TOOELE — I had the privilege of reviewing Tooele Valley Theatre’s summer youth production a couple of summers ago, and tonight I was excited to be back to review this year’s youth production of Crash Landing by local playwright and composer Kyle Lawrence. Crash Landing is a short and sweet 30-minute musical about the adventures that ensue when a spaceship crashes on a farm full of animals.
One struggle that youth experienced performers often have is projecting their voices—especially in an outdoor space where microphones aren’t used. I was very impressed with this young cast, as I could hear and understand the majority of their lines and songs. Narrator One, played by Lauryn Ray, was especially good at being loud and clear in both her lines and solos. It’s evident that director Raine Eldredge worked hard to make sure each line written by Kyle Lawrence wouldn’t be missed.
Another aspect of the production that showed clear effort was the choreography. There were moments, such as during “Nova’s Little Adventure,” where I would have liked to see more choreography to help keep the pace of the show moving along. Still, I appreciated that the choreography was well-suited to the abilities of the performers and was executed cleanly.
I would have liked to see more from Eldredge’s direction in key scenes. The opening crash landing sequence needed more purposeful action from the animals. Everyone was running around the stage, but it was unclear why. I don’t mean that the characters themselves were confused by the experience—rather, it seemed the actors didn’t fully understand their motivations in the scene. This didn’t feel like a reflection on the young performers’ capabilities; rather, it felt like they were following general direction without enough character grounding. I also wanted more energy and animation from the animals during “What On Earth?!” as they each told their story. Once again, this felt like a moment where the director could have helped elevate the scene. Additionally, when the animals were supposed to be watching the spaceship approach, the performers were looking in many different directions, which weakened the visual storytelling.
The set, designed by Nathan Stuart and Winter Craner, was a repainted version of the Romeo and Juliet set from TVT’s earlier summer production. The red and white color scheme was an effective way to evoke a barn-like setting. I found this a clever use of resources, especially for a short production. However, with a two-level set, I kept expecting the cast to make use of both levels. In the end, the set functioned more as a static backdrop than an interactive piece of staging. This felt like a missed opportunity to create more visual variety and dynamic blocking.
The production featured many strong voices among the cast, including Willa Walgamott (Chicken/Ensemble), who had a lovely, strong sound that helped lift the ensemble numbers while still blending well with the group. Brooklee Parry, who played Nova, also did well with her solos. My young daughters attended the performance with me and both commented on how much they loved the Lamb, played by Clementine Bennion. I agreed that she had standout energy and animation.
This young cast did a solid job and should be pleased with their performance. The production is only 30 minutes long and offers a great opportunity for families with young children to experience live theatre in a bite-sized format. The young performers are loud and clear, and I hope they continue showing audiences just how much they love performing each night. If you are a Tooele local, this is a great opportunity to support the youth of Tooele Valley Theatre and experience the work of local playwright Kyle Lawrence
