REVIEW
Broadway: Gamble Ramble (Photo – Robert Kuntsmann)
Some things in life fade without grievance, like my first and last perfumed bite of Sicilian sea urchin or the final time I touched a violin. Then there are the things that strike like lightning, unable to fade, calling you by name in a private language while making every past abandonment feel worth the wait.
By Natalia Rose
For me, or for anyone who has ever found their own story wrapped inside a song, there is electricity at Lineage Performing Arts Center… it’s the artisanal time capsule that is musical theatre.
Broadway: Gamble Ramble is a package deal for thespians, historians, dancers, and cinephiles alike. This immersive musical experience unfolds inside Pasadena’s historic Gamble Mansion, renowned not only for its remarkable craftsmanship but also for its cameo in the 1980s classic Back to the Future. On the steps of the Mansion. its makeshift box office, the audience is divided into two groups, each determining which guided dramatic track they’ll experience first. All of it is written, directed, choreographed, and even performed by the impressive Artistic Director, Hilary Thomas. Theatre fans, whether fresh or seasoned, will recognize songs from shows like Hamilton, Wicked, Cats, Ragtime, and Little Shop of Horrors, now infused with original choreography by Hilary Thomas herself.
The allure of immersive theatre is the closest I’ve come to experiencing sci-fi–style teleportation. Guided by a singing narrator and a Bluetooth speaker, I moved from the balcony to the kitchen to the basement, slipping into new storylines as a present yet undetectable witness. The Gamble House became the set itself: trees rustled as we followed Jack into the woods to face giants in the sky; warmth filled the kitchen as Jenny baked her pie of the day; in the basement, the space transformed into the Kit Kat Club, where Sally Bowles proclaimed that something was about to begin.
In the kitchen of the Gamble House (Photo – Robert Kuntsmann)
For those unfamiliar with the musical theatre canon, fear not. Each song was seamlessly linked to a true personal story from one of the performers, grounding every moment in emotion and accessibility. I found myself tearing up listening to Aidan Rawlinson and Jana Souza turn Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most famous feline tune, “Memory,” into a duet celebrating theatrical ritual and the reincarnation of dearly departed performers. Dancers Austin Roy and Molly Mattei chilled my spine with story-accurate anxiety as they navigated their tick, tick… BOOM! couples therapy through movement alone. The versatile leaders of Lineage, Hilary Thomas and Cynthia Crass, danced and sang alongside their company members with the same level of heart and technique, showcasing a community stitched together by dedication.
When I was eleven, lightning struck during The Sound of Music when Maria sang to the hills, unafraid to be kooky and curious. It struck again during “The Music of the Night,” when I learned that music was an invisible sieve for emotions, helping me make sense of a world often growing darker and dimmer. Musical theatre, once America’s “pop music,” continues to win my heart with every note, and with every step Hilary Thomas takes.
BROADWAY Gamble Ramble Nov 20 at 7:00 pm Tickets: General: $54.22 | Senior/Student: $43.82 Due to the historic nature of the venue, the performances are NOT fully accessible. Guests will encounter low light and stairs throughout
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