Walnut Street's State Fair wins the Blue Ribbon

The Walnut Street Theatre celebrates its landmark bicentennial season with a Rogers and Hammerstein classic. This new production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic features an award winning score that includes such timeless classics as "It Might As Well Be Spring" and "It's A Grand Night For Singing".

Set against the colorful backdrop of a grand tradition of the American Heartland, takes us on the road with the Frake family as they leave behind the humdrum routine of farm life for three days of fun and adventure at the annual Iowa State Fair.

While parents Abel and Melissa Frake (Mark Jacoby and Dee Hoty) prepare the minced meat and their prize pig, their nearly grown children (daughter Margy, played by Cary Michele Miller and son Wayne, played by Joe Jackson), both have high hopes of excitement and perhaps a little romance during their stay. This Academy Award-winning score and is a mix of songs by other titles from the Rodgers and Hammerstein songbook.

Here are a few interesting facts about the genesis of this endearing and enduring piece.
STATE FAIR has had a storied and starry life, starting out as a hit novel from Iowa native Phil Stong. The book proved so popular that a feature film version starring Will Rodgers was completed and released not six months after the appearance of the novel. After being nominated for the 1933 Academy Award for Best Picture, the story was remade into a movie musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein in 1945. The only musical the duo ever wrote specifically for the screen was an immense hit, and scored the Oscar for Best Original Song for "It Might As Well Be Spring." Another popular film remake followed in 1962 starring Pat Boone, Bobby Darin and Ann Margaret.

In the 1990's Louis Mattioli and Tom Briggs began work on finally bringing STATE FAIR to the stage. The two expanded on the six original songs by adding unused and alternate material from the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalogue, fashioning a cohesive score from many different parts. Included in the new work were pieces originally earmarked for Oklahoma! ("When I Go Out Walkin' With My Baby" and "Boys and Girls Like You and Me"), Me and Juliet ("That's The Way it Happens" and "You Never Had it so Good"), Allegro ("So Far") and Pipe Dream ("The Man I used to Be," The Next Time it Happens"). What followed was a score filled with Rodgers and Hammerstein gems which blended beautifully with the original songs set in 1940's small town middle America. Rodgers and Hammerstein's STATE FAIR debuted on Broadway in 1996 and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Original Score.

The Walnut Street's production glows with a wonderful cast of homegrown heartland characters.  Both Jacoby & Hoty are warm as apple pie together. Their kids are special too!  Miller & Jackson are outstanding in their individual roles. Both possess strong voices. Miller has now become a popular favorite at the Walnut after two crowd-pleasing performances as Carrie in Carousel and Peter in Peter Pan is a joy to see and hear. Her rendition of "It Might As Well Be Spring" is a treat.  Joe Jackson plays her lovable, gullible brother Wayne, with an appealing voice.

Broadway hoofer and seasoned actor David Elder plays the self -confident journalist, Pat Gilbert sent from the city to cover the Fair. The last thing he expects to happen is to fall in love.  Miller & Elder make a charming couple and Elder gives us a tease of his great talent and smooth moves in both musical numbers "Isn't It Kinda Fun?" and "The Man I Used To Be".

Some may view State Fair as corny, but with Walnut's solid cast and direction that allows the characters to develop enough to buy into their cute little lives; this production proves to be a warm and charming experience. Add to this an impressive ensamble and you have "A Grand Night For Singing".

Photo: Cary Michele Miller and David Elder

Photo Credit: Brett Thomas

 STATE FAIR plays at the Walnut Street Theater, Philadelphia, Pa. from Sept. 2 through Oct. 19.

State Fair
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Tom Briggs & Louis Matioli
Based on the screenplay by Oscar Hammerstein II and the novel by Phil Stong
Directed by Bruce Lumpkin
Music and Vocal Director Douglass G. Lutz
Set Designer Jon Savage
Costume Designer Colleen Grady
Lighting Designer Jack Jacobs
Sound Designer Ryk Lewis
Stage Managers Lori Aghazarian, Debi Marcucci

CAST:
Mark Jacoby ... Abel Frake
Dee Hoty ... Melissa Frake
Cary Michele Miller ... Margy Frake
Joe Jackson ... Wayne Frake
Owen Pelesh ... Harry
Kelley Faulkner ... Emily Arden
David Elder ... Pat Gilbert
Lee Golden ... Dave Miller/Ensemble
Meredith Riley Stewart ... Eleanor/Ensemble
Fran Prisco ... Gus/Barker/Fair Narrator/Judge Heppenstahl/Ensemble
William Hartery ... The Astounding Stralenko/Clay/Ensemble
Maggie Anderson ... Vivian/Ensemble
Jenna Edison ... Jeanne/Ensemble
Tim Falter ... Charlie/Ensemble
Peter Schmitz ... Lem/Ensemble
Nicholas F. Saverine ... Hank Munson/Ensemble
John Peakes ... The Chief of Police/Ensemble
Maggie Fitzgerald/ Danielle Leigh Rosenthal ... Violet
Anne Connors ... Mrs. Edwin Metcalf of Pottsville/Ensemble
Tim Falter, Chad Harlow, Sonny Leo, Brian Ogilvie ... The Fairtones/Ensemble
Ensemble: Meghan Arters, Emily Cobb, Isaiah Ellis, Kemper Florin, Chad Harlow, Danielle Herbert, Dante Mignucci, Catherine Mosier-Mills, Brandon O'Rourke, Katie O'Shaughnessey, Katelyn Rapp, Evan Robert Smith, Beth Wheeler

 

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