PlanetVerocom subcontracts Mr. Putzke for his unbiased reviews of local theater happenings. Jon casts a watchful eye on the local theater "stars" and their productions. From stellar performances rivaling a "supernova" to those aptly described as "black holes of mediocrity", Jon will let you know the hits and burn-outs in the local theater scene!  Below his review, you'll find Jon's "About The Reviewer" bio.

Show in Review: Opal at Vero Beach Theatre Guild

“Footloose” Cuts Loose to end Shiloh’s 14th Season at the Lyric

              The energetic, exuberant musical “Footloose” was a wise choice by Shiloh Productions to end their 14th season at the Lyric Theatre on May 31st.

              The McKenzie Family Trio pulled off “the hat trick” with this one.  Faye directed this non-stop blockbuster, with a cast of over 35, while husband Neil produced and daughter Beth McKenzie-Shestak choreographed; a true family effort.

              There were so many talented young performers in this production, it would be impossible to single them all out, but of course the headliner of this musical Ren McCormack, the original Kevin Bacon role, was well played by Matt Siregar.  His vocals were outstanding, his acting plausible and even his choreographed moves were well handled.  His match for the evening was Brianna Scully in the role of Ariel Moore.  Miss Scully blew the lid off the theatre with her incredible singing abilities; a true wonder coming from such a tiny stature.  She has an outstanding career ahead of her.

              Jennell Stalka appeared as Ariel’s best friend, Rusty.  This dynamo actress has a belt voice that was unmatched in the production and she never faltered in the multitude of choreographed dance numbers that kept her bouncing and bubbling all night long.  Matched up with Xander Tsunoda as Willard Hewitt, Tsunoda all but stole the show with his hick-town antics and comical song “Mamma Says.”

              A fifth young talent who took to his role with precision was Jon Bates as the rough and tumbled Chuck Cranston.  All five high school characters were incredibly supported by a cast of such high energy both vocally and choreographically, that one wonders how they sustained such levels of enthusiasm throughout the two hour production.

              Three outstanding performers filled the main “adult” roles in this musical.  Travis Eaton gave a solid performance as the Reverend Moore and Nancy Scully as Ethel McCormack, Ren’s mother, was especially convincing in her final scene with Ren; gently commanding  him to stick to his convictions and “fight” for what he believed in.  The surprise element for this production company was when Sharon Owens was called upon at the last moment to fill-in the role of Vi Moore, the Reverend’s wife.  Perfect in every sense of the word, Ms. Moore captured the role with such grace, style and was, as always, top notch in the vocal department.

              The simplicity of the production relied heavily on the lighting with very little scenery other than the necessary furniture to convey the location.  Bert Zimmerman was credited with the lighting design and executed it flawlessly.  Gil Carney had his hands full as the sound engineer; no easy task with a cast of 35 using cordless body mics, and amplifying the off-stage band.  The balance was well achieved.

              Hats in the air must definitely go to the four directors of the this production.  Faye McKenzie did a tremendous job staging the multitude of cast members along with furniture changes and Brian Phoebus’s musical direction was right on the money.  “Footloose” is almost a musical revue in that it contains dozens of songs and very little dialogue and  Carrie Phipps-Banfi as vocal coach brought out the best  in each of the high schoolers with continual harmonies, number after number.

              It is my opinion that the real challenge of the evening was met by Beth McKenzie-Shestak as choreographer.  “Footloose” is a known dance-show, and McKenzie-Shestak was given over twenty teens with little or no true dance experience, yet each production number had such precision and perfect timing from the entire ensemble, one would have thought that this cast must have rehearsed for months on end.  Amazingly, that challenge was met with such high standards since very little rehearsal time was actually available when these students have so many end-of-school-year commitments.

About the Reviewer: 

Jon Putzke

             Jon A. Putzke began his theatrical career as a child actor in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” in 1955 at the Dunes Summer Theatre in Michigan City, Indiana.  Bitten by the bug, he continued to pursue his ambitious dream to one day own his own theatre.   In 1965 the dream became a reality when he opened the Gateway Playhouse, a summer stock theatre on the shores of Lake Michigan.  Three seasons later a tornado ravaged his dream and Putzke moved his troupe lock, stock and barrel into a local restaurant where he produced and directed over 40 productions at Scotty’s Dinner Playhouse.

              At the same time Jon attended Indiana University, South Bend as a theatre major, married his childhood sweetheart Marg and together they continued to produce, design and direct major productions throughout the Midwest at such notable theatres as The Red Barn, Footlight Playhouse, The Tin Tree, and the Canterbury Theatre.  Putzke also spent 18 months as the theatre manager of the famed Drury Lane-Martinique Dinner Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.  He has worked with such notable stars as Dick Powell, Jr., academy award-winner Mercedes McCambridge, Debbie Reynolds, Lou Rawls,  Bobby Vinton and the Stars of Lawrence Welk.

              Throughout the southeast, Jon has directed award wining productions of “1776” at the Blue Grass Dinner Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky, “Hello, Dolly,” “South Pacific,” “Shenandoah,” and “The Front Page” at the Mountaineer Dinner Theatre in Hurricane, West Virginia as well as moving his family permanently to Vero Beach in 1980 to head what was then known as The Sheraton Showplace Dinner Theatre on A1A.  When the hotel was sold, Putzke Productions moved into the Riverside Theatre and produced a season of summer stock premiers including “Evita,” “A Chorus Line” and “Two By Two.”

              Then in 1986 Putzke once again owned his own theatre when he opened Encore Alley and brought dozens of top-notch quality productions and premier performances to Vero Beach on an Equity Guest Star system.

              Jon and Marg have traveled the world together aboard the cruise ship circuit for Peter Grey Truhune Presents.  As production manager, Jon oversaw the placement of new productions going out to sea while his wife Marg created the costuming. 

              He has directed a multitude of productions for the Vero Beach Theatre Guild, most recently “Titanic, A Night To Remember,” “Something’s Afoot,” “Our Town,” “Tenderloin” and “Oliver!” 

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