13 The Musical

The Music and lyrics for 13 The Musical are by Jason Robert Brown and a book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn. It tells the story of Evan Goldman, a Jewish boy approaching his 13th. birthday whose life seems full of possibilities until his parents get divorced and he is forced to move with his mom from New York to Appleton, a small small town in Indiana. Evan tries to fit in with his new classmates and invites them all to his all important Bar Mitzvah but this is fraught with problems because his choice of friends alienates him from the cool kids, jocks and cheerleaders who he is so desperate to befriend. As he navigates and struggles the complexity of social groupings and his efforts to fit in, he eventually comes to understand what it means to be a true friend.

I have never seen this musical nor actually heard of it so it was with much anticipation and intrigue  as to how a group of young people from my locality could cope with the complexities of this American based show about a Jewish boy. However, in the ‘digital’ programme, Joshua, the Director, tells of how he went to great lengths, through discussions and workshops with the cast, exploring cultural differences and religions, gossip mongering and the effects of power and reputation to give them an insight into the important issues the show explores.

The open stage, with blue lighting, was visible from the outset and there were two forms, and old fashioned street lamp and a metal dustbin and at the start of the show Evan came to the front of the stage and introduced himself being then joined by the ensemble as they quite rousingly sang “13/Becoming a Man”. This quickly changed as outward facing orange flashing lights indicated the imminent change in Evan’s circumstances and on the stage is now a small picket fence and a rocking chair. Evan was superbly played by Eddie Waller. It is a huge role as he is virtually on stage for the whole show and he so sincerely, confidently and so captivatingly portrayed the differing emotions of the character so perfectly and does at last stand up to Brett, the most popular boy in school, by telling him a few home truths in no uncertain manner but then, is ‘floored’ by one almighty punch from him. Eddie has a super singing voice so much in evidence particularly in his solo numbers “All Hail the Brain” and “Here I Come” but also in his involvement in many other numbers none more so than “Being a Geek” which was superb. Evan first meets Patrice, delightfully played by Ruby Randle, who describes Appleton to him as she beautifully sings “The Lamest Place in the World”. She is thought of as a geek and not liked by fellow school kids, but befriends Evan, even has a crush on him, and later so meaningfully and movingly sings “What it Means to be a Friend” and then just slumps down and is left in the middle of the stage sobbing, it gave me goosebumps. His other friend is Archie who has muscular dystrophy and uses crutches to get around. Everett Van Mierlo was just amazing as Archie, who was also thought of as a geek and shunned. He so naturally moved about using the crutches and so confidently and with great comedic input perfectly portrayed him as he played upon his illness to somehow get what he wants. He too has a super singing voice. He lusts after Kendra and following an ‘intervention’ he is seated at the cinema next to her with Brett on her other side. Both go in to kiss Kendra, who moves, and they end up kissing each other, it was just so funny. Dylon Ciceron was brilliant as Brett. With charm, self-assuredness and comedic flair he totally was the dreamboat football star who too lusted after Kendra. He has it all as he can dance and has a super singing voice as well as terrific acting skills as have both of his sidekicks, Malcolm and Eddie. Leighton Hendon as Malcolm and Matthew Alsop as Eddie were just top-notch, their antics, their comedy timing, their fantastic stage presence was amazing and along with Brett they most definitely were a tour-de-force threesome so apparent especially in “Hey Kendra” where their so suggestive and sexy moves were unbelievable. Kendra was excellently portrayed by Ruby Chandler she perfectly delivered the likeable and sweet aspects of the character whilst her so-called best friend, Lucy, wants Brett for herself and it is she who planned to stop her friend from kissing him at the cinema. Molly Fitzsimmons excelled as Lucy. She has great acting skills and has such an incredibly powerful and sublime singing voice so apparent as she fronted “Opportunity” along with the Cheerleaders. The two worked so well together. Excellent support came from Rebeca Stott as Charlotte, from Zara Grosse as Cassie, from Darcy Thomson as Molly from Gabriel Lawson as Simon, from Josh Lewis as Richie, from Rafferty Williams as Rabbi and from the twenty-five members of the Ensemble. 

All of the musical numbers especially the part and full company numbers were all so well sung, so imaginatively choreographed and superbly executed by a most enthusiastic, energetic and well disciplined cast. Costumes and props were splendid as was the lighting plot and sound and together with exceptionally talented principles and a terrific cast produced a most exceptional and impressive show with the more serious aspects so sensitively embraced. Congratulations to Creative Director Joshua Mason, to Musical Director Matthew Szadura, to Choreographer Emily Skill, to the Backstage and Front of House Teams and indeed to everyone who was involved in this wonderful production.

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