{"id":89178,"date":"2025-07-24T17:27:17","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T17:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/89178\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T17:27:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T17:27:17","slug":"review-a-young-actor-emerges-in-uptown-players-dynamic-jamie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/89178\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: A young actor emerges in Uptown Players’ dynamic ‘Jamie’"},"content":{"rendered":"

From its first\u00a0 moments with its exciting first number, it was immediately clear that Uptown Players\u2019 newest production of Everybody\u2019s Talking About Jamie was going to be something special. \u201cAnd You Don\u2019t Even Know It\u201d kicked off a number of thrilling musical performances that expressed the show\u2019s heart and youthful exuberance as well as the show\u2019s touching ballads and vibrant choreography. The coming-of-age journey was dynamic and poignant and introduced audiences to a new star in actor Henry Cawood as Jamie who delivered a performance that was\u00a0 touching and exhilarating.<\/p>\n

ETAJ may not be a groundbreaking musical or story, but it possessed a unique charm. Based on true events, the narrative follows a 16-year-old Sheffield high school student who dreams of becoming a drag queen. Despite teasing from peers, he has unwavering support from his mom and\u00a0 life-lessons from a legendary queen. Tom Macrae and Don Gillespie Sells\u2019 story, while simple enough to evoke a Hallmark Christmas movie, effectively captured a relatable human experience that likely speaks to many queer individuals, all while being punctuated by stellar showtunes.<\/p>\n

Under Penny Ayn Maas\u2019 skillful direction, ETAJ felt like an urgent and important show for today\u2019s climate, but equally gave a strong entertaining factor. Maas crafted a show that emphasized joy and optimism, offering a two-hour-ish escape last Sunday. The show also reinforced a message of inclusion and acceptance. Exceptional casting, of course, contributed to its success, with an energetic ensemble and principal actors who brought diverse and cohesive dynamics to the stage. Music Director Vonda K. Bowling\u2019s keen ear and the live band provided a strong foundation for ETAJ, evident in her vocal coaching with the actors and the show\u2019s polished sound.<\/p>\n

Leading the charge was an absolutely captivating Cawood. The actor carried the show effortlessly with his natural charisma and chemistry with his castmates. Jamie goes through highs and lows and Cawood conveyed those elements with dexterous conviction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mary Gilbreath Grim played Margaret, Jamie\u2019s tender and supportive mother. The character strives to do everything perfect for her son but with many mistakes and Grim straddled that line of a mother\u2019s insecurity with sympathetic notes that shined in both \u201cIf I Met Myself Again\u201d and \u201cHe\u2019s My Boy.\u201d As Margaret\u2019s best gal pal Ray, Brett Warner managed, yet again, to deliver a fully-realized character. Ray\u2019s defiant sass was embodied wholly by Warner through a distinct physicality and a rich cockney dialect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Jamie\u2019s best friend, Pritti, Laila Jalil was the pal we all wish we could have. Pritti\u2019s devotion to Jamie but also her free-thinking was expertly portrayed by Jalil and her vocals for \u201cIt Means Beautiful\u201d were sensitive and strong. Sam Illum was a proper bully as Dean Paxton who mixed his performance with all the trappings of the bad guy with an underlying note of vulnerability with so much armor around him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Along the way, Jamie meets a quartet of queens led by Loco Chanelle. Doug Fowler had the luxury of playing the character both in and out of drag (as the drag shop owner Hugo). His English dialect was nary which was a slight distraction, but Fowler excelled as a pseudo-father figure and was delightful with sassy quips and a tender mentor to Jamie. The trio of queens added another layer of gaiety through their differing personalities and fabulous costuming by Suzi Cranford with big hair and makeup designed by Michael B. Moore. Jacob Hemsath, Tyler Ray Lewis and Arja J. Valley were serving glam and hilarity as Laika Virgin, Sandra Bollock and Tray Sophisticay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The minimalist set by Kevin Brown at first felt cold, but its clever reveals and lighting by Scott Guenther and Brian Christensen\u2019s sound.<\/p>\n

Evor\u2019s choreography cannot go unnoticed. Time and time again they bring a powerful energy to Uptown\u2019s dance-icals. Their moves were cool, passionate and complicated but also they choreographed where each actor can ably pull off their impressive dances.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Everybody\u2019s Talking About Jamie offered a truly glorious experience, especially for queer audiences. Apologies for mentioning another show, but where Circle Theatre\u2019s recent A Strange Loop explored the challenges of adulthood for gay men, Jamie portrayed the pivotal early stages of embracing and launching one\u2019s queer identity. Queer pain wasn\u2019t the focus in Jamie\u2019s journey and watching his story unfold with the unwavering support and confidence he received and had, was both healing and joyous. How lucky we are to see such stories onstage here in North Texas.<\/p>\n

The show runs through Aug. 3 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.<\/p>\n

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\u2013Rich Lopez<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From its first\u00a0 moments with its exciting first number, it was immediately clear that Uptown Players\u2019 newest production…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":89179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,48304,44449,15408,9221,15409,358,15410,3187,67,586,132,5230,31458,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-89178","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-everybodys-talking-about-jamie","11":"tag-musical","12":"tag-rich-lopez","13":"tag-stage","14":"tag-stage-notes","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-theater-review","17":"tag-tx","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-uptown-players","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114909390036178691","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}