The Telescope

Issue Date: 3/17/08

'Luann's' not your ordinary musical

By Ashley Ward

Media Credit: Hugh Cox Above: Bernice, played by Alyssa Schindler (left), Delta, played by Lauren De Baun (center), and Luann, played by Rachel Robinson talk about image at 'Weenie World.' Below: Rachel Robinson starred in the lead as Luann in the musical 'Luann: Scenes in a Teen's Life.'

Media Credit: Hugh Cox

Palomar's latest performance, "Luann: Scenes in a Teen's Life," directed by Dana Case, was a quirky and hilarious musical that left everyone leaving the theater with smiles on their faces.

The musical was based on the popular comic strip by the talented Greg Evans who also wrote the play and the music.

If you're not familiar with the 'Luann' comics, seeing the musical will without a doubt give you a sense of the characters and their personalities.

Luann is the "ordinary" girl-next-door and she has two great friends, Delta the optimistic "love yourself for who you are" friend, and Bernice, the somewhat nerdy but totally reliable best friend.

The talented Rachel Robinson plays Luann, the star of the show. Robinson's high-energy and enthusiasm made her perfect for the starring role and her natural, everyday kind of demeanor made her perfect for Luann.

Delta, played by Lauren De Baun, lit up the theater with her amazing voice. She opens the musical with a short song that definitely started things on the right track.

Both Delta and Bernice (played by Alyssa Schindler) were believable as Luann's best friends.

All three women had incredible singing voices and were able to harmonize together beautifully. They were great choices for the roles of the characters with or without great voices.

The set was minimal and consisted of a large, colorful platform with staircases on both sides and a blue box-type thing that converted into a couch with lamps.

There was also a big TV screen above the platform that showcased some of Evan's cartoons and changed with each scene.

Although it was a cool element, having it so high up distanced it from the actors and didn't really act as a setting. It would have been nicer to actually have some more physical props to bring the scene together more.

The character Brad, played by Sean Hannify, did an awesome job as Luann's brother.

They definitely treated each other like brother and sister and provided many laughs for the audience.

Cheerleader and Luann's enemy Tiffany, played by Caitlin Kunkle, did a nice job at making people mad. Her cocky attitude exuded from the stage and it really made the audience feel for Luann and what she had to deal with.

When Tiffany and her posse did their songs and dances together there were a few shortcomings.

Some of her posse members weren't really singing the songs and just mouthed a few words and some of their dance movement weren't very precise or enthusiastic.

It probably wasn't very noticeable since they were kind of in the background, but since I noticed I'm sure I wasn't the only one.

On the other hand, one of my favorite parts about 'Luann' were the fun songs.

Since it was a musical, there was at least one song in every scene. Sometimes that can be boring or overkill for the rest of the play, but with such interesting and hilarious lyrics and music, it had your attention span the entire time.

There were songs about taking tests, getting old, parties, love, and of course, an ode to the mall.

There was also a song about the word "no" that they did two versions of. With each time they said "no is a bad word" or "no is a good word" they would each tilt their head.

The timing and head tilts commonly got off track. I guess it's kind of like the "pat your head and rub your stomach" concept. Getting things timed correctly when multiple people are singing and dancing is pretty hard to accomplish.

The band consisted of six members and each of them played wonderfully. They played on the stage but behind a screen so you couldn't really see them during the majority of the play.

However, the music seemed a little loud and sometimes overpowered the singing so you couldn't make out the lyrics on some songs.

Out of the many Palomar plays I've seen, 'Luann' has been one of my favorite.

It was the perfect length, just about an hour and a half so you don't get sick of sitting their or still wanting more.

'Luann' is a musical that everyone can relate to somehow at some point in their lives. It sends the important message that what's on the inside counts, but it says it in a new way that refreshing and powerful.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools