{"id":368599,"date":"2025-05-26T08:14:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T12:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=368599"},"modified":"2025-05-26T08:14:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T12:14:15","slug":"parody-disaster-kicks-off-annapolis-summer-garden-theatre-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/05\/26\/parody-disaster-kicks-off-annapolis-summer-garden-theatre-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Parody ‘Disaster!’ kicks off Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre\u2019s production of Disaster!<\/em> is a funny, entertaining show combining great dancing and singing with classic songs. Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick\u2019s parody of \u201970s disaster movies, using the era\u2019s hit music as the musical numbers, is set on a floating casino off New York, awaiting various catastrophes. Directed by Dr. Shane Jensen and choreographed by Darryl Pilate, it is a colorful way to kick off the company\u2019s 59th season.<\/p>\n

Sean Garcia plays Chad, a waiter at the casino, as a heartthrob concealing deep feelings. In \u201cHot Stuff,\u201d he advises Scott (Drew Looney) about talking to women and charms several of them. He is awkward, though, when unexpectedly meeting his ex, Marianne (Ally Baca). Pretending with her that everything is fine, alone he sings \u201cWithout You\u201d about how he misses her. He reveals his hurt feelings to her in \u201cSky High,\u201d and tenderly sings about her in \u201cI\u2019d Really Love to See You Tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Ally Baca plays Marianne, a reporter trying to discover the casino\u2019s shoddy construction, with great fierceness hiding fears. In \u201cI Am Woman,\u201d she sings proudly of being a strongly independent career woman, while \u201cThat\u2019s the Way I\u2019ve Always Heard It Should Be\u201d reveals the real reason she does not want to get married. \u201cI\u2019d Really Love to See You Tonight\u201d shows her sharing her vulnerability with Garcia.<\/p>\n

Cameron Walker brings an urgency to Professor Ted Scheider, the expert trying to warn everyone of the impending disaster at the casino. In \u201cFeelings,\u201d he tenderly sings of burying his emotions after a terrible tragedy. \u201cMockingbird\u201d has him comically echoing Jackie (Caitlyn Ruth McClellan) as he tries to conceal his identity.<\/p>\n

Caitlyn Ruth McClellan plays casino singer Jackie with ambition, determined to be a success and marry boyfriend Tony (Ryan Gallucci), even against all the evidence to the contrary. She sings \u201cSaturday Night\u201d enthusiastically, getting the spotlight. In \u201cI Will Survive,\u201d she powerfully sings of stepping out on her own and finding her own strength.<\/p>\n

Meghan McCarthy switches back between Jackie\u2019s twin children Ben and Lisa with excellent skill. Ben is mischievous and discontent, while Lisa is intelligent and inquisitive. \u201cWhen Will I Be Loved\u201d brilliantly shows off the back and forth, while \u201cBen\u201d has Lisa tenderly helping her brother in a crisis.<\/p>\n

Emily L. Sergo plays nun Sister Mary Downey with perfect comic timing. At the casino to preach against the sin of gambling, she sings \u201cThe Lord\u2019s Prayer\u201d hilariously off-key. She finds herself drawn to the slot machine, wrapping herself around it in \u201cNever Can Say Goodbye\u201d and \u201cTorn Between Two Lovers,\u201d and trying to hide it from passersby.<\/p>\n

Sarah Johansen and Michael Kenny play the long-married couple Shirley and Maury. \u201cStill the One\u201d has them playfully and cornily dancing and singing about their love. A reprise has Kenny tenderly singing it, full of emotion. Johansen is excellent at physical comedy, trying to hide a terminal condition with lots of physical and verbal tics, stuffing her mouth with paper to stop saying inappropriate things. Her tap dance routine is captivating to watch, full of energy and precise moves.<\/p>\n

James Claxton IV captivates the stage as disco diva Levora Verona. Evading a taxi driver demanding she pay the fare, she wails about having fallen so low. \u201cKnock on Wood\u201d has her hoping for better luck as she plays the slot machine, while inadvertently causing the catastrophe. She begins \u201cCome to Me\u201d slowly, almost like a spiritual, before breaking into a fast-paced song and hitting the falsetto.<\/p>\n

Ryan Gallucci plays casino owner Tony as a sleazy operator. He propositions Marianne in \u201cDo You Wanna Make Love\u201d and follows around a scantily dressed model while pretending to look for Ben. \u201cDon\u2019t Cry Out Loud\u201d has him comically showing his fears during a crisis.<\/p>\n

Drew Looney replaced Derek Anderson as Chad\u2019s friend Scott in this performance, awkwardly trying to chat up women. Ashley Barry, Thomas Digby, Laura Krell, Drew Looney, L. Osborne, and Tyler Rose make up the ensemble, playing backup singers, irritable chefs, and a captain.<\/p>\n

Set Designer Todd Croteau and Props Designer Jessica Padgett create a colorful casino. Audience right is a rotary phone and an unusually shaped seat, while audience left has an office with piranhas. A slot machine is near the center, where the musicians can be glimpsed behind streamers. Arches on either side of the stage come together for an elevator, and the balcony has chairs, doors leading to dressing rooms, and closets. Costume Designer Lisa Chadwick and Wig\/Hair Stylist Ryan DeVoe evoke the fashions of the \u201970s, with shiny dresses for Jackie, a huge Afro and platform shoes for Levora, and bright shirts for Shirley and Maury.<\/p>\n

Lighting Designer John Purnell and Sound Designer Hayden Van Wormer increase the atmosphere of calamity with whirling spotlights, rumbling noises, and lights evoking fire. Blue light bathes the stage for Sister Mary\u2019s \u201cNever Can Say Goodbye\u201d and \u201cTorn Between Two Lovers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Choreographer Darryl Pilate creates beautiful dance numbers, with lifts, swings, and kicks. Shirley\u2019s tap dance to \u201cA Fifth of Beethoven\u201d is especially spectacular. Director and Music Director Jensen leads the musicians (Marie Harrison, Trent Goldsmith, Jeff Eckert, William Georg, Allyson Wesley, Mari Hill, David Lewis, and Aaron Kan) in playing all the memorable songs, never letting it overwhelm the singers. The performers use all parts of the stage, with simultaneous action on the main floor and the balcony. Their high energy and near-constant motion help add to the sense of doom. They sing powerfully, hitting all the comic and emotional moments, while acting out the song lyrics in funny ways. \u201cThree Times a Lady\u201d is particularly hilarious. Missing this show would be a disaster!<\/p>\n

Running Time: Approximately two hours 30 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.<\/p>\n

Disaster!<\/strong> <\/a><\/em>plays through June 14, 2025, at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre \u2013 143 Compromise Street, Annapolis, MD. For tickets ($30), call the box office at 410-268-9212 or purchase online<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Disaster!<\/strong><\/em>
\nBy Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick
\nDirector\/Music Director: Dr. Shane Jensen
\nChoreographer: Darryl Pilate
\nProduction Manager: Lin Whetzel
\nStage Manager: Jessica Padgett<\/p>\n

CAST
\nChad Rubik: Sean Garcia
\nJackie: Caitlyn McClellan
\nSister Mary Downy: Emily L. Sergo
\nBen\/Lisa: Meghan McCarthy
\nMarianne: Ally Baca
\nLevora Verona: James Claxton
\nProf. Ted Scheider: Cameron Walker
\nTony Del Vecchio: Ryan Gallucci
\nScott: Derek Anderson
\nMaury: Michael Kenny
\nShirley: Sarah Johansen
\nEnsemble: Ashley Barry, Thomas Digby, Laura Krell, Drew Looney, L Osborne, Tyler Rose<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This funny and entertaining musical combines great dancing and singing with classic songs. By CHARLES GREEN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":368675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[567,568,569],"class_list":{"0":"post-368599","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community-theater","8":"tag-dr-shane-jensen","9":"tag-jack-plotnick","10":"tag-seth-rudetsky"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nParody 'Disaster!' kicks off Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre season - 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