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Review of The Crooked Codpiece Company's 'Soda Pop'
BY SARAH F. SULLIVAN / For the Star City Blog

Often during hard economic times, people can’t help but look back and think of the "good old days." For the next two weekends, The Crooked Codpiece Company would like to give you the chance to look back at the 1950s through an irreverent, hilarious lens as you watch Soda Pop.

All the characters are recognizable, even if you’ve never met them before. There’s Betty and Bobby (Karen Freimund Wills and Patrick Lambrecht), the high school sweethearts and "perfect couple;" tough girl, leather clad Mary (Sarah R. Murtagh); the loveable, but helplessly nerdy Joey (Robie Hayek) and their various assorted friends. And of course, there’s Jimmy (Lee Willet), the no good rebel with a James Dean/Fonzie-like swagger. The fact that all of these actors are in their mid-twenties to mid-forties makes the caricature even more hilarious.

The gang naturally hangs out in a soda shop with the lovable eccentric, Pops (Scott Glen), who tries his very best to shove sugary drinks down the teens’ throats at every turn. The kids drink soda and intermittently break out into song and dance, the girls have sleepovers every day of the week and the boys hang out on street corners just to horse around. This "simpler" time seems as such at the beginning, until Betty turns everything upside down when she falls for the rebellious Jimmy and leaves Bobby brokenhearted.

So what do you do when you’re a swell 1950s kid? You tell your story in song. In this case, the cast masterfully lip-synchs their way through such classics as "Chantilly Lace," "Crazy" and "Sh-Boom." The cast is incredible at lip-synching, but one of the best parts of these sporadic songs is the backup singers. Whenever a dramatic number is sung, friends Joey (Robie Hayek), Tommy (Max Antoine) and Jerry (Tom Crew) shuffle out onstage with their microphone and exuberantly "back up" the soloist, snapping their fingers, keeping time and occasionally gasping for breath as they do so.

The Company has undoubtedly assembled a perfect cast for the show. Soda Pop was put on two years ago to great success and many of the original cast returned for this revival. The chemistry between every cast member is evident and exciting and keeps the audience on their toes as they wait for another hysterical moment.

Lambrecht is charming as the all-around good guy Bobby and Shelly Griess’ Susie and Robie Hayek’s Joey are phenomenal. As always, Griess puts everything she has into her performance and her comedic timing is spot on. Joey is the personification of the awkward, nerdy teen of the 1950s and Hayek nails the part. His general clumsiness, nervous laugh and shuffling walk drew an enumerable amount of laughs from the audience. Lee Willet’s Jimmy was also a special treat to watch, especially when the character discussed his feelings with the audience, even pulling out Shakespeare and opera for his cause.

The audience was a varied one, full of adults, elderly and youth, but everyone’s reaction was the same: laughter, laughter, laughter. To tell you the truth, it was honestly a relief to go to the theatre and laugh so hard throughout an entire show. For a couple hours, everyone could forget their problems, which is something you can’t put a price on.

At the beginning of the show, Patrick Lambrecht made the audience promise that if they laughed more than five times, they had to go out and tell and/or bring five more people to come see the show. I laughed far more than five times, so consider yourselves recruited. Go to the Lincoln Community Playhouse, kick back, see Soda Pop and be prepared to laugh.