With a little help from 'pixie dust'

Two girls playing Chinese lanterns performed back flips across the stage. Constantly bounding to the beat of the music and singing in unison, they seemed like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum -- but with far better athletic skill. They provided an interlude of excitement for the viewer.\nOverall, "Pollen: The Musical" was entertaining and full of potential. The musical is centered on magic and what it can achieve. Ben Blinkenstop (Tim Reed), the gardener, is able to talk and dance with all the flowers in the garden with the help of a little "pixie-dust" -- or pollen. Ben meets each member of the garden in turn. In outfits representing different eras of history, each flower had separate personality characteristics. Violet (Rebecca Keith) was shy and always worried about her leaves falling off, while Daisy (Melissa Hillman) was not all that bright. \nCompost (Buff Brown) received a great deal of laughter for his antics. Terrorizing the flowers for his next meal, Brown used clever facial expressions to show Compost's glee at the prospect of a new meal. Though his character might have smelled, Brown, along with Spike (Trent Chitwood) lit up the stage with a soft-shoe tap number. Composting the whole garden, the two sang and used their shovels to accentuate their dance moves. These two added a little fun to an otherwise somber scene. \nThe choreography throughout the musical added flavor to the performance. Using Latin-inspired moves, bits of the Charleston and even a square dance number, Shauna Steele brought together a number of different genres of dance styles to fit with the different flavors of music used in each scene. Though most of the cast were singers before they were dancers, the audience would have never guessed.\nThe key to a musical is the correct use of song, but I felt each of the singers didn't have the opportunity to showcase his or her talents. Mother Nature (Jennifer Heichelbech) performed a beautiful solo allowing her full and deep voice to shine. None of the other members including Rose (Caroline Dowd-Higgins), the lead flower, received much musical time outside of the chorus. \nThe musical score helped to provide a mood for the scene. An eclectic choice of tunes, the music was catchy. I even found myself tapping my foot to the rhythm in parts. The use of percussion set the mood for the pivotal scene of the musical. \nThe Chemikill lawn men emerge onto the stage to a swell of drum beats. Red lighting and smoke give the scene a slightly eerie quality. With face masks and spacesuits, the Chemikill men looked like they stepped out of a science fiction movie. Though short, the scene was quite effective in portraying a feeling of doom. \nCostumes, such as the Chemikill men's spacesuits, were the eye candy of the performance. From Rose's full-length, red gown shaped like the petals of a rose to Thyme's Dickens-esque overcoat and britches, the costumes stemmed from different historical ages. The unique use of color and shape helped to bring out the personalities of the characters. Ivy's costume included a corset bodice of green with the wooden framework of a hoopskirt laden with ivy, giving a slightly seductive feel to the character. \nFun and frivolous, the show is perfect for a night out when you just want to be entertained.