 The
Edinburgh Fringe Festival’s George Square Theatre saw the world
premiere of this new musical ‘For Pete’s Sake!’
Based loosely on Ibsen’s Peer Gynt we observe the life of
Peter (Ron Carlos) a daydreamer and perpetual teller of fables.
Everyone knows of his tendency to turn the truth to suit
his ends. Lisa (Kayla Mason) Peter’s sister can occasionally
turn this round to her benefit but he is the object of ridicule
with all her friends.
The
scene is set just before the senior Prom where John (Ryan Crimmins)
his best friend is set to become Prom King and the woman he
desires Lydia (no name given) Prom Queen, Peter lies to both to
wheedle the crown from John and become Lydia’s partner.
It is then things go from bad to worse and his four desires
step in, Power (Danny Carol), Love (Tatyana du Muns), Fame (Emily
Gildea) and Fortune (Max Edmands).
Helped by the ever-faithful Claire (Jaime Gruber) a
classmate he just takes for granted, he is eventually directed back
on to the right track.
The
performance is full of good musical numbers, clever dance
routines, nice bright costumes and a talented cast. The downsides
are the logistics of such a large cast moving on and off the stage
silently, and the use of a backing track , which
regularly almost drowned out the singer’s voices.
Otherwise
I really enjoyed this show and the New York Conservatory for the
Arts have a very talented troupe of performers.
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