MAGNA — Between the Lines is a musical based on the YA novel by Jodi Piccoult and her daughter Samantha Van Leer. With music and lyrics by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson, and a book by Timothy Allen McDonald, the show premiered in Kansas in 2017, and off-Broadway in 2022 after having been delayed because of Covid-19. I went into this show put on at The Empress Theatre in Magna, Utah, knowing only what I could learn from the internet, having never seen a production. I did not expect to be as charmed as I was. There were several elements that left me impressed with how The Empress has chosen to bring this story to life.
For those who have not been to the Empress, it is a small playhouse that has been on Magna’s main street for over 100 years. The way the stage is set up is slightly awkward, with seating on each side. This presents staging challenges. I enjoyed seeing how director Austin Kimball worked through these challenges. The story is about a 17-year-old girl, Delilah, played by Ashley Bates, whose life has not gone the way she wants it to. Her main method of escape is getting lost in a book. The set by Kystle Ricks has been made to reflect that. Book pages have been glued all over the back of the walls, and books have been placed all over the scenes. When a place like the Empress has limited funding, having a set like this is fantastic. It does not have to have much movement, because the books themselves tell us what we need to know. There are two specific bookshelves that act like doors, and on the back of the doors are specific pages that are important to the story, where characters appear. It was these simple choices that made the set perfect to me.
The Empress Theatre’s production of “In Between the Lines” ends March 15.
Throughout the story, the lines of fantasy and reality are blurred. Delilah starts to befriend a character in a children’s book, Oliver, played by Alex Parkin, who wants more than anything, to get out of the pages of his book. It should also be noted that each of the players except for Delilah play characters both in reality and in the fictional world. The costumes, designed by Bryn Lorenc and Beck Skeen, did an amazing job of bridging both of these worlds, and showing just how different reality and fantasy can be. There was also one really stunning moment of lighting design, by David Brunner and Celeste Reese, right before the end of act one, that mimicked an act of falling, that showed how strong efforts can be made even with smaller theatres that have minimal technology.
Each of the players in this show had several moments in which to shine. As the librarian Ms. Minx, Katelyn Johnson sang a song entitled “Me and Mr. Darcy” that was such a fun and well acted out romp. It made me really wish for more songs like this where actresses who are not in the age range of 17-25 can get a really meaty, humorous piece with fantastic vocals. Johnson took full advantage of the chance, and the audience was better for it.
The humor in the show was played well by everyone in the ensemble. In the number “Inner Thoughts” the character Ryan, played by Connor Alldredge had a part that he played with such expert comedic timing that I heard my laugh echo across the auditorium. That entire song was so well done, from the choreography by Krista Widdison to the ensemble’s vocals led by music director Kimberly Teitter. Since the entire audience is so close to the action of the show, it is hard to let a mistake slide by, but the entire cast was having a great time and doing a great job telling the story.
With stories about young romance, I am usually looking for chemistry between the two main players. This was certainly there with Parkin and Bates, who were both charming and skilled in their roles. However, the chemistry and connection that I really enjoyed was between Bates as Delilah and Lisa Shortridge as Grace, Delilah’s mother. Perhaps I am getting soft in my old age, but as a mom, seeing how Bates and Shortridge went through the ups and downs of a mother-daughter relationship during losses and hard times was heartwarming. The story was a good look at how we all want to escape reality for a while into a good story. In the end, perhaps what we really need to do is connect to those who love us and write our own stories. The relationship that Bates and Shortridge built on stage helped to tell that.
