‘Dainty Mabel’ Showcases Local Youth

Theater Review

By SUE PASCOE Staff Writer ‘Dainty Mabel & the Spiteful Child from Saskatoon,’ an original musical melodrama, opened on Friday at the Pierson Playhouse on Haverford Avenue. This production is brimming with the ‘cute factor,’ leaving audience members with a perpetual smile because so many of the talented youth are endearing, appealing and just plain sweet. The play, written by Nancy Casaro Fracchiolla and Randall Thropp, is divided into two parts. Each half of the play has a melodrama surrounded by three vaudeville acts. A comedy trio, comprised of Snoops (Eric Jackson, Jr.), Durant (Bryson Rawn) and Higgins (A. Warner Hiatt), was a crowd-pleaser with their antics, card tricks and stage presence. As a bonus, before the show started, the three boys mingled with theatergoers and demonstrated several tricks. A word to the wise: if one of them offers to show you how to make money disappear”the trick works. In the first act, the audience is shown large flash cards that help with the appropriate cues: ‘hiss,’ ‘boo,’ ‘applaud,’ etc. An evil realtor kidnaps the father of the motherless Dainty Mabel (Katherine Reinhold) in an effort to get the deed to their Klondike property. A special mention goes to ‘Papa,’ Alex Pohill, 14, who, with a fake moustache, was entirely credible as an adult actor. It took a quick check of the program to realize that he wasn’t one of the three adult actors (Andrew Zimmer, Dorothy Dillingham Blue and Randall Thropp) who provided a stable base during the many transitions that this musical requires. The second half of the play featured the melodrama ‘The Spiteful Child from Saskatoon.’ As Precious O’Brien, Danika Masi lights up the stage with her moxie, as she makes the transition from winning a Saskatoon contest to trying to make it on Broadway. Stealing the show was Izzy Kalichman, who, as a gypsy, promises Precious that she will become ‘big.’ Actor Stefan Mudlo also does a nice turn as the has-been boxer Tug Puxley. Fracchiolla directs 20 youth in the production with aplomb. The pacing is good, and the audience was filled with enthusiastic young people. The fun costumes include parkas with fur, showgirl dance outfits, and jackets and hats straight from the ’20s. Special credit should be given to wardrobe crew for fitting the cast in various costumes, all of which reflected the different stories and eras presented. Aiden Greenwald, who was in charge of lighting and sound, also did a Herculean job. In addition to the stage performance, the vaudeville motif has been expanded to include costumed youth selling refreshments before the show and during intermission. The treats included ‘penny candy,’ popcorn and ice-cream. Final performances are tonight, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2.p.m. Tickets: $12. For reservations, call (310) 454-1970.