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<\/a>(L-R) Jordyn Campanella, Jeremy Lucas, Kara Marie, and JD Morabito. Photo by Hann Crews.<\/p><\/div>\n
Once Upon a One More Time<\/em> features a big cast, colorful costumes, and lots of good, energetic dancing. Marc says the musical is \u201clight-hearted, fun, and entertaining.\u201d And a \u201cgreat distraction from what\u2019s going on in the world nowadays.\u201d He added that it\u2019s a \u201cvery cheerful show,\u201d and declares that he was \u201centertained from beginning to end.\u201d<\/p>\n I<\/em> can\u2019t be as complimentary of this very ambitious production as he<\/em> is, but I got more into the music and dancing as it went on. The story, not so much.<\/p>\n My main issue is with the really awful script, which is by no means the fault of Jaxx Theatricals\u2014the show was on Broadway in 2023. (But it lasted there only two and a half months, which tells us that it\u2019s just not that good a tale.) It seems to me that the playwright was trying to make it be a mash-up of & Juliet <\/em>and Into The Woods<\/em>. But it doesn\u2019t come close to either. It’s a really confusing story to begin with, and once real-life feminist author Betty Friedan\u2019s name was thrown in, they lost me. Even my 147IQ couldn\u2019t decipher much of this one. (But the narrative does bring up the conundrum of encouraging our children to discover the magical world of fairy tales while still telling them that those \u201chappily ever after\u201d scenarios don\u2019t necessarily fly in today\u2019s world. As a former elementary school teacher, the whole topic of how to solve that dilemma makes my head spin.)<\/p>\n Photo by Hann Crews.<\/p><\/div>\n The synopsis is something about fairytale princesses, led by Cinderella, becoming feminists and eschewing their previous visions of what \u201chappy ever after\u201d means to them. (Whew\u2014I honestly did not think I could boil this complicated plot down to one sentence!) Maybe I didn\u2019t quite get it because, as a princess myself, I\u2019ve had my happily ever after with Mr. X for a long time now, so I totally believe in real-life fairytales. (By the way, the sign on the back of the stage, and all the dialogue, says \u201chappy<\/em> ever after,\u201d when it should be \u201chappily<\/em> ever after.\u201d It even irked Marc, who usually doesn\u2019t care about such things!)<\/p>\n Again, none of the writing of the book of the musical has anything to do with this<\/em> company. And even with the bad script, it was an excellent decision to bring a recent-but-obscure musical to us Angelenos. I give the producers major props for that choice.<\/p>\n My only other negative is that this rendition of the musical doesn\u2019t feature\u2014how shall I put it\u2014the strongest singers. As we all know, (even just from karaoke sessions,) LA is populated with many of the best undiscovered-as-yet voices, so I was a tad surprised by some of these producers\u2019 choices in that category. But I later found-out that Jaxx Theatricals is a theatre company<\/em>, so, as all<\/em> companies do, they basically cast shows from mainly their own group, with auditions for just a few roles. But everyone in it can dance<\/em>, and they at least give it their all in the singing<\/em> category, as well.<\/p>\n Kara Marie as Cinderella, front and center. Photo by Hann Crews.<\/p><\/div>\n However, the sound is made worse by the use of headset microphones in such a small space. I believe that the theatre has just fifty seats, (configured in two rows on three sides,) so I feel that actors should be able to project to that space with their own vocal power; they don’t need mics when the audience is so close-up. (The show\u2019s really nice director told me that mikes are actually necessary. He knows the space better than I do, so I bow to his opinion, but my feeling is that if even big theatre performers didn\u2019t use them for hundreds of years, today\u2019s actors should learn how to project.)<\/p>\n Still, the music makes the show. And the timing of this Jaxx production could not be better, with poor, maligned Britney being all over the news again because her evil ex\u2019s vitriolic “memoir” just came out three days before this show\u2019s opening! I wasn’t familiar with at least half the songs, but it was really fun to hear the famous<\/em> ones that I’m sure everyone<\/em> knows, such as Baby One More Time<\/em>, Oops!… I Did It Again<\/em>, Womanizer<\/em>, and Toxic<\/em>. For me, Circus<\/em> was, surprisingly, the best number.<\/p>\n (L-R) Rachel Logan, Emilia Vial, and Eva Haimovich. Photo by Hann Crews.<\/p><\/div>\n I, of course, have some thoughts on the cast<\/em>, as well. Rachel Logan, who plays the \u201cLittle Mermaid,\u201d is the funniest of the girls, even though she\u2019s the only one who doesn’t talk! (She exchanged her voice for a chance of love with the Prince, of course! Or something like that, depending on whose tale of her\u2014Hans Christian Anderson or Disney\u2014you choose to accept.)\u00a0 Emilia Vial\u2019s \u201cSnow White\u201d grew on me as the show went on. (I\u2019m glad to see that she\u2019s my fellow UCLA theatre girl.) Jeremy Lucas, who plays a dwarf named \u201cClumsy,\u201d is the best dancer, and the most amusing actor.\u00a0 Jill Marie Burke, as the Stepmother, (who sings Toxic<\/em>,) is the seasoned pro of the group.<\/p>\n And I feel that Kara Marie, who plays the lead role of Cinderella, will work a lot in the future. She has an interesting look, easy confidence, and let me tell you\u2014as a shallow and jealous chick, I can admit she has a bangin\u2019 bod! (There was a really good-looking and hip guy in the audience, who I suspect might be her bae\u2014I wish I had hung-out after the show to find-out if I\u2019m right, because they would make a perfect couple! If not, I<\/em> saw him first!)<\/p>\n Just some of the framed Playbills in Jaxx’s lobby! Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the one of the set at the top of this review.<\/p><\/div>\n Despite me not loving Once Upon a One More Time<\/em>, this is the Los Angeles Premiere of the musical, so I suggest that fans of Britney songs or jukebox musicals or Broadway shows, in general, should see it now, while we\u2019re lucky enough to have this opportunity.<\/p>\n I also say that all SoCal theatre lovers should visit this interesting theater. The guys whose company this is, Jeremy Lucas and JD Morabito, (who lovingly named it after one of their dogs,) obviously adore Broadway shows, which I really appreciate. And they\u2019re sharing that love with all of us. In my book, two young(ish) guys having the energy and foresight to create all of this is pretty impressive.<\/p>\n Once Upon a One More Time<\/em> running through November 1, 2025<\/strong> ONCE UPON A ONE MORE TIME This weekend, I had a blast at the opening of the cleverly-monikered musical, Once Upon a One More Time. It\u2019s playing at a theatre that was entirely new to me, the Jaxx, which is way up in Hollywood. First of all, the show is a jukebox musical featuring all<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Jaxx Theatre<\/strong>
\n 5432 Santa Monica Blvd, LA<\/strong>
\n 609-323-5299<\/strong>
\n www.Showclix.com\/Event\/Jaxx-Britney<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"