By Amanda Mastrangelo
Welcome theatergoers to “Walmartopia,” where environmentalists and union workers are shunned and the American Dream is represented by consumerism. Satirizing big businesses is a brilliant idea for a musical, and director Daniel Goldstein along with Wendy Seyb (choreography), August Eriksmoen (music direction/orchestrations and arrangements) and Catherine Capellaro and Andy Rohn (book, music and lyrics) make “Walmartopia” into just that: a brilliant musical.
The show is filled with smart humor and witty remarks in the dialogue, lyrics, scenery and right down to the small details. In the customary announcement to silence all cell phones, the audience is addressed with “Attention shoppers!” Before the show begins, the small theater lights up with an emanating yellow smiley-face curtain, which sets the mood for the first scene, where Wal-Mart employees sing and dance about the stage with comical yellow smiley faces covering their own. These smiling employees are announcing the arrival of a Wal-Mart in a town near you, or rather, every town near you.
The musical tells the story of Vicki Latrell (Cheryl Freeman), a single mother trying to support herself and her daughter, Maia (Jessica L. Cope), who recently joined the Wal-Mart “family.” This duo is trying to make a better life for themselves, and Vicki is looking forward to a well-deserved promotion. The head Wal-Mart executive, fittingly named Scott “Scooter” Smiley (John Jellison), is looking for ways to make Wal-Mart’s prices even cheaper and increase customer purchases.
The off-Broadway production is professional, not surprisingly, as a majority of the cast members have previously performed on Broadway. The theater, however, at Minetta Lane Theater, West. 3rd Street off 6th Ave, is very small and cramped. In a different setting, viewers might think that they are, in fact, seeing a Broadway musical.
“Walmartopia” certainly has the potential to become a Broadway production, such as “Rent” and “Spring Awakening,” two extremely popular “cult classics” that started out off-Broadway.
“Walmartopia” has a similar appeal since it is another show which focuses on different controversial issues.
Claiming itself “The show that Wal-Mart doesn’t want you to see,” “Walmartopia” satirically brings to the stage issues such as big corporations replacing small businesses, underpaid employees, Chinese factories having to hire younger employees so they can afford to sell products to Wal-Mart for less and sex-discrimination in the workforce. The show also manages to fit in time travel, dancing executives and the disembodied head of Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, leaving no room for dull moments.
Although the show is original, exciting and maybe even revolutionary, the tickets are a bit pricey. Prices ranged from $45 to $65. The cheaper seats don’t put you very far from the stage, being that this is not a large theater, but these prices are a bit too much to spend, especially on a college budget for an off-Broadway production.
The advantage of off-Broadway, after all, is the joy of seeing a show for less-than-Broadway prices. “Walmartopia” certainly provides an all-around wonderful theater experience, but only “join the revolution” if you can afford it.
Dancing cashiers open “Walmartopia,” their faces covered with the store’s famous symbol. (AllMoviePhoto.com)