Review of NCT’s ‘Caucus! The Musical’

The Newton Community Theatre players will be bringing the Iowa Caucuses to life in “Caucus! The Musical” by Robert John Ford. The show opened to standing ovations last weekend and will finish its run Friday and Saturday. All show times will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Newton Community Theatre.

The play is being directed by NCT favorites John Dougan and Rachel Faidley. John Dougan is directing the stage craft while Rachel Faidley is directing all the vocal and instrumental ensembles. The instrumentalists sound fantastic and the musical numbers are real highlights in the show. They have chosen an exceptional and seasoned cast and directed them to perfectly illustrate the highs and lows and everything in between for this motley crew of politicians and surrogates that descend upon an average unsuspecting Iowa family.

The family home of Eldon Wise (Shawn Pavlik) is invaded by the unsavory characters that seem to step right out of our television sets. Eldon’s wife Kate Wise (Kristine Perkins) does everything she can to make sure her children Justin Wise (Chase Kolpin) and Kristin Wise (Cheyenne Schaeffer) our shielded from the more scurrilous words and deeds of this group and the children remain open minded to all candidates (especially the female one). Judy Richmond plays the lovable tech savvy Grandma who has a few eccentricities and a twitter handle. This family, who agrees on absolutely everything, is asked by filmmaker Tara Morris (Jenelle Gideon) to be on a weekly pod cast reality show that follows the family member’s search for their favorite candidate.

As this crazy campaign hits town, Eldon seeks advice from two of his trusted friends. Mavis McCormick (Julie Goodman) who delivers perfectly timed hilarious one liners and a little bit of down home philosophy to Eldon while she runs the local café. He perpetual customer, Marlon Taylor (Steve Barnett) is a hippy hold out from the 1960s who has single handedly kept the counter culture alive in Iowa for decades. Eldon uses them as sounding boards for his worries and they try to help him out with how to handle things. Mavis and Marlon will make you laugh out loud, but you might learn a thing or two behind the laughter.

The candidates are drawn to this family and their internet celebrity like moths to the flame. This cast does such a fantastic job of making these crazy characters seem very close to the real thing! Senator Nathaniel Wright (Arvin Van Zante), Dr. Ezekiel Day (Zach Bey), and Congressman Victor Neumann (Terry Faidley) are so well acted that you have no trouble believing any one of these guys could be running for office. This trio is great at delivering “cringe worthy” line after “cringe worthy” line while poking fun at the kind of candidates that parade across Iowa every four years.

Ambassador Eleanor Jefferson (Carolyn Warrick) brings to life a character that is driven by and obsessed with her place in history. She wants this and she wants it now. Even though she projects motherly love, you do not want to get in her way, ever! Ronald Blunt (Scott Schaefer) will not be a character you have to contemplate about who is being satired in this production. As he is acted here, you will have no trouble finding this character objectionable on many fronts. Scott Schaefer makes us dislike him from start to finish as he pushes the bounds of the PG-13 rating every chance he gets.

The candidates delivered laughs to the audience and plenty of awkward offensive jabs at each other every time they were in a scene. They all have an equally over the top campaign manager played by Amy McGhghy, Julie Bey, Meghan Glennon, Mel Wilson and Robin Stoner. These ladies have their collective work cut out for them trying to keep their candidates in line, on message and out of trouble. That is no easy task. The scenes between the candidates and their managers are funny and each one brings some real fun to the production. These managers are trying to do the impossible and we find ourselves pulling for them to get their candidate together. Try as they might, their best laid plans fall apart.

The cast is rounded out by a fine ensemble (Micah Cope, Janet Wiand, Mike McKenna) and a some great appearances by FIXT news anchors and reporters Conor Fudge, Sandy Olsthoorn and Rod Zuidema. Each delivers more laughs than news! The audience will find themselves looking forward to the breaking news segments as they are good for laughs each and every time the “talking heads” and “on the scene” reporters take the stage.

Make plans to catch this fun show for the second half of its run this weekend. NCT has done the impossible ... they have made presidential politics fun again. Enjoy the show.