What a lovely night at the theatre. Even the pre-show music was worth the price of admission. The musicians are the actors, and yet, their musicality is top notch. Their intonation and harmonies are dead on both in voice and instrument. Once (lol) in the show, the violin and cello start from cold silence directly into locked on harmony. And the 8 or 9 part a cappella choir piece -- wow, just wow. The show would still have been beautiful had they missed a note or timing ... but wow.

And kudos to the sound tech. All ten or so performers mic'd wirelessly for vocals - as well as their instruments. So many places for something to go wrong. But no, they all came through clearly, mixed and amped tastefully and lovingly for the size of the room. Not a pop or a squeal. If there was an audio mis-hap I didn't hear it. I can't tell you how many shows have fallen pray to imperfect audio.

But, my praise doesn't stop there. The leads give strong performances in both the music and acting departments, with a rich supporting cast, half of which could have been leads as well.

Despite a once and done stage design made dynamic only by lighting effects, this show and theatre succeed mightily in crafting a musical story/journey.

I'd seen the film version nearly two decades ago, so it's hard to compare. While I remembered some of the music, most of the dialogue sounded fresh and new.

This was simply a marvelous performance. Given the caliber of this production, I look forward to more shows at the Chance Theater.