What’s a clever kid to do when she’s too shy and down on
herself to try to make friends? You just make monsters instead! Monsters that
can make up for what you think is missing in yourself. Unfortunately, Sybil’s
monsters don’t always work as she intends. But, inspired by the seeming
perfection of her popular classmates, Sybil is determined to make her next
monster absolutely perfect.
Seventeen-year-old Saleema Josey does a nice job as
the shy monster-creating Sybil, her posture and body language hesitant and
unsure of herself – except when she’s in her element down in her basement
laboratory. This contrasts to her supremely confident and popular friends: Brendan
Eapen as the school’s tennis star Preston, Christopher Broughton as
the class comedian Charlie with a million memorized jokes for every occasion,
and the amusing Maya Park as pretty and stylish Mary who gives a
hilarious presentation on how to make a perfect presentation while
enthusiastically pointing out her perfect hair, clothing, etc.
But can their easy confidence hold up when faced with
Sybil’s perfect monster? “Perfection,” the apt name of the new monster, is
played by Jasmine Perez who shines on the stage as she shines in Sybil’s
school – a perfection of beauty, athleticism, and humor. Perfection is eager to
impress her new classmates and become their new best friend, leaving her
friendless creator Sybil just as friendless as before. But one-day-old
Perfection has not yet mastered the vagaries of societal interactions. The
popular kids are impressed, but not pleased, about having their talents shown
up by the unabashedly vain new kid at school.
The rest of the cast includes a mother lode of imperfect
monsters created by Sybil. A three-headed monster created in the hope that
three heads would be better than one (Gabriela Gross, Sophie
Silverstein, and Katie Welles working in unison), a prom date who
ended up with four left feet (Adam Mandala), a clock because Sybil
wanted more time (Maddy Abrahams), and a host of others that Sybil
created, realized they didn’t fit her need, and mostly ignored as she continued
her quest for “Perfection.” Those castoffs include a too-buff jock (Jordan
Alston-Harmon) and a too-ditzy beauty queen (an amusing Kyra Green)
before Perfection is finally achieved. Providing both pre-show and during-show
entertainment is the team of Flexi (Tori Green) and the little dog
Nyuck, Nyuck (Merce Jessor). All the monsters are greatly enhanced by
the creative and eye-catching costumes designed by Cheryl McCarron and Shelley
Norton.
TADA! Youth Theater in New York City excels at
creating new youth musicals for their talented ensemble of actors. This
creation was written by Janine Nina Trevens, the show’s director and the
theatre’s artistic director. It’s a fun and fairly entertaining tale that will
capture the attention of younger audience members with the quirky monsters.
Before it’s over, all the kids are going to be forced to look a little deeper
into themselves and each other, though a couple of the characters don’t appear
to fully benefit much from the introspection. But alas, nobody’s perfect!
Performed January 18 - February 18, 2008.
Rob Hopper
National Youth Theatre
~ Cast ~
~ Humans ~
Sybil: Saleema Josey
Mary: Maya Park
Preston: Brendan Eapen
Charlie: Christopher Broughton
~ Monsters ~
Trio 1: Gabriela Gross
Trio 2: Sophie Silverstein
Trio 3: Katie Welles
Uggo: Casey Wenger-Schulman
Ever Ready: Alec Cohen
Halvzies: Taylor Hogan
Burpo: Rovin Sena
Munch: Toni Madison
Scraps: Megan Nicholson-MacRae
Footsies: Adam Mandala
Blow Top: Jennifer Wais
Tenny Tic: Maddy Abrahams
Hermes: Mary Claire Miskell
Nyuck, Nyuck: Merce Jessor
Flexi: Tori Green
Jocko: Jordan Alston-Harmon
Cutie: Kyra Green
Perfection: Jasmine Perez
Director: Janine Nina Trevens
Choreographer: Joanna Greer
Musical Director: Jim Colleran
Set Designer: Joseph Gourley
Costume Designer: Cheryl McCarron and Shelley Norton
Lighting Designer: Steve O'Shea
Production Stage Manager: Mary Beth Ward
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