Prime Stage and PMT give productions a second go-around
Companies stage ‘Perks of a Wallflower’ and ‘Disney’s Tarzan’
Two shows aimed at young audiences are playing both sides of the Allegheny River this week — Prime Stage Theatre’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” the second production of the stage adaptation, and “Disney’s Tarzan,” the second time around for Pittsburgh Musical Theater.
‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’
The novel “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” struck a chord in 1998, when we first met Charlie, a lonely teen who tells his story by writing to an unnamed “Dear Friend.”
The Pittsburgh-set book and movie by Stephen Chbosky of Upper St. Clair that laid the foundation for similar-themed YA successes — the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” and the Tonynominated musical “Dear Evan Hansen” are prime examples — is now a play, adapted by Penn State University graduate Hailey Rohn of Peters.
The story lives on because it captures the joys and traumas that are rampant in every suburban high school. Survival of the fittest among bullies, beauties and those kids from “the land of misfit toys” isn’t a guarantee, as everyone looks for a way to connect with peers and ease the struggle.
Prime Stage is first to give the play a fully realized production. When it was done in a black box theater at Penn State, Charlie’s desk was about it for staging, said Ms. Rohn, who attended the opening night performance. In the New Hazlett’s thrust space, set designer Johnmichael Bohach has used a yellow arch suggesting a Pittsburgh bridge to frame a white wall for Joe Spinogatti’s projections of places, Charlie’s lists and still photography suggested in the script.
The casting is a refreshing mix of veteran performers and age-appropriate actors, including in the three major roles. As Charlie, Pittsburgh CAPA sophomore Peter Joseph Kelley Stamerra carries the weight of narration on his shoulders, and suffers or builds in confidence as his
character does. Charlie arrives in high school full of hope and trepidation and is swept into the world of charismatic siblings Sam (Shady Side Academy junior Julia Zoratto) and Patrick (CAPA senior Logan Shiller).
Patrick is out and outgoing while having a relationship with a closeted jock. He is the first to recognize Charlie as a soul who might need saving. Charlie is captivated by Patrick’s stepsister Sam, a former party girl who “accepts the love she thinks she deserves” — a thread throughout the play.
“Perks” piles on more than its share of teen nightmares, yet it doesn’t seem heavy-handed; there is a humor and a sense of hopefulness, too.
One of the best things in Charlie’s life is kind and funny English teacher Mr. Anderson (John Feightner). The teacher recognizes a kindred literary spirit in Charlie and gives him extracurricular reading. A perk for the literature-based theater company Prime Stage is that Mr. Feightner also plays Charlie’s dad, one of several double-cast roles that makes it seem like you are watching a larger cast than Prime’s dozen actors.
This production, directed with sensitivity by Jeffrey Cordell, is a fine next step in developing “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” into a triple threat — from book to screen to stage.
Prime Stage at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square E, North Side; 8 p.m Friday, 1 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $25-$30; under age 30 or 63 and over, $20-$25; students under 18, $12-$17; 412267-4245 or primestage.com.
‘Disney’s Tarzan’
This one is for the kids and anyone who will enjoy hearing some of Pittsburgh’s top voice actors deliver Phil Collins’ songs, including the Oscar-winning “You’ll Be in My Heart.”
PMT presented this show in 2013, with husband and wife David and Kathlene Toole as Tarzan and Jane and Alysha Watson as Kala, Tarzan’s ape mother. All reprise their roles and are in fine voice, along with powerhouse Brady Patsy as Kerchak, the head gorilla, and Tru Verret-Fleming as Tarzan’s gorilla buddy, Terk.
A scene with costumed dancers showing the wonders of the jungle remains the most visually arresting in the show, and the versatile Mr. Toole, a rocker who just finished a long stint in CLO Cabaret’s “Pump Boys and Dinettes,” is six-pack ready to swing from jungle vines as Tarzan.
The colorful production, directed by Colleen Doyno and choreographed by Lisa Elliott, features an onstage band led by Brent Alexander. Disney-style, this “Tarzan” has plenty of eye candy for the kids. For the whole family, there is a mostly veteran cast going all out to charm and impress — and succeeding.
PMT at the Byham Theater, Downtown, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $9.25$54.75; trustarts.org or 412456-6666.