Entr'Act Theatrix chose to launch its first play on the stage of one of South Florida's most venerable theatre companies, opening its production of HAIR at the Caldwell Theatre on June 12, 2010. Get out your love beads, tie-dye shirts and jeans, and celebrate the 60's with the coolest tribe this side of Central Park.K.D. Smith directed a cast that included Kyle Schnack, Ben Michaels, Lisagaye Tomlinson, Jessica Kris, and Mari Bryan.
Hap Erstein reviewed for The Palm Beach Post:
The new Entr’Acte Theatrix troupe has mounted a very worthy production of Hair as its inaugural offering, with smartly conceived choreography and imaginative direction by K.D. Smith. Surely it is not the company’s fault if its hard work seems more benignly ingratiating than confrontational.
Entre’acte, a professional offshoot of the decade-old Palm Beach Principal Players, aims to bolster the resumes of emerging young performers in “edgier” musicals. There is certainly plenty of nascent talent in the 29-member cast, though by Thursday night’s opening Steven Fabian’s five-piece band was drowning out many of the song’s lyrics.
But Smith actually manages to make Hair more than a series of individual songs. She is particularly effective constructing stage images in Claude’s extended second act hallucinations and in her simple, but potent dance steps for the ensemble Tribe. And yes, they do doff their duds during the dimly-lit first act finale, a statement of their freedom — from clothes — which seems much more innocent than edgy.The Entr'act Theatrix production of HAIR plays at the Caldwell Theatre June 10-13, and then moves to Palm Beach Gardens High School June 17-20, 2010. The company is not affilliated with Caldwell or the Palm Beach County School Board.
Saw the Saturday night show.
ReplyDeleteI cannot understand why so many of the kids were looking down when singing or delivering their lines--this is Acting 101 basics, people! Look OUT into your audience, not down at the stage, which pulls focus. There's nothing down there! Noticeable tension in the shoulders of of some of the singers too, was distracting, again a basic acting technique that could easily have been corrected. The technical issues were immense, too, unfortunately; and yes, the band was loud, making unclear intonation to begin with worse.