Katie Mitchell and Matthew Frusher star as Millie and Adam in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers."
*** This story was published Oct. 2, 2008 in the Bristol Herald Courier. ***
WYTHEVILLE, Va. - With lyrics by the legendary Johnny Mercer and spirited interpretation by Wohlfahrt Haus' fine cast, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" makes for an enjoyable dinner theater experience. There's plenty of top-drawer singing and dancing, the sets are well-done and the food, which tends to blow hot and cold, is good and plentiful this time around.
Even the servers - some of whom also act in the show - seem to be on top of their game.
The story is even a little bit juicer than your average musical, which oftentimes uses plot as little more than glue to hold the songs together. It's the wilderness West of pioneer days, and the seven brothers all live, sans women, on a farm somewhere outside of town, in typical guy squalor. Their beards are long, their house messy and their cooking barely edible.
So when Adam, the oldest, comes back from town with a wife, needless to say, it sets all sorts of ruckuses into motion. The remaining brothers all decide to clean up, shave and head into town and get wives for themselves even though their "courting" skills are marginal at best. This idea is not greeted with enthusiasm by the local town boys who have designs of their own on the town girls.
These differences of opinions lead to fighting, kidnappings, avalanches, shotgun toting posses and in the end, of course, loving and marrying.
Adam is played quite nicely by Matthew Frusher and Millie (the first wife) by Katie Mitchell. The good cast also includes: Sam Little, Chad Sapp, Shane Terry, Stephen Barnowski, Steve Jones, Josh Clifford, Alyssa Foley, Jessica DeHart, Sarah Shaffer, Heather Felder, Candice Brechbiel, Meg Trahan, Carlos Nieto, Clifton Cuddington, Justin Jewell, Alex Boese, Gavin Underwood, Justin Hall, Ted Reid, Scott DeHart, Jennifer McClellan, Robert Burnett and Karen Zucco.
For dates, times and reservations: (888) 950-3382 or go to www.wohlfahrt-haus.com.
