I had no choice— but to hear you. You stated your case time and again. I thought about it—
I’m in the wrong story. Wait one moment please!
There is a Prince…well, princesses? And falling flags. And a non-binary Olympian (in the sense of the Gods on high not in the sense of gold-medal-winning…though the gold Doric dress of the shiniest lamé all the way from the Amazon is certainly prize-worthy!) and calamity and chaos and a good time. And you know what? They’ve got the beat!
It’s not Jagged Little Pill, it’s not Into The Woods (though Todd Croteau’s set is certainly sending some mixed signals there. And hey, I get it, woods are woods are woods are woods…) but it is Head Over Heels the musical that absolutely nobody asked for and yet we all find ourselves thoroughly enjoying. The slog of ‘how this hybrid came to be’ (TL;DR version) is “…Jeff Whitty had this idea, half-baked it, and James Magruder was called in to clean it up and transform it into Head Over Heels: the Go-Go’s jukebox musical with the loosely-ascending plot of The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney. There are shoe-horns galore and the dichotomy between those of the age for appreciating and loving the music and those appreciating and loving the wokeness of the plot seems almost insurmountable, and yet this particular production at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre brings a great deal of joy, enthusiasm, and passionate understanding to Head Over Heels. Directed by Mark Briner with Musical Direction by Ken Kimble and Choreography by Becca Vourvoulas, this 80’s-charged, exploratory fairytale is the vacation we’ve all been needing. (Anyone else sensing a pattern with ASGT— the big opening show for the last two years running has been an 80’s-charged jukebox musical.)
We can’t harp too poorly on Todd Croteau’s set— the trees are beautifully painted; they just give off that feeling of “I might not be here to see what I thought I came to see.” And as a large part of the show actually involves the troupe on the move, from Arcadia to Bohemia… you get the idea. At any rate, Croteau has set forth a play space that allows the audience to suspend their disbelief and take the trek along with the royal court of Arcadia and all of the hilarious nonsense that entails. Working alongside Croteau is Lighting Designer Matthew Rigby. There’s a block frame of traffic-lights (literally red, yellow-orange, green) around the live, on-stage pit (conducted by Ken Kimble, and carefully concealed from full view by a shadow-scrim) and that gets engaged to full-blinking mode frequently throughout the performance. Rigby does a fine job of utilizing various color baths and washes to accentuate certain moods— like the hot white and cool blue that pop up during “Heaven is a Place On Earth”, making it both a sensual and sexual number— and Rigby puts special lighting effects to good use as well— like the thumping little red pulses whenever Musidorus and Philoclea are feeling each other’s heartbeats. Although the timing and execution of some of the lighting effects was a little off the night I attended (opening weekend Saturday) their overall efficacy was not lost on the production as a whole.
Where the production stumbles, if just a bit, is in its overall timing and pacing. The show moves, but there are several moments of scenic pause in darkness. Given that there is a live orchestra pit on stage, one might hope that the pit could vamp something, even if it’s just a few notes in the key or chord of a popular Go-Go’s tune. When a show like Head Over Heels, whose momentum gathers like a boulder and starts barreling down the side of Olympus, hits snags like a minute of dark stillness on stage between scenes— you’re ripped from the illusion and experience into the noisy background sounds of downtown Annapolis and then it takes a minute to re-engage. But these hiccups aside (and even more minor ones like the blue-water-scrim-scrolling sheets getting twisted and needing to be reset) don’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the experience.
An 80’s show serves up the expectation of 80’s dance routines. Choreographer Becca Vourvoulas delivers, though at times the choreography does feel a little repetitive. (This seems to be a trend sweeping the nation on both community theatre and professional touring-company stages. “Find a move that gets audience applause and repeat, Repeat, REPEAT!”) The overall effervescence of Vourvoulas’ choreography is perpetual and really infuses those more up-tempo numbers with a sense of joy and liveliness that that show desperately needs to be a success. Director Mark Briner has done an impressive job of bringing the narrative story to the forefront of this production. Lin-Manuel Miranda may get the initial credit for “Love is love is love is love” but it’s there, erupting all throughout the plot of Head Over Heels, and while there is the risk of straying into ‘concert territory’ with this show, or even just focusing on the amazing music, Briner doesn’t’ shy away from putting the LGBTQ+ flag of pride on display (Fitting for pride month, though there is no physical flag in this production.) Briner has a lot of clever staging concepts as well— like using the shadow scrims for “Heaven is a Place On Earth” so that you get the humor of people having sex without turning this production into a different kind of show all together. There’s also a moment of ‘Scooby-Doo/Benny Hill” scenic chase that has various characters fleeing to and fro and it reads cleanly with a nod to that slapstick, old-school style of humor.
Briner has brought together a strong ensemble (Ethan Albo, Carly Bereznay, Joani Calles, Shane Coleman, Sara Corwin, Christopher Hanson, Madelyn Keir, Mary Guay Kramer, Jayden Maduro, Meghan McCarthy, Noam Siegel, Izzie Zalovick) to carry all of the backing vocals, delivery all of those 80’s-charged dance moves, and to fill out the story with their bubbly energy. The ensemble also serves as a vessel for Costume Designer Lisa Chadwick. Anyone can costume the principals but Chadwick pulls out all the stops for the ensemble as well, bringing this wild, borderline unhinged, hybrid of classical Tudor-style (I mean look at those flares on some of those skirts and tell me she’s not preparing for the day ASGT gets their hands on Six) and 80’s flare. There’s some dayglow colors peppered all throughout the ensemble and a lot of shiny black as well. Chadwick’s work is also stellar for the principals, with lots of shiny colors and more along the lines of Renaissance fashion. If it were on display at Comicon or a DND convention. And the way Chadwick styles Pythio; SLAY, Chadwick, SLAY! But back to the ensemble; they’re carrying all the backing vocals, supporting sounds, and intense dance moves to really make this production an enjoyable evening out (literally) under the stars.
There’s a blend of supporting and lead core cast, totaling eight, and they all seem to be perfectly fitted for their various roles. While Dametas (Hunter Aldridge) seems to be the odd-duck out in this octet, it’s actually the story of Dametas that brings the show full circle. You don’ get a lot of Aldridge’s vocal capabilities in this production (write to Magruder and take it up with him) but you do get to see him having hilarious over-the-top freak-outs every time one of Pythio’s flags falls from above.
Mopsa (Ally Baca), daughter of the above-mentioned Dametas, and the— hand-maiden? Lady-in-waiting? Servant-gal? All of the above— she’s all that and a bag of chips for Pamela (Sarah Johansen) the more obnoxious of the two daughters of King Basilius. You need a map for the initial who’s who in this show. At any rate, Baca’s portrayal of Mopsa is both endearing and intriguing. She strikes the balance between doting-devotee and bravely-busting-out woman of her own making. When she takes vocal point during “Vacation” you get a real sense of her vocal chops. Often found singing opposite Pamela, you can feel her character’s feelings surging through those vocal moments of conflict superbly.
Sarah Johansen, as Pamela, is delivering larger-than-life-personality-poison in this character that just can’t help herself. Pamela isn’t cruel or intentionally spiteful, she’s just so in love with herself its hard to see anything or anyone else. Including her own sexuality. Johansen strikes a comedic balance with her portrayal of Pamela, making her enjoyable rather than obnoxious and when she starts into her rhyming prose…let’s just say the audience is in stitches filling in the gaps with words that rhyme with ‘angina.’ With powerhouse belts that can be heard in both “Automatic Rainy Day” and “Turn To You”, it’s easy to find oneself enamored with Johansen’s Pamela.
Sweet, saccharine, simple Philoclea (Geneva Croteau) simmers quietly in the shadow of Pamela all because she loves a shepherd and not a Prince. And while we don’t go full Aladdin and wish sheep-boy into prince-hood, he does roll up and infiltrate the encampment dressed in full-on Amazon Warrior Princess drag (thank God Maryland is still a drag-safe state!) Croteau has a syrupy voice, perfect for this ingenue gem. She gets to showcase her voice frequently and when she soothes the other half of “Mad About You”, it is truly miraculous to hear.
Musidorus! Shepherd Boy! Dumber than a box of hair. Which he puts on. And, at the behest/suggestion/shove of Pythio, rolls up to camp and stirs up a chaotic and comedic maelstrom of Broadway-musical proportions the way only this type of character can. Played by the incomparable Matthew Rigby, you get a high-end comedic explosion from this air-headed character every time he drifts/tumbles/explodes onto the stage. The comedic nuance, cadence, and overall execution is strong with this one. And his vocal chops aren’t too bad either. You get to hear Rigby engaging in some impressive vocal acrobatics for “Mad About You’, which starts with ‘false-terrible’ and evolves into actual singing. The facial expressions, body language, and overall full-engagement of his being on stage in the role of Musidorus (turned Cleophila…don’t’ ask, just go see the show) is riveting and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone with sharper comedic timing and exacting zippy delivery.
God save the King— Basilius (Sean Garcia)! God Save the Queen— Gynecia (Traci Denhardt)! God save the King from the Queen! And all that jazz. Garcia is another one with flawless and hyper-animated facial expressions, which suits his character to perfection. There’s a lot of obfuscation and omission going on for Basilius; hell there’s even some flat-out lying. But Garcia nails it all and has wildly impressive vocals. When he croon-melts his way into his half of “This Old Feeling” you feel a little like you’re getting this Sinatra-Presley hybrid and it’s a scintillating treat. Denhardt, playing his foil as Queen Gynecia, has powerful vocals as well, and delivers that je ne sais quoi that makes her unmistakably a Queen figurehead without any real power. Denhardt and Garcia bristle nicely together, creating that caustic tension that really lands hard during “Heaven Is a Place On Earth.”
Oh! Skidmarks on my heart! (Yes, that’s peppered throughout the production in a way that defies description.) Ethan Keller is leaving Skidmarks on the heart and then some, rising up like a tsunami to crash the basic notions of restricted love and the gender-binary. As the unimaginably fierce Pythio, a celestial-heavenly-entity-oracle that has no gender, Keller is on fire. From the way he floats and drifts— because there is no walking with this one— to the way he delivers those lines, full of sass and tenacity, there is no stopping Keller in this role. It’s hard to say which of the costumes serves Keller’s Pythio better, the sleek and sensational black or that stunning gold. It’s both! And when Keller sings “Vision of Nowness” hang onto your hats! It’s wild!
So they’ve got the beat— they’ve got the beat! Yeah! And you can to! If you beat it to the box office and get tickets to see Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s Head Over Heels this June.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes with one intermission
Head Over Heels plays through June 17th 2023 at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre— 143 Compromise Street in Historic Annapolis, MD. For tickets call the box office at (410) 268-9212 or purchase them online.
