Bring It On at Dunbar Sticks the Landing
Photo by Sydney Carter
"Shut the front door and slap my butt with the screen!"
Bring It On At Dunbar High School is a must-see show this Spring. I mean, seriously, cancel your weekend plans and go see it. And then bring friends back with you the next night because you just have to see it again. Expect to have your mind blown by the caliber of talent exhibited by these high school students, including cheer stunts and some seriously great music that only Lin-Manuel Miranda can provide. Please note that this production is rated PG-13.
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“I Got You Like Pokemon and Pikachu!”
Photo by Sydney Carter
Besides the incredible stunts (coached by Pam and Craig Carter) and the dynamic ensemble scenes at Jackson High, my favorite element of this show is the human connection between the characters. It would have been easy for the leads to box themselves into cheerleader stereotypes, but this cast doesn’t do that. Under the direction of Brooke Jackson (with Assistant Director Mackenzie Cohn), Skylar (Cassidy Kemplin) and Kylar (Rachel Wagers) are likable throughout, and leading lady Jamie Bradley as Campbell is sincere and empathetic, cheerful, but not over the top. Kaitlin Rucker as Eva delivers a performance that is entertaining and ultimately, “scary as C-R on the A-P”. Tamea Gentry has some terrific moments, but at other times seemed to be slightly insecure in her role. My hope is that as she continues through this run, Gentry will fully embrace the fierceness that is Danielle, and deliver the role with confidence at all times. After all, we’re all CHEERING for her (See what I did there)!
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“That Flip Was Crazy Sauce!”
Photo by Sydney Carter
With each unique production comes a set of inherent challenges that a cast and crew must rise to. Director Brooke Jackson lets us in on the secret to the cast’s success: the students have been training and practicing their stunts since October. With quite a few high-demand dance numbers, challenging Lin-Manuel Miranda harmonies, and immediate set changes, Jackson jokingly refers to the undertaking of this show as “terrifying”. Apparently terrifying for the director translates to awe-inspiring for the audience, as the dance numbers (choreographed by Monica Cole and Jordan Guffey) are off the hook, harmonies (under the music direction of Tiffany Marsh) are breath-taking, and scene changes are seamless. The only number that showed up as under-rehearsed was “Cross the Line”. I suspect that this will receive some major cleaning before opening night!
Also noteworthy are the costumes, set design (Jason Henning), and Lighting Design (Todd Pickett). The pit band under the direction of Larry Crawford is exceptional.
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Don’t “F-A-Y-L” to See the Show
Photo by Sydney Carter
Bring It On at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School April 26-29 at 7:00pm April 29-30 at 2:00pm $12 adults/$10 students Email pldtheatretickets@gmail.com This show is rated PG-13
