The Real Critics Editor/Publisher
Tom is about to teach his first day of school, but he’s worried that he won’t be interesting to his students or that he may forget the material. Thankfully the School House Rock bunch appear, claiming to be different parts of Tom, and remind him of all the classic hits that he grew up with.
“School House Rock, Live” is basically a review of the cartoon songs that were once wedged between Saturday morning cartoons, with no real through line other than academic subject matter. The plot of the show is really more of a shell, with very little dialogue mingled amongst School House Rock songs.
Yucaipa Little Theatre’s production of “School House Rock, Live” was respectable. The cast appeared to have a lot of fun at the Sunday, Dec. 13, closing performance. But perhaps they were tired from the run of the show because there was a lack of energy.But singers Brad Allen, Hannah Lake, Jessica Bridgeman, Rosslynn Medina, and Tianna Prescott carried the show with their strong vocals. Some of my favorite routines included “Sufferin’ ‘Til Suffrage,” “Conjunction Junction,” “Interjections” and “Interplanet Janet,” in which the cast kicked out Pluto because he is no longer a planet. And I liked Kimberly Stewart-Robel’s direction of “The Great American Melting Pot.” Stewart-Robel used the ensemble to represent all of the cultures that have come and made homes in America. Destiny Ayala, Rylie Prescott, Corey Moore, Lauren Heitmann, Tim Wilson, Daisy Dabois, Nicholas Kelly, Savannah Chester, Nicolette Wilson, and Calin Prescott were costumed multiple times and then ran onto stage and disappeared behind the counter where the singers were cooking in the Great American Melting Pot.
Though the show could have used some more energy at times, it was still a lot of fun to watch. Nothing too deep, in terms of plot, but everyone enjoys the show for the music anyway.
It was a good show for Yucaipa Little Theatre to put on and it was refreshing to see a non-Christmas show around this time of year.
Yucaipa Little Theatre presents “Suessical the Musical” in February. Visit www.yucaipalittletheatre.com or call (909) 790-1884 for details.
