[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Village Green Productions, KID GLOVES, book and lyrics by Matthew Leavitt, music by Nathan Wang, choreography by Christine Lakin, music direction by Anthony Lucca and direction by Richard Israel.
I am a huge, huge fan of musicals and also, coincidentally, wonderfully tacky reality competitions, so it was pretty clear to me that I was going to enjoy a musical about a group of adult kids-show presenters all auditioning for their own network show by taking part in a reality TV competition…with songs!
And bonus! Matthew Leavitt, of 6th Act fame, wrote the book and lyrics!!! So I was extremely excited, to say the least!
I also love the Skylight theatre, in buzzing and happy Los Feliz, the perfect spot for this incandescently joyous and hilariously snarky musical.
Imagine this…a fledgling TV channel desperate for ratings creates a competition show with a panel of judges populated by slightly fading but once popular kids’ TV entertainers. The host is an ex Disney Mousketeer, but not one of the hugely famous ones who went on to grown up glory. Throw in a handful of the most desperate to succeed children’s entertainers on the circuit…yes, there actually is a circuit for these disparate souls. Oh, and one additional couple who genuinely love entertaining kids, and you have yourself a recipe for drama, revenge, drunken behaviour and hilarity. As well as an opportunity for some ridiculously excellent and brilliantly clever musical numbers.
There is also an absolutely wonderful live band on stage and the stage is set as a truly marvellous and primary coloured vintage TV studio. The phenomenal cast is such a gorgeous mixture of villains and treachery and disappointment that it warms my weary soul. As the story unfolds, we learn far more than we might ordinarily choose to know about these odd people. Their dirty little secrets, their twisted, highly competitive natures, and their little broken souls. It is absolutely marvellous. They bicker, they blame, they fall apart…brilliantly and with a generous number of increasingly genius songs for both their competition in the studio and within the play itself.
I just cannot find words adequate enough to describe how much I loved Kid Gloves. The characters are fantastic, the performances electrifying, the songs brilliant, heartfelt and so so funny.
There are also quite a few pearls of wisdom about children, relationships and authenticity that only add to this already multi-layered and insanely excellent show! Boy, are we lucky to have Matthew Leavitt and Nathan Wang and this shockingly good cast populating the same universe and thankfully colliding with musicians and directors and designers so talented I cannot describe.
I think you can tell that I loved the show, but it’s more than that. Kid Gloves is a show that could go all the way…Broadway and beyond. It’s absolutely that good.
Unique, authentic, memorable, funny and so incredibly well done on this perfect stage with these perfect people. You have to see it!
I hear it’s playing to packed houses every single night since it opened…so the word is out and I beg you not to miss it!!
It closes Valentine’s weekend…take your plus one!
Tickets:
https://kidgloves.ludus.com/index.php
When:
January 15- February 15
Where:
The Skylight Theatre
1816 1/2 N Vermont Ave, Los Feliz
The Cast
The cast will feature Will Collyer as “Caleb,” Heather Marsden as “Meredith,” Adam J. Smith as “Eddie,” Natalie Lander as “Darla,” Joey Richter as “Jackson,” Lauren Lorati as “ Vicki,” Harry S. Murphy as “Professor Penguinpants,” Jonathan Slavin as “Edmund the Elephant,” Suzy Nakamura as “Penelope” (and “Bonita the Bunny”), and Christopher Kerrigan as “Juaquin.”
The Team
RICHARD ISRAEL (Director) is a New York-based theatre director specializing in the development of new musicals and is the recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Career Achievement.
MATTHEW LEAVITT (Book & Lyrics) is an award-winning playwright, director and librettist. His award-winning play The Boomerang Effect is published by Concord Theatricals and has enjoyed productions throughout the US and the UK.
NATHAN WANG (Music) is a highly successful composer in Hollywood and Asian cinema, known for his versatility. His filmography includes scores for Jackie Chan movies, Steven Spielberg documentaries, animated cartoons, operas, and symphonies.
CHRISTINE LAKIN (Choreography) is a choreographer/director. She got her start choreographing by skeleton crewing for Emmy-nominated Mary Ann Kellogg in Showtime’s Reefer Madness. She choreographed all ten seasons of ABC’s “The Goldbergs” and directed half a dozen as well.
ANTHONY LUCCA (Musical Director/Conductor) is an award-winning music supervisor, orchestrator, and arranger.
The Design Team for KID GLOVES features Scenic Design by Mark Mendelson; Lighting Design by Andrew Schmedake; Costume Design by Rebecca Carr; Sound Design by Christopher Moscatiello.Properties Design by Megan Trepani; Fight Choreography by Ned Mochel. Casting by Michael Donovan, Casting; Michael Donovan, CSA & Richie Ferris, CSA. The Production Stage Manager is Amelia Tacy. KID GLOVES is produced by Village Green Productions and Sami Kolko.