Kitsap Sun Preview, May 24, 2016; By Michael C. Moore
Craig Schieber's last experience with "The Music Man" at the Kitsap Forest Theater was 15 years ago. He said the version he's directing there now won't bear much of a resemblance.
"Sixteen years ago, I don't think I had an appreciation for this show," said Schieber, who's directed at least one of the Mountaineers Players' two annual productions at the Forest Theatre since 2000. "When we did it then, we had most of the stage covered in boardwalk, big buildings, and the big house up on the mound."
But Schieber has learned a lot in his years putting on shows in the idyllic amphitheater, carved out of old-growth forest in the early 1920s and active as a performance venue ever since. For this year's "Music Man," he's gone two-dimensional.
"We really had fun with this one," he said. "We've got some furniture, some chairs, and we've got a piano. Pretty much everything else is two-dimensional flats.
"This is a real change" from the 2001 production, he said.
Schieber said he and set designer Chris Stanley originally had talked about doing pretty much the same set up as they had done in 2001. In recent years, though, Schieber has had good success with a more fluid style of storytelling, eschewing stationary pieces for flats carried by ensemble cast members, still getting the job done visually but giving him the option of moving the entire "set" on and off in a few seconds.
"We were walking around the stage area, and we both just decided, 'Nah, we don't want to do what we did before. We're older and wiser."
.jpg "Love brings Marian Paroo (Beavan Walters) and Harold Hill (Jason Gingold) together in \"The Music Man.\"")
"The Music Man," Meredith Willson's classic tale (and his only significant hit) about a flimflam man who transforms and is transformed by a backwater Iowa town and its naive inhabitants, actually lends itself pretty well to the Forest Theater's al fresco aesthetic. Most of the production numbers already take place in the out-of-doors, and those that don't are easily representable with Schieber's portable-set strategy.
"We're using some two-sided flats that'll take you right inside a building," Schieber said. "For the library, we have one side that's the outside, and then we just flip them around and it's the inside."
The library, for those not already in the know about what transpires in "The Music Man," is ground zero, where the mysterious Harold Hill, in town to sell the idea of a boys' band, and the staid librarian Marian Paroo each meet their match.
"The Music Man" debuted on Broadway in 1957, but it has endured on the strength of its tremendous story and even better songs: "Goodnight, My Someone," "Seventy-Six Trombones," "My White Knight," "The Wells Fargo Wagon, "Till There Was You," and several et ceteras. It didn't win five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, for not being any good. But its music, and its outlook, are as refreshing now as it was nearly six decades ago.
"I'm playing a little bit with that whole veneer that we all have in society, and that is so much a part of this show," Schieber said. "What's interesting is what the characters are dealing with right underneath that veneer, the layers each of us has, that kind of yin-and-yang of life."
Jason Gingold, who went green to play the title character in last summer's "Shrek," will be the Mountaineers' Harold Hill, with Beavan Walters — a Mountaineers regular who starred as Maria in 2010's "The Sound of Music" and worked alongside Gingold in 2014's "Honk!" — cast as Marian. Both also have children joining them in the mammoth (more than 50) cast, an example of what Schieber said was his favorite thing about the 2016 version of "The Music Man."
"The whole idea of 'The Music Man' is community," he said, "and I think it's really great the number of families we have in our cast. I can't think of a year when we've had more, and cast members as young as a 5-year-old and a grandma.
Beaven Walters is delighted to be returning to the Kitsap Forest Theater stage after a brief break after the birth of her fourth child. She got her start at KFT six years ago when she played the role of Maria in The Sound of Music and was joined by her oldest daughter, Sophie, who played the youngest Von Trapp, Gretl. .jpg "Beaven and Sophie in Sound of Music 2010")
Since then, Beaven (4 shows), Sophie (6 shows), her son Scooter (4 shows), and even her husband, Mark (1 show), have appeared in six shows at KFT. Beaven also appeared as Cinderella in Into the Woods and Ida in Honk! (which she performed well into her third trimester of pregnancy.) .jpg "Beaven as Cinderella in Into the Woods, 2011")
"Enter Harold Hill, the least obvious choice for a romantic interest for Marian, but that is also what makes the pairing so interesting. Almost from the start, there is an undeniable chemistry between the two characters that opens up a range of feelings for Marian and forces a struggle between her intellect and her heart. At first, Marian sees Harold for what he is - a charismatic and smooth talking con artist. Then, at the end of Act 1 when Harold produces the promised instruments, including Winthrop’s cornet, Marian sees how Harold’s impact on the town, especially on her little brother, has done nothing but improve the lives of everyone Harold has come into contact with. This is a pivotal turning point for Marian as she starts to look at Harold in a new light." .jpg "Sophie as Annie and Mark Walters in Annie 2014")
"In Act 2, Marian continues to see the goodness and kindness below Harold’s facade, which brings down her walls and ultimately leads to her transformation. .jpg "Beaven, Sophie & Scooter in Honk!, 2014")
Her love for Harold, despite knowing the truth about him, brings about his own metamorphosis and he is willing to lose everything for this new found love. Love triumphs in this feel good musical where the townspeople and even the audience are all left a little transformed and perhaps even a bit less cynical as a result." 
Michael C. Moore's review in the Kitsap Sun. (Photos by Alfonso Barrera)
And the setting. Well. It's all the same trees that were there last time you went, but you never get tired of them — especially when they're providing shade, as they were on Aug. 2, and not shelter from the harsher elements.
The little ones were gone by intermission — not physically, but intellectually. There's more movement in the galleries than there is on the stage.
A personal highlight is the early-Act 2 gross-out battle between Shrek and Fiona, "I Thinks I Got You Beat," a totally charming sequence where the two gradually warm to each other, with the bonus (at least for the sophomoric, like myself) of perhaps the best fart-and-burp sound effects ever to grace the old amphitheater.
Both of Fiona's younger incarnations — Maria Pledger and Anna Vizzare — also do strong vocal work in brief appearances during "I Know It's Today."
SEABECK — The bi-polar summer of Meagan Castillo continues.
Adam Othman (Lord Farquaad) is thrilled to be spending his summer at the Kitsap Forest Theater playing the cantankerous villain in Shrek the Musical. A native Seattleite, Adam has worked as an actor and director with many theater companies throughout the Northwest for over 25 years. He currently teaches and directs the theater and filmmaking programs at Seattle Preparatory School.
Adam was first introduced to the Kitsap Forest Theater 28 years ago when his high school choir teacher, Robert Cooper, was music directing an original production of Robin Hood, The Musical. He convinced Adam and some of his classmates to come and audition and for this young budding actor it was an opportunity and experience of a lifetime. Recent KFT productions include playing the Narrator/Mysterious Man in Into the Woods (2011) and last season he was asked to bring his talents to direct Honk (2014). Honk held a special place in Adam’s heart not only for the timeless message and wonderful songs by George Stiles and Anthony Drew, but also the continuation of the “Circle of Life” as three of his current high school students from Seattle Prep auditioned and were cast in the roles of Ugly and the Bullfrog Twins.
“Acting, for me, is more than just a craft and the ability to share my talents, it is the connections that make theater come to life. The connections with my fellow actors, the artistic team, the audience, and, especially here at Kitsap, the connection of performing at this picturesque outdoor theater.”
“The Kitsap Forest Theater is unique as it brings together actors (young and old), generations of families, volunteers and artists … all who have one purpose: to create vibrant theater. Shrek is a unique show with loveable, yet quirky, characters, fun music and a timeless story of acceptance. I love the message of this show: being true to oneself no matter what others may think. This message really comes through during the Act 2 song, “Freak Flag”, and although my character is not onstage performing during this number, I am dancing and singing it in the wings. And remember, don’t judge a man by his SHORTcomings!”