Wonderful Town: A high-energy, entertaining romp

March 6, 2013 8:44 am by Guest contributor
Wonderful Town

George Coker, Greyson Gove, Caitlin Cobb-Vialet, Sam Hopkinson and Lena Mayer singing “Conversation Piece” in YMTC’s production of ‘Wonderful Town’ playing March 8 and 9 in Berkeley. Photo: Dave Weiland

By Sam Knobel

Youth Musical Theater Company has brought Leonard Bernstein’s Wonderful Town to Berkeley’s Julia Morgan Theater, and it’s a feel-good, energetic musical with many memorable songs.

The musical, which first opened on Broadway in 1953 and won five Tony awards, was written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Leonard Bernstein.

Based on the 1940 play My Sister Eileen, Wonderful Town tells the story of two sisters who leave their home town of Columbus, Ohio, to try to make it on their own in New York. Ruth (Lena Mayer), a shy and intelligent young woman who wants to be a writer, faces the publishing world of men and finds all doors closed to her. Eileen (Caitlin Cobb-Vialet), an outgoing, attractive actress, uses her wiles with men to get what she wants. Both struggle to find themselves and to find love.

Wreck and Nava

Nava Bearson as a fan, and Ethan Ostrow as Wreck in ‘Wonderful Town.’ Photo: Dave Weiland

The standard of singing by the YMTC troupe is high, the orchestra puts in a rousing performance and there are several funny moments to savor. From the two sisters singing “Why, oh why, oh why, oh, why did I ever leave Ohio?” to a group of Cuban sailors dancing the Conga for what seemed like ten minutes, the show is full of humor.

The production is hugely entertaining and well worth the time to go enjoy the ensemble performance of these talented teens.

There are three more performances of Wonderful Town: on Friday March 8 (Student Rush Night: all students tickets are $10, available at the door at 6:30 pm), and Saturday March 9 at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday March 10 at 2:00 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Avenue. For more information, visit the YMTC website. Tickets available at Brown Paper Tickets.

Sam Knobel, 14, is a student at Berkeley High School and the son of Berkeleyside founders Lance Knobel and Tracey Taylor.

To find out about more events in Berkeley and nearby, visit Berkeleyside’s Events Calendar. It’s a post-your-own calendar so we also encourage you to submit your own events.

7 Comments

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  • Judy Appel

    YMTC does such an amazing job developing the talent of the young artists who make up the cast of these shows. The performances are such high quality that they are entertaining for people of all ages. I started taking my kids to these shows when they were in about 4th grade, and now my son is in the cast.

    I went to see the show last Sunday and was particularly struck by the inter generational audience and how appreciative the seniors were of the show. So think about bringing the grandparents!

  • Laura

    The Friday, March 8th performance will have student rush (up to age 22) tickets available for $10 at the box office (opens 1 hour before performance).

    There’s also a 2pm final matinee performance on Sunday, March 10th.

  • David

    This is a classic musical – But I wasn’t as impressed with this company – mainly the direction was off. I agree the cast is very talented – but just miss directed – some high light performances include George Coker as Bob Baker and the two sisters played by Caitlin Cobb and Lena Mayer. David Moschler pit is the true high light of the long evening – he perfects Bernstein s score –

    Over all the young cast struggles with the material – I think due to the miss direction and some casting issues – Their are many other theatre options this weekend in the east bay Berkeley area – I suggest you find something better – David

  • Susanne Siber

    I agree David, the show was miss cast and Boesing was off with this production. I also agree some of the young actors are amazing and Moschier really was the best part of the evening. So sorry to see this show fail. SS

  • Alison

    I took my 11 year old daughter and her friend to this show, and we all loved it. The girls are still singing “Conga”. The show is fun to watch, the dancing and music are fantastic, and the cast are truly inspiring. We had a great time.

  • Polly

    I loved this show–as I’ve loved so many YMTC shows. The mood of each one really derrives from the musical itself, and this one was a fun-loving romp (and the two gals who lead it truly were stand-outs: talented, winning, and perfectly cast). The coreography was thrilling and orchestra did Bernstein proud.

    Not at all sure what the folks below mean by the direction being “off” (huh? how? just sounds snarky & thus dismissable). I thought the director elicited authentic performances across the board. Remember: the purpose of this company is to provide a training opportunity for mostly high-school-aged youth, the byproduct of which is a showcase of local, amateur youth talent, in a tight, professional casing. All for a ticket price far cheaper than that of most local adult, professional theater. That’s exactly what this was. Bravo, YMTC.

  • Kelly Cash

    I loved this show too. I have out-of-state relatives who fly in for these shows, live in Chicago, and are big Broadway buffs, and they LOVED WONDERFUL TOWN.

    Go see it!!!!