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'Surf City' isn't all smooth waters
Novice fiction writers are often advised to write what they know, a maxim often observed by first-time playwrights as well.
Shirley Westlie Orlando
moved to Huntington
Beach in the late 1950s,
during the dawning of
the Southern California
surf era, and was able
to observe the surf
culture firsthand.
It seems fitting, then, that Huntington Beach Playhouse would be the local theater to unveil Orlando's original musical, "Surf City, U.S.A.!"
Director-choreographer Roberta Kay's staging exposes the troupe's community theater roots and the flaws in Orlando's libretto, which contains such an excess of characters as to resemble a sitcom pilot.
Unfolding in the summer of '63, "Surf City's" focus is the loose romantic involvement of good-girl Anne (Arroya Karian) with two teens she's known since grade school: J.D. (Josh Alton), a sensitive artist (and surfer boy), and Brad (Alex Syiek), a cocky jock.
Among other flaws, the script doesn't allow Anne to articulate her romantic confusion, or even to realize that she's attracted to both boys for different reasons. Pacing and overlength also are problems. The first act could easily be tightened and the story's focal point sharpened without hurting the play's essence.
Orlando's true forte is as a composer and songsmith. Her beautiful surf-genre pieces and background scoring are obviously inspired by Jan and Dean and The Beach Boys, yet entirely original. The mixture of upbeat, surfer-dude songs with mellow ballads gives "Surf City" the innocence associated with the story's era.
Songs like "Surfin' Is the Life for Me," "Board Fever" and the show's title number capture the essence of the surf milieu. "Woodie, or Woodie Not?" is a clever ditty on the crucial role of the car in surf culture, while "I'm So Cool, I'm Hot" gives Syiek a chance to inject touches of Elvis into the show.
Orlando shows a different side of her musical talent with "Better Than Any Dream," "The Love I Never Knew," "She Doesn't Even Know I Exist" and "High School Heroes" – all poignant, bittersweet numbers.
Musical director Erik Przytulski's arrangements are a credit to Orlando's musical ingenuity, especially in well-staged numbers like "Board Fever," whose multipart harmonies are handled with ease by the cast.
Though the constant scene changes eat up valuable stage time, Andrew Otero's set design does the trick, his painted flat depicting surf, sky and the edge of the pier evoking the right imagery.
Though she might have done better to go with more seasoned performers, Kay's youthful cast has a guilelessness that's appealing. Karian's vocal style is soft, clear and unadorned yet confident, with Alton's equally low-key. Pairing the two in a duet, "Breakers at Sunset" evokes lovely imagery while showing how the two performers mesh well in their roles.
Slender, curly haired Syiek seems cast against type as a high school letterman, but his singing and strutting manner makes the casting work. As his sometime-girlfriend Tammy, Kim Bower combines Reese Witherspoon looks with a catty demeanor. Brian Morales' so-so vocal style makes him a poor choice for budding musician Wes – but like most of the cast, he brims with youthful charm and enthusiasm.
If nothing else, the numerous supporting players bring color to the show. In one of the few adult roles, Mike Bower invests the character of Tex, a middle-aged musician known as the town drunk, with a soft, growly, down-home twang and humble demeanor, putting heartache into the country-style song "One More Broken Life."
"Surf City, U.S.A.!" is only the second world premiere in Huntington Beach Playhouse's history. Regardless of the show's obvious flaws, we can be thankful for the way Orlando avoids the obvious "surfer dude" stereotypes while delivering some killer tunes.
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