State Fair @ Grand Prairie Arts Council
Photos by Kris Ikejiri
—Review by Jan Farrington
Is there anything more “catchy” and insistent than a Richard Rodgers waltz? After the opening night of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s State Fair at the spiffily vintage Uptown Theater in Grand Prairie, I went to bed humming “It’s a Grand Night For Singing”—and started right up again as I poured the morning’s first cup of coffee.
The Grand Prairie Arts Council, and director Mallory Roelke, can be very proud of this show. What fun! And what wonderful energy from start to finish: the stage comes alive with the colorful chaos of a fairground: aerialists, cartwheelers, kids, clowns, stilt walkers, and more, all backed by ever-changing projections (from Wendy Searcy-Woode) that take us from farm to fair, and from day to sparkly night-time as our story follows one Iowa farm family to the 1946 Iowa State Fair—and back again. (Designer Hope Cox’s endless outfits are colorful and in character—especially mother Melissa’s period floral dresses and club singer Emily’s gorgeous deep-green nightclub costume.)
The big cast is full of strong singer-actors who make the comedy work, and tug at our hearts in the romances sprinkled through the plot (for the young couples and the older generation). The four Frakes, Abel/Melissa/Margy/Wayne (played by Christian Wulfsberg, Araceli Radillo, Jordana Garcia, and Steven Rios) anchor the show: in just a few minutes, we’re rooting for them to get everything they want—a blue ribbon for Dad’s pig and Mom’s pickles, and a new adventure for “restless” Margy and Wayne, who aren’t sure their hometown boy & girlfriend are really the ones they want.
At the fair, they get all and more than they bargained for—with some bumps and bruises along the way—but if it’s R&H, we know a happy ending must be in the wings. Margy meets brash, wise-cracking newspaper reporter Pat (Spencer Bovaird—a great grin and a way with a song); Wayne is rescued by Emily (Hannah Hansen, a terrific ‘40s “chan-toozy” and dancer), who’s doing the fair circuit with her nightclub act. Will their fairground love stories turn into something more? Buy a ticket.
For sure, though, they all get some great songs: Garcia’s sweet soprano sells Margy’s “It Might As Well Be Spring,” and Rios’ rich voice carries his hit-by-a-thunderbolt number, “That’s for Me.” Pat (Bovaird) and Margy keep things light with “Isn’t It Kinda Fun?” Abel (Wulfberg) and Melissa (Radillo) have a blast with the danceable “When I Go Walking With My Baby.” And when the whole ensemble gets together for a song in “Our State Fair” and “It’s a Grand Night for Singing”? Let’s just say I had to keep wiping the silly grin off my face as that great, big sound rang out.
If you’re on the fence, let me add one more thing: State Fair started out life as a very realistic 1930s novel, and a non-musical 1933 movie (with Will Rogers as Abel!) that had a somewhat more melancholy ending. The story hasn’t changed much: the farm kids still aren’t sure they want to stay on the farm, and there’s real drama (and working-class pride) in the parent’s desire to win a prize for what they do best. The musical honors that real-world feel, and you might enjoy spending a few hours in the old-fashioned world of your grandparents—or is it great-grands by now?
There’s a wonderful dog (Hela) onstage. There’s a drunk judge (Taylor Otey Veer) and an even drunk-er pig farmer (Cole Lucas). There’s some lovely ballet and dance work (notably from Teil Dow, Meghan MacLellan, Roxi Taylor, and Bailey Lund), a pessimistic neighbor (Jourdain Blanco), a harmonizing quartet (Breanna Cox, Jessica Gazsi, Chris Medina and Asaysha McKenzee Hearns), and an aerialist (Dow again) twirling up high. There’s a little girl (Penelope Gazsi) who falls for Wayne and promises “I’ll see you next year.” There are, frankly, too many to mention.
So. If you’d like to be humming a Rodgers waltz when you wake up…there’s one more week to make that happen.
WHEN: Through September 25
WHERE: Uptown Theater, Main Street (Grand Prairie)
WEB: artsgp.org
