WINTER PARK — Musical revenues can be a delightful way to look back at the career of a legendary composer and The Winter Park Playhouse has become particularly adept at these types of shows. Not only does the theater have a knack for attracting first rate singers, but the direction, choreography, musical accompaniment and even the set designs are the height of theater professionalism.
SnapShots A Musical Scrapbook, the Playhouse’s newest production, is a tribute to the work of Broadway legend Stephen Schwartz, whose hit musicals (Godspell, Pippin, Wicked) are popular community theater revivals years after year. This production includes some of Schwartz’s best known songs — reinvented, if you will.
The show, which kicks off the Playhouse’s 22nd season, is an original musical that has a complete story to tell, about an aging husband and wife reflecting on where their marriage stands. Along the way it incorporates two dozen of Schwartz’s classic songs in pursuit of a singular theme: how do we fall in love, and how do our memories keep us together. It manages to be funny, touching and sad, with a poignant ending that cries out “crowd pleaser.”
What Is Snapshot A Musical Scrapbook?
Conceived by Michael Scheman and David Stern, using songs that were sometimes given new lyrics by Schwartz himself, the show is both a tribute to his legacy and a “musical scrapbook,” as it was billed when the show premiered in 2021. That’s an apt way of putting it, since the production is set in the spacious attic of the home where Dan and Sue live. Their children have fled the nest, so it’s just the aging couple in their big home, where Sue feels they’ve drifted apart, perhaps irreversibly. While searching in the attic for her suitcase so she can pack up, leave Dan a goodbye note and then move on with her life, Sue is startled when Dan interrupts her. And that’s when they accidentally discover a box of photographs, mementos of their life together.
A clever concept of the show is that those photographs literally come to life before the audience, as four other actors playing Dan and Sue at younger phases of their lives reenact how they first met, their high school and college years, their decision to move in together, and so on. It’s a bumpy road with some potholes, but also one with plenty of joy and exhilaration.
Along the way, plenty of Schwartz’s best known songs are used to help propel the story, often with new lyrics that fit the story. Considering the high quality of Schwartz’s compositions, the fact that the story is just as engaging makes this one all the more pleasurable to watch.
How is The Winter Park Playhouse Production of Snapshots?
One of the most impressive aspects of the Playhouse production is the set. Anyone (like me) who grew up in a home with a spacious attic that became the final stop for stuff the family no longer needed is going to marvel at how good this one looks; you’re likely to spend a bit of time at first (like me) checking out the fun items the Playhouse crew found to give it that attic vibe.
Director Roy Alan does a terrific job balancing the play’s gentle humor — the cute, sometimes awkward, always humorous way the couple met and became friends, but had a harder getting to the “I love you” stage — with its sadder moments. With no kids to care for and Dan being a lifelong workaholic, the distance between Dan and Sue grows wider and wider. For Sue, the love is just no longer there.
Or is it?
Melissa Whitworth plays Sue as a woman who feels deeply conflicted over their situation, while the Dan played by Charles Stevens doesn’t see a breakup coming — until it dawns on him just how many mistakes he’s made in a marriage he thought was going just fine. Their charming performances make these characters instantly likable — and people we can easily relate to.
Michael Drolet, Mahalia Gronigan, Pedro Ka’awaloa and Avianna Tato have the opposite challenge. While Stevens and Whitworth play clearly defined characters, the other four juggle multiple roles, including the couple as kids, high school students, young newlyweds and then parents, as well as other characters who came into the couples’ lives over the years. All four stand out for their sharp comedic timing (Drolet is a riot as a frisky cheerleader with her eye on Dan), and the entire cast delivers those Schwartz favorites in superb harmonies.
What a fun and engaging way for the Playhouse to open their 22nd season. I can’t wait to see what they’ve got coming up next.
Where Can I See Snapshots A Musical Scrapbook?
Snapshots A Musical Scrapbook is being performed at The Winter Park Playhouse, 711 Orange Ave. in Winter Park, and runs now through Sunday, Oct. 13.
Tickets are $47 for evening shows, $45 for seniors during evening shows, $42 for matinees, and $20 for students (15-25 years old), members of the active military and theater industry professionals. Student rush “$10@10” $10 tickets (for students 25 years and younger) will be offered 10 minutes prior to a performance when seats are available.
For tickets or for more information call the box office at 407-645-0145 or log online at www.winterparkplayhouse.org,
Michael Freeman is an Orlando journalist, playwright, and author of the book A Christmas Eve Story. Contact him at Freelineorlando@gmail.com.
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