"AMAZINGS" FAMILY FILLED WITH SUPER-POWERS

By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com

Dipping into Hollywood's bag of tricks for inspiration, those restless folks at the Great American Playhouse are presenting “The Amazings in Action: Heroes of Tomorrow.”

Writer/director and actor Sean MacAthur has caught the spirit of the newly-suburbanized Amazing family of super-heroes, living undercover as an ordinary, bland and generally square little circle of innocents who would never be suspicious of anything.

Most of the roles are double cast, but at the performance I attended Jose “Chach” Snook is the head of this talented household, playing Mr. Amazing. Jody Darling is his resourceful wife Elastigal.

Their three children are Violet (Amanda Valenzuela), Scooter (Lydia Zadaresky) and Blaze (Megahn Skrpoa).

Each one has a specific super-power. Portraying them calls for some imaginative special effects onstage.

There is a plot of sorts, giving the Amazings a chance to break out of suburban boredom and save the world by defeating Spendido (MacArthur), Phantasm (Jacqueline Williams) and their son Scott (Daniel Lopez).

But Scott wants to reject his family's evil ways by going over to the good side. He wants to be friends with the Amazings. You can see right away how this would create some serious friction.

Keeping out of the line of fire, and providing some comedy relief along the way, are Cuckoo Chanel – done to perfection by Jesus Limon – the shaggy, gray-haired Dr. Linguine (Nick Seivert) and ever-enthusiastic Frost Bite (Brian Paradis).

The playhouse's song list draws heavily from boomer hits of their youth, including “Oh, What A Night,” “Come and Get Your Love,” “The Tears of a Clown” and “Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher.”

Cranking up the A/C and and the stereo, GAP's players take audiences back to Nostalgialand with the “Great American Summertime Olio,” opening with “Summertime Blues” and “Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer.”

But the hit of the olio, beyond any doubt, was a very nicely timed and energetically delivered presentation of Abbot & Costello's classic routine “Who's On First?”

“The Amazings in Action: Heroes of Tomorrow” runs through August 22, with performances at 7 p.m. Thursdays, 6 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays, at the Great American Playhouse, 13005 N. Oracle Road.

Tickets are $18.50 adults; $16.50 seniors 60 and over, active military and students; $8.50 children 12 and under.

For details and information, 520-512-5145, or visit gaplayhouse.com.