Set amongst impressive sets and with a talented group of young voices, San Diego State University’s graduate actors staged an excellent production of this old/new musical. The cast is led by Gene Gorman (Ryan David McKinney) and Helen Fogel (Kristen Mengelkoch), two very middle class residents of Brooklyn who try to sneak into a party at the swank Plaza Hotel. Helen is just doing it for fun, but Gene’s tragic flaw is his obsession with wanting to fit in with the wealthy, and he could ruin himself in the effort. Fortunately for him, he’s surrounded by several good friends who will go to any length to prevent his self-destruction. (Having a great deal of trouble getting dates, the friends didn’t have much else to do anyway!)

As Helen (or Helene), Kristen Mengelkoch is especially amusing as she tries to pretend she’s a blue blood with fellow pretender Ryan David McKinney, so obviously fooling nobody but him, while at the same time finding herself falling in love. Hank (Marc Ciemiewicz) and his wife Celeste (Alison Bretches), the only married couple in the show, share a diverting love-hate relationship, which is at its funniest when Celeste is giving him one of her many intimidating looks and Hank is trying his best not to notice. They share one of the show’s most endearing moments in I Remember That, as they remember things in far different ways. Celeste also shares a great scene with Mildred (Ivy Vela), a painfully pigeon-toed friend of hers with a hilarious voice, as they sing about being In the Movies.

Performance Dates: April 25 - May 4, 2003