Director and founder of TADA!, Janine Nina Trevens, commissioned a musical about kids who solve a crime regarding a theft of art, and the result is this world premiere written and composed by Jim Colleran. Jim demonstrates a great talent for music and humor, and his new musical succeeds in giving moments in the spotlight for pretty much all the 26 members of the cast. That cast is made up of members of TADA’s resident ensemble group – an unusual but effective program wherein youth audition twice a year to get into the ensemble group. Once in the ensemble, they are trained and can audition for the three annual shows. The result is clearly paying off with some excellent talent for a youth cast, especially one with an average age of about 12.

Leading the way in this cast is Maya Park, a vibrant 12 2/3-year-old actress, who plays Candy Krunch with style and smarts. Joining her in the investigating Gumball Gang is the inventor Parker (Christina Franklin), track runner Danny (Javier Cardenas), history buff Jess (Katherine Lerner Lee), and Robert Aviles as Zak who demonstrates a truly impressive voice leading the Life Is Sweet number. All five work well together as they search for their next Big Case, Follow Every Clue, and enjoy each other’s camaraderie.

Then there are the two reporters striving for a national audience. Twelve-year-old Casey Wenger-Schulman and eleven-year-old Nicholas Stewart are a riot as they turn on their flair and humor for the camera using great body language and timing. With their flair, a national audience seems very likely for Littletown Live.

But they’re not the only ones looking for fame. Fourteen-year-old Jasmine Perez is the unbelievably stuck-on-herself young beauty queen of Littletown, Victoria Popular LaSalle. And as such she is also unbelievably talented – a magnetic stage presence with hilarious expressions and timing, as well as great dancing. The main person she’ll talk to (partly because he’s rich, and mostly because he’s an artist and she wants her beautiful portrait done) is the wealthy and snobby Winston Winston III, with twelve-year-old Merce Jessor fully capturing the role of the insufferable snob with his every movement. Together Jasmine and Merce turn in the most hilarious song-and-dance of the show – the totally appropriate All For Me.

Other standouts are many. Gabriela Gross as the klutzy Becca Krunch with her sweet and funny solo Klutz. The trio of European visitors Francois (Alec Cohen), Isabel (Ines Renique), and Gerta (Taylor Hogan) who amuse with their personalities and over-the-top accents, and also deliver one of the best numbers with It’s a Masterpiece. Natalie Northup Bergner, Nicole Carrington, and Saleema Josey offer glitz and some great harmonies as the singing judges of the art museum, as well as some stylish choreography by Maya Park. Jennifer Wais is the tough TJ Doyle with a score to settle with “The Dumbbell Gang,” always followed by her trusty and adorable sidekick Squeak (Taylor Jones). Alex Getlin uses her impressive voice to lead a trio of animal-rights activists (Natalia Amaya and Rovin Sena) in support of The Blue-Tailed Skink. The whole ensemble works their talent together in the groovy number Work It Out.

Performed July 5-28, 2007.

Rob Hopper
National Youth Theatre