451 Reviews Andy's 451 Is A Masterpiece by Kerri Kanelos ©2001-2003 Love Thy Job Productions http://www.lovethyjob.com [Used by Permission - published 25 August 2003] For those who regularly read my reviews of local entertainment and art, it will come as no surprise that Andy's Summer Playhouse in Wilton, New Hampshire has yet again raised the bar for excellence in children's theatre. In fact, their last show of the season, 451, a musical adaptation of Ray Bradbury's classic Fahrenheit 451, is far more creative and entertaining than any theatre production, on any level, that I have seen in years. This piece was written, composed and directed by Bob Lawson, the theatre's Artistic Director and includes a live band, incredible set design, creative costuming, original songs and more importantly, an extraordinary cast of actors. For those unfamiliar with the story behind Fahrenheit 451, I highly recommend reading the novel before seeing Andy's version in order to fully understand the performance. Set in the 24th century, firefighters are now paid to set books on fire because they make people think too much. Instead of spending their free time philosophizing and reading, people are now so sedated by tranquilizers that they waste away in front of their "wall screens" watching their "cousins" and "family" entertain them on the television. The government has extreme control over the level of censorship in every day society. Montag (Ethan Selby), the main character of the piece, enjoys his job as a firefighter but soon becomes curious about the books that he confiscates during raids. The story progresses as Montag meets others, including a young woman named Clarisse (Kate Cochran) and her family, who are involved in the illegal underground culture of reading and book collecting. His curiosity eventually grabs hold over Montag's life as he becomes obsessed with saving the very books that he is hired to burn. Although every member of this cast sang and acted very well, I was particularly taken with the work of three outstanding female leads. Allegra Gilfenbaum, who played Montag's superior Captain Beatty, has a great voice and portrayed an excellent version of the novel's sneering antagonist. Kara Maloney, who played Montag's sedated and overly depressed wife Linda, had some striking solos during the performance. The audience and myself were completely blown away by Katie Rolph, a young actress who belted out the songs beautifully as The Woman Who Burns. All three of these performers have very promising futures in the fields of theatre and music. While directors cast actors into the ensembles who are not as vocally inclined as the main characters, I found that every actor in 451 had incredible acting and vocal skills. What I found most incredible of all is that fact that most actors in 451 are under the age of 16. Before seeing this performance, I was skeptical of the young cast's ability to pull off a musical version of such an intellectually involved novel. However, the young cast did such an incredible job with 451 that I cannot think of another demographic of actors that could outdo this version of the performance. The set design and costuming for 451 is stunning and brings the piece together very well. The set, which consists of a six scrim covered boxes for variations in settings, allows the audience to watch all characters at the same time. Actors weaved in and out of each box as they changed locations and scenes in a very fluid manner. The costuming is a mixture of black Victorian dress and German clothing with an overall Asian theme. Designers put incredible detail and creative thought into how the firemen "burn" the books. Set designers obviously spend a great deal of time sewing bright red cloth into each book so cast members could "pull" a flame out of the burned books. Designers also used the same material during a murder scene-the blood red jagged pieces of cloth appeared to pour out of Captain Beatty's body as she is murdered towards the end of the performance. The live band (Duncan Pelletier, Adrian Prohaska, Erik White, DJ Potter and Bob Lawson) added an extra dimension not normally found in local theatrical productions. Unfortunately, 451 and other performances at Andy's only run for a two-week period and 451's closing night was on August 23rd. I feel strongly that this outstanding performance should travel to other locations throughout New England; or at the very least, the cast should return to Andy's during the school year to give repeat performances for local schools that are studying Bradbury's classic. I truly enjoyed this performance. Andy's Playhouse is a small theatre located in the town Wilton, New Hampshire. Named after C.W. Anderson, the wildly popular children's author of such horse books as Blaze and Thunderbolt, Andy's began over thirty years ago in the neighboring down of Mason. In the late 1980s, Andy's acquired the former Wilton town hall and began all operations out of that location. As their website states, "Andy's programs foster creative collaborations between children and professional artists who work in a variety of media: performance art, theater, dance, music, puppetry, video, set and lighting design and playwriting." For more information about Andy's Summer Playhouse, visit their website at www.andyssummerplayhouse.org. I give this performance an unprecedented 5 out of 5 Shakes. © 2003, All Rights Reserved