Gettin'The Band Back Together

Gettin’ The Band Back Together is playing at the Belasco Theatre located at 111 West 44th Street. It runs two hours ten minutes with one intermission. This is an open ended run.

John Rando is the director. He won a Tony Award for Urinetown the Musical (2002) and was nominated for a Tony for On the Town (2015).

Derek McLane is the scenic designer. He has been nominated for four Tony Awards for Anything Goes (2011), Ragtime (2010), 33 Variations (2009) and Pajama Game (2006).

Marilu Henner is known for her role as Elaine O’Connor Nardo in ABC/NBC sitcom Taxi from 1977-1983.

The setting is New York City and Sayreville, New Jersey, Present Day.

Mitch Papadopoulos (Mitchell Jarvis) is forty and has just been fired from his job as a stockbroker. He shutters at the thought, that since he’s broke he will have to move back in with his mom Sharon (Marilu Henner).

Outside his mom’s home he meets his friend Bart Vickers (Jay Klaitz). Bart teaches math at a high school.

Mitch use to have a band in high school with Bart called Juggernaunts. They won the battle of the bands. Sharon still has the trophy. The band won the competition from Tyron Billows (Brandon Williams) band. Mitch meets him on the streets. He is still holding a grudge against Mitch because of it. Tyron is not a nice person. He owns a lot of real estate in town.

The next day there is a sign on Sharon and Bart’s homes saying for sale. Both have fallen behind in their rent and Tyron took advantage of it and bought the property. Mitch makes a deal with Tyron if they win the upcoming battle of the bands Tyron will forget the debt on the houses. If they lose he gets the trophy from twenty years ago. He agrees.

Mitch approaches the other guys who were in the band. Sully Sullivan (Paul Whitty) is a cop; Rummesh “Robbie” Patel is a dermatologist. The last band member has died. They hold an audition to replace him. A sixteen punk ass kid wins the audition. Ricky Bling (Sawyer Nunes) plays guitar.

Along the way Mitch meets an old girlfriend Dani Franco (Kelli Barrett). She’s trying to establish herself as a personal sports trainer. His mother is her first client. Dani teenage daughter Billie (Noa Solorio) takes piano lessons from Sharon.

Sully is studying to be a detective along with Roxanne Velasco (Tamike Lawrence).

Robbie is about to be married. It’s an arranged marriage. He said it’s because he hasn’t found any one he loved. His view changes when he meets Tawney Truebody (Becca Kotte). Tygen and his sidekick Richie Lorenzo(Garth Kravits) set up a gig for Mitch’s band without their knowledge. To find out it’s at an Orthodox wedding.

What happens to the characters and who wins the battle of the bands, you’ll have to see this fun musical.

It has a message; to be true to yourself and be who you want to be not what someone else says you should be!

The cast is outstanding. Many of the ensemble do several roles.

If you have orchestra seats you get to be more involved with the show. The cast goes up and down the aisles. I got a flyer on the audition. Eye contact is made with the audience. Someone in the audience is brought up on stage to hit a bell for the band.

This is a delightful show see.

Review by Rozanna Radakovich.

Photos by Annazor.

To read a candid interview with the cast, scroll down to the left for photos. Click on photos for this and other shows.