Hey! Dancin’! Hey! Musical!
By Laura McKenzie (music, lyrics), Mike Beyer (book),
and Kirk Pynchon (book, additional lyrics)
Directed by Matthew Gunnels
at Prop Thtr, 3502 N. Elston (map)
thru May 31 | tickets: $20 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
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Hey Dancin’ is hey-larious big-haired fun!
Factory Theater presents
Hey! Dancin’! Hey! Musical!
Review by Kat Hey
I remember the 80’s. The shoulder pads and enormous hair were standard and very near the Marie Antoinette sculpture coifs with lace ribbons instead of bunches of grapes. Madonna emerged as the fashion maven for millions of girls and boys. Men wore sherbet colored shirts and there were special shavers for a cultivated 5 o’clock shadow a la Don Johnson. And Lord help us- there was the Jheri Curl plunging thousands into the ignominious honor of wearing a shower cap in public. Hey! Dancin’! Hey! Musical! takes you back to the day when cable access was in its infancy and music videos set the standard for how to dress, dance, and look cool.
There are so many priceless moments in this musical remake of Factory’s 2010 hit play. There is Princess (Eunice Woods), who is inhabited by the aura of Prince. Woods perfects the crazy, intense stare of Prince and the snippets of music and dance are timed to perfection. The original songs hit on every moment of the 80’s from “just say no” to the vestiges of American Bandstand and Soul Train. Trisha embodies the yet again “new woman” who is looking to get laid via the Cosmopolitan playbook while Halle is still in Tiger Beat mode. Drager is perfect as the Miami Vice addict with the douche last name. The interactions with him and Roeder are packed with great one-liners and the Miami Vice quiz prerequisite is a new classic.
The dancing stars of the show are Double K and his girlfriend Tanya, played with frenetic craziness by Jenna Schoppe. Double K with his Flock of Seagulls hair and Tanya with her corset and spackled eyeliner have ruled the spotlight dance for the entire season. Schoppe belts out “Thank You for Sucking” with the swagger and sneer of a great bad girl character. One of the more priceless characters is Linda (Laura Coleman), the floor manager/director for Hey! Dancin’!. Coleman wears a blazer with linebacker shoulder pads and a blinding pattern and a deadpan face. How she tells the cast not to curse is laced with profanity and a blunt attitude. Her reference to porn will bring the house down. The breakout character is Pete (Scott Sawa) who is the kid that cannot dance and a major nerd. He and Roberts have a sweet chemistry that is very believable. There are laughs and pathos when he sings “Life is Hard When You’re TV Ugly”. Pete tries repeatedly to get on camera and is dispatched post haste by Linda before he can do an awkward pony dance in the spotlight.
The villain in the story is the executive producer Dennis Blackburn (Dennis Schnell), who wants to turn Hey! Dancin’! into an all-rock format featuring hair bands of the 80’s such as Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, and Ratt. Schnell is subversively funny as the 200+ days sober crank. He affects a manic edge of sweaty demeanor that is broadly drawn but perfect for the conflict joke between him and Randy. Another great running joke is the character of Doug (Nathaniel Niemi). He is the best dancer, best dressed, coolest and the one that all of the girls want. When he comes out as gay in an exasperated move to get the chicks off of his back, even the clove cigarettes prove to be an aphrodisiac.
The plot is predictable but the genius is in how it is executed. The cast inhabits the 80’s with the moves and the seriousness in which the characters play out the melodrama of being young. They relate to “The Breakfast Club” intimately and homage the John Hughes pantheon of teen angst with the song “Why is Life So Hard”. The dance moves are fun and the jokes are sharp. Even the moments of pathos are knocked around so just as the audience is saying ‘awww’, the moment is turned on its head. The entire cast is a blast to watch. I found myself wondering how many of us in the audience remember being like the kids in the cast back in the day. (Personally, I admit to no more than a collection of shoulder pads in a bag somewhere.)
I recommend Hey! Dancin’! Hey! Musical! for 90 minutes of great fun. (Note – this is not show for anyone under 17. The song “Dry Hump My Love” should give you a clue as to why.)
Rating: ★★★
Hey! Dancin’! Hey! Musical! continues through May 31st at Prop Thtr, 3502 N. Elston (map), with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays 3pm. Tickets are $20, and are available by phone (866-811-4111) or online through OvationTix.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at TheFactoryTheater.com. (Running time: 90 minutes without intermission)
Photos by Dan Tamarkin and Evan Hanover
artists
cast
Grant Drager (Randy Massengill), Mary-Margaret Roberts (Halle), Amanda Roeder (Trisha), Jordan Grzybowski (Kenny ‘Double K” Kapowski), Jenna Schoppe (Tanya), Scott Sawa (Pete), Eunice Woods (Princess), Nathaniel Niemi (Doug), Dennis Schnell (Dennis Blackburn), Laura Coleman (Linda), Brooke Hills (Kate), Julia Beck (Allison), Jon Martinez (Shane), David Lipshutz (Nick)
behind the scenes
Matthew Gunnels (director), Brigitte Ditmars (choreographer), Laura McKenzie (musical director, lyrics and music composer), Kirk Pynchon (book writer, additional lyrics), Mike Beyer (book writer), Jeff Greets (additional guitars), Fernando Alvarez, Jr. (stage manager), Monisa Victrum (asst. stage manager), Tommy Bullington (asst. director), Manny Tomayo (production manager), John Wilson (scenic designer), Jordan Kardasz (lighting design), Kaitlyn Grissom (technical director), Stephen Strange (manager of the mystic arts), Lea Palmeno (props designer), Rachel Sypniewski (costume designer), Christopher Kriz (sound designer) Patrick Holland (promo video director), Anthony Tournis (fight coordinator), Jason Moody (graphic designer), Evan Hanover, Dan Tamarkin (photos)
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