgeous, drawing the audience into the emotion of the moment.

Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? is a show that everyone can relate to—it addresses things we wish we could forget, like bullying, and things that we wish we could recapture, like the feeling of falling in love for the first time. While not a flawless performance, the team at Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg has created a delightful, relatable, and emotional production that is a wonderful start to their 75th season. Visit ltmpa.com for more information about this and future productions.