By: Matthew Seeger, Talon Staff
In a time when a lot of media geared towards kids has a cynical, almost apologetic edge to its humor (usually in the form of veiled scatological jokes or pop culture references that are meant to go over kids’ heads to amuse their accompanying adults), Tallahassee Community College’s Theater TCC production of Schoolhouse Rock Live is a breath of fresh air. The show’s cast, crew, director and producers all know precisely what they want this show to be – unapologetically for kids.
This educational and lyrical romp through our collective nostalgia stars TCC Sophomore Garrett Brantley as Tom, who one might interpret as the sole “human” character amidst a collection of Tom’s personified thoughts and emotions who manifest on the very morning of Tom’s first day as an elementary school teacher
Jamel Booth, a graduating senior at Florida’s A&M University, pours his heart and soul into his portrayal of one of those emotions, named “George,” with a vibrant performance that may well get you to dance along with him. Booth said it was actually a fun challenge to develop the character because it forced him to play against his natural tendencies.
“A lot of myself (went into developing my character’s personality), and then, not a lot of myself,” Booth said. “George is Tom’s loving side, so I’m not really much of a romantic, so when it comes to doing those types of scenes, they’re not a struggle, but that’s just me not being myself, versus when he has lines that are kind of sassy. That’s more the type of person I am.”
The show features six named characters – Tom, George, and also Dori, Dina, Shulie and Joe, played by FAMU’s Alexis Johnson, TCC’s Madison Metcalf, Hannah MacGregor and Ethan Slick. In addition, Theater TCC added an additional six actors to play unnamed characters in the ensemble, each with their own unique personalities developed by the actors.
Kevin Jimenez is a sophomore at TCC. He plays an ensemble character, who he describes as “wacky and nerdy.” The character appears on stage dressed in bright orange overalls and a big bowtie. Unlike Booth, Jimenez says he didn’t need to dig deep at all to determine how to play his character.
“I feel like during the rehearsal process, while we were trying to establish who we were, the director saw a little more of my goofy side during rehearsals, and he decided that would be a good role for me,” Jimenez said. “Which was great, because it was easy for me to embody that.”
Schoolhouse Rock Live puts all twelve cast members to good use, giving George, Tom, Dori, Dina and the rest a huge selection of classic Schoolhouse Rock songs to perform. But Jimenez says that, despite definitely being written for younger kids, audiences shouldn’t make a huge distinction between theater for children and theater for adults.
“I think children’s shows are just as important. Children of any age deserve just as much quality as adults,” Jimenez said. “We don’t look at this as a children’s musical, we look at this as a musical to entertain people of all ages.”
The show has already run through its first weekend, but it’ll be performing again this weekend at 8 pm, starting Thursday, April 12 and ending Saturday, April 14.
