I have recently seen Playhouse 395’s most recent delight, SUDS! This was an extremely fun and humorous musical that even features BUHS’s very own, Jordan Kost! This musical left me in stitches and I was very impressed with the entire cast and crew.

(Photo credit to @jord_123_ on Instagram)

So what is SUDS about? SUDS is about a teenager on her birthday named Cindy. Cindy works at a laundromat and is excited for what joys her birthday will bring. Unfortunately, things go south fast. Cindy finds out her cat has been run over, her family has died and she’s left with their crippling debt, and her pen pal boyfriend decides that things just aren’t working out between them. Left completely distraught, Cindy decides to kill herself. Luckily, two angels are assigned to show Cindy that she still has so much to live for. The two angels, Marge and Dee Dee, are polar opposites though and must figure out how to work together in order to help Cindy. Along the way, many guys come into Cindy’s life including Mr. Right and her very own guardian angel.

(Photo credit to Playhouse 395 on Facebook)

Despite the dark sounding summary of this musical, it is actually absolutely hilarious and just an overall fun time! There is some definite dark comedy in the beginning of the musical, but it lightens out from there. I couldn’t control my laughter at our introduction to the two angels. They find Cindy getting sucked into the washing machine, and instead of assuming the worst, they think she’s doing some new kind of dance move and dance along with her as she almost dies. Eventually though, they help her out and hilarity ensues from there.

(Photo credit to Playhouse 395 on Facebook)

I was surprised by how many old songs I actually knew. There were definitely some tunes that I hadn’t heard before, but all the songs were either upbeat or sweetly melancholy. My favorites were Please Mr. Postman, Our Day Will Come, It’s My Party, and You Don’t Own Me. I even heard that some of the livelier audiences couldn’t help but sing along at points.

(Photo credit to Playhouse 395 on Facebook)

Although the music in this play is outstanding, with such a small cast, it’s the characters that really carry the show. I have to applaud the cast for really inhibiting their character, or in Jordan’s case, characters. Jordan Kost really blew me away in every role he played. Jordan went from playing a little old lady to a burly repair man to a creepy teenager seamlessly. I almost choked on my water every time he came onstage as another zany character. It’s hard to pick a favorite out of the myriad of characters he plays, but I really enjoyed Mrs. Halo. If you see the show, you’ll understand my enjoyment of this particular character.

Michelle was also a real delight to see. She was completely ditzy and optimistic, which perfectly captured Dee Dee. Patricia and Michelle played off of each other which added to their polar opposites dynamic. Patricia was sassy and also quite humorous. Patty portrayed a young girl in love excellently and managed to capture Cindy’s childlike wonder. On top of the great acting, all of the cast members also have wonderful voices.

The show wasn’t without its slip ups, like a missed light cue or some stumbled lines, but overall, this musical is absolutely wonderful! I had a great time and I encourage everyone to go out and see this play. Go to Playhouse 395’s website to get tickets, and hurry before they sell out!