And then, just a few weeks after I discovered this story, I received an invitation to the opening of this new musical, Perfect World<\/em>, which is based on Follett\u2019s life! What a fortuitous turn of events!<\/p>\n I could not imagine how the writers were going to tell this true bit of history in a play<\/em>, let alone a musical<\/em>. But the way it\u2019s done\u2014by alternating between young Barb, grown-up Barbara, and the aftermath of her disappearance\u2014seems to work. I think that audiences just have to be aware of the order of events going in or they could possibly be a tad lost during this presentation. (It will also help to know that when Barb and her pal are repeatedly using words we don\u2019t know, they\u2019re all about the adventure book she\u2019s writing.)<\/p>\n By the way, I\u2019ve done only a scintilla<\/em> of the research that librettist Alan Edmunds has done on Barbara Follett\u2014he<\/em> researched her for a decade and a half! So this show filled in many blanks for me. (But I still can\u2019t stop reading up on her! Like I said, I\u2019m fascinated.)<\/p>\n (L-R) Dia Day, Charley Rowan McCain, Catherine Last, Erika Schindele, and Michael Deni. Photo by Jim Cox, as is the one at the top of this review.<\/p><\/div>\n Perfect World<\/em> begins with Follett\u2019s disappearance. The scenes then go back and forth through the years from there. Because of those time jumps, I feel that they really need to age the appearance of the mother and father a bit when they\u2019re in scenes as the parents of a twenty-five-year-old as opposed to of an eight-year-old, to make the action easier to follow. But I don’t have any suggestions of how to do that because there\u2019s not enough time between scenes to apply, dissolve, and reapply older or younger make-up, (except to maybe wear those toy glasses with fake moustaches attached! Even for the mom.) The way it is now, the \u2019rents look the same age from the time the girl is a second-grader to being a young woman in her twenties. (Who do they think they are\u2014me<\/em>?!)<\/p>\n I have a feeling that the creative powers took a bit of poetic license with the script, (doesn\u2019t every<\/em> entertainment?,) but they perhaps had<\/em> to because not enough biographical material may exist, (although Follett\u2019s second book was an account of a 1927 ship journey she took.) For example, this musical shows Barbara and her husband living in Manhattan even though recorded accounts of her life say that they had settled in Brookline, Massachusetts. But that\u2019s really no biggie because it doesn\u2019t affect the plot. (I\u2019m just a stickler for historical accuracy.)<\/p>\n Michael Wells and Gabbie Adner. Photo by Jim Cox.<\/p><\/div>\n Perfect World<\/em> has assembled a really good cast. Gabbie Adner, as grown-up Barbara, is a powerhouse singer. And I\u2019m proud to say that my two other favorite voices belong to guys who are Mr. X and my fellow UCLA Theatre peeps. Michael Wells, in the role of Anderson, Barbara\u2019s shipboard romance, has a lovely and beautiful voice. And Michael Deni, who plays the father, has the most charming moment of the production in his father-daughter dance number with Charley Rowan McCain, (who actually looks sort-of like the real girl,) as young Barbara.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a bit more dancing along the way, which you know I always love. After the trio of young girls tap-danced, my friend Roz declared, \u201cAdorable.\u201d<\/p>\n My favorite aspect of the entire presentation is the visuals. The set by Stephen Gifford is truly stunning. I could live in it! And I appreciated that they staged some of the action on a higher<\/em> level because from many of the seats in that smaller theatre in the El Portal, due to the heads in from of you, all<\/em> of the floor can\u2019t be seen. So having some of the action on balconies helps break up the semi-obstructed view.<\/p>\n I went especially nuts over Brian Gale\u2019s stunning projections! Especially the one of my precious Brooklyn Bridge. But they are all<\/em> perfect.\u00a0And made me even forget the size of the venue.<\/p>\n The set before the show began. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I also applaud the costume designer, Jennie Lynn Deck, who did a lot of the heavy lifting on this show. The characters keep changing back-and-forth between the girl\u2019s ages and locations, and the parents\u2019 attire has to go from 1922-1939, (which is akin to imagining what we<\/em> wore seventeen years ago,) so Jennie did a great job, especially with the time period.<\/p>\n As far as the songs go, none of them got to me, but I absolutely adored the music that played in-between the scenes.<\/p>\n I appreciate details that make people realize how hard writing is. (And for little to no money, I might add.) In one scene, young Barbara loses her entire final manuscript in a fire. I semi-understand how horrible that was for her. On my<\/em>\u00a0very first writing job, I had just finished a super long column about all my experiences on a recent two-week trip to New York. After working on it for several days, I was finally done at two or three in the morning, but then pressed something on the computer, (I still have no idea what<\/em>,) and lost the entire thing!!! Even Mr. X couldn’t save it. But, instead of crying, (except on the inside<\/em>,) I just sat right down and started writing it all over. But I doubt the second one was as good as the original. And it took soooo many more hours. Barbara Follett\u2019s loss was a zillion times worse, of course. I\u2019m glad this soul-shattering episode was included in Perfect World<\/em> so audiences can realize some of what writers go through.<\/p>\n Charley Rowan McCain and Dia Day. Photo by Jim Cox.<\/p><\/div>\n On the happier side, (very<\/em> happy,) it was fun to realize that her little best friend is imaginary! It reminded me of my<\/em> imaginary besties, the brother and sister duo of Peter and Diane Kosher. But I<\/em> didn’t sing and dance with them\u2014we just did financial planning. (I’m not ashamed to admit to my time with the Koshers. And I have to tell you the really interesting thing is that I had big<\/em> Peter and Diane, and little<\/em> Peter and Diane. I rang little Peter and Diane every night from my beloved red phone in my room, which was not<\/em> imaginary but definitely a toy<\/em>, and I had important meetings in the bathroom with big Peter and Diane and\u2026my father\u2019s checkbook! I still<\/em> barely know how to write a check, so I guess the Koshers didn’t help me that much.)\u00a0And no\u2014my family was not<\/em> kosher, so I have no idea whence came that moniker!<\/p>\n The only real downside of Perfect World<\/em> is that, at a bit over two and a half hours, it\u2019s waaay too long. And more than a tad repetitive. A lot of it can easily be cut, especially some of the kids’ numbers. There are so many songs for a young girl! The second half of the show is better than the first because it\u2019s the grown-ups\u2019 turn to sing and dance.<\/p>\n Michael Wells and Gabbie Adner. Photo by Jim Cox.<\/p><\/div>\n I do have to warn you that Barbara Follett\u2019s disappearance is never resolved, so there\u2019s no real or satisfying ending to this musical. The accepted thinking through the decades is that she walked out her door with just thirty dollars, and disappeared. But my<\/em> detective mind wants to know if anyone actually saw<\/em> her leave, and just who ascertained how much money she had. I personally think her husband murdered her. And got away with it because it happened over five decades before Dateline<\/em> came on the scene!<\/p>\n I can\u2019t end this review without one nod to the theatre itself. The El Portal means a lot to me because\u2026that’s where I met not only Jennifer Hudson, but much much much more importantly, a young, undiscovered\u00a0Adam Lambert<\/em>!!! After that first meeting, (where I told him his singing is a religious experience, and he and his friend giggled and said they loved that,) we\u2019ve bumped into each other very many times since then.\u00a0So, I always thank this venue for that fabulous introduction.<\/p>\n Getting back to Perfect World<\/em>, this is an extremely<\/em>\u00a0limited engagement, so if your appetite is now whetted for this brand new musical, you have just this weekend left to see it!<\/p>\n Perfect World<\/em> running through November 9, 2025<\/strong> PERFECT WORLD Just about a month or two ago, I became fascinated with the real-life tale of Barbara Newhall Follett, who had become a published novelist in the 1920s, at the age of fourteen. That part of her life was intriguing enough, but the kicker is that she disappeared in 1939 at just twenty-five-years-old! And<\/p>\n![\"(L-R)](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TOM_5315-2-e1762376480469.jpg\")
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\n El Portal Theatre\u2014Monroe Forum<\/strong>
\n 5269 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood<\/strong>
\n 818-508-4200 www.elportaltheatre.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"