REVIEW: Cute WINTER WONDERETTES brings Holiday Cheer to Laguna Playhouse (11/28 - 12/30)

LAGUNA BEACH, CA-With the holidays upon us, the arrival of aptly-themed shows also permeate the theatrical landscape. And like tinsel, egg-nog and Santa, perennial traditions are still what most people crave, especially in these unknowing, unstable times. Hummable, familiar holiday tunes are always a crowd-pleaser, so it's no surprise that WINTER WONDERETTES (now playing at the Laguna Playhouse through December 30) delivers a pleasantly cheerful, though altogether a routine, by-the-numbers, jukebox musical. Tied neatly with a pretty bow, the show is packaged precisely to induce just the right amount of laughs and to entertain enough to fill its audience with yuletide giddiness, without bombarding us with pesky heavy themes or intrusive thought-provoking lessons.

Much like the show that preceded it, WINTER WONDERETTES-a holiday-themed sequel to Roger Bean's off-Broadway hit The Marvelous Wonderettes-is cute, adorable, cheery and exactly the kind of safe, holiday entertainment that is as tried and true as most of its catalog of music. (Coincidentally, The Marvelous Wonderettes previously played at the Laguna Playhouse in 2008 before its off-Broadway transfer).

The show is by no means a groundbreaking piece of theater, but judging from the laughter and ovations bestowed by its opening night audience, this show certainly entertains. Theater snobs should just go ahead and check their Grinch-sized hearts at the door, because WINTER WONDERETTES is nothing more than a darling, albeit unexceptional, little show: frothy and light as snowflakes. The unfortunate use of canned music to accompany the cast's live singing is a bit of a distraction... and the pedestrian arrangements provide nothing but signal comfort in familiarity.

And just like its parent source The Marvelous Wonderettes, this sequel's most effective asset is its blatant use of audience participation. What better way to distract the audience from the thin plot than to make them part of the story! It's a delightful device-slightly manipulative for sure-but in this fantasy, the audience gladly cooperates.

The year is 1968 and the story takes place six months after the end of The Marvelous Wonderettes, at the annual Harper's Hardware company Christmas party. Model employee Betty Jean (Julie Dixon Jackson) has been put in charge of planning and executing the festivities. That power allows her to self-appoint herself and her fellow Wonderettes Missy (Misty Cotton), Cindy Lou (Susannah Hall) and Suzy (Bets Malone), as the entertainment for the shindig (naturally the set was built by the store's construction specialists).

The foursome, dressed in various shades of blue (a cute nod to their Jewish friends), all display their distinct stock personality quirks, even before uttering a single line of dialogue. Their musical performances are brimming with joy as the audience is taken through a journey down the (mostly) 50's and 60's holiday song book. (The audience is asked to ignore that a few of the songs are not true to the period-some songs were written or specifically arranged after 1968). Familiar songs include "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree," "Jingle Bell Rock," and "Little Saint Nick," among others. In an amusing bit of slightly politically-incorrect nostalgia, the quartet sing a medley of holiday songs from around the world (including, "¿Dónde Está Santa Claus?," "O Tannenbaum," and "Mele Kalikimaka"), where each Wonderette gets a solo spotlight.

As is tradition at the annual party, store owner Mr. Harper is scheduled to appear dressed up as Santa at the finale to congratulate the crew and to hand out the employee bonuses. But when he goes A.W.O.L. (he misses his "Santa Bell" cue multiple times), Betty Jean goes off to search for his boss. To everyone's disappointment, all she finds is the bag of bonus envelopes he left behind. The girls, in a vain attempt to keep the show moving along, proceed to hand out the "bonus letters" to the rest of the employees (played by-surprise!-the audience) only to discover the most unfortunate of bad news. (A hint: it's the kind of terrible news that happens a lot now in this current economic climate).

To distract from the bad news that culminates at the end of the first act, the quartet soldier on to bring good holiday cheer to the devastated Harper bunch with more rousing musical numbers that remind everyone of happier memories of the season. Unfortunately, Betty Jean, upset about her current state, can only muster up loss and heartache (here the show alludes briefly to a plot point that happened between Betty Jean and Cindy Lou in the original Marvelous Wonderettes). But like all holiday stories old and new, this one is no different in its final resolution: a happy ending for all.

What saves this show from becoming just another average, run-of-the-mill holiday musical revue is its wonderfully spunky, perfectly-whimsical ensemble cast. Like an old-fashioned Sex and the City quartet (without much Sex or City), each actress peppers their respective roles with distinct personalities-a trait shared by pretty much almost all comedies that involve a friendly-foursome situation (think Golden Girls, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Designing Women).

The setting and (miniscule) plot may be different here, but the archetypes remain: there's the loyal, alpha female that's the central thinker of the bunch (Betty Jean-played with commanding stature and vocals by Jackson); the harmlessly promiscuous sexpot (Cindy Lou-played by future 'cougar' Hall); the lovably dimwitted ditz (Suzy-played by hilarious scene-stealer Malone); and the seemingly-straight-laced nerd, that hides an excitable extrovert (Missy-played with adorable comic timing by Cotton). Individually, all four shine in their particular solos, but together, especially when singing in harmony, they make a lovely ensemble. The foursome steam through their roles with so much likable gusto, that they elevate much of the show's staid material to exciting heights. By the time they sing their finale of "Winter Wonderland" the audience is already in love with them.

Overall, WINTER WONDERETTES proves to be a buoyant concoction of cute nostalgia and safe laughs that doesn't take anything too seriously-but eschews anything revolutionary or innovative. Then again-just like any sweet holiday treat-something this candy-coated doesn't have to be.

Grade: C+

Photo: Misty Cotton, Susannah Hall, Bets Malone & Julie Dixon Jackson by Ed Krieger/The Laguna Playhouse.

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Tickets prices: Regular performances: $40 to $70; Student Tickets (except Friday and Saturday evenings): $15 to $20

Regular Performances continue November 29 – December 30, 2009.

Performance Times:
Tuesday – Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday Matinee November 25 at 2:00 p.m., Thursday matinees December 10 and 24 at 2:00 p.m., Sunday evenings November 29, December 6 & 27 at 7:00 p.m.

(NOTE: No performances on Christmas Day, December 25)

Tickets to any performance are available by purchasing tickets in person or by calling the box office at (949) 497-ARTS [2787]  (or group sales, dial ext. 229) or by visiting their web site at www.lagunaplayhouse.com. The Laguna Playhouse is located at 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach, CA.

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