Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The cheerful jukebox musical adaptation of MYSTIC PIZZA is fueled by nostalgia for the 80s & 90s

• By drediman
• February 4, 2025
• No Comments

This past snowy Sunday, I took a field trip out to Millburn, NJ to attend the opening of the stage version of the 1988 flick Mystic Pizza at Paper Mill Playhouse. For those of you unfamiliar with Amy Holden Jones’s underlying film — which famously starred a young Julia Roberts — it chronicles the love lives of three young waitresses at a declining pizzeria nestled in the small harbor town of Mystic, Connecticut. For the stage, the story has been given the jukebox musical treatment, sprinkling the story with some of the biggest and most recognizable pop music hits of the 80s and 90s.

Make no mistake, this musical iteration of Mystic Pizza is fueled by nostalgia, just like the recently-shuttered musical adaptation of Back to the Future and the underrated and also closed Huey Lewis jukebox musical The Heart of Rock and Roll were on Broadway (in fact, Lewis’s un-killable single “The Power of Love” is featured in all three shows!). Although it’s no doubt amusing to see how these ear worms are shoehorned into the predictable narrative — no matter how clunkily — I was most engaged with the musical’s easy going spirit and overall pleasant vibe. Very much like that mother of all jukebox musicals Mamma Mia!, Mystic Pizza is the kind of show you can simply sit back and enjoy. For the most part, Sandy Rustin’s book follows the trajectory of the film quite closely, efficiently moving the story along at a lively pace. It’s a cheerful concoction, but certainly nothing that we haven’t seen before. Although I can see the production doing quite well regionally or on tour, I’m less convinced that more discerning New York audiences would fully buy into its charms, especially when looking back at the track records of similar shows that have attempted to make a claim on New York audiences.

As directed by Casey Hushion, Mystic Pizza currently lacks that unmistakable Broadway sheen, but maybe that’s what makes the production so endearing. Leading the way is Krystina Alabama, who appealingly plays against type as the fiery Daisy (the Julia Roberts role). As her partners in crime, golden-voiced Alaina Anderson as Kat and comedically-inclined Deánna Giulietti (who throws off some serious Bonnie Milligan vibes) as JoJo are also spot on. All three are strong vocalists, and when they harmonize in Wilson Phillips’ anthemic “Hold On”, their combined sound is just heavenly. As the trio’s boss at the titular pizzeria, the big-voiced Jennifer Fouché is excellent, bringing a grounded gravitas to the role. Also very good is Vincent Michael, a matinee idol in the making who brings to the mix a refreshing baritone sound. To round out the primary cast, Newsies‘ Ben Fankhauser and F. Michael Haynie give distinct portrayals as the show’s two other love interests.

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MYSTIC PIZZA
Regional, Musical
Paper Mill Playhouse
2 hours, 20 minutes (with one intermission)
Through February 23