Review: HOCUS POCUSED at The Gaslight Theatre

HOCUS POCUSED puts a spell on Tucson audiences at The Gaslight Theatre this Fall. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into preparing this brand new show, I can tell. New material on its own is a delight to behold. When that production is essentially a love letter to everyone who grew up in the 1990's and an opportunity for the next generation to be introduced to one of the classics through the delightful form of parody, it makes perfect sense why this new show is selling out and adding new performances. I always have fun at The Gaslight. I never leave without a smile on my face. But there was something special about this one.

Written and directed by Katherine Byrnes and Mike Yarema, with musical direction by Josh Lamoreaux and choreography by Katherine Byrnes, HOCUS POCUSED slyly winks at in-jokes from the source material we know and love while also incorporating new gags and meta humor that transcend the original story. The writing is sharp and moves quickly. There was not a single narrative moment that dragged, and none of the musical numbers felt like fluff. "I Put a Spell on You" was everything I had hoped for. The entire production was slick, tight, and entertaining.

One of the greatest reasons to attend a Gaslight show is that every show is family friendly. This aspect certainly helps their business model as the doors are literally open to everyone. What makes HOCUS POCUSED so brilliant is that it feeds into nostalgia and the Halloween vibe while building on it. The witches who terrorize Salem were actually more fully realized as characters than I thought they would be. They were not simply caricatures but rather fully-developed characters with genuine emotions. There is a twist with one of them that I will not spoil here, but I was pleasantly surprised with their arc and liked the choices the writers made.

Heather Stricker was born to play Millicent Sandalwood. Stepping into the shoes of an icon, even through the lens of parody, carries immense pressure, and Heather smoothly navigates the role. Vocally she is fabulous as always, but I specifically appreciated her mannerisms and facial expressions, something of a deadly cross between Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand, and Stricker's brand of high-energy theatre magic. I was supremely entertained every second Stricker was onstage and tip my hat to all the work that went into bringing her character to life.

Janée Page portrays Sabrina Sandalwood. She is graceful, humorous, and anchors the trio of troublemakers with her high-octane performance. What I enjoy most about watching Page perform is the ease with which she navigates the stage. The word I would use to describe her stage presence is "effortless." Performing is like walking a tightrope, and not everyone appreciates the work we put into it. Page has always been a performer who exists unapologetically onstage with supreme confidence, and that is absolutely the case in HOCUS POCUSED. Her character is simultaneously glamorous and zany, which fits the bill.

Kelly Coates rounds out the trio as Poppy Sandalwood. She is endearing and occupies many of the standout moments in the show. I wanted to hear her vocals projected more clearly in some of the musical numbers, because she has such a gorgeous voice. Coates absolutely wins over the audience with her performance and silly antics. She also elicits sympathy and is the only member of the trio to do this because of the way her character is written. I adored what Coates did with her character and this was some of the best acting I have ever seen from her!

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