author: Jimi Kinstle
Head Over Heels, book by James Magruder, conceived by Jeff Whitty, is open and running at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) in Frederick, MD. Directed by MET Associate Artistic Director, Gené Fouché, it offers an entertaining evening of frivolity and fantasy while exploring themes of love, acceptance and self-discovery – all set to the sounds of the 1980s high energy band, The Go-Gos.
Set in an Elizabethan-esque fairy tale world, the show starts in mythical Arcadia where the King and his royal family set out on a journey to Bohemia, incited by an oracle and four prophesies. Throw in some gender switching, secret-keeping, sexual awakenings, and convoluted love plots and you have a romantic farce steeped in hijinx with an awesome soundtrack.
There are several powerhouse performances. Tori Weaver is exquisite as Pamela; the most beautiful woman in all of the kingdom. Her voice and performance are full of verve and older sister sass. Karli Cole is darling and disarming as younger sister Philoclea; sincere and sweet, she offers a surprising powerhouse of a voice. Add Mallorie Stern’s goofily cute servant Mopsa and you have a power trio that will blow your headphones off with their tight, dynamic harmonies and crisp comic timing. Kecia Deroly’s Queen Gynecia also adds a voice and performance that will get you up on your feet. Eric Jones’ Pythio is all the stunning Oracle you could ask for; tip to toe they offer a memorizing and mischievous performance. Ray Hatch’s Dametas adds empathy and comedy, making the most of his ‘the prophecy has been fulfilled’ moments. Danielle Tuomey, Kiersten Gasemy and Jennifer Pagano give outstanding, non-stop, very comedic and committed performances, making the ensemble feel twice its size. Randy Stull, Jacob Waeyaert and Bryant Gutknecht have committed, competent and strong ensemble performances.
Joseph Waeyaert as Musidorus has impeccable comedic timing and a sweet voice. Opening night, he did occasionally leave his singing partner performing solo rather than a duet. His comedy is HY-sterical. I wish his sincerity were as deep as his comedy, it would heighten his eventual very sweet triumph of love at the end. Adrian Chapman’s Basilius gives a kingly performance but does not always seem to be in the same world, commenting on and sometimes parodying a world to which everyone else is committed. His low notes are melodic, the notes at the top of his range are off voice.
Tom Majarov’s sound design greets you when you enter the theater, mostly blue grass covers of 1980s mega-hits, helping to establish the rustic woodland feeling of the setting. Lena Janes’ choreography does a fantastic job getting every ounce out of her dancers and uses the space creatively. The beach scene is particularly successful. The light design team of Doug Grove and Tabetha White provide ample wattage, and the specials designed for all scenes Pythio are creative and clever.
It’s great to have a live house band, kudos to the MET for not piping in a soundtrack. The one thing most important to this production is the beat. The fear of losing the beat in the kingdom is the original concern of the royal family that sends them on their quest. Alison Shafer runs a tight pit, but drummer James Meech struggled early. Upon inspection of space where the pit is located, I’m not sure the fault can be placed on Meech, it looks like he’s drumming inside of a cramped tent; not a lot of room to flail around drumsticks or stretch to a bass pedal. The pit got tighter as the show progressed.
My greatest struggle with this production lies with the Director’s Notes in the program. Gené Fouché makes a very bold statement saying the original Broadway design was “missing an opportunity for nostalgic connection. When scenic artist Shana Joslyn, showed me her original drawings for the set, we started to imagine a world that was steeped in the 80s, yet still honored the fairy tale aspect of the show.” Alternately, in my media packet, she said, “audiences will recognize not only the music, but also little nods to the era we’ve scattered throughout.” Written in Elizabethan English, not a “bogus” or “gag me with a spoon” in the text, I was interested to see how the ‘steeped in 80s nostalgia’ or ‘scattered throughout’ was going to be integrated.
Shana Joslyn’s set consists of five oversized vertically mounted records on poles, about 6 feet in diameter. Gen X me immediately conjured images of Happy Days, a TV show from the 1980s, but that was set in the 1950s. To me, musical representations for the 80s are cassette tapes, boom boxes and Walkmans. The records read as the 1970s. On the “B side” of the record is a colorized forest. Theater blacks and curtains are pulled across to project on for a couple of scenes. The prop and set additions did not read as “steeped in the 80s”, definitely more “scattered throughout”.
The costumes were well constructed, and within the director’s ‘concept’ but the design team of Elizabeth Tringali and Judy Harking were at a disadvantage, this is where the concept gets most muddled. Mopsa is dressed in homage Mork and Mindy rainbow suspenders. Flowing white dress Dead Head wear for Philoclea. Comedic oversized overdress for Musidorus’ alter ego and traditional Elizabethan for his shepherd. Royalty dressed in apparel from several periods in the late 1900s. The ensemble in all black with Shields and Yarnell oversized vests and some headbands. Lori Boyd’s puppets, practical and well utilized, are reminiscent of early Sesame Street which I may be projecting, the ‘80s concept’ coloring my judgement. The concept did not serve to further what otherwise is a highly enjoyable production.
Head Over Heels at the MET is a fun, entertaining and musically powerful night of romantic comedy. Outstanding performers make it easy to overlook the 1980s misstep. Go for the harmonies, the laughter, the acceptance and the love. I was “Head Over Heels” for several performances.
Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission
Head Over Heels plays through June 23rd 2024 on the Main Stage of the Maryland Ensemble Theatre in the Historic FSK Hotel building— 31 W. Patrick street in downtown historic Frederick, MD. For tickets call the box office at (301) 694-4744 or purchase them online.
