Review: Aurora's “Hands on a Hardbody” offers one of the year's stand-out ... - ArtsATL
Rounding out the contestants are good-natured, Louisiana-born Ronald McGowan (Eric Moore), Janis Curtis (Jill Hames) — a mom whose husband Don (Steve Hudson) is rooting her on from the sidelines — and J. D. Drew (Matt Lewis), whose life has... Some of the near 20 songs start sounding alike in Act II. As well, while Melkonian’s Virginia doesn’t have enough to do, Aponte’s Jesus has perhaps too much to do — and gets stuck with a clunky song, “Born in Laredo. ” There’s only so much they all can do with their hands attached to a pick-up truck for most of the production but choreographer Jen MacQueen manages to make the most of the musical numbers. Many of the numbers are spirited, particularly Garza and Davis’ “I’m Gone,” and the cast ultimately make us care about these folks. Rodriguez — who leads a terrific Act I number called “Joy of the Lord” — and Lawhon are the standouts in the cast, although almost everyone has an individual highlight. Hames’ three-syllable pronunciation of the word hair is priceless, while married couple Wood and Floyd seem to be born for this kind of musical theater. Source: www.artsatl.com
