Charlene Baldridge's Review

From Charlene and Brenda in the Blogosphere:

Krista Knight’s Salamander Leviathan (directed by Anthony Luciano)

is a musical fantasy with songs...or is this some kind of concert with a play goin’ on? At any rate, the piece is this year’s winner of the KCACTF (Kennedy Center American College Fund) Musical Theatre Award.

Guitarist Barry Brinegar is credited with song writing and there are indeed some clever lyrics...Music director Brendan Nguyen is on keyboards, and Stuart Field on drums. Halei Parker’s costumes, especially for the women, are a delight throughout.

Salamander Leviathan (appealing Zachary Martens) is the wealthiest man in Wisconsin. His wealth is in the trees on his immense property. But like Faust, Salamander is lonely and wants a wife and family. No sooner said than the black leather-clad Devil (Maurice Williams) appears, red horns and all. The Devil promises Salamander a wife and children in exchange for you-know-what, but this Devil turns out to be the good guy. After all, he was a fallen angel, remember?

Zachary Martens photo by Jim Carmody

Anyway, along comes Gracie (lovely Sarah Halford), the potential mother and wife. She has a past (clue: she looks a bit like Amanda Blake as Kitty in Gunsmoke but she’s not that good-hearted). Gracie she wields a vial of poison, a la the traveling troupe in Hamlet enacting The Murder of Gonzago. This poison only gradually incapacitates Salamander, who finally gets his wish. Jenni Putney and Dan Morin, as Gracie’s evil twin and the villain, play other characters in the story, which is imaginative and funny.