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Do you remember Pat Benatar singing \u201cHit Me With Your Best Shot\u201d?<\/p>\n
How about Cyndi Lauper\u2019s \u201cTrue Colors\u201d or Robert Palmer\u2019s \u201cAddicted to Love\u201d?<\/p>\n
Those are just a few songs you might recall from the 1980s, and Tieisha Thomas believes audience members will enjoy hearing them again if they attend a performance of the touring show \u201cMystic Pizza,\u201d which Broadway in Scranton is bringing to the Scranton Cultural Center at Masonic Temple Oct. 23-25.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a lot of people, you\u2019re going back to your youth,\u201d Thomas said in a telephone interview from Erie, where the touring show played earlier this week. \u201cThe music says so much. The clothes say so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe you got your first kiss, or you made a major decision about how your life is going to pan out,\u201d she continued. \u201cIt\u2019s so nostalgic. By the end, we usually have audience members standing up and clapping along with us.\u2019<\/p>\n
Thomas has the role of Leona, owner of the little pizza shop in Mystic, Conn., where three young women \u2014 Kat, Daisy and Jojo \u2014 work for her. They are her employees, but she\u2019s more than a boss.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeona doesn\u2019t have children, so I think she looks at them as her babies, her kids. She doesn\u2019t tell them what to do; she doesn\u2019t have to pester them, but she knows her position in their lives is so important, so vital. She knows they\u2019ll listen to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The young women probably can use some advice, as Daisy wonders if her wealthy boyfriend, Charles, is using her, a young woman from the working class, to rebel against his parents; studious Kat, who wants to go to Yale University, becomes entangled in an affair with a married architect; and free-spirited Jojo panics on her wedding day and runs away from the ceremony.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaisy and Kat are siblings, and they\u2019re so different,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cKat is all about her books. She\u2019s got a scholarship to Yale \u2026 but she\u2019s a little behind as far as relationships. Daisy has been there, done that. She\u2019s a beautiful woman, and society sees that but might not see the person behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJojo, who is not a sibling, has a long-standing relationship with her sweetheart. They\u2019ve dated each other since kindergarten, and everyone expects them (to get married). So, do you follow society\u2019s expectations, or do you go after what you want? She wants independence, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeona takes care of everyone\u2019s emotional needs,\u201d Thomas said, adding with a laugh, \u201cand she keeps the pizza place running.\u201d<\/p>\n
Has Thomas ever made pizza herself, in real life?<\/p>\n
No way. \u201cIt has to come out of a box,\u201d she said, laughing again.<\/p>\n
The stage musical \u201cMystic Pizza\u201d is based on the 1988 movie of the same name that launched Julia Roberts\u2019 career. It\u2019s packed with songs from the 1980s and 1990s, which Thomas described as \u201cflowing beautifully along with the text.\u201d Choreography is by Jennifer Werner, who also choreographed \u201cThe Book of Mormon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24, and 1 p.m. Oct. 25, at the Scranton Cultural Center, North Washington Avenue, Scranton. Tickets are available at BroadwayInScranton.com<\/a> and in person at the Scranton Cultural Center box office.<\/p>\n Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more.<\/p>\n Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism.
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