Playbill of The Week: Groundhog Day

20/53

Movie's turned into musicals have no sign of stopping anytime soon, and honestly I'm ok with that. Why wouldn't I want to see characters I already know act out their stories with singing and dancing? Especially with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, choreography by Peter Darling and Ellen Kane and a cast led by the spectacular Andy Karl. Everyone I knew who saw the show kept saying I'd love it and they were all correct. It's quirky and weird and totally bizarre. I'm one with the weirdness, so much so I have 'Stay Weird' tattooed on my body, a statement that holds true to my personality on the daily.

Like I said this show is led by the one and only Andy Karl as Phil Connors. You may know Andy from Legally Blonde where he played Kyle The UPS Guy, or perhaps Rocky the musical where he played you guessed it Rocky. But everyone will know him after his Laurence Olivier award winning role in Groundhog Day. What he accomplishes on that stage is truly remarkable(especially with his knee brace.)He's an absolute rock star on the stage, his performance is the definition of stamina. He doesn't skip a beat repeating the same thing over and over again, you'd almost think you were watching it in rewind. He plays such a convincing sarcastic, narcissistic, jerk that you're amazed you actually feel bad for him. He charms the pants off of everyone in the show and audience. I could watch his performance all day.

The ensemble of this show is comprised of some amazing veterans and some fantastic newbies. What I love about this show is how much it lets its ensemble shine. Everyone gets highlighted at one point in time and they are all spectacular. The song 'Stuck' which centers around Phil and all of the Healers are hilariously portrayed by a good portion of the company. We also get to see some fan favourites like Gerard Canonico (Spring Awakening, American Idiot) and Josh Lamon (Finding Neverland, Hair) do what they do best and that's be total badasses on stage. Then we have Broadway debuts from Katy Geraghty, Camden Gonzales, Jordan Grubb, Taylor Iman Jones, Jenna Rubaii and Vishal Vaidya. Do you see that list!? Six Broadway debuts in one show, that's pretty spectacular. Although none of those names are Nicole Cino so it isn't that spectacular.

I'm gonna have to give a big shout out to Rebecca Faulkenberry who plays the perky breasted, giggly one night stand Nancy. Rebecca spends most of the time with the towns people of Punxsutawney reliving the day over and over again, and every day getting hit on by Phil. At the beginning of Act II is when we get to see her shine. She gets to belt out 'Playing Nancy' a sort of revelation song for her character, coming to the realization that she doesn't just want to be stared at by men and used for her looks. She sings the song beautifully, with such a clear haunting sound that makes you care for this character we haven't really been introduced to all that much. She shines onstage and I'm so happy people get to see Rebecca perform since most people decided to skip on Spider-Man: Turn off The Dark.

Barrett Doss is a sweet, endearing Rita who really just wants to see the beauty in the world. Her voice is honestly the most impressive part of her performance. She can belt like no tomorrow, and the key changes in 'If I Had My Time Again' make me weep. She plays Rita with a really beautiful kindness, even when putting up with all of Phil's crap she still seems to be a kind hearted, lovely human being, seeing the good in him.

This song is filled with energy, amazing choreography, dangerous and exciting staging and a cast that does the impossible in winter parkas. The entire company owns that stage every night and is literally working their butts off; Katy Geraghty said costume altering is becoming a weekly occurrence. Just the fact that this cast has a groundhog mascot walking around the show and playing the drums should catch your interest, seriously he jams on a drum kit and it's fantastic. I just want to say congratulations to this cast and crew, you guys do an amazing job 8 shows a week. Congratulations on the nominations. I look forward to watching you perform Sunday night, and I look forward to a long run. Also if you need a new Nancy I'm available, I'll do a tour as well.