Scottsdale Old Town Theatre Company
Songs from Film
ASU Kerr Cultural Center, Scottsdale, AZ, January 15, 2026
Reviewed by Lynn Timmons Edwards
Songs from Film was this new community theater’s debut production. It was produced and directed by Mike Arseneault, who had previously produced original musical revues for IOCA Players, a company he founded in Vancouver, British Columbia. Bravo to him for fostering a co-producing relationship with the ASU Kerr Cultural Center. Under the leadership of the Center’s General Manager Tracey Mason, the Kerr has become home to an array of concerts, cabaret shows, and now the Old Town Theatre Company (OTTC).
The theater’s marketing materials are quite professional. In a world where most cabarets or revues offer no program, or at best a QR code, Songs from Film had a beautiful four-color program complete with biographical information about each song and each performer. It also included this quote from Plato: “Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything.” Perfect!
Music director and pianist Thomas Hartwell was a marvelous surprise. He had the best voice in the show. He took the mic for two songs: a duet with Arseneault on “No More” (Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods) and in Act Two, “Falling Slowly” (Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova from Once) with Mars Madison Unger. She was at her best on that song. Hartwell’s talent was also on display when he led the musicians in an entr’acte, his medley of Disney songs.
Arseneault, who gives off a Harvey Fierstein vibe but has a more melodic voice, surrounded himself with seven younger singers including Unger, Mara Chiles, Chris Gamble, Shelby Hanks, Liana Harper-Cruz, Grant West, and Taylor Underwood. Jordyn Starks on violin, banjo, and viola played alongside Hartwell with Shad Balot on drums. It was a large ensemble this intimate space, but they made it work.
The revue was organized by show and/or by composer. Act One opened with three songs from Guys and Dolls, followed by three from Cabaret and then by songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber (Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita) and Stephen Sondheim (Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, and Into the Woods) that have been featured in the film versions of those musicals. Act Two consisted of songs that did not necessarily go together but were written for or used in films. They spanned the decades from The Wizard of Oz in 1939 to Barbie in 2023. Each cast member had a chance to introduce groupings of songs with patter written by Arseneault. The show used projections of posters and stills from the films invilved, which enhanced the flow of the songs.
Gamble stood out as a singer who let the audience come to him. He never over-sang and was particularly charming and funny in the lead of “I Say a Little Prayer” (Burt Bacharach/Hal David). Harper-Cruz had a bold, clear set of pipes but never had her own song from beginning to end. She shared “On the Steps of the Palace” (Sondheim) with one of the other strongest singers, Hanks. (Either of them could have managed the song on her own.) The same applies to “Cabaret” (Kander & Ebb) and many other songs. Instead, Arseneault chose to divide most of the songs among singers, thereby splitting focus and not allowing the audience to get into the story. Perhaps I am projecting my values for cabaret onto what was clearly advertised as a musical revue, but when Hanks was allowed to sing Sondheim’s “Giants in the Sky” as a solo, she was great. All the women had a Broadway belt that they loved to lay into. It worked in songs like “What I Was Made For” from Barbie (Billie Ellish) and “Audition—The Fools Who Dream” from La La Land (Justin Hurwitz/Benj Pasek/Justin Paul) but not in “Over the Rainbow” (Harold Arlen/E.Y. Harburg) or “As Time Goes By” (Herman Hupfeld).
The third male singer in the cast was West, who also played guitar on several songs in Act Two. He looked good on stage and had a nice voice. Chiles and Underwood turned in a harmonizing duet of “Mrs. Robinson” (Paul Simon) with West on guitar, which added vocal variety. Arseneault chose a good closing number with a medley of “The Magic Store” (Paul Williams/Kenny Ascher) from The Muppet Movie and “I Sing the Body Electric” (Michael Gore/Dean Pitchford) from Fame. He also created a full-circle moment with songs from A Chorus Line. The ensemble flipped up their head shots to their face to underscored “One,” and they performed “What I Did for Love” as their encore (both songs by Marvin Hamlisch & Edward Kleban).
Bravo that all the performers they knew their lyrics and that when they occasionally went up on them they smiled and moved on. The ensemble struggled to sing consistently on pitch. Also, they would have done well to have put more thought into their wardrobe choices. Arseneault obviously put a heroic effort into this debut production, and I look forward to seeing what he produces in the future.
