Broadway at Sierra 2014

Broadway at Sierra 2014, as Ed Sullivan used to say, is a really big show. This Sierra College production is a course in Broadway theatre with over two hours of great numbers selected from Broadway’s heyday up to the present. If you like Broadway, you’ll love this show.

Sam Williams gets the entertainment off to a quick-paced start with eye-catching, interesting dances performed with grace and flair. The ensemble and chorus are strong and fill the house over and over again, as when the chorus sings “I Hope I Get It,” from A Chorus Line, and “Mame,” from Mame, by Jerry Herman. The quantity of production numbers with costume changes and dance routines is astounding.

Because Broadway at Sierra 2014 is so filled with talented performers, the few I am about to mention are representative of the whole company’s effort and strength: Don Roberts brings Cabaret to life with his robust rendition of “Willkommen”; Tyler Jerome Thompson delivers a lively, high-stepping “Seventy-six Trombones,” from The Music Man, and Jennifer Estabrook sings perfectly “I Could Have Danced All Night,” from My Fair Lady. Sidney Raey-Gonzales delivers a stunning rendition of “Let it Go,” from Frozen.

There are several hilarious numbers such as: “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” from Young Frankenstein, by Mel Brooks, performed by Steve Estabrook, Tyler Jerome Thompson, Adam Weber, and Amy Wolfley. Another laugh-out-loud number is “Dentist!” from Little Shop of Horrors, acted and sung by Rikki Pratt, Jenny Richardson, Candice Szczepankowski, Vivian Szczepankowski, and Tyler Jerome Thompson. Andrew Fiffick, projection operator, transported us to an icy land far away during the number from Frozen; and under a bubbling ocean for the number from The Little Mermaid. Thoren Tivol and Fred Weber, producers, bring to life a great show this year, enhanced by musical director, Ray Ashton, choreographers, Sam Williams and Amy Wolfley, and music arranger, Fred Weber. The creativity of the group who developed the organization of all these individual songs into a coherent revue deserves mention. Loud applause to: Adam Weber, Sidney Raey-Gonzales, Guy Pilgram, and Ray Ashton. All cast and crew members created a great show. Don’t miss it.

Reviewed by Letha Dawson, July 11, 2014