Shout The Mod Musical

Lincolnshire theater launches reimagined 'Shout!'

“SHOUT! The Mod Musical” didn’t exactly have a felicitous reception the last time it played Chicago in 2008.

This 2006 off-Broadway revue celebrating the girl-power songs and swanky fashions of the 1960s opened at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place (now Broadway Playhouse) to very mixed reviews, and subsequently closed after a shorter-than-expected run of only two months.

Location: Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. (847) 634-0200, marriotttheatre.com

Showtimes: 1 and 8 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 4:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 5 p.m. Sundays.

Running time: About 90 minutes without intermission

Tickets: $40-$48 (tax and handling fees extra); dinner packages available

Parking: Free adjacent lots

Rating: For most audiences

But now “SHOUT!” is back at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire with a shortened title, a largely Equity cast and most importantly, a reconceived staging courtesy of Jeff Award-winning director/choreographer Rachel Rockwell.

Marriott’s “SHOUT!” should definitely fit the bill for audiences wanting nothing more than a top-notch revue to push the right 1960s pop-hit nostalgia buttons.

Rockwell received special permission from licensing house Music Theatre International and original producer Victoria Lang to amplify the Marriott’s “SHOUT!” with new orchestrations and an added octet of high-energy dancers. So instead of just a quintet of sassy women singers to carrying the show as conceived by revue creators Phillip George, David Lowenstein and Peter Charles Morris, “SHOUT!” now bursts forth like a smartly choreographed 1960s TV variety show breaking free from the parameters of the small screen.

Adding the dancers certainly was a masterstroke on Rockwell’s part, since it allows the incredible musical theater singers of Carey Anderson, Brooke Jacob, Tammy Mader, Jessie Mueller and Raena White to each focus on their pop-inflected vocals without worrying about sounding winded after all the songs’ inevitable dance breaks.

Rockwell’s agile dancers also adeptly aid in illustrating many of the song scenarios, ranging from a comical schoolgirl hot-for-teacher situation in “One, Two, Three,” to a mousy woman’s transformation from “Georgy Girl” to “Wendy” (well-deserved plaudits to the dancing ensemble of Lauren Nicole Blane, Giovanni Bonaventura, Jaclyn Burch, Jarret Ditch, Craig Kaufman, Trisha Kelly, Amber Mak, Sam Rogers and Melissa Zaremba).

'Shout! The Mod Musical' opens at Winter Park Playhouse – Orlando ...

WHAT: “Shout! The Mod Musical” makes its Central Florida premiere at the Winter Park Playhouse Friday night.

Created by Phillip George and David Lowenstein, “Shout! The Mod Musical” follows five young women as they come of age in 1960s London. There’s a bit of a plot — the show bills the story as “mod musings and groovy gab” by Peter Charles Morris and George. But the real attraction is likely to be hearing the well-known music of the time, songs made famous by the likes of Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, LuLu and Shirley Bassey.

Playhouse artistic director Roy Alan saw the show during its off-Broadway run, back in 2006.

“When we saw the original show in New York, we knew we had to do it,” he says. “It took four years to get the rights.” Alan has directed and choreographed the Winter Park Playhouse production.

Starring are a mix of Playhouse vets and newcomers: Heather Alexander, Sarah-Lee Dobbs, Kate Zaloumes, Candace Neal and Natalie Cordone.

In honor of the show’s British theme, Friday’s opening-night reception will feature fish and chips from the Winter Park Fish Co. During the run of “Shout!,” Winter Park Fish Co. will offer patrons 10 percent off their entire lunch or dinner bill with the presentation of a Winter Park Playhouse theater ticket.

MTV Road Trips U.S.A.

The Hollywood reporter

New York

The New Yorker

Chicago