Bugsy Malone entertains and delights

A period piece from an earlier century can be a good learning experience for students. With the musical “Bugsy Malone,” Odessa students got a taste of the “flapper era” in American social history. They appeared to embrace it.

Unfortunately, the music seemed a bit complex and out of the range of many of the vocalists. However, the acting was a notch above what one would expect of this age group. From first-graders to high-schoolers, the performers all did a great job of expressing themselves, rather than simply creating a static tableau.

David Eldridge, a home-schooled student, had the lead part of Bugsy and did a fine job with all of the diaglogue he had to memorize. His “mobster” accent was also very good. Jacob DeWulf and Trevor King had the other two leading male roles, and Molly Schafer, Marlee Eldridge and Katie DeWulf had the three leading female roles.

The costuming was wonderful. All of those really short, elementary-aged mobsters in their suits and fedoras were delightful. Since girls outnumbered boys in the cast, several girls had to play the parts of rival mobsters. When asked how they liked dressing up as guys, several of them said the outfits were “way too hot.” Under the floodlights, they were likely sweating due to the heat and not just to nervousness.

Maybe it was just our particular spot in the auditorium, but some of the dialogue was hard to understand. Initially the sound system appeared to be ready to output some loud feedback. When ramped back to prevent that, however, some of the diaglogue got lost as well.

We have to say that one of the more memorable scenes involved Maddie Scrupps playing a very bossy theatrical director who came down off the stage and ordered the production’s actual director Ellen Holman to vacate her seat so that the new director could take over. It was done with such aplomb and self-confidence that it was totally believable.

All of the actors provided such fine touches that it is hard to single any out, although all of the lead characters did an excellent job. Although the subject matter tried to deal rather delicately with an indelicate subject, namely murder, the play’s use of “Silly String” coming our of the characters’ weapons to paralyze people was of good comedic effect.