REVIEW 'Have a Nice Day': a great night out

It's more than smiles and being unrealistically optimistic.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Are you are one of those people who grew up with flower power and love beads? Were your favorite words "groovy" and "far out?" When someone says "The Fifth Dimension," do you think of a singing group rather than an astrophysical theory?
If you answered yes to those questions, then you can't miss the current musical revue now playing at New Castle Playhouse. Called "Have a Nice Day," it is a spoof of the ultra-conservative youth group, Up With People, and takes place on the last concert of their five-year tour.
They entertain us with those songs we knew and loved (and some we have forgotten) from 1968-74 (the Nixon years).
And the main purpose of the tour? Just to bring a smile to the face of America, in the hopes that everyone will "have a nice day."
Cast
Lori Anne is the sickeningly cheerful Southern belle from Chickasaw, Ala. Her life goal is to appear on TV to sing with Vicki Lawrence. Bryana Servedio absolutely stunned the audience in this role, especially her gorgeous rendition of "You Light Up My Life."
Ronda (Bonnie Humphrey), "without the H," is from New Jersey. She excitedly tells the story of the group's performance in Terra Haute, when 4,000 mood rings lighted up the hall. She was also the group's van driver and enthusiastically sang about it in "Convoy."
Brandon Marzke, in his role as Kitt, was like a huge light bulb onstage, filling us up with a blast of energy. His performance of "Indian Reservation" was outstanding.
Susan (Becky Clarke) is an army brat, hailing from everywhere. She's hot on Kitt and sings him a moving interpretation of "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
Holly (Theresa Michael), from L.A., is depressed and sings the depressing songs such as "Rainy Days and Mondays." Her powerful performance of "One Tin Soldier" (perhaps one of the less remembered songs of the era) was, to this reviewer, the one that brought the greatest flood of memories and chills down the spine. Thank you, Holly!
Moving songs
And that was the sneaky thing about this show. Even though on the surface, it was all about smiles and being unrealistically optimistic -- a fun and feel good experience -- it is a pretty good bet that every person in the audience, especially those from that era, was moved to something deeper by at least one song.
After all, that was a time of great emotional turmoil -- the war in Vietnam and its ensuing protests, campus unrest and the Kent State shootings, rebellion against the establishment, integration of Eastern culture and practices, open use of psychedelic drugs, and hippies who chanted "make love, not war."
Much of the culture was reflected in the lyrics of songs. Unlike so many songs of today, whose X-rated lyrics are a string of vulgarity and violence, many of the songs from the '60s and '70s were sheer poetry -- either romantic or a deeply moving expression of important social issues.
Most of the songs performed were medleys, and it is astounding how many tunes were crammed into this revue. We all left the theater with a yellow smiley face button and lots of very sweet memories.
X"Have A Nice Day" continues weekends through June 4: Fridays/Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. (724) 657-9369.