Barbara Follett had two novels published before she turned 15. Then, at the age of 25, she disappeared and was never heard from again. Her life now forms the basis of Perfect World, a promising new bio-musical being given the most polished of World Premieres at the El Portal Theatre.

 No sooner have Barbara’s divorced parents Wilson (Michael Deni) and Helen (Erika Schindele) informed police detective Captain Stahl (Brent Schindele) of their daughter’s disappearance than we are in musical theater territory (think Stephen Sondheim in Sweeney Todd mode) with a dramatic full-cast “Lost.”

A flashback to the year 1922 then introduces us to eight-year-old Barbara (Charley Rowan McCain), so smitten with the firetruck-red typewriter she’s been given for her birthday that she tap-tap-taps her heart out to “Typewriter” accompanied by childhood bffs Anne (Elizabeth Last) and Sophie (Día Day), the latter of whom we soon learn is but a figment of Barbara’s prodigious imagination.

What’s entirely real is Barbara’s elation at no longer having to borrow her father’s typewriter to write fantasy tales set in the magical land of Farksolia, whose colorful inhabitants join her in celebrating its many wonders in “Farksoo.”

All is not perfection in Barbara’s world, however, as the rifts in her parents’ marriage become increasingly evident, though as far as Barbara’s career as a novelist is concerned, the future looks bright indeed when the twelve-year-old receives word that none other than Alfred A. Knopf will be publishing her very first novel The House Without Windows.

Child actress McCain shares the role of Barbara with Gabbie Adner, who takes over in Act Two when the now seventeen-year-old and her mother sail the ocean blue on a voyage that will bring about both romance and heartbreak, and then more of the latter … and the rest remains an unsolved mystery.

Co-lyricist/composer Richard Winzeler’s gifts for catchy melodies and rhythms evoke not only the aforementioned Sondheim but (among others) Leslie Bricusse and Jule Styne, high praise indeed.

 Not only that, but Broadway legend Kay Cole does some of her best work in years as both director and choreographer, ensuring that no one in the problematic Monroe Forum Theatre feels left out and gifting audiences with one infectious dance number after another with an accent on tap.

Librettist/co-lyricist Alan Edmund’s biographical book gets the job done, though most of the scene-linking sequences designed to fill the audience in on the ongoing investigation circa 1939 could easily be left on the cutting-room floor since much of what we learn in them we will see unfold as these events occur.

And given the writers’ talent for opening and closing Act One and opening Act Two with a bang, they might consider adding a dramatic musical epilogue (a la Sweeney Todd’s) to remind us of the many still unanswered questions about Barbara’s fate instead of the anticlimactic one we are given.

Still, for a musical getting its very first fully staged production, Perfect World could not be blessed with a more crème-de-la-crème cast or design team.

Act One absolutely belongs to triple-threats McCain (an exquisite Young Barbara), Last (a spirited Young Anne), and Day (perky perfection as the imaginary Sophie), the trio giving Broadway’s best tappers a run for their money with “Typewriter.”

Later, in Act Two, rising stage star Adner does captivating work as the lovely but troubled Barbara, the vivacious Ek proves herself a whiz at tap (when her Anne isn’t out stealing husbands), and no one plays evil boy-next-door with more sexy sizzle than Linkowski, contrasting terrifically with Well’s sincere charmer of an Anderson.

 Deni and (Erika) Schindele reveal both vocal and dramatic chops as Barbara’s increasingly at-odds parents, and Schindele’s real-life hubby Brent is a forceful stage presence as Captain Stahl.

Guy Noland’s aptly named Captain Weasley and Adam Enrique Hollick’s muscular Sergeant Brown complete the talented adult cast.

Stephen Gifford’s double-balconied set impresses at first glimpse, and even more so once Brian Gale’s scene-setting projections and vibrant lighting work their magic. (On a sidenote, it would be great if spoken lines matched what’s projected when quoting from Barbara’s books or letters she and others exchanged.)

Jennifer Lynn Deck’s colorful array of costumes range from 1920s/30s contemporary to Farksolia fanciful, with sound designer Robert Arturo Ramirez providing a pitch-perfect mix of amped vocals and the show’s live three-piece orchestra under Ron Colvard’s expert music direction.

Music supervision, dance arrangements, and additional arrangements are by Broadway’s Daryl Archibald. Hector Guerrero is associate choreographer.

Conwell S. Worthington, II is supervising producer. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA, and Richie Ferris, CSA. Catherine Last understudies the roles of Sophie, Young Barbara, and Young Anne.

Thomas A. Garcia is production stage manager, Raphael Eidelman is stage manager, and Patricia Squib is production manager. Davidson & Choy Publicity are publicists.

I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of musicals that have made it from an intimately-staged Los Angeles World Premiere to Broadway, and for no other reason than Barbara Follett’s relative obscurity, Perfect World seems more destined for U.S. regional success than on The Great White Way.

 For now, at the very least, audience members who catch Perfect World during its ten-performance run at the El Portal can count themselves lucky to have been there from the start.

The El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood.
www.elportaltheatre.com

–Steven Stanley
November 2, 2025
Photos: Jim Cox Photography

Visit www.theatreinla.com/nowplayingrs.php for a review roundup of what’s now playing in theaters around Los Angeles.

Tags: Alan Edmunds, El Portal Theatre, Los Angeles Theater Review, Richard Winzeler