Fame musical tries hard to seem fresh and original after its previous outings as a movie and syndicated tv series but doesn't quite make the grade. How many variations on the struggling-high school student theme can we sit through? What also disappoints in this road show production is the sameness of the music and lyrics, the sound of which is severely flattened by the electronic amplification of the miked cast. Still, the 24 actors on display put out every bit of energy and pizzazz they can, and director/choreographer Lars Bethke gives them some dazzling dance numbers to perform.
If only the rest of the show lived up to the dancing! The effort is made, especially by Natasha Neary as the Latina spitfire Carmen Diaz, Carl Tramon as Schlomo Metzenbaum, the classically-trained violinist who'd rather play rock n roll, and Sheri Sanders as Serena Katz, would-be actress (her big song "Think of Meryl Streep" is a winner), and Dwayne Chattman as Tyrone Jackson, the hip-hop black kid struggling to overcome dyslexia and a bad attitude to make it out of the High School of Performing Arts, circa 1980.
