Review: Tammy: A Coming of Age Story About a Girl Who is Part T-Rex - Governor's Program for Gifted Children

Nothing would seem odd about a scene with a teenage girl sitting and writing in her diary. She covers that she doesn't like school and writes about the boys that she likes. However, there is one odd detail. This girl is part Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex). She is called to breakfast where we learn that her name is Tammy.

The play doesn't offer much content other than various scenes of what happens during middle school. There are the popular girls, Jennica and Amber. There's the typical jock, Cliff. There's Tammy's best friend, Hope.

This play is current being performed by the Governor's Program for Gifted Children. The students did a great job remembering their lines. However, most of them couldn't be heard all that well. In order to hear the majority of the students, it is a good idea to get a seat close to the stage.

The costumes were perfect for the characters. The popular girls looked like the popular girls in a high school. The jock wore the typical letterman jacket. Hope was always in her Girl Scout uniform. It is understandable that they wanted easy to move set pieces. However, having set pieces that looked like something out of Saved by the Bell or Clarissa Explains it All didn't work for the scenes at the dinner table and then when those pieces were used to depict traveling in a car. Other than that, they did recall the 1990s, which, apparently, this play is supposed to do.

The dance scenes, while entertaining, were not always understandable. It was apparent if these things were really happening, were in the imagination of Tammy, or were just dreams. However, these things aren't the fault of the directors or the actors. They are written into the script. During the play, Tammy ends up getting angry and kills all of her friends. This brought up the question if this play could possibly be an allegory about school shootings. Tammy deals with rejection and ridicule that leads to violence. She has a friend that doesn't seem to find her odd while everybody else does.

The two performers that truly stood out in the play were Penina Berman as Tammy T-Rex and Sydney Brummett as Jennica Lupis. Other performers are Clayton Ladner (Mrs. Rex), Ben Songy (Mr. Rex/Popular Guy), Aiden Manuel (Brian/Mr. Sanchez), Victoria Toddman (Hope), Ella Theriot (Amber Swan/Mary Ellen), Jack Touchet (Cliff Samorga), Caleb Caldwell (Bacon Bite/Steve Watson/Faceless Teacher/Guard), Liam Hopper (Guard/Student/Faceless Teacher), and Vivienne Ragnone (Student/Judy/Faceless Teacher). There are also guest appearances b Nickolas Walling, Mary Landry, and Ryan Bryne.

There is one more chance to see the show at 3pm on Friday, July 20, 2018. Even with the shortcomings, there is no doubt that these kids are talented. Support the local arts and the local community. The performance is free.

The Governor's Program for Gifted Children is a seven week program held on the McNeese campus over the summer. Students stay on the campus for those seven weeks and have a variety of curricula in the arts and sciences available to them. To find out more, head to http://gpgc.org.

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