Review: Zach Theatre's Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch

Nathan Jerkins as Mr. Hatch in Zach Theatre's production of Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch (Photo by Suzanne Cordeiro)

It is odd and a bit disorienting that Zach Theatre's revival of Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, which is set during Valentine's Day, opens in April and runs through May. It's like staging a Nativity play in August. But idiosyncratic scheduling is the least of the initially off-putting adjustments that turn Eileen Spinelli's beloved children's book – a delightful 11-minute bedtime read – into an hourlong stage production.

The story features Mr. Hatch, a lonely, small-town recluse who is leading a yawn-inducing life until he receives a mysterious Valentine's Day box of candy with an anonymous note that reads, "Somebody loves you." The note fills his heart the way a sighting of the similarly worded mural on the side of Jo's Coffee in SoCo fills ours. For Mr. Hatch, his journey to find his secret admirer becomes a worldview awakening – a celebration of friendship and social connection with a heaping helping of life lessons about being kind.

Returning from the COVID-curtailed premiere production of this show in 2020 are Paul Sanchez as Mr. Smith, the newspaper stand operator; Amber Quick as Ms. Todd, the grocery store operator; and, on opening night, Stella Frye Ginsberg as Melanie, Ms. Todd's teenage daughter (with Chloe Van De Graaf and Lila Gonzalez playing the role during other performances). Nathan Jerkins joins the cast as Mr. Hatch.

Except for a few tweaks to the original book – including the infusion of seven original songs, accompanied by prerecorded music – Allen Robertson's adaptation stays true to the story. But Robertson, who is also the show's director and music director, takes a more radical approach to the storytelling.

Upon entering the Kleberg's in-the-round performance space, it is immediately clear that no attempt has been made to reproduce Paul Yalowitz's whimsical book illustrations or capture his creative vision. The artist made wonderful use of basic Crayola crayon colors in his pictures and portrayed Spinelli's characters as if they were vintage vinyl Colorforms cutouts adhered to flat scenescapes of a park, a grocery store, and Mr. Hatch's humble home. For this production, the black box theatre is unadorned save for an actual black box center stage, and the only colors to be found are the muted ones in Christina Montgomery's character-defining costuming, which is worn by the actors mingling with the crowd before the show begins.

Adults experienced with the ways of children's theatre know that this might be a good time to arm their little ones with a big bag of gummy bears and themselves with a gummy of a different variety to get through the next hour that is this no-frills, low-budget production. However, the show starts with the performers playfully direct-addressing the audience and casually engaging them in conversation, and it is apparent that the lack of bells and whistles focuses all our attention on these talented actors and their brilliant performances.

Everyone does remarkable work fleshing out their characters, nailing their gorgeous harmonies, and creating a joyful piece of theatre. But Jerkins' subtle and very moving portrayal of Mr. Hatch, both before and after his spiritual transformation, is something truly special. So too is Ginsberg's abundantly charming handling of the show's narrative duties and orchestrating the production's plentiful audience participation, which includes patrons briefly playing minor characters. On opening night, one of the highlights was when the audience member called upon to be the mailman broke down in tears while delivering a bit of bad news to Mr. Hatch late in the show. She, Ginsberg, and most everyone in attendance wept for the remainder of the production.

In short, this is a tight, professional production that will hold a child's attention for the full hour and keep adults similarly engaged and entertained. But for those who are put off by no-frills theatre with a lesson plan, at odds with public displays of emotion, and in fear of being called on to play something they are not, that medical edible is always an option.

Zach Theatre's Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch

This reviewed was corrected after publication to reflect that this production has an original score.