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Arts & Entertainment

Teen Angst in Song and Dance

The Pennington Players presents "13 the Musical" at Kelsey Theatr

Laurie Gougher’s friends thought she was crazy when she signed up to direct “13 the Musical” at Kelsey Theatre. Who would want to work with a bunch of teenagers with their attitudes and energy and inability to do anything an adult asks of them?

It turns out that Gougher is quite happy with her decision, and to say she’s enjoying working with her young cast is something of an understatement.

“I can tell you these are the most professional, well behaved, dedicated, wonderful cast members I’ve ever worked with,” says Gougher, who’s directing “13” at the theater on Mercer County Community College campus, July 29-Aug. 7. “There has not been a single problem. You tell them something and they take their criticism well. I’m sure they’re not representative of 13- and 14-year-olds as a whole, but this group of kids has been amazing.”

The musical by Jason Robert Brown with a book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn debuted in 2007 and made it to Broadway in 2008. It follows the trials and tribulations of Evan Goldman, a New York City kid whose parents divorce, which leads to him relocating to Appleton, Ind.

“His bar mitzvah is coming up and it’s very important to him to have a lot of the popular kids from the new town come,” Gougher says. “No one in Appleton, Indiana really knows what a bar mitzvah is and he goes through several cycles of making some friends who are the less-popular kids, and then trying to move upward in the social scene and kind of not treating his friends very well, and ultimately coming around to realize that maybe what you think you want isn’t really what you want, isn’t really what’s going to work out best for you in the end.”

There are also subplots about issues like dating. It’s a short show, one act running 90 minutes, that Gougher says is wall-to-wall entertainment for teenagers and adults.

Tanner Mead of Burlington plays Evan. Area members of the cast include Matthew Blazejewski of Trenton as Archie, Wesley Cappiello of Hamilton as Brett and Melissa Geerlof of Mercerville as Molly. All of the characters in the show are 13, with the actors ranging in age from 12 to 15.

“It’s basically about the trials and tribulations of being that age but in a very real way,” Gougher says. “It’s not Disney, it’s not cartoonish, it’s fairly realistic about the way kids speak to each other but it’s very, very funny. We’re hoping that not only preteens and teenagers will enjoy it but adults who are looking back can laugh at what it was like to be 13, and be glad to be through with those years. And parents of preteens and teenagers can see it with their kids, and it will be a good window into what your kids are thinking and feeling at that age.”

The show isn’t quite for everyone though. Gougher says it addresses themes and has some language that parents may not want their younger kids (around 11 or younger) to hear. “It’s not graphic but it’s not G-rated,” she says.

When it came to her cast of young actors, the director says she and music director Pete de Mets and choreographer John Buccanfuso came up with a casting plan.

“We sat down for each of the characters and said, 'OK, what does this character absolutely need to have?'” she says. “'Do they need to be an amazing singer because the music is really challenging? Is this a role that needs a very strong actor and perhaps not as strong a singer?' And we did all that advance prep and it turned out really not to be necessary because we got such talented kids that they really all can do it all.”

The challenge, she says, is in promoting the show. It isn’t the most well-known musical and adults might think it’s for younger audiences.

“Teenagers in the musical theater community are obsessed with it, they love it, it has a huge fan base,” Gougher says. “But we wanted to make sure adults know about it as well and maybe some teenagers who don’t typically go see musicals but like watching shows on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon and would be fans of this genre of musical.”

To get the word out, the cast has performed flash mobs at malls and is hosting a National Dance Day event before the July 30 performance. The event is part of a nationwide campaign by the FOX TV show, “So You Think You Can Dance.” The cast of “13” will perform a dance on the Kelsey stage, with visitors invited to participate by watching a video of it on the “So You Think You Can Dance” website. A video of the performance, along with others from around the country, will be submitted to the TV show.

The hope is that people who come out for the dance event will stick around for the evening’s performance.

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“It’s such a great show and we’re so proud of it that we want to make sure people come see it,” Gougher says. “We’ve been really working hard to promote and market the show so that it gets the audience it deserves because they kids have worked so hard.”

“13 the Musical” will be performed at Kelsey Theatre on the campus of Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, July 29 through Aug. 7. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $16, $14 seniors, $12 students/children. For tickets and information, call 609-570-3333 or visit www.kelseytheatre.net.

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