"Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical," show #917

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is premiering a new musical adaptation, Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical. When a group of Jimmy Dean fans decide to have a twenty-year reunion at their hometown’s five-and-dime, reminiscing of the good and lamenting of the past come together for a balanced helping of comically cheery and dramatically delicious plot. The heart of the show, though, are the character relationships: all complex, all heartfelt, and all grounded. With a book by Ashley Robinson, music by Dan Gillespie Sells, and lyrics by Shakina (who doubles as the role of Joanne), this musical is altogether a tight, well-paced musical which honors the source inspirations while making this story urgently relevant and wholly entertaining for today’s audiences.  

(Stephanie Gibson (Sissy), Lauren Marcus (Mona), Ellie Van Amerongen (Joe/Jimmy Dean); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)

The score and set design set the tone for the universally talented cast and superb production team to succeed. The score stylings are delightfully period-appropriate for the dual-decade setting (the play traverses between 1955 and 1975) and fit the show as a whole in vibe and sound while appropriately serving each character in their individual journeys. Nina Ball’s scenic design is purely fantastic, spanning the width of the stage handsomely and filled to the walls’ brim with all the accoutrements one expects in a five-and-dime. The clever part is which pieces of the set are used/functional during which decade in aid of the constant time travel.

(L to R: Judith Miller (Loretta), Lauren Marcus (Mona), and Stephanie Gibson (Sissy); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)

Lauren Marcus is the de-facto lead of this ensemble piece as Mona, an assumed “chosen one” of James Dean in terms of, shall we say, "carrying on" his legacy. Marcus’s vocals are fabulous, leaning into the emotion of her expositional solo towards the top of the show, and committing full-throttle to her eventual breakdown. Stephanie Gibson is a dynamite Sissy, the assumed hussy of small town McCarthy, Texas. Gibson’s demeanor and vocal strength come in both line and lyric as she delivers a commanding performance when spewing insults, quippy innuendos, or standing up for herself. Judith Miller is a standout as five-and-dime owner, Loretta, a no-nonsense, God-fearing widow who is equal parts mother to all and hard-working woman who misses her husband. Miller is given just enough song and leading scene work to not just garner intrigue, but to see where the group’s morality starts and ends, and her voice is beautifully showcased among the country-esque score. 

(Ashley Cowl (Edna Louise) and Shakina (Joanne); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)

Ashley Cowl is a perfectly demure and kind Edna Louise, the butt of Stella Mae’s (played by a dominating Hayley Lovgren) jokes and target for sympathies and love from the rest of the ladies. Cowl is given is a beautiful moment of character insight in the restroom with Joanne, which arrives at just the right time in allowing Cowl to show Edna Louise’s strength, vulnerability, and commitment to the life she wants to live rather than being a doormat to the rest of her friends. Lovgren gets, perhaps, the most enjoyable entrance, entering in with Texas swagger and a raucously belty song which Lovgren simply slays. Lovgren is given the majority of the comedic dialogue, and each laugh line hits with ease and a fluidity that shows not just Lovgren’s perfectly-fit casting in the role but the chemistry shared by all on stage. Ellie Van Amerongen is a devastating, wonderful Joe, the one male-presenting role in the show, aside from Jimmy Dean, Mona’s son. Van Amerongen’s turn as Joe doesn’t just show the outward expression of the inner turmoil the character endures, but is purely rooted in serving the story as a whole. Van Amerongen selflessly sets up the focal point of the show when Joanne shows up, played impeccably by Shakina. Shakina’s physicality, from how she holds a glass of whiskey, to whipping off sunglasses, to having her own emotional moments are intentional, nuanced, and rooted in truth and realism. The showing of Joe’s transition to Joanne is in sturdy hands by Van Amerongen and Shakina, a powerful pairing to see unfold during the course of the musical.

(L to R, Upstage: Ashley Cowl (Edna Louise), Lauren Marcus (Mona), Shakina (Joanne), Stephanie Gibson (Sissy), Downstage: Hayley Lovgren (Stella Mae); Photo credit: Kevin Berne)

The high point is in the later half of the no-intermission musical, when the much-discussed Talent Show from when the group was in high school comes to stage; it's an inspired structural choice. It reminds me of the “Loveland” sequence in Follies, where each character we’ve gotten to know inside and out gets to, whether in solo or in tandem, have a number to reveal, or avoid, their unseen current mindset, past traumas, or both. It’s one of the few times the unit set is transitioned to another world completely and it’s a stunning, leaves-you-breathless sequence. It's a culmination of the stellar helming work by Giovanna Sardelli, whose direction is a clipped, ever-moving endeavor that allows for the sum of the play to be as enjoyable and compelling as the parts; the macro vision is never sacrificed for the micro moments of affect, and vice-versa. Lee Ann Payne’s movement coordination finesses the ensemble in a way that only synced-up and emotionally-driven movement can while never being overstated or overchoreographed. Bringing it together is Kurt Landisman’s outstanding lighting design, making the numerous time travels seamless, exacting, and always honoring the mood. 

(Cast of Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical; Photo credit: Kevin Berne)

From play to film to world-premiere musical, Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean: A New Musical is a promising production that fits the bill of what modern musical adaptations should serve. It's a show that, in my opinion, is ready for commercial exposure beyond the Bay Area. This musical has no notes from me, no room for improvement, "no need to fix something that ain’t broke," as some say. And this production is not, in any way, bringing an air of ego in trying to improve its source materials. It is a completely self-aware, deftly guided, and character-driven musical that is a must-see at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley!