Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at HCT

I have very fond memories of watching all of the old movie musicals, like Oklahoma, The Music Man, Fiddler on the Roof, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, at my Grandma Anderson's house. My cousins and I would sing and dance and act them out in my Grandma's living room over and over again. I love these classic musicals and I always try to see them performed live whenever I have the chance.  I was able to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at Hale Theatre last night and it was so much fun! It is a wonderful production filled with great performances, rousing musical numbers, and energetic choreography.  Adam Pontipee (Dan Frederickson) leaves his frontier home in the mountains to find a wife in the nearest town. He finds the perfect candidate in Milly (Erin Royall Carlson) but she is dismayed when she discovers that she must also care for his six brothers.  Her solution is to get them all married off so she tries to teach them how to court women ("Goin' Courtin'" is such a fun number).  Adam fears that his brothers are becoming soft and suggests that they just go get the women they want to marry and chaos ensues! Both Frederickson and Carlson have lovely voices and I especially enjoyed their renditions of "Where Were You?" and "Love Never Goes Away."  All of the brothers, Benjamin (Brock Dalgleish), Caleb (Taylor Morris), Daniel (Christopher Gallacher), Ephraim (Patrick Wendel), Frank (Brian Nelson), and Gideon (Matthew Sanguine), are incredible dancers and I absolutely loved the church social scene, especially the dance-off between the brothers and the suitors.  I am always amazed by the big song and dance numbers that are performed on such a small and intimate stage.  I also really loved the brides, my favorite is Dorcas (Amelia Rose Moore), and I was impressed that each of them seemed like individuals with distinct personalities. All of their costumes are fabulous, particularly the skirts made from quilts. The rustic set is simple but effective and I liked all of the little details such as the gingham bunting at the church social. This is a production that will appeal to fans of the movie and I highly recommend it.  Many shows are sold out so act quickly (go here for tickets) because you don't want miss out on such a nostalgic show.

Note:  Yesterday I picked my nephew up from school and spent the afternoon with him.  He asked me what I was doing in the evening and, when I told what play I was seeing, he declared it to be lame.  Perhaps it might not appeal to twelve-year-old boys!