"Alexander" News and a Review

There was a nice write-up in today's Herald-Dispatch about the opening weekend of Alexander, Who's Not Not Not Not Not Not Going to Move, which you can read right here.

You can also check out the photo gallery with some still shots from Sunday's performance right here. The photos were taken by the H-D'sMark Webb. (In this photo on the right, Alexander (Drew Edwards) is being scrunched between his babysitter Rachel (Meg Barber) and the neighbor's dog, Swoozie (Kate Colclough.)

And my pal Stephen Vance sent in a review of the show - which was awfully nice of him! As he points out, it's hardly fair for me to review my own show (there's a good chance that I would tend to rave about it) - but I'm happy to reprint his review here.

He wrote:

As the local reviewer, I'm sure you'll probably skip reviewing your own show, so I thought I'd shoot across a brief one.

I went to see "Alexander" on Sunday expecting a somewhat typical sedate matinee audience and walked into a crowd bubbling with enthusiasm. I learned that the cast and crew of Charlotte's Web had decided to come over and show their support for their sister show. The added excitement brought something that you only experience with live theatre.

The first thing I noticed was the relatively bare stage. A couple of enormous stacks of boxes and a bed were the only set pieces for the opening scene. The scrim, colored lights, door signs, and minimal set pieces did a great job of assisting the story without stealing from the kids.

This show, like Charlotte's Web, had a cast list of mostly newcomers, and I think that's one of the great things about companies like First Stage. It give kids, regardless of experience, a chance to get on stage and do their thing.

I really didn't know what to expect, but within just the first few minutes, the kids had the audience rolling in the aisles. I have never seen such a young group have such a strong sense of comedic timing. "Nick" played by Drew Goodall and "Swoozie" played by Kate Colclough had me laughing out loud every time they spoke, barked, or moved across stage.

I was also very impressed with the singing talents of the "mother" played by Hannah Stevenson, "Anthony" played by Justin Hesson, and "Audrey" played by Sarah Bryan.

The title role was played by Drew Edwards and he did a great job moving the show along and pulling the audience in to the story.

The entire ensemble had a great energy and each had moments where they shined.

Of course, one of the highlights of the show was First Stage Alumnus Travis McElroy. He played five different roles and was hilarious in each and every one. I really liked that both "Alexander" and "Charlotte's Web" pulled in the Alumni, because with these exceptionally young casts it appeared these experienced actors brought both a passion and stability to the stage.

Overall, I expected a cute show, but I left smiling from this laugh-a-minute comedy. It was a very entertaining show, and its great to see all of these new faces growing on our local stages. Congrats Chuck on the show! And continue breaking legs over the next weekend.

What can I add, except to say: Aw, shucks! Thanks for the kind words, Stephen!