“Tied to the Tracks” is fresh face on old melodrama
In the second of their summer offerings, “Tied to the Tracks,” the Pickleville Playhouse players get a chance to dress up in some funny costumes and sing and dance and put on a show for the neighborhood, not unlike a slice of a 1930’s black-and-white Saturday cinema.
Gee willickers, Mickey Rooney and the other Andy Hardy players would have been proud.
“Tied to the Tracks” is a musical melodrama, music by Arne Christiansen and written a generation ago, which has been updated a bit by the Pickleville players. With a few specially-added current references to Taco Bell and the bird flu, the enthusiastic cast has fun with the “plot,” which is already cornier than a green field in Iowa.
“Tied to the Tracks” starts out a bit slow. It takes a few songs and scenes to build up some laughter and audience involvement. But by the end of 80-minute western farce, villains are booed and heroes cheered at precisely the right moments.
One of the stars of the show is pianist Aram Arakelyan, who, along with Bryce Rassmussen on bass and Adam Weston on drums, anchor the constant accompaniment that plays a big part of the production’s success. Arakelyan is a 22-year-old world-class pianist, who has competed in the Gina Bachauer competition and is currently studying at Utah State University. No, whatever else happens, don’t shoot the piano player.
“Tied to the Tracks” is a little brother to Pickleville’s other summer production, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and suffers slightly by comparison. The ensemble numbers of the melodrama are not as tight and rich, and lots of foot stomping and flaylng of arms is disguised as dancing. But, in reality, it’s not meant to be compared, just enjoyed for what it’s intended to be.
Derek Davis, though still in high school, is totally at ease on stage and has a wide-eyed Mickey Rooney-type quality as Sherriff Billy Bold. Bodie Brower ends up stealing the show as he plays several characters, most notably Deputy Dill. By the show’s end, Davis and Brower are competing to see who is the bigger ham and audience favorite, but that honor probably goes to Brower. In “Tied,” Brower plays banjo, kazoo, sings, dances and sells popcorn and pickles at intermission, all without breaking character.
Michael Dubois also does a nice job with the villain’s role, Prof. Silas Scavenger. Dubois was perfectly insincere and underhanded and had fun with the role. He also adapted well to the ongoing problem of microphones not working right which hampered the production a bit. Emily Kirschman is the perfect naive heroine, always smiling and being “optimistical.”
And even though Mickey and the gang didn’t make it, gee whiz, no one missed them a bit.
“Tied to the Tracks”
Plays with “Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” until Sept. 2
Approx. 95 minutes with one intermission
8 p.m. at Pickleville Playhouse, Bear Lake
Tickets and information: (435) 946-2918
www.picklevilleplayhouse.com