Review: LITTLE WITCHES at Downtown Cabaret Children's Theatre

On Saturday, October 13, I had the pleasure of seeing the noon performance of LITTLE WITCHES, at the Downtown Cabaret Children's Theatre in Bridgeport, CT. Playwright Phill Hill continues to brilliantly find that perfect dramatic blend to simultaneously reach all ages, making all the shows at the Downtown Cabaret Children's Theatre consistently entertaining for the entire family.

Downtown Cabaret Children's Theatre favorites Corinne Marshall, Cassie Carroll, and Ashley DePascale star as three witch sisters who form a musical trio. Their stage chemistry is tight, with superb singing and dancing skills, as always. Ashley DePascale plays Spite, the youngest sister who is the central protagonist and does not want to be an evil witch, even though her sisters want her to be evil like them.

The central villain is Nefarious, the corrupt manager of the three sisters. He wants to use their talents to promote his own fame and fortune, ultimately conquering the world with evil. It is imperative to him that Spite chooses to be an evil witch, not a good one.

Robert Peterpaul gives another strong performance, playing the role of Alister, a man working for Nefarious, initially unaware of the witchcraft he is involved in. Alister develops feelings for Spite, encouraging her to be the good witch who she wants to be.

The children clearly enjoy the story and performance of the cast, following the story well. They are happy to participate when the fourth wall is broken, telling Spite "no," when she was considering drinking what the audience knew to be an evil potion.

As an adult, I gleaned a deeper message in the story, a message that perhaps was not intended, but was nevertheless communicated. I saw this as a social commentary on how male managers of women in mainstream music often will try to manipulate their female clients to conform to an image that he sees as marketable, even if it forces her to present in a way that wars against her own true inner essence, sometimes even becoming that person, losing her true sense of self. It is sad that the allure of fame, popularity, and wealth brings out the worst in some male managers, while turning the female musicians into negative role models for their fans. From there, if fans imitate the manufactured personas of their music idols, the managers get that much closer to controlling the masses, as is evidenced by the culture, attitudes, and behaviors of many American youths who are conforming to what the mainstream media tells them is "in," rather than being their true selves.

While I am not personally a fan of the style of music chosen for this production (songs originally by boy bands and female pop stars of the late 1990s), I nevertheless feel that the music choices were ideal for this show, when viewed through the lens that I view this production, a social commentary on music managers controlling their clients, manipulating them to perform music that doesn't reflect the performers' true selves.

I highly recommend LITTLE WITCHES, which is scheduled to continue to run at the Downtown Cabaret Children's Theatre through Sunday, October 28, 2018. For times and tickets, please go to https://dtcab.com/show/little-witches/#buy-tickets.