When
first hearing of Psycho Beach Party I thought it was a bunch of people on a
beach that were crazy. I was partially wrong. The play starts off on a made-up
west coast beach – Malibu Beach during the 1960’s. The main character, Chicklet
– played by Andrew DeNardo- had multi-personality disorder in result to the
death of her twin brother when she was younger. The play shows us her struggles
and how she eventually found love.
The
actors of the play were so in tune with their character. Two characters that
stood out the most for me were Chicklet and Berdine. The lead character was
Chicklet, a young girl who just wants to learn how to surf, who was played by
Andrew DeNardo. DeNardo had to have great range in his acting. He had to go
from playing a shy timid girl to a vixen, old lady, or a man in a matter of
seconds without thinking it over. Another character in the play is Berdine, the
best friend of Chicklet and nerd best friend that everyone has had at one
point, played by Leeanna Zayas. This actor was brilliant in the whole show. She
mastered the talk, walk, and characteristics one would imagine this character
having. One point in the play that I liked the most was when Chicklet was tied
up and Berdine went to rescue her, she jumped through the window and had us all
by surprise that I literally jumped in my seat.
The
scene design in this show wasn’t too much and it wasn’t too little, just the
right amount. Scott Mancha, who designed the set, should receive a round of
applause for making the most of what you had and making it colorful and beautiful.
The set for the show never changed, except for the little add-ons to give us
comic relief during serious scenes. The steps from one level of the stage to
the other didn’t look stable, so maybe they could have put weights inside a
hollow box (the step) or made the steps attached to the second level of the stage
so they were more stable and less wobbly.
I
don’t find myself to be very fashionable most of the time but when I go see a show
I always look at costuming. I look at costuming when going to shows because as
a dancer and teacher, I’m always looking for different ideas for the next dance
season. And Arnold Bueso did a good job with costume design. He had a real challenge
on his hands when he had to find female clothing to fit Andrew DeNardo, who is
skinny and lanky but also broader than most girls that would where clothes
appropriate for the beach. And Bueso nailed it. During the show, I saw that
DeNardo’s clothes didn’t fit right, like for example, his shirts kept falling
off and his shorts seemed a little snug even for the 60’s. For Zayas costumes, I
would think that Bueso had a fun time with her costume. Not only were her
outfits nerdy but her hair style was the big pouf hairstyle with the bow ribbon
in it that was very hairsprayesqe. The
other costumes were typical for the beach, floral shirts and swim shorts,
bikinis and cover ups for the girls and the big hair styles. I just wish that
more could have been done for the other characters costumes, like maybe made
them more unique in a way to fit the characters personality but stay in the 60’s
fashion.
Overall
the show was a hit. I saw it on its opening night and I have no doubt that it
will be a huge success at the college. If this show was to be put on Broadway I
wouldn’t mind seeing it again. This show opened my eyes to what people with
multi personality disorder go through except they don’t have that over dramatic
change sequence from one personality to another that Chicklet had in the play.
I felt that the over dramatic sequence from one personality to another was, when
we first saw Chicklet’s change in personality. Chicklet made these motions like
she was being beat up by an imaginary person. It was funny but not necessary
because the rest of the show was like reality and this felt to be more
cartoonish. Not only is this show funny, it also shows how hard things are for
people with multi personality disorder who are not treated for it at an early
stage.
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