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Gidget
By Fredrick Kohner
Adapted by Terry McCabe & Marissa McKown
Directed by Marissa McKnown
At City Lit Theater
1020 W. Bryn Mawr
Chicago, IL
Call 773-293-3682, tickets $25
Fridays & Saturdays at 8 pm
Sundays at 3 pm
Running time is 1 hour 50 minutes with intermission
Through June 3, 2007
50’s surfing chick, Gidget, comes to life.
City Lit’s world premiere of Gidget, the stage version of Frederick Kohner’s 1957 novel, Gidget, that made California surfing famous is a terrific vehicle for Sabrina Kramnich to flaunt her acting ability as the precious 15 year old. Gidget (girl midget = gidget) is the sweet coming-of-age stage adaptation of the 50’s novel. Kohner wrote the story after his daughter told him of her escapades on the surfing beaches of Malibu. The novel produced a wave of interest in surfing as a life style with its own vernacular that spawned a hit TV series and several beach movies. Surfing and innocently played boy-meets-girl scenes dominate here. This is a memory play in which Gidget tells her story of the summer, at age 15, when she learned to surf and love a boy.
Gigdet’s charm comes from reacquainting us with those simple times in the late 1950’s when an unknown subculture, surfing, started to make bums of a generation of guys. Gidget, pure innocence and sweetness, becomes the first girl surfer to be accepted in the small group lead by the aging surfer bum, The Great Kahoona (Eric Hoffman). Gidget is determined to learn to stand upright on her board as the guys teach her the skills of surfing. She falls for Moondoggie (Philip Marino), a rich kid surfer determined to resist Gidget’s puppy-love advances.
The cute show is richly played as a cutie and charmer by the beguiling Sabrina Kramnich in the title role. This nostalgic show has its moments despite being a tad too long. The staging by director Marissa McKown on Rebecca Hamlin’s representative set works to convey the surfing atmosphere. This is a sugary show that presents a teen age girl as pure naiveté. If you ever wondering how those awful beach movies from the 60’s came about—blame Gidget. City Lit’s play aptly presents the surfing culture.
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: April 29, 2007
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