SARASOTA — On Friday, Florida Studio Theater opened its Florida debut of Janece Shaffer’s Troubadour, a country music tale with songs by Kristian Bush.
It’s 1951, and Billy Mason is Nashville’s biggest star. Billy is set to retire for health reasons, and the country music moguls see his son and sideman Joe as the heir to the throne, although Billy is far from supportive of his only child carrying on his legacy.
Troubadour takes us through some very well-treaded territory. While it often gets a little lost in cliches, there is enough story (and song) to make for an entertaining production.
Scott Wakefield convincingly plays the heavy-handed songman, and his considerable vocal chops help make us believe that Billy is indeed a big star. Caleb Adams performs well as Joe Mason, the son who hesitates to find out if his father’s lack of confidence in him is well placed.
The play's comic relief comes from Izzy Weiss, an immigrant tailor who wants to be Joe’s manager. Sheffield Chastain demonstrates perfect comedic timing in the role, giving arguably the best performance of the play. He gets a good run for the money from Kevin Bernard, however, whose performance as radio disc jockey Pooch Johnson was also quite memorable.
Sarah Colt is dazzling as Inez Miller, the stage-frightened aspiring songwriter who hopes to work with Joe. Colt is the most impressive vocalist in the production, benefitting from excellent music written by Bush, one-half of the Atlanta country duo Sugarland.
At two hours and fifteen minutes, the play could certainly use a trim, and the character of Ludee Feeback, a beauty queen who wants to be a music star, would be the most obvious place to start. Well acted by Deanna Ott, the superficial character seems forced and unnecessary, one of several instances in which the plot meanders a bit too much.
Kathleen Geldard’s period-perfect costumes deserve special notice, as does Darren Server’s musical direction. For fans of the genre, Troubadour overcomes some stumbles to make for a highly enjoyable evening of musical theater. Directed by Kate Alexander, Troubadour runs through May 19. Visit the FST website for schedule and ticket information.
Dennis "Mitch" Maley is a novelist, as well as an editor and opinion columnist for The Bradenton Times. In addition to his regular Sunday column, he hosts our weekly podcast and does occasional theater, restaurant, and wine reviews. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University and later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Click here for his bio. His 2016 short story collection, Casting Shadows, was recently reissued and is available here.
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