**** Recommended As I watched Always Something There … , Marriott Theatre’s time-traveling jukebox musical, I was hit with a case of déjà vu. My daughter graduated from high school in 1989, so I totally recognized those clothes, those hairdos and those songs. The story’s been done before – Peggy Sue Got Married, comes to mind – but this ensemble cast makes the difference. They are young, talented and enthusiastic, combine that talent with something like 23 hits of the 80s, the result is an outstanding production. 4 Spotlights
Samantha Craig (Heidi Kettenring) hates her life. Her husband is just plain mean, she has no friends, she has a boring job marketing for a toilet manufacturer. Instead of a celebration dinner and/or a gift from her husband for her 45th birthday, she’s checking into a hotel on a business trip. When she asks the desk clerk (Leah Morrow) about a concert flyer, the clerk tells her it’s Cooper Roy and it’s sold out.
Just a mention of Cooper Roy triggers a memory of her younger self, ready to sing with Cooper (Ian Coursey) at the Battle of the Bands but her sports-obsessed boyfriend, Johnny Stevens (Ty Say) won’t allow it. In her room she lights the candle on a cupcake the desk clerk gave her and wishes she could do it over again.
Next thing she knows, she’s in high school again. Teen Samantha (Christina Priestner) and her besties, Camelia Shacklebaum (Emma Ogea at my performance – and she was terrific!), Ella Manken (Anna Louise Bramlettt), Scarlet Walton (Tiyanna Gentry) and nerdy Winston Lee (Matthew Hommel) are having a blast singing Karma Chameleon.
Samantha started the band with Cooper but Johnny insisted she quit so she could go to his games – as his good luck charm. She decides she wants to sing with the band so she and her friends make plans to go. Samantha gets dressed in a funky outfit and they head out. At the venue, the band is waiting their turn when Johnny shows up, furious because Samantha missed the game – and they lost.
When he tells her they’re leaving, she says no. When he tries to insist, she tells him off. When he pulled her pigtails in first grade, her mom (Morrow) said he liked her. When he snapped her bra in middle school, her mom said he liked her. She goes on to say that now she knows better, he doesn’t like her, he’s just mean. When it’s time for the band to perform, Samantha is right there, singing with Cooper.
Adult Samantha wakes up and her life is completely different. In my opinion, this is the weakest point in the musical. We never see anything about her life, she just wakes up and everything is different. There’s no backstory here, so it’s a stretch to assume her life is perfect.
The music, on the other hand, is fantastic with hits by Madonna, Culture Club, Cyndi Lauper, Pat Benatar, The Go-Gos and more. Selections include We Got the Beat, Only in My Dreams, The Loco-Motion, Whip It/Material Girl, There’s Always Something There to Remind Me, Stop/Eye of the Tiger and I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
The ensemble includes Jeremiah James, Genevieve Corkery, Gabriel Subervi, Caleb Mathura, Anna Louise Bramlett, Alejandro Medina, Cristina Benninghoff Uribe, Tony Mercado, Jason Richards and Savannah Sinclair.
The Marriott Orchestra: Celia Villacres (Conductor/Keyboard), Karli Bunn (Alto/Tenor Saxo/Flute), Dave Saenger (Electric Guitar), Daniel Peters (Electric/Acoustic Guitar, Keyboard), Trevor Jones (Bass Guitar, Synth Bass, Music Coordinator), Tom Hipskind (Drums/Percussion) and Mason Moss (Cover Conductor).
Always Something There… was written by Sandy Rustin. The musical is directed by James Vásquez, choreographed by Tyler Hanes with music direction by Ryan T. Nelson, arrangements and orchestrations by Geoffrey Ko.
Always Something There… runs through August 10th at Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriot Drive, Lincolnshire. Parking is free; valet parking is also available. Running time is one hour, 50 minutes with an intermission. Performances are Wednesdays at 1:00 & 7:00 pm; Thursdays at 7:00 pm; Fridays at 7:30 pm; Saturdays at 4:00 and 8:00 pm; Sundays at 1:00 and 5:00 pm with select Thursday 1:00 pm matinees. Tickets start at $73. FYI (847) 634-0200, www.ticketmaster.com or www.marriotttheatre.com.
Attendees are encouraged to enjoy a yummy pop-up dining experience at Back to the Grill at Three Embers Restaurant, a Totally Tubular 80s Diner complete with decorations straight out of 1989.The Prix Fixe Menu includes Loco-Motion Taco Soup and Shattered Onion Soup as the First Course. Diners choose an entrée which includes We Got the Bleu (chicken cordon blue), Always Something Braised (pulled braised lamb shank), Whip It (Into Casserole) (porcini citrys crusted saku tuna seared rare) or Dreamloaf (Vegan meatloaf). Finally, the scrumptious dessert is the Sweet Emotion Forest (Chocolate caek, cherries, white chocolate mousse).