Theater Review: “The Marvelous Wonderettes: Dream On” at Castle Craig

Review by Nancy Sasso Janis

“The Marvelous Wonderettes,” one of my favorite female foursomes, is back in Meriden at the Castle Craig Players. The group presents the all-new jukebox musical “The Marvelous Wonderettes: Dream On” in their intimate cabaret setting through May 20.

This show mark’s the third installment in the Wonderette saga, which was created and written by Roger Bean. The vocal and musical arrangements are the work of Michael Borth.

In this final episode, the year is 1969 and The Marvelous Wonderettes, made up of prom queen Cindy Lou, tomboy Betty Jean, goody two-shoes Missy and class clown Suzy, are back to throw a retirement party for their favorite teacher,

The retirement bash is set to the greatest girl-group hits of the 60’s, including"Downtown," "Build Me Up Buttercup," and "You’re No Good."

In the second act, the girls are back together as the class of 1958 celebrates their 20-year reunion and one of the quartet has hit it big as a musical superstar. A well-selected list of classic pop and rock hits of the 70’s, including "I Am Woman," "We are Family," "I Will Survive" and Melissa Manchester’s “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” provide the perfect soundtrack for these old friends to catch up on the places life has led them.

The delightful Ian Galligan, one of Castle Craig’s resident directors, returns to direct this one. Galligan led the first two versions of the show, “The Marvelous Wonderettes” in 2017 and “The Winter Wonderettes” in 2018. Galligan made his theatrical debut at Tiny Tim in “A Christmas Carol” at Castle Craig 28 years ago and currently works in the marketing department at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam.

The director said, "It's an extremely rare treat, creatively speaking, for the girls and I to get to revisit these characters that we have grown to love so much, and see where life has taken them after the curtain falls."

The production also reunites the four original cast members from the prior two incarnations, making it just a bit more special.

Jessica Bowman Engster, a Connecticut transplant from Alaska, shines in the role of the edgy prankster Betty Jean. She is perfectly cast in this role and makes the most of “BJ’s” always funny lines.

Chelsea Dacey truly does charm her audiences as the ditzy blonde, Suzy, and also offers her skills as the choreographer of the relatively simple dance moves. Dacey currently serves as a theater teaching artist at the Legacy Theatre in Branford, where she has appeared in “Princess Pea” and “Winnie the Pooh.”

Emma Czaplinkski does her best to keep everything in order as Teacher’s Pet, Missy. This fine actress/singer is a teacher of language arts at Ellington Middle School and has directed “Newsies” with Ellington Community Theatre.

Jennifer Del Sole once again roams the halls as the self-obsessed beauty queen, Cindy Lou. I could watch this young actress do just about anything and she is adorable as “Cynthia.” Del Sole is a special education teacher at Hatton Elementary School in Southington for some very lucky students.

Nick Ciasullo returns as music director to help the ladies blend perfectly with the musical tracks. And when these four come together to sing in harmony, it’s a musical celebration that will have you laughing (and dancing) in the aisles!

Although I always enjoy the collection of musical numbers that the Wonderettes perform in tight harmony, this set list is probably my favorite. A few audience members are once again brought to the stage

The set design brings the audience to the Springfield High School Gymnasium with some wonderful period details. The costumes are spot on, the first dresses in the girls’ signature colors sewn by Missy from a Super Simple Simplicity pattern complete with white go go boots, with great wigs by Joel Silvestro. The lighting design by Dusty Rader lights the girls so very well. Mayor Kevin Scarpati is the voice of Principal Varney.

“The Marvelous Wonderettes: Dream On” continues through May 20 only at the Almira F. Stephan Memorial Playhouse, 59 West Main Street, Meriden. Seating is extremely limited and tickets are sold exclusively online at CastleCraigPlayers.org.

Following “Wonderettes,” Castle Craig will conclude its 30th Anniversary Season with the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine classic “Into The Woods,” running July 28-August 12, 2023.

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts well over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.