Text taken from LiterNet.ro / author: Mihai Brezeanu

After a strong start with the new UNITER 2024 laureate Who killed my father? of the Metropolis Theatre (the award for best direction went to Andrei Măjeri), the 9th edition of the Oradea International Theatre Festival (FITO) scheduled, on the second day (June 2, 2024), a premiere of the hosts. The Iosif Vulcan troupe of the Regina Maria Theatre presented, on the stage of the magnificent Great Hall of the State Theatre, the country premiere of the musical Kid.

Starting from the movie The Kid, from 1921, by Charlie Chaplin (director, screenplay, male lead role), the Hungarian playwright and director Zsolt Pozsgai wrote in 1992, together with the composer Tibor Nagy and the lyricist Iván Bradányi (author of the lyrics), a musical that enjoys great success on stages in Hungary and beyond. In 2015, the Hungarian director Imre Halasi staged it on the stage of the Géza Gárdonyi Theater in the city of Eger. In 2024, Halasi, benefiting from the translation of the venerable Romanian critic Zeno Fodor (90 years old, present at the Oradea premiere), staged it again in Oradea.

The pronounced pop allure of the songs, with multiple passages reminiscent of the rhythms of pop music hits from this part of the world from the 70s to the 90s, gives the show, especially in the first of the two acts, a light, relaxed character. A Sunday evening at the big and beautiful theater, with a simple and moving story, costumes of an American super-production (Hollywood is invoked both in the lyrics of the songs and visually, through light bulbs hanging from high above, alongside those reminiscent of Chaplin's production company, United Artists – sets: Irina Chirilă), blushing cheeks and red palms from so much applause.

It is true that the good mood is not chased away until the end, the audience enjoying every scene to the fullest. What comes in, as the performance unfolds, is a certain sensation of depth, of development on multiple levels. In the end, we are talking about a 3 hour and 15 minute show (including a 20-25 minute break), with an impressive display of forces, the product of a remarkable effort by both the artistic and technical staff.

At the head of a cast with multiple peaks, massive words of praise are due to the 9 (!!!) year old kid Luca Bran (he will play on par with Rareș Roșu, who will debut on the occasion of the next performance, on June 23, 2024), who amazes with everything he achieves in the role of Jacky. The worst thing is that the two are not debuting, as they also share the role of Mowgli in the musical The Jungle Book, which premiered in February 2024. Present in numerous scenes and having a wealth of lines, excellently synchronized with both the ensemble and his partners, Chaplin (Daniel Vulcu), Lucy (Georgia Căprărin) and Mary (Ioana Cheregi), with whom he shares scenes in pairs, with an angelic face reminiscent of Jackie Coogan's in Chaplin's film, Luca is a joy that deserves standing ovation!

Tibor Nagy's music and the Oradea production do not flow without moments when the rhythm or concentration suffer. The best proof is the way the audience reacts in the other cases, when the show overflows with enthusiasm, humor and imagination. This is the case, among others, of the debut of the second act, when the band of summer losers / little scoundrels led by Ted (Alexandru Rusu) and formed by Ed (Tudor Manea), Med (George Dometi) and Ben (David Constantinescu) set the hall on fire. Their charm is enhanced by the excellent idea of sneaking into the show, with rehearsal, a very inspired parody of BUG Mafia, the kind of solution that, implemented in other moments of the performance, would have had the gift of refreshing and localizing musical compositions that, too often, seem to have nuances of Mamaia 1992.

Originally from Bihor, but currently a member of the Mihai Raicu troupe of the Northern Theatre of Satu Mare, Ioana Cheregi shines in the role of Mary. Highlighted by Amalia Judea's costumes, the actress cerebrally controls the overly emo passages of the libretto, managing to precisely alternate the moments when she dominates the stage and those when she remains in the background.

The other great female role is achieved by A-grade goddess Ioana Dragoș Gajdó, whose Madame Foyer amazes with energy, uninhibitedness and humor. Next to her is Georgia Căprărin, who is emotional in the scenes with the kid Jacky and raises loud laughter in the interactions with Ted's band of 4 funny fools.

Daniel Vulcu is the producer, director and screenwriter Charlie Chaplin (from real life) and the Tramp Charlie Chaplin (from fictional life). The white suit of the one who is one of the moguls of silent Hollywood, the black suit of the one who remains, even over 100 years later, a legend, an idol, a great star. It's amazing how adults and children alike in 2024 still laugh out loud at the sight of Charlot's gags. In the most powerful moments of Kid Daniel Vulcu, from Oradea, embodies that character from silent films. The play of spotlights reproduces the black and white and adorable imperfections of the ancient film and Vulcu, seconded most often by Luca Bran, but also by other characters, manages, based on mimicry and impeccably choreographed gestures, to bring us Chaplin a few meters away. Pure Proustian madeleine for what is now childhood!

The professional dance troupe consists of Alexandra Gyerman, Noémi-Csilla Sztankovits, Vanessa, Etien Doboș, Márk Kocsis and Patrik Szilágyi. They are joined, in the large scenes, by the ensemble of actors. Tamás Topolánszky's choreography appropriately complements the musical score, giving the show the aura of grandeur that should accompany every musical produced according to the classical rules. Those rules also include the story, full of emotion, lessons and, if possible, humor, the memorable costumes, the diverse and cleverly colored lights, the charismatic and memorable performers.

Kid ticks all of the above, managing, equally, to throw reflective passages towards the world of those who, probably, will never reach the audience of a musical or any theater show. The hope that the thoughts of the spectators will stop, at least for a moment, and in the universe of the unlucky sits alongside the joy of watching and applauding a very solid and complex show for the general public.