'Meet Me' entertains with song, dance April 24, 2007 If you go What: "Meet Me in St. Louis" When: 7:37 p.m. Thursday through April 28. Where: Orange Community Players, 708 W. Division Ave., Orange Cost: $12 adults, $5 students. Call: (409) 882-9137 for reservations. | By MARY VANDEVENTER Special to The Enterprise There's nothing like a happy musical to bring out the audience, and Orange Community Players' "Meet Me in St. Louis" certainly did. The second-night house was packed. With a lavishly decorated set featuring real antiques, an amazing array of costumes, and a 29-member cast whose vocal talent was superb, the musical captivated its audience and kept them laughing and clapping. "Meet Me in St. Louis" tells the gentle story of the Smith family, who live in St. Louis, Mo., in 1903. The family deals with such challenges as dates for the Christmas Ball, the sweetness of the homemade catsup, and long distance telephone calls that Father disapproves of. Often stealing the show that night was 8-year-old Kaylee Pattillo in the role of Tootie, double cast for this show. Pattillo combines the bouncy curls of Shirley Temple with the sauciness of a much-younger Lindsay Lohan, and her live-wire personality fits Tootie, who often buries her dolls (because they're "dead") and who has a grand time planning her Halloween tricks. "Meet Me" contains plenty of singing and dancing. The show's music is well written and enjoyable to listen to, although the balance between the electronic accompaniment and the vocalists needed work. Ashley VanPelt (Rose) and Lauren Stringer (Esther) were particularly strong in their musical numbers; both have beautifully sweet voices, and their harmonizing was smooth and practiced. Doug Rogers is strong as the domineering Mr. Smith, but since he was also the father in OCP's "Diary of Anne Frank" production last fall, he felt a little typecast. Lauren Stringer is sweet as Esther, and Ashley VanPelt's Rose is competent, certainly capable in the vocal area but coming across frequently as hard with her down-turned facial expressions. Brook Doss' turn as the Smith's Irish maid Katie is amusing, especially in the song "A Touch of the Irish," where she bawdily explains to Rose and Esther how to manage a man. The show's choreography, in contrast, is uneven. John Gray and Heather King incorporate an enjoyable tap dance routine in the midst of "Skip to My Lou," and King demonstrates her ballet skills as a scene change cover prior to the Christmas Ball scene. But many of the group ensemble numbers are ragged and repetitive, using the same turning and side-to-side moves again and again, moves that were also perhaps anachronistic for the time period of the show. Maybe there's not much that can be done with untrained dancers, which most of the cast seems to be. Overall, "Meet Me" is well-directed and rehearsed. Scene changes are smooth, actors transition easily from scene to scene, and the first act passes without a hitch. The second act is a little less polished and seems to drag, not helpful when the show is 21/2 hours long. In the final analysis, the audience clearly enjoyed this musical. OCP aimed to entertain with its show choice, and "Meet Me in St. Louis" does just that. mcvandeventer@juno.com
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