Super Sidekick: The Musical

Adorable. This show is freakin adorable. I wish my son were a little older so that I could have taken him along for the ride. The performances are heartfelt and just the right amount of over-the-top. The songs are fun and performed with vigor. The story telling is clever and funny. Most importantly, the kids in the audience had a great time (and so did the adults, lets face it). If you want to just smile like a kid again, or better yet, you have a kid, go see this show. ... full review

Super Sidekick: The Musical. This review first appeared on ArtsBeatLA.com Review by Pauline Adamek. Featuring superhero action and mischievous ninja koalas (!) Gregory Crafts’ kids musical play Super Sidekick: The Musical (with original music by Michael Gordon Shapiro) is a lot of gentle fun. The heart-warming show follows a heroic duo BlackJack (an uncharismatic and under-rehearsed Noah Butler) and his teen sidekick and wanna-be hero Inky (Scott Sharma) as they hunt down the dastardly Sorcerer Slurm (Shawn Cahill) to the Cave of Doom in order to rescue the teenaged Princess. The much put-upon Inky finds he has to take charge after the bumbling, irritable and conceited BlackJack also gets trapped in Slurm’s lair. Shapiro... full review

Gregory Crafts’ story contains the perfunctory lessons about believing in yourself and overcoming your fears, and Michael Gordon Shapiro’s music is light and simple enough to keep the kids engaged. There are even some sweetly comic moments that work very well, especially when the actors speak directly to the children in the audience. Unfortunately Super Sidekick quickly loses its charm due to Jenn Scuderi’s overly-melodramatic direction and under-rehearsed actors. Dance steps are haphazard and scenes at times played out in the shadows by a hesitant cast not always able to find their light (one of the challenges of fringe shows that jump into a space without much prep time). Some manage better than others with the material but for the most... full review