America must be saved, and Pan is just the guy to do it.
If only our political issues could be solved by a Greek God!
˜In Pan We Trust, an irreverent musical romp through the minefields of political satire. and the second installment of Touchstone Theatres ˜Pan series is billed as a prequel episode to their earlier ˜The Pan Show with lots more sex, drugs and rock and roll!
I like the line early in the show by Daphnis (Zach Kanner) “ œWe just want to party!! This almost 100 minutes of fun and frivolity, with no intermission--- they tell you they locked the doors--- is an entertaining way for ADULTS (note the caps) to spend an evening on the Southside of Bethlehem!
A healthy dose of political commentary rounds out this production written by Jp Jordan(who also stars as Pan) and Christopher Shorr.
The premise is simply that America needs to be saved from President Topman (aptly played by a parrot) who is ineffective. The Prince of Monaco, where Pan and Daphnis are vacationing, leads the effort to convince Pan to take the job.
Pan is a reluctant savior; but when he hears about the perks of the job, he is soon hooked and decides to ˜take over America by using bombs of cannabis.
Once in office, however, things get a little tougher for Pan, and we need an heroic American to save the day.
According to the authors, since Pan is US, then WE must summon the strength and courage to save ourselves.
The 10 musical numbers are considerably varied and add to the enjoyment of the production. Most genres from big Broadway to hard rock were part of the show.
There is a wide array of vocal talent in the cast; but, all were admirable.
As it was opening night with all its potential difficulties, there were a few cases of music drowning out the voices of the singers. It also puzzled me that with such strong singers, body mics are used. The space seems so acoustically advantageous that I could not figure out why they were needed at all.
There are several standout vocal solos by Zach Kanner and Gary Warren. I most enjoyed both the lyrics and the presentation of Slobodan Milosevic---the choreography for this number alone is worth the price of admission! Try to imagine a tango number--- no, wait! You will NEVER imagine this tango.
I also laughed aloud at ˜Welcome the White House with its amazingly quick changes by the chorus.
It can be tough to have production where the main character never speaks. Jp Jordan as Pan still manages to get his point across with facial expressions and body movements.
Special mention should be made of the chorus and their characters in this show--- Emma Chong, Kathryn Krull, Kayla Prestel and Gary Warren. The variety delivered by each of these actors was wonderful to watch. Each of them has the tough job at one time or another of being the background to the satire on stage, and each does it very well. Character transitions on stage can be tough to handle, as well as all the quick costume changes that they had to make. Each character was different, and most of the actors carried off some very tough accents.
They also did some great vocal harmony in the background on several musical numbers that was impressive to hear.
Politics and politicians today are really great fodder for comedy. If we cant laugh, we just might cry. I suggest going to spend an evening with Pan and getting a good dose of fun to take your mind off it!
In Pan We Trust runs through October 13 at Touchstone Theatre in Bethlehem.
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Nancy Mikkelsen is a local actress who has performed on most stages throughout the Lehigh Valley. She has served on the board of directors at Pennsylvania Playhouse and is a founding member of the board of the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts(LVPA).