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<\/p>\nBy JEAN LOWERISON | Downtown News<\/p>\n
Quick! What iconic show is this line referring to: \u201cEverything I need to know I can learn from a bird, a monster and a grouch\u201d? If you didn\u2019t say \u201cSesame Street,\u201d shame on you.<\/p>\n
The return of Lamb\u2019s Players Theatre\u2019s megahit \u201cMixtape\u201d means it\u2019s nostalgia time for Gen Xers (here defined as born between 1961 and 1981), and time for the rest of us to sit back and enjoy as those musical years rush by on the stage.<\/p>\n
This \u201ctotally awesome musical journey through the \u201980s,\u201d written by Lamb\u2019s regulars Colleen Kollar Smith and Jon Lorenz, opened at the Horton Grand Downtown in 2010 and ran for three and a half years. This version has already been extended through Sept. 1 at the mothership theater in Coronado.<\/p>\n
Back from the original production are Joy Yandell, David S. Humphrey and the sterling five-man band led by Lorenz, and they are better than ever. New to \u201cMixtape\u201d are Angela Chatelain Avila, Marqell Edward Clayton, Janaya Mahealani Jones, A.J. Mendoza and Shawn W. Smith. The latter four are making their Lamb\u2019s Players debuts as well. All are excellent singing and dancing actors.<\/p>\n
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Smith and Lorenz have arranged the songs topically \u2014 there are sections about movies (\u201cTop Gun,\u201d \u201cRisky Business,\u201d \u201cGhostbusters\u201d among them) and TV shows \u201cSmurfs,\u201d Cosby, \u201cHill Street Blues\u201d) along with songs about relationships and the search for meaning (\u201cSweet Dreams,\u201d \u201cI Still Haven\u2019t Found What I\u2019m Looking For\u201d).<\/p>\n
The physical fitness craze, with Jazzercise and Richard Simmons \u201csweatin\u2019 to the oldies,\u201d is memorialized and demonstrated.<\/p>\n
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Then there\u2019s news of the decade (including the Challenger disaster) and the decade in sports, both wonderfully illustrated in projections (credit Michael McKeon).<\/p>\n
No show covering the \u201980s would be complete without Madonna\u2019s \u201cMaterial Girl,\u201d and it\u2019s here, in a splendid version.<\/p>\n
Worthy of special mention is Yandell\u2019s poignant interpretation of Suzanne Vega\u2019s \u201cLuca\u201d (about domestic violence) with its plea \u201cjust don\u2019t argue anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Times change, and though this might not have been its intent, AJ Mendoza\u2019s interpretation of \u201cEverybody Wants to Rule the World\u201d gave me the shivers in this political year.<\/p>\n
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The cast is sterling \u2014 and must be exhausted after the show, with all the running around, character changes and Smith\u2019s intricate and impressive choreography. And those costume changes! Credit Jemima Dutra for the colorful costumes.<\/p>\n
Mike Buckley\u2019s dual-level set with slanted ramps works wonderfully, and the sound and lighting are well handled by Patrick Duffy and Nathan Peirson, respectively.<\/p>\n
Millennials accustomed to downloading music may not even know what a mixtape (or, for that matter, a cassette player) is, but this show is a fine and amusing way to find out.<\/p>\n
\u201cMixtape\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Plays through Sept. 1, 2019 at Lamb\u2019s Players Theatre, 1142 Orange Ave., Coronado.<\/p>\n Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Wednesday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 4 and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n Tickets: 619-437-6000 or lambsplayers.org<\/a><\/p>\n