First StageChildren’s Theater opened the stage musical version of Judith Viorst’s 1972award-winning book last weekend. And for all its brevity (70 minutes includinga 15-minute intermission), Alexander andthe Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day ends up being a very good,very fine, entertaining production indeed.
Nothing goes rightfor Alexander from the moment he wakes up. His brothers Nick and Anthony teasehim endlessly, kids (and even the teacher) pick on him at school and his bestfriend downgrades him to No. 3. To make matters worse, he’s the only one in hisfamily with a cavity. Viorst (who named Alexander and his two brothers afterher own three sons) wrote the lyrics and Shelly Markham composed the musicalscore. The tunes engage throughout, from the high-energy “If I Were in Chargeof the World” (“A chocolate sundae would be a vegetable”) to the charmingfinale, “The Sweetest of Nights and the Finest of Days.”
Todd Denning’squick-change artistry is fun to watch as he moves from Dad to dentist tosmooth-talking shoe salesman. Melinda Pfundstein hits all the right notes,literally and figuratively, as the patient, loving Mom and frustrated teacher.And at Saturday night’s performance, First Stage’s Koala cast of youngperformers were as confident and exuberant a group as ever, with Jacob Bern (asixth-grader at Bayside Middle School) leading the pack as the forlornAlexander, maintaining a natural yet sure-footed stage presence.
When Alexander saysfor the umpteenth time that he’s having “a terrible, horrible, no good, verybad day,” a tiny voice in the audience responded with “me, too” amid roars oflaughter.
“Some days are justlike that,” Alexander says at the end of his very bad day. Thanks to thisproduction, “the kids, big and little alike,” know just what he means.
First Stage’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, NoGood, Very Bad Day runs through May 9.
