Schuyler White News

Portland's Lyric Music Theater has mounted a sweetly sad production of the Marsha Norman-Lucy Simon musical version of the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel, The Secret Garden, that is sure to touch the hearts of young and old alike. Directed by Joshua Chard, the production showcases the versatility of the company and offers a gentle lyrical contrast to previous endeavors such as Sweeney Todd and The Addams Family.

Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd with its complex through-composed score and dark ironies is an ambitious undertaking for any company, but South Portland's Lyric Music Theater rises to the challenge in an economical and electrifying performance that keeps the audience riveted to its seats.

The theatrical scene continued to be lively in Maine this year, with the Portland-area theatres presenting a number of stunning world premieres and the musical theatre scene gloriously vibrant. These are my personal choices of the best in Maine, grouped by theatre company and show: Because their repertoires are so vastly different, and because both companies produced outstanding seasons, my vote for highest honors goes to both Maine State Music Theatre and the Good Theater.

Lyric Music Theater of South Portland opened its 2015-16 season with the wacky musical The Addams Family, which examines the flip side of normal in the zany antics of a ghoulish family made famous by the Charles Addams comic strip, as well as various television and screen incarnations. The show, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, book by Marshall Brickman/Ricky Elice, offers a cast of crazy misfits, a script with wickedly macabre humor, and a series of musical numbers that are rousing, exotic, sometimes even romantic. Lyric Music Theater's elaborate production attempts to do the piece full justice, though it succeeds more in the individual moments than in the whole.

Portland Players takes an adventurous step in opening its season with a grand production of the beloved Boubil-Schonberg classic, LES MISERABLES. Assembling a large cast and mounting an impressive staging, this eighty-six year-old company delivers a performance of passion and heart, if not perfection. And yet the flaws which emerge - sometimes the result of direction or casting, but mostly by-products of the limitations of the theatre space - cannot dim the impact of the performance.

The Full Monty Musical, book by Terrence McNally, music and lyrics by David Yazbek, coming to Biddeford's City Theater today, July 11th-27th, tells the story of Jerry Lukowski, an unemployed steel worker, too proud to take entry-level work, who along with his best pal, Dave Bukatinski, sneaks into a Chippendales performance, to spy on Dave's wife, Georgie (Ashley Christie, Steep Falls), where they hatch a get-rich-quick scheme, which relies on their ability to outdo the Chippendales at their own game... with a little help from Keno, a discontented Chippendale dancer (Brandon O'Roak, S. Portland), Jeannette (Gretchen Wood, Shapleigh), a 'very-retired' music director, and, quite frankly, the last person they ever thought they would ask for help!

The Full Monty Musical, book by Terrence McNally, music and lyrics by David Yazbek, coming to Biddeford's City Theater July 11th-27th, tells the story of Jerry Lukowski, an unemployed steel worker, too proud to take entry-level work, who along with his best pal, Dave Bukatinski, sneaks into a Chippendales performance, to spy on Dave's wife, Georgie (Ashley Christie, Steep Falls), where they hatch a get-rich-quick scheme, which relies on their ability to outdo the Chippendales at their own game… with a little help from Keno, a discontented Chippendale dancer (Brandon O'Roak, S. Portland), Jeannette (Gretchen Wood, Shapleigh), a 'very-retired' music director, and, quite frankly, the last person they ever thought they would ask for help!