Review: VIOLET at TheatreSquared

TheatreSquared, 477 W. Spring St., in Fayetteville, has set the bar this summer with their inspiration musical VIOLET, which takes you on a transformative bus ride from North Carolina to Tulsa now through July 2. This theatre always impresses me, but this cast has brought so much energy and depth that once the show is over, you want to turn around and watch it again.  

Set in 1964 and based on Doris Betts' short story "The Ugliest Pilgrim," Young Violet’s (Piper Wallace) face gets damaged when her father’s (Alex Campea) axe accidentally flies off the handle. Though he does his best to get her to the doctor, she ends up with a pretty hideous scar, which hurts her mental state. Once older Violet (Kelly Felthous) has enough money, she decides to take a bus trip from North Carolina to Tulsa to go see a TV Preacher (Vince Teninty), who she believes can heal her. While on her travels, she meets an Older Lady (Sara Sevigny), who tries to warn her of predators, and soldiers Flick (Ramone Nelson) and Monty (Eddie Egan), who are headed to Fort Smith. Along the trip, a lot of bonding has formed, viewpoints are changed, and the climax will touch your heart while you root for a happily ever after.  

Now, about the cast....Guided by Director Aimee Hayes, these people have so much heart in this show, that you fall in love from the very beginning. To open the performance, Piper Wallace grabs you right away with “Water in the Well.” Her spunk and country bumpkin singing immediately puts a smile on your face, and though she is seemingly the youngest of this troupe, unless her young friend Billy Dean, played by Thatcher Reckner, is younger, she holds her own with the older more seasoned actors and is a real star. The same can be said about older Violet, Kelly Felthous. She has so much hope in her eyes and really shines when she talks about her visions of a better tomorrow. Her singing is powerful, and she commands your attention as soon as she hits the stage. And while we are on the topic of the strong women in this cast, Claire Fossey and Sevigny were killing it during their Memphis numbers. Fossey was dynamic and absolutely stunning as the Music Hall Singer, and Sevigny was great playing up her sexy, lonely woman role. Then, there is blow the roof off Kai White as the lead at the gospel show.....Oh my goodness-so powerful! They all are just simply amazing. 

Let’s not forget the men in the show. Campea’s father role was endearing and heartbreaking at the same time. You could tell he cared for his girl (both of them). Egan was perfect as a slimy soldier looking for some –eh hem-action, but trying to do the right thing, and speaking of slimy, though he played a kid, Reckner’s Billy Dean didn’t win any gentlemanly points from me. Nelson’s Flick had hearts in his eyes, and his emotions were felt in the audience. Teninty put on a fabulous show as the preacher. In fact, the energy from that whole scene made you feel like you were the studio audience for his TV evangelism. We were ready to buy what he was selling, for sure, and Alex Horn as the preacher’s sidekick Virgil definitely looked like a frazzled show assistant. Rounding out the details and grit to the show were Bryce Kemph as Leroy, Reece Edwards, who shows up in so many scenes, and Guest Gospel Singers Ceci Allen, Markell Cox, and Maranda Seawood. This whole cast grabs you from beginning to end, and we love them for it. 

While I’m professing my love to the cast and this theatre in general, I wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the band being right there on stage for us to see and being part of the show. Conductor Lisa Auten, who plays Keys 1, led a flawless sounding group of remarkable musicians. Joining Auten on stage is: Matt Beach-Bass; Vic Blasingame-Keys 2; Andrew Chu-Violin; Paul Price-Guitar 1; William Reyes-Guitar 2; Chris Scherer-Drums; and Christian Serrano-Torres-Cello.  

Broadway World understands it takes a small army to get a show of this calibur off the ground. The Creative Team for VIOLET is: Aimee Hayes-Director; Lisa Auten-Music Director; Kimberly V. Powers-Scenic Designer; Asa Benally-Costume Designer; Minjoo Kim-Lighting Designer; Brendan Connelly-Sound Designer; Brodie Jasch-Props Designer; Emely Zepeda-Production Stage Manager; Heidee Alsdorf-Choreographer; Kelsey Blotter-Assistant Costume Designer; Amber Holley-First Assistant Stage Manager; Harlie Gann-Egan-Second Assistant Stage manager; Anna Kathryn Darling-Wig Stylist; Riles Holiday-Fight Consultant; Morgan Hicks-intimacy Consultant, and Understudies Edwards, Kemph, Peyton Locke Lyons, Rachel Mills, Troy Schremmer, and Mark Landon Smith.  

Broadway World would like to give a big THANK YOU to Wesley Hitt of Wesley Hitt Photography for the use of these wonderful photos. I have checked out his website at https://www.hittphotography.com, and he has taken his pictures to an artistic level. Hire him for your next special moment.  

Do not want miss VIOLET! To get tickets and to take a look at the new seasonat TheatreSquared, visit their website at https://www.theatre2.org. 

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