ON THEATER: ‘Marvelous Wonderettes’ will turn back the clock

Remember “Forever Plaid,” the fantasy musical about four teenage singers from the 1950s that had Laguna Playhouse audiences tapping their feet a few summers ago? Well, that era is coming back “” only now it’s the girls’ turn.

“The Marvelous Wonderettes,” another nostalgic dose of musical entertainment set at a high school prom in 1958, will be the playhouse’s summer show, opening July 8 and running through Aug. 31.

The show “” which was born as a one-act project in Milwaukee and then ran for more than a year at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theater “” is headed for New York in the fall, but playhouse audiences will get an advance look at the show critics have called “the female ‘Forever Plaid.’”

And, for those like yours truly who were around for the original recordings (yes, recordings) of “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” “Lollipop” and “It’s My Party,” the show should offer a real blast back to the past.

The scene is the 1958 Springfield High School prom, where audiences will meet the Wonderettes. The show features two original cast members and a pair of newcomers.

There’s Cindy Lou Huffington (Kirsten Chandler), the prettiest girl at Springfield High, whose major accomplishment is being the longest-serving member of the Varsity Song Leaders (third place in the state championship). She loves dancing, cheering, singing, drive-in movies and boys (not in that order).

Then there’s Missy Miller (Kim Huber), head of the prom decorations committee and a columnist for the school newspaper, the Chipmunk Chronicle. Missy also made most of the refreshments for the prom and has been nominated for prom queen.

Betty Jean Reynolds (Julie Dixon Jackson) won the “loudest cheer” at the state championships and has the all-time high score (255) on the Chipmunk bowling squad. She’s also active on the school’s golfing, boating and soccer teams. She’s proud to have a date for the prom.

Finally, there’s Suzy Simpson (Bets Malone), grand champion bubble blower at last year’s state fair and cub reporter for the Chipmunk Chronicle (where she exposed last year’s lunch room milk scandal). She loves dressing up and having friends over to play records in her basement rec room.

Most of the ladies will be new to the Laguna stage, but Huber is making her third visit. She played Cathy in “The Last Five Years” and Shelby in “The Spitfire Grill” on the local boards.

“The Marvelous Wonderettes” was first performed 10 years ago at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, but that was a far different version than the current production.

Creator/director Roger Bean explains: “It started as a one-act show. It did have both acts as it is now, just compressed together. Now there’s so much more depth to the story. One of the actresses in the Laguna Playhouse production is Bets Malone, who was also in the Los Angeles production. I wrote the role of Suzy for her, and she’s been with the show since that early one-act version.

“These are characters you want to come back and visit again,” Bean says. “You recognize these characters. You went to school with these people no matter what year you went to school. And it’s tremendous music. That’s why people love coming back again and again. Some of the fans brought other people to the El Portal production to say ‘look what I found.’ I have a feeling they’ll be doing that again at the Laguna Playhouse.”

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Coastline Pilot.