Review: BELLADONNA: THE MUSICAL by MAC Boys Entertainment at Orlando Family Stage

There’s a particular thrill getting to be the first in an audience for a new theatrical work. You can almost feel the time, passion and love poured into a piece when it finally makes it to the stage. And even if there are elements that could use refining, trimming or updating, the energy is unlike anything else one might experience in a darkened theatre. It was this feeling that I experienced sitting in the opening night audience of the world premiere of BELLADONNA: THE MUSICAL produced by Mac Boys Entertainment at Orlando Family Stage. The story was compelling (and new), the performances were filled with power and passion, and the creativity on display was palpable.

Written by Di’ana Rodriguez, Angel Partie, and Savannah Pedersen, based on a true story, BELLADONNA: THE MUSICAL tells the story of Giulia Tofana (Devyn Schoen), a seller of cosmetics and perfumes in 17th century Italy who sells an undetectable poison called Aqua Tofana to abused wives to murder their husbands and save their lives. The original musical tells Giulia’s story with an all-female cast who bring to life on stage all the women in Giulia’s orbit including her stepdaughter, Giornima “Gigi” Spana (Zoe Dunn) the ghosts of her mother, Thodania D’Adamo (Caroline Clay Brooks) and mentor Franca La Sarda (Krystal Kennedy), her customers old - Paola (Daisy Melody), and new – Laura (Zoe Georgiadis), her younger self (Shir Love), and the women dead set on bringing her down – Sofia Alesandrini (Sara Diaz) and Sofia’s gossiping disciples Anna (Tabitha Santillan) and Greta (Kiera Shackelford). Over the course of the two-act play, the audience witnesses Giulia at the top of her game who is soon threatened by the discovery of her secret by both her stepdaughter and her nemesis. This sets into course a chain of events that changes these women’s lives forever.

As a brand-new musical, and one that is still in development it is difficult to critique the complete work – since it is still evolving and growing. But what I do feel like I can do is share the elements of BELLADONNA: THE MUSICAL that stood out to me – both on a positive note and in a category of “could use some reworking”. First, co-creator and director Di’ana Rodriguez has assembled a fine group of performers for this production. The principal cast, in particular, embody their roles well and deliver impassioned performances. Devyn Schoen is particularly effective as Giulia and goes from confident savior and hero to tormented victim quickly and easily. As her story unfolds on stage, we get to see and hear Giulia through the voice and solid performance of Ms. Schoen and she makes Giulia an inherently likeable character even given her dastardly deeds. She also has a number of opportunities to show off a great singing voice, especially in Giulia’s Act One closer “To Be Free”. As her two ghostly mother-figures, Caroline Clay Brooks and Krystal Kennedy have some very funny moments bickering over who is responsible for Giulia’s success and always being present in the background – implying they are always on Giulia’s mind. Zoe Dunn gives a brilliant performance as Giulia’s stepdaughter Gigi. She deftly conveys Gigi’s transition from innocent young girl to heir to the business of her stepmother and delivers a mature, solid and well-formed performance. Ms. Dunn is an extremely talented singer as well, and gives a performance well beyond her young age in each of her songs, especially “Hush” and in the Finale. Sara Diaz gives a smooth and deliciously devilish performance as antagonist, Sofia and the rest of the ensemble do a fine job bringing the story to life on stage.

As for the original music – some of it works well and captures the immediacy of the moment. The selections in the second act captured my attention more than the first – perhaps because there was more at stake by then. But some of the numbers, in particular one in the first act that employs a more modern/hip-hop style (a la HAMILTON) seemed out of place with the rest of the score and took away from the storytelling. Giulia’s Act one closer “To Be Free” was a standout in terms of musical numbers, as was Gigi’s “Hush”. Some of the lyrics throughout the score can be a bit heavy handed or unnecessarily wordy, but overall the songs do help move the plot along and convey the human emotions at play throughout. The overall story arc seems to be solid in terms of flow and amount of timing given to each moment – and the building tension in Act Two works – but the ending feels a bit rushed – with the story shifting a bit too quickly from the confrontation between Sofia and Giulia to the final moments with Gigi in Rome. Something illustrating the fate of Giulia more directly and Gigi picking up her mantle and moving on could be good to consider. For the most part the main characters feel fully formed, but I did feel like the character of Sofia could be fleshed out a bit more to make it clearer why she becomes an antagonist for Giulia. I think what is missing is a greater sense of “justice” for the death of her brother vs. being a bully who needs to know (and control) the goings on in town. Perhaps giving Sofia another musical number that helps explain her motivation a bit more (currently “Rumors” just tells us one part of her story) or having her spend a bit more time on this exposition would help.

The creative elements of BELLADONNA: THE MUSICAL are quite effective and help bring the story to life well. Co-creator Savannah Pedersen, who serves as musical director, does a good job bringing out strong singing from the entire cast. Christopher Payen’s choreography, when employed, is effective and Sean Duncan’s Lighting and Sound Design (along with Savannah Pedersen) help create the right mood for the evening. There costume designs and the scenic designs were both very well done. The staging was small but quite effective (with two key backdrops for the two parts of Giulia’s shop) and an effective screen to illustrate a flashback. The costumes by Tim Bowman and Di’ana Rodriguez were vibrant and appropriate to the period, with some modern elements infused well.

Overall, BELLADONNA: THE MUSICAL seems to have the right ingredients for an interesting, compelling and exciting story. It has strong characters and tells a story that is fascinating, surprising, and empowering and does so with a script and a score that, with continued evolution and development, could be quite memorable. The performances in this production are strong and deliver the material well – creating an energizing and exciting evening of theatre. I encourage others, particularly those interested in supporting new works and witnessing the growth and development of a new musical to check out this production. I am excited to see where BELLADONNA and its creators go from here.

BELLADONNA: THE MUSICAL, presented by MAC Boys Entertainment in Partnership with Orlando Family Stage runs through Sunday, March 17th. Performances take place at Orlando Family Stage, located at 1001 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803.  Tickets can be purchased at www.macboysentertainment.com/now-playing. For more information, please visit www.belladonnathemusical.com.

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