Let's face it; we have to admire the self-confidence of any group willing to call its production BOMB, even if it is a clever acronym (Best of Modern Broadway). Such faith in a production directed, choreographed, and performed by kids-including the band!-borders on foolhardy.

I've stated my reluctance to dump on actors who aren't consenting adults before, and I think it should carry at least a misdemeanor. Besides, Lakewood Playhouse and Lakewood's Youth Theatre program mounted BOMB in a space vacated by the incredibly challenging Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead only days ago, so it came as no surprise to me or, apparently, Playhouse staffers when gremlins ran roughshod over BOMB's final-dress preview.

First there was hubbub from actors backstage during the pre-show announcements.  Then keyboard speakers spat so much distortion the actors had difficulty hearing their pitch.  The wireless mics flatly refused to work.  Even seasoned adult actors would be thrown by technical difficulties of this magnitude, but the BOMB squad soldiered on.  Luckily, at least the distortion problem was fixed at intermission.

Lakewood's Youth Theatre program has been so successful that at times it was difficult to cram the entire 35-member ensemble onstage.  Credit co-directors Michael Clark, Alex Domine, and Elizabeth Meberg (PLU students all, just a few years older than the 10-18 age range of the cast) with the hours of effort needed to make that happen as smoothly as possible.  At times BOMB 2010 looked like a black-clad, underage flash mob, but it worked.  Meberg's choreography was solid throughout, if a tad over-reliant on Solid Gold era dance moves.

Broadway song revues are a staple of community theaters, as they usually require only the company's standard ASCAP and BMI licenses to produce.  (The stipulation, of course, is that they must be performed concert style, with minimal dramatization.)  I've seen and even performed in several of these over the years-with sincere apologies to "If I Were a Rich Man"-so I have to give Lakewood further credit for bypassing some overused song choices.  Every young Lea Michele idolater wants a shot at "Defying Gravity," for example, but Wicked is represented here by "I'm Not That Girl."

Having said that, I would love to know which definition of the word "modern" is being applied.  The show's second half includes no less than three Rodgers and Hammerstein classics.  Of the 16 songs performed here, six are from the last 20 years, meaning most are older than the cast and directors.  Make that six and a half:  "Just Dance" made a bizarre intrusion into "Welcome to the ‘60s," right at what should've been the intermission climax.  One song had nothing to do with the other.  Lady Gaga is not Broadway, and the style change totally threw the cast.  I dig Glee, too, but ya gotta make sense and be cohesive.

Voices ranged widely in quality and assuredness, of course, and it's time we let the American Idol melismatic yodeling die.  Jake Elliott and Kylie Skellen made strong vocal impressions, as did Coleman Hagerman's amusing Eric Idle impersonation on "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."  But the real showstopper here was Molly Bordeaux, who emerged from the pack to cast star power on "Strongest Suit." 

The worst singing by far came from the audience at curtain call.  We were painfully flat on that octave leap in "Happy Birthday."

BOMB

Through Aug. 29, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, $10-$15
Lakewood Playhouse, 5729 Lakewood Center Towne Road, Lakewood
253.588.0042