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With a set reminiscent of Sunday-morning comics, the Coterie Theatre’s production of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - The Musical easily leads the viewer into this adaption of the well-loved children’s book. The actors connected well with the audience—approximately 80 percent of which were children—coming off as lively, precocious kids themselves.

The book and lyrics were written by Judith Viorst, with music by Shelly Markham. Directed and choreographed by Missy Koonce, the show brought to life the tale of a particularly horrible day in the life of Alexander. It’s a story that adults can relate to as well—when it seems like everything that can go wrong does—though the physical humor elicited more laughs from the younger crowd, as the cast wiggled their derrieres and made elastic facial expressions.

KC Comeaux played the tortured Alexander with a believable inability to find his place in world.  He was adorable in the scene during music class, trying to sing softer, but getting excited until he’s singing too loud again. Comeaux was silly, yet convincing, and even when Alexander gets himself into trouble, you feel sorry for him—everyone around me was wrapped up in the action, straining out of their seats to see when Alexander went through his father’s briefcase.

The ever-talented Jessalyn Kincaid played the roles of Mother and Becky, a schoolmate. A versatile actor, Kincaid portrayed the child with appropriate mannerisms and inflections, never overdoing it, and the adult with a patient maturity, and the spunk a mother would need to be deal with Alexander and his brothers. 

Martin Buchanan had the most challenging performance, playing a collection of characters young and old. He was particularly funny as the schoolteacher and the dentist. The rest of the cast—Steven Eubank, Emily Shackleford, Francisco Villegas, and Price Messick—filled in as the children in Alexander’s life: classmates, friends, and his two pesky brothers. At times, they overdid the child-like inflections, but their funny songs during music class were enjoyable and struck a chord with the audience.

The songs seemed a little manufactured for the sake of making the story into a musical. “If I Were in Charge of the World” is based on a poem by Viorst and both opens and closes the show.  It fits with the overall theme of “bad days” and conveys the helplessness children feel in the realm of adults. “Shoes,” while catchy, did little more than fill in a scene from the book. Mother’s “The Sweetest of Nights and the Finest of Days,” as beautifully sung by Kincaid, was an excellent sentiment on which to end the day. 

The set was practically another character itself. Mostly comprised of flat panels at first look, its various windows and sections shifted, and the furniture and props pulled out from the wall to make an adjustable performing area. Two of the most interesting features were the copy machine, covered in inviting buttons and levers, and the dentist’s chair, which looked like an instrument for torture. The lighting was effective as well, especially in the dentist-office scene, amping up Alexander’s fear and terror. 

Overall, the performance was exhilarating and fun. The cast engaged the audience from the start and kept their attention. I didn’t leave humming any tunes, but I could still see the vibrant colors of the set and feel the infectious energy. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day – The Musical made for yet another very good day at the Coterie Theatre.

REVIEW:
Coterie Theater
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Runs November 2 — December 31 (Reviewed Saturday, December 4, 2010)
First floor of the Crown Center Mall
2450 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, MO
For tickets, information, and show times: call 816-474-6552 or visit www.coterietheatre.org

Photos by J. Robert Schraeder. Top Photo:  Alexander (KC Comeaux)

By Libby Hanssen

Traditional and New Classical, Theatre Contributor

Libby Hanssen holds degrees from University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M.) and Ball State University (B.M.) in trombone performance and also studied music education at Indiana University. She has studied trombone with Carl Lenthe, JoDee Davis, John Seidel, John Huntoon and Denis Wick, and music education with Brent Gault, Estelle Jorgensen and Katherine Strand.

While at IU, she taught classes in general music, focusing on listening skills and music fundamentals through practical music usage and exploring new sound constructions. During the course of her studies at UMKC, she performed with many ensembles, including the Conservatory Orchestra and Musica Nova. She has also performed with the Kansas City Puccini Festival, the People's Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City, the New Jazz Order, the Indiana Wind Symphony and the Muncie Symphony Orchestra.

In 2010, she was a fellow (one of 23 journalists selected from across the US) for the seventh annual National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera at Columbia University’s Journalism School in New York City.

Most of her free time is spent with her three boys (son, dog and husband) and camera, exploring the many fine aspects of Kansas City living. She enjoys listening to KKFI - Kansas City Community Radio and KCUR - Kansas City's NPR station, visiting Kansas City's fine collection of museums and galleries, and scavenging in thrift and antique stores to add to her collection of toy instruments.

She writes for the joy of words and the process of constructing a story, maintaining the blog Proust Eats a Sandwich (www.prousteatsasandwich.wordpress.com). She is working on her first book: Murray Goes to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.