{"id":238348,"date":"2016-03-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/getting-in-shape-with-laughter\/"},"modified":"2016-03-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-03-04T08:00:00","slug":"getting-in-shape-with-laughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/getting-in-shape-with-laughter\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting in shape with laughter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actress identifies with humorous but empathetic script<\/strong><\/p>\n

por David Dixon<\/p>\n

A singing and dancing comedy about losing weight has become a surprise hit. Productions of \u201cWaistWatchers the Musical!\u201d<\/a> have been staged since 2007 and a new one is now running at the Lyceum Space at Horton Plaza.<\/p>\n

In Miss Cook\u2019s Women\u2019s Gym, a fitness instructor, Carla (Yvonne Brown), tries to help three of her clients get into shape and live a healthier lifestyle. She learns about the intimate private lives of the gym members.<\/p>\n

\"(I<\/a>
(I to r) Brandi Lacy, Yvonne Brown, Kathy Sanders and Danielle Levin (Photo by Steve Carr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carla finds out that Cindy (Brandi Lacy), Connie (Danielle Levin), and Cheryl (Kathy Sanders) are going through issues involving sex, work, and marriage.<\/p>\n

The main performers know the material inside and out since they starred in a recent run at Phoenix\u2019s Herberger Theater Center. A Coronado resident, Sanders grew close to the ensemble during her stint in Arizona.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relationships featured onstage are similar to the ones we have in real life,\u201d she said. \u201cWe did become like a family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sanders admitted that there are some parallels between the actresses and the roles that they play.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur characters are sort of similar to us in real life,\u201d she said. \u201cWe made the characters more into ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Directing this highly identifiable story is John Anderson, the production manager of the San Diego Repertory Theatre.<\/p>\n

Anderson has directed plays in the past, but \u201cWaistWatchers\u201d is the first musical that Anderson has ever staged.<\/p>\n

The most difficult aspect of directing a musical, for Anderson, is making sure that the music sounds as good as possible in the theatre.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important [element] in a musical is that the melodies are perfect,\u201d he said. \u201cMy work became easier when the musical director started working with the cast members on the tunes.\u201d<\/p>\n

In trying to make the protagonists feel real, Anderson has included a theme featured in some of the previous tales he has directed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to create a place where they don\u2019t have to pretend to each other at all,\u201d he said. \u201cMiss Cook\u2019s gym is their clubhouse and Fortress of Solitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the bond between the four women grows, parodies of popular songs from artists such as ABBA and Britney Spears are performed by the various characters. Titles such as \u201cBotox Queen,\u201d \u201cBig Balls Are a Girl\u2019s Best Friend\u201d and \u201cI Went to the Buffet Line\u201d are indicators of the tongue-in-cheek tone during the 90-minute one-act.<\/p>\n

Many reviewers have compared Alan Jacobson\u2019s script with \u201cMenopause The Musical,\u201d since that show also featured parody songs, a female cast and irreverent humor.<\/p>\n

Sanders said familiarity with well-known tunes such as \u201cMaria\u201d from \u201cWest Side Story\u201d and \u201cThe Impossible Dream (The Quest)\u201d from \u201cMan of La Mancha\u201d really adds to the humor.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople just start cracking up as soon as they recognize the music and how the words are altered,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is a lot of cleverness in the lyrics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides the jokes, Sanders enjoys the way that theatregoers can connect with the plot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is something in there for everyone to relate to,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s basically four people discussing topics that are talked about on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson said the primary reason the laugh-filled evening has been so popular is because it has such a lighthearted approach while remaining empathetic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a joyful experience for 90 minutes,\u201d he said. \u201cViewers will see themselves, as well as loved ones, in the narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether going out with a big group of friends or just looking for a fun date night, this comical event should be one of the funnier times spent at a gym. Don\u2019t be surprised if it becomes tempting to sing along with the four friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cWaistWatchers, the Musical!\u201d will be playing at the Lyceum Space, 79 Horton Plaza, Downtown, from March 5 \u2013 27. For tickets or more information, visit sdrep.org<\/a> o llame al 619-544-1000.<\/p>\n

\u2014Fan\u00e1tico del cine y el teatro desde muy joven, David Dixon ha escrito rese\u00f1as y reportajes para varias publicaciones impresas y en l\u00ednea. Puede comunicarse con \u00e9l en daviddixon0202@gmail.com.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Actress identifies with humorous but empathetic script By David Dixon A singing and dancing comedy about losing weight has become a surprise hit. Productions of \u201cWaistWatchers the Musical!\u201d have been staged since 2007 and a new one is now running at the Lyceum Space at Horton Plaza. In Miss Cook\u2019s Women\u2019s Gym, a fitness instructor, […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":238349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Getting in shape with laughter","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-238348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-sdnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}