**** Recommended Canterbury Summer Theatre’s third production of the season, Calvin Berger, is about four high school students at the beginning of their senior year – all hormones and angst. The very first song of the show, Security Meltdown, expresses a lot of that angst. Playwright John Berst has cleverly merged high school crushes/dating into the Cyrano de Bergerac story. I really enjoyed it. 4 Spotlights
Calvin (Dean Morgan) is kind of a nerd. He doesn’t have a lot of social skills and he’s very self-conscious because of his big nose and glasses. He has a huge crush on Rosanna (Sydney Morefield}, a really cute girl.
Bret (Adina Lockwood) is Calvin’s best buddy, but she’d really like him to notice her as a girl. She knows him so well she can call him out when he does something dumb.
Adina Lockwood as Bret & Dean Morgan as Calvin in Calvin Berger. Photo provided.
Matt (Garrett Montgomery) is really nervous because it’s his first day at this school and he doesn’t know anyone. He’s so nervous that when he meets Rosanna he can’t even talk to her.
Calvin screws up enough courage to ask Rosanna on a date, but when he starts to ask, she tells him that she kind of likes Matt, and asks him to tell Matt. Matt confesses his inability to talk when he’s near Rosanna, so Calvin coaches him on what to say.
The Canterbury production of Calvin Berger was directed by John Berst, who also acted as music director, with choreography by Jordan Holmes. Barry Wyner wrote the book, lyrics and music for Calvin Berger which he loosely based on Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac. It premiered at Gloucester Stage Company in Massachusetts in 2016, and has had limited success since then, although I don’t understand why not.
Dean Morgan as Calvin with Mr. Potato Head in Calvin Berger. Photo provided.
Calvin Berger ran through Saturday, July 18th at Canterbury Summer Theatre, 807 Franklin Street, Michigan City. Street parking is available and free. Running time is approximately 1 hour, 50 minutes, with an intermission.
Performances: Wednesdays & Thursdays at 2:00 pm, Fridays & Saturdays at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $22, $20 for seniors, $11 for students and military. FYI (219) 874-4269 or e-mail info@canterburytheatre.org
Next up at Canterbury, The Taffetas, opening July 22nd.