Do you remember your anxiety in the hallowed halls of your former middle school … particularly the eighth grade? Well, the angst is back and lands center stage in this coming-of-age musical comedy-drama in Playcrafters’ latest show, “13 the Musical” — a hugely popular musical that opened on Broadway in 2008 — written by Robert Horn and Dan Elish with music from Tony award winner Jason Robert Brown.
Playcrafters will present the show at The Barn, 2011 Store Road, near Skippack Pike, in Skippack Township.
On the eve of preparing for his bar mitzvah, 12-year-old Evan (played by Ian Keller) gets thrown a curve ball when his parents divorce and he is forced to uproot from New York City to Indiana. Making new friends is on his to-do list, and he soon befriends his neighbor Patrice (played by Nora Bella Stern-Kushnier) and her friend Archie (played by Ari Smith-Posner). Later, when school begins, Evan has a chance to expand his social circle and ventures to make good with some of the cool kids, including the popular football star Brett (Mason Lonsdale), along with his crush Kendra (played by Penelope Stern-Kushnier), and Lucy, the school’s queen bee and diva of all divas (played by Violet Tulig). He then works a plan to win the new kids over to turn his upcoming bar mitzvah into a rocking cool party.
“It’s a fun and light-hearted show,” said co-director Jane Vitelli. She and Cassidy Butler are no strangers to the performing arts and have appeared both on and off stage in various positions over the years, and currently, they’ve come together to direct the two-hour performance, including intermission. “She does the things that I don’t love so much, and I do the things that she doesn’t love,” said Vitelli. “So, we’re a good team.”
“Although it’s so cliché to say, it’s an amazing cast,” said Butler. “They’ve worked so hard on the show and watching them bond — it’s so nice to be part of it.”
With a sense of nostalgia permeating the theater, the audience can expect to enjoy a vicarious trip back to their youth as the music features 17 modern pop tunes highlighting the typical highs and lows of teen life. Please note: The show’s themes center on the struggles of teens coming to maturity, and parental discretion is advised as there is a bit of crude humor and inappropriate language for children.
Additional characters include:
Eddie – Tobias Cuiffitelli
Malcolm – Benjamin Coelho
Charlotte – Fabiana Merscher
Cassie – Jesse Oosthuizen
Molly – Courtney Hertzog
Simon – Lenny Senderov
Richie – Patrick Coelho
Rabbi – Hailey Megerman
Principal Dancers
Sophia Kogay
Madison Murray
Jocelyn Williamson
Ensemble
Lorilei Blasetti
Aubrey Hertzog
Brynlee Hertzog
Hailey Megerman
Bea Pham
Showtimes
July 12-14, with a 2 p.m. matinee only on July 14
July 19-21, with a 2 p.m. matinee and 8 p.m. show on July 20, and a 2 p.m. matinee only on July 21.
July 25-27
Tickets are $26.70 and can be purchased here.
For more information, visit www.playcrafters.org or call 610-584-4005.
