Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee onstage in New Jersey

[b***@gmail.com]

'Toyland' story earns laurels
by Peter Filichia/Star-Ledger Staff
Sunday November 25, 2007, 7:50 PM

Babes in Toyland
Where: The Growing Stage, 7 Ledgewood Ave., Route 183, Netcong
When: Through Dec. 23. Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at
4 p.m.
How much: $14 adults, $10 children and seniors. Call [phone] or
visit www.growingstage.com

Laurel and Hardy are alive and well at Growing Stage.

Bookwriters Stephen L. Fredericks and Perry Arthur Kroeger have
adapted the legendary pair's movie, "Babes in Toyland," for the
Netcong theater. So, as in the 1934 film, Mother Goose is having
trouble making her mortgage payments. Her landlord Barnaby --
mustachioed and black-clad, right out of a silent-movie melodrama --
will waive the debt, on one difficult condition: Mother's daughter,
one Little Bo-Peep, must marry him.

Alas, Bo-Peep doesn't care for the old codger. It's Young Tom-Tom who
makes her heart go boom-boom. Barnaby is so furious that he attempts
to make a hostile takeover of Toyland, whether Santa Claus likes it or
not.

In the movie, the lovers' cause was helped by Stannie Dum (Stan
Laurel) and Ollie Dee (Oliver Hardy). If those characters' names sound
odd, it's because they were changed specifically for the Hollywood
stars. When Broadway first saw "Babes in Toyland" in 1903, Tweedle-Dum
and Tweedle-Dee did the helping.

They're back in this version, though Fredericks and Kroeger have asked
their two leads to play Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee as if they were
Laurel and Hardy. Lea Antolini and Danny Campos, who respectfully do
the honors, do a delicious job in aping the pair. Babes and tweens
will have a delightful time seeing them, presumably for the first
time.

Campos does Hardy's slow burn to perfection, especially as he realizes
this is another fine mess that his cohort has gotten him into.
Antolini is hilarious in giving that panicked and guilty look every
time she clumsily causes an accident. The rosy-cheeked actress shows
great physical skill as well, whether she's doing her Chaplinesque
walk or a head-over-heels tumble.

Why other theaters that specialize in musicals haven't discovered
Antolini is a mystery, and certainly their loss. She shows a sense of
style even when she does the simple task of putting on her hat. How
many other performers in the state could get a laugh just from the way
she puts a paintbrush to her mouth to get a more pointed tip?

Melanie Wallace, Growing Stage's loveliest ingenue, plays Bo-Peep with
winsome charm. Aaron Riesebeck offers a shy macho quality as Tom-Tom.
Both of them have appropriately dreamy looks, especially after they
kiss.

As Barnaby, David Spellman is expert at playing an old fool who makes
a bigger fool of himself for being smarmily interested in someone much
too young for him. His pinch-penny face and slinky walk get a few
extra laughs -- and hisses -- from the audience.

They all do well enough in singing the Glen MacDonough-Victor Herbert
score, though Nora Hummel, as Mother Goose, does not. Backing them up
are children who study at Growing Stage, playing such fairy-tale
stalwarts as Miss Muffet, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Three Little
Pigs. Some kids sing and act with verve, while others have looks on
their faces that scream, "Why did my parents sign me up for this?"

Lori B. Lawrence directs at a proper pace. No program credit is given
for costume designer. Maybe there wasn't one. That would explain why
Santa Claus wears plaid, and Little Boy Blue is mostly clad in green.

Peter Filichia may be reached at ***@starledger.com or (973)
392-5995.

(c) 2007 New Jersey On-Line LLC. All Rights Reserved.

[Hal Erickson]

Soooo....they're doing a stage play version of a movie that was based on a
stage play (which admittedly didn't really have a plot).

Kinda like 101 DALMATIONS starting as an animated feature, then becoming a
live-action feature, then a TV cartoon series based on the live-action
feature....Or THE PRODUCERS going from movie to play to movie...

I just heard that someone has finished a novelization of GONE WITH THE WIND.
Actually, I made that up. Or did I?

Well, best of luck to the production anyway. Nothing wrong with an "homage"
if it's done well.

--Hal E

Post by b***@gmail.com
'Toyland' story earns laurels
by Peter Filichia/Star-Ledger Staff
Sunday November 25, 2007, 7:50 PM
Babes in Toyland
Where: The Growing Stage, 7 Ledgewood Ave., Route 183, Netcong
When: Through Dec. 23. Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at
4 p.m.
How much: $14 adults, $10 children and seniors. Call [phone] or
visit www.growingstage.com
Laurel and Hardy are alive and well at Growing Stage.
Bookwriters Stephen L. Fredericks and Perry Arthur Kroeger have
adapted the legendary pair's movie, "Babes in Toyland," for the
Netcong theater. So, as in the 1934 film, Mother Goose is having
trouble making her mortgage payments. Her landlord Barnaby --
mustachioed and black-clad, right out of a silent-movie melodrama --
will waive the debt, on one difficult condition: Mother's daughter,
one Little Bo-Peep, must marry him.
Alas, Bo-Peep doesn't care for the old codger. It's Young Tom-Tom who
makes her heart go boom-boom. Barnaby is so furious that he attempts
to make a hostile takeover of Toyland, whether Santa Claus likes it or
not.
In the movie, the lovers' cause was helped by Stannie Dum (Stan
Laurel) and Ollie Dee (Oliver Hardy). If those characters' names sound
odd, it's because they were changed specifically for the Hollywood
stars. When Broadway first saw "Babes in Toyland" in 1903, Tweedle-Dum
and Tweedle-Dee did the helping.
They're back in this version, though Fredericks and Kroeger have asked
their two leads to play Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee as if they were
Laurel and Hardy. Lea Antolini and Danny Campos, who respectfully do
the honors, do a delicious job in aping the pair. Babes and tweens
will have a delightful time seeing them, presumably for the first
time.
Campos does Hardy's slow burn to perfection, especially as he realizes
this is another fine mess that his cohort has gotten him into.
Antolini is hilarious in giving that panicked and guilty look every
time she clumsily causes an accident. The rosy-cheeked actress shows
great physical skill as well, whether she's doing her Chaplinesque
walk or a head-over-heels tumble.
Why other theaters that specialize in musicals haven't discovered
Antolini is a mystery, and certainly their loss. She shows a sense of
style even when she does the simple task of putting on her hat. How
many other performers in the state could get a laugh just from the way
she puts a paintbrush to her mouth to get a more pointed tip?
Melanie Wallace, Growing Stage's loveliest ingenue, plays Bo-Peep with
winsome charm. Aaron Riesebeck offers a shy macho quality as Tom-Tom.
Both of them have appropriately dreamy looks, especially after they
kiss.
As Barnaby, David Spellman is expert at playing an old fool who makes
a bigger fool of himself for being smarmily interested in someone much
too young for him. His pinch-penny face and slinky walk get a few
extra laughs -- and hisses -- from the audience.
They all do well enough in singing the Glen MacDonough-Victor Herbert
score, though Nora Hummel, as Mother Goose, does not. Backing them up
are children who study at Growing Stage, playing such fairy-tale
stalwarts as Miss Muffet, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Three Little
Pigs. Some kids sing and act with verve, while others have looks on
their faces that scream, "Why did my parents sign me up for this?"
Lori B. Lawrence directs at a proper pace. No program credit is given
for costume designer. Maybe there wasn't one. That would explain why
Santa Claus wears plaid, and Little Boy Blue is mostly clad in green.
392-5995.
(c) 2007 New Jersey On-Line LLC. All Rights Reserved.

[m***@yahoo.com]

Post by Hal Erickson
I just heard that someone has finished a novelization of GONE WITH THE WIND.
Actually, I made that up. Or did I?

You may have made it up, but is is sort of true. A few years ago
someone wrote a satirical revision of it called "The Wind Done Gone,"
or something like that.

I have often thought about the reverse nature of our cultural
inspiration these days. Once upon a time, novels and drama inspired
films, and then films inspired television. Now, it's gone backwards--
TV shows become movies and movies become stage plays. (I know there
are plenty of examples that violate this scenario, but overall it is
true.) It can become a rather sad affair--though I really would like
to see this version of "Babes in Toyland."

[Eric Perlin]

"Hal Erickson" wrote:

} Soooo....they're doing a stage play version of a movie
} that was based on a stage play (which admittedly didn't
} really have a plot).
}
} Kinda like 101 DALMATIONS starting as an animated
} feature, then becoming a live-action feature, then a TV
} cartoon series based on the live-action feature....Or
} THE PRODUCERS going from movie to play to movie...
}
} I just heard that someone has finished a novelization
} of GONE WITH THE WIND. Actually, I made that up. Or
} did I?

That reminds me. There was a short story called "It's A Good Life", which was
faithfully adapted into a Twilight Zone episode of the same name. Years later,
the Twilight Zone story was adapted into a segment of "Twilight Zone: The
Movie". A short time later, a novelization of "Twilight Zone: The Movie" was
published, including a novelization of "It's A Good Life". So, it was a short
story based on a movie segment which was based on a TV episode which was based
on a short story.

Also, there was a book adaptation of the movie "The Cat in the Hat", with
illustrations done in the style of Dr. Seuss. It was a book based on a movie
which was based on a book.

[Eric Perlin]

Sounds good, but will the cast perform a colorized version for Space Boss?