slow burn – West Boca News

Slow Burn Going Out Hot: Little Shop

We’ve been fans of Slow Burn Theatre Company since we first noticed them at West Boca High. Happily for them (and sadly for us) they’re moving on up to a deluxe performing arts center on the east side of Broward.
Their last show at West Boca High is Little Shop of Horrors, which is more of a mainstream hit than their usual stuff. We saw it opening night (Saturday) and really enjoyed it.
For starters we should note that the show is relatively family friendly. There are a couple swear words and some content that may be troubling for some kids, but there is no gore like in the PG-13 movie version.

Slow Burn’s performance of Little Shop is wonderful. There were four of us and we all enjoyed it. We’ve heard from other friends who were also delighted.
For this writer the highlight was Amy Miller Brennan’s voice in the female lead as Audrey. The show is designed to highlight her character’s voice and she knocked it out of the park, especially on Suddenly Seymour.

Matthew Korinko as Mr. Mushnick and Mike Westrich as Seymour

Mike Westrich and Matthew Korinko were both great. Westrich has the male lead as Seymour and Korinko has the biggest supporting on-stage role as Seymour.

Shane Tanner as Orin the Dentist, with Elisa Danielle as Chiffon in the background

Shane Tanner was a crowd-pleaser playing the sadistic dentist and several other minor parts. The other major character in the show was Audrey II, aka Twoey, one heck of an unusual plant with a taste for human blood. The larger version of Twoey later in the show was performed physically by Rick Peña in his dual role as both puppeteer and costume designer. Twoey was voiced offstage by Geoffrey Short. Our only regret was that he didn’t get to sing Mean Green Mother from Outer Space, a song from the movie that was not in the Broadway show.
Little Shop of Horrors will play Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through June 28th. It’s your last chance to catch this great performance company on the rise here in West Boca. Don’t miss it.
Meanwhile the West Boca High team won’t miss a beat. They’re bringing in the Marquee Theater Company which will start in September. The first season will include Aida, Songs for a New World, Jekyll & Hyde and Footloose.

Here’s our video from just before the start of the show last night:

Sexy and Sad: Slow Burn Does Rent

Left to right: Rayner Gabriel Garranchan, Abby Perkins, Bruno Faria (top), Mike Westrich (bottom), Bruno Vida, Darrick Penny (top), Christina Alexander (bottom) and Amy Tanner.

Last night we saw Rent at West Boca High School, put on by the local professional Slow Burn Theatre Company. They took a sad story and made it fun and sexy. As a warning to those who might be bothered, there is some very brief female nudity in the show. Director Patrick Fitzwater reassured the audience that they’re “all local boobs,” bringing cheers from a number of older women in the crowd.
The underlying story (from Wikipedia):

Rent is a rock musical …. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life in New York City’s East Village in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.

While many stories have obvious lead roles, this production has eight major characters who all have roughly equal roles. In order from the show’s program:

West Boca resident and FAU theatre student Bruno Faria plays Roger Davis, a guitarist and songwriter living with HIV. We think Faria may be a West Boca High graduate but can’t confirm this (Class of 2010 per reader comment). Faria previously impressed us in Slow Burn’s Bonnie & Clyde, and we’re happy to see him do so well again.
Mike Westrich (from Boynton Beach) plays filmmaker Mark Cohen. He’s a graduate of AMDA NY. His performance was excellent marred only by a microphone that occasionally failed. Darrick Penny is a Boca Raton resident and MFA grad of FAU. He plays Tom Collins, a teacher suffering from AIDS.

Bruno Vida plays Angel and had some show stealing moments with dance moves and splits. This is the third time we’ve written about Vida, who had a prominent role in Slow Burn’s High Fidelity, and in Chess: The Musical. He also was in Next to Normal.
Christina Alexander and Amy Miller Brennan (aka Amy Tanner) play a lesbian couple Joanne and Maureen, though Maureen’s character would probably reject such a limiting description of her sexuality. Joanne is a lawyer from a powerful family, while Maureen’s performance art is one of the biggest highlights of the show and drew the most response from the audience.

Abby Perkins (Delray Beach and FAU grad) has a dynamic role as Mimi Marquez, an exotic dancer and junkie who is HIV positive. The part is designed for over-the-top sexiness and she delivers on that in her dancing, along with her wonderful voice.
Last of the eight is Rayner Garranchan (Miami) who plays Ben, a friend of the group who has sold out and gone yuppie. It’s the smallest of the eight roles but still important and Garranchan’s strong performance gives it more weight.
It’s a story that may not be everyone. The story is dark and odd, shows a “Bohemian” lifestyle and adult relationships that offend traditionalists.
But if you like theater at all, this is a must-see show. The death of one of the major characters brings on powerful emotions in the cast and the audience. Rent won both a Tony Award for Best Musical and a Pulitizer Prize for drama. The performances by the cast were excellent, both dramatically and vocally.
Slow Burn Theatre will be performing Rent at West Boca High School’s theatre until April 26th. See more about the show and buy tickets at Slow Burn Theatre: Rent.

Bonnie & Clyde: A Fun Ride

Slow Burn Theatre’s performance of Bonnie & Clyde was one of their best yet. We were fortunate to be invited to the press night. As fans of Slow Burn, this was our second favorite show after Next to Normal. We only call it second because the story in Next to Normal was so good.
We liked many things about Bonnie & Clyde last night. What stood out most to this writer were the great voices of the cast, particularly leads Jessica Sanford as Bonnie Parker and Bruno Faria as Clyde Barrow. The two had a strong chemistry. Sanford fulfilled the sexy role with aplomb, and Faria filled the stage with energy.

Jessica Brooke Sanford as Bonnie, and Bruno Faria as Clyde

Juliette Valle also impressed with her voice as young Bonnie. Not only did she sing beautifully, but the character of her voice also matched the older Sanford’s, making the transition between the two seamless. It was brilliant casting, or luck, or perhaps both.

There were no weak points in the cast. Nicholas Ismailoff infused Young Clyde with youthful energy. Christian Vandepas and Kaela Antolino were captivating as Clyde’s brother and sister-in-law. Patrick Rodriguez and David Cohn sang and acted well in their roles and we always love Kaitlyn O’Neill who played Bonnie’s mother. Also enjoyable was the lively ensemble and gorgeous stage setup:

Keep in mind that the story itself is troubling. It glamorizes criminals who killed police officers and others. But to the credit of the creators and performers, they more than hint at that irony during the show. Read more about the real Bonnie & Clyde on Wikipedia.
We’ve enjoyed Slow Burn’s performances at West Boca High. We’re happy for them that next season they’ll be moving up in the world to the Broward Center, though a little sad for ourselves and our community that we won’t have them so close any more. We will hold out hope that they’ll find a way to do a few shows somewhere close.
On the bright side they’re not done here yet. Bonnie & Clyde plays at West Boca High through February 8th. Good seats are going fast so we recommend buying tickets soon. It will be followed in April (still at West Boca High) by the smash hit Rent, and we expect those tickets to go fast too. Buy tickets here.

Review: Carrie by Slow Burn Theatre

Slow Burn Theatre’s Carrie production is one that threatens to outdo both the movie and novel versions. This showing combines comical elements into a horrifying plot, providing something rarely seen in the world of theatre.
The story revolves around a high school misfit named Carrie White, a.k.a. Scary White, who struggles with being bullied at school, with her overly religious mother, and with her inner, deadly power. Despite warnings, Carrie gets invited to prom where, thanks to her power, she is to be bullied for the very last time.

This classic is further brought to life with over twenty songs, suggestive humor, and stunning acting. Behind each song is a powerful band and extremely talented lighting and set design that brings you in to the story.
One thing this author particularly enjoyed was character development of the supporting cast in the background, even when they aren’t the main stars on stage. When watching the show, make sure you look at what everyone else is doing, besides the main characters. For example, during a dance at prom, one person in the background is slow dancing with someone while typing on a phone over their partner’s shoulder. The musical is full of scenes like these that add comedy and make it even more enjoyable.
The recurring theme behind Carrie is a night we’ll never forget, something that comes true as prom night draws in closer in the story.
Shows are Thursday through Sunday until November 2nd, at the West Boca High School auditorium.

High Fidelity by Slow Burn: A Fun Show

Last night we got to see Slow Burn Theatre’s High Fidelity. The performances were strong as they have been in past shows (Parade, Chess and Next to Normal) but this was the first one we’d call fun.

The story is somewhat similar to the movie High Fidelity, which starred John Cusack, but the musical uses original music instead of classic rock.
The main character, Rob, is having problems with his girlfriend Laura and looks back on his history with previous girlfriends.
Rob and his record store friends often resort to reciting bizarre Top 5 lists as they confront problems.

There are a number of comical moments including when Laura gets into a relationship with an odd character named Ian, a dreamlike sequence where Rob sings with a rock star, and other celebrity references.
We especially enjoyed Bruno Vida is his role as the nerdy Dick, Sandi Stock’s Liz, the intermediary between Rob and Laura, and Noah Levine who nearly stole the show as Ian. Leads Robert Johnston and Nicole Piro played off each other well.

There were around 250 people in the audience, which director Patrick Fitzwater told us was a good number for the summer. While it doesn’t include the rock hits from the movie, we think the show will appeal to baby boomers and Gen Xers as well.
There is a lot of coarse language and some sexually suggestive scenes so parents should be careful before bringing kids.
High Fidelity runs through June 29th in the performing arts theater at West Boca High. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm. Buy tickets on the Slow Burn Theatre website.