San Diego Musical Theatre Closes 2024 Season with "Winter Wonderettes"

A Great Fit for the Holidays with Beautiful Voices and Fun Moments

A Blog View by Alejandra Enciso-Dardashti

Winter Wonderettes. Photo by Karli Cadel.  

The Marvelous Wonderettes, by Roger Bean, is a musical show that kept giving with its four protagonists, Missy, Cindy Lou, Suzy, and Betty Jean, starting in their high school during prom in the late 50s. The musical has three sequels, Winter Wonderettes, Wonderettes: Caps and Gowns, and Marvelous Wonderettes: Dream On. 

San Diego Musical Theatre is taking audiences on this Wonderette adventure with the first sequel for the holiday season. Set in 1968 in Springfield, it is Harper's Hardware's holiday party, and Betty Jean (Jazley Genovese), who has worked there since high school, has organized a wonderland variety for the employees. Santa is a no-show; it is up to the Wonderettes to save the party. 

Chiara Oyos-Haynes's set design made Harper's Hardware embrace the stage with multi-color wood flooring and many shelves stocked with tools and supplies, dressing the frame realistically and cutely. Property master Jennifer Jones Glor did a great job as the store had plenty to look at and the actresses plenty to work with.  

Winter Wonderettes. Photo by Karli Cadel.  

Directed by Noelle Marion, who also did the musical staging, the two-act show brings out all the voices nicely, meshing with the music. Performers sometimes struggle with the notes when the music is recorded instead of live. Still, it was not the case with Wonderettes, as Chris Hunter's musical direction had both music and voices go in parallel, taking advantage of the small space and having the audience truly appreciate each actress's vocals as they displayed beautiful voices through Jordan Gray's sound design. Marion's direction also hit the nail on the head -continuing with the hardware tone- with each of the character's personalities that are spot on. Audrey Deubig embraces Suzy's corky personality that interacts with the audience, having some inside jokes with a bit of help from Josie E. Gerk's lighting design, making everybody feel totally a part of Harper's. Deubig's voice is lovely, belting strong notes in songs like A Marshmallow World and Suzy Snowflake. I do have an observation: This is for the book/production of the show, and it is a common mistake that is made too often. A couple of songs talk about Christmas in different parts of the world; when Mexico comes to play with Donde Esta Santa Claus, the song uses flamenco steps and "olés," which are Spanish from Spain. Spain conquered Mexico, but that does not mean we are the same. To mention a few examples, mariachi music or Jarabe Tapatío should be used instead. Minor observation, but still, when seeing it so often across stages, it gets annoying. Continuing with the performance, I must admit I enjoyed Audrey way more as Suzy than Janet in Rocky Horror. Yes, it is apples and oranges, and maybe because this is a smaller cast, there is more space and freedom...

Jazley Genovese, in her SDMT debut as the nervous perfectionist Betty Jean, is funny and brings the humanity in Betty Jean's struggles with poise and nicely held vocals along the chills with Christmas Will Be Just Another Lonely Day. Adelaida Maria Martínez was hilarious as Missy, the excited newlywed, displaying a great melodic voice that took the stage in songs like This Christmas and Jingle Bell Rock, amongst others. Great to see Arianna Vila again after SDMT's production of In The Heights in 2022, a mini-reunion with Adelaida, who was also in the production. Arianna again showed her fantastic voice with pizzazz as the appreciative Cindy Lou. Each Wonderette has a color, and the wardrobe centers on those colors, bringing a wonderful palette of green, hot pink, blue, and orange to the mix. Bobby Pearce's costume design had cute taffeta and lace dresses with Santa-like capes in each color. Chong Mi Land designed and made the green and orange outfits and matching shoes for all the performers, giving it a magical Christmas touch. Monique Hanson had a fun wig design from a big blonde bob to a set red one, long brown curls to a bun, and colorful makeup with pink blush and bold eyeshadows. 

San Diego Musical Theatre chose a truly cute one for the season, with interaction, comedy, and the audience in the plot, having merry songs and marvelous performances. 

The company also has a campaign called You Give. We Give for each production where they give back. For this show, it is Toys for Tots. 

Support your local theatre and this beautiful cause. Performances are currently running until December 29. For more information, click HERE.