Reviewed 9/4/04
Desert Stages Theatre has given a theme to their season: Names. The first offering is the chamber musical A…My Name is Alice. The piece features work by some pretty heavy hitters of women’s writing such as Anne Meara of Meara and Stiller and Marta Kaufmann, one of the creators of the sitcom Friends and another more clever chamber musical, Personals. I come at this show from a unique perspective, having seen the sequel A…My Name is Still Alice six seasons ago at Phoenix Theatre. What I had first taken as sequel-itis, the dumbing down of material previously used and packaged to capitalize on the first’s success, was off the mark. Silver and Boyd’s work on their sequel involved no dumbing down. If anything, there were more hot buttons touched on later than in this grrl-empowring cheer that explores such issues as romance novels (“Non-bridaled Passion”), siblinghood (“Sisters”), and who’s problems are worse (“Bluer Than You”).
Directors Gerry and Laurie Cullity have cut some of the original blackout scenes and even pilfered a song from the sequel by adding “Lifelines.” This musical is sketch comedy for the gals, and while it does have some funny moments, a few stretches toward the touching, and even one moment that might qualify as genuine message in “Once and Only Thing,” the material still feels like an excuse for putting talented women onstage. The group that the Cullitys have collected has strong points and weak, but all five of the actresses do their best to sell this fluffy piece.
The strongest actress and song-seller is newcomer Laura Anne Kenney. She takes the insipidly sweet song “I Like the Boys” and turns it into a decent ballad. She is understated in her group work and plays more realistically than the others.
Sonia Rodriguez and Eva Suzanne Burch (pictured
left) share the honors as the strongest singers. Rodriguez is breathtakingly
funny as
she becomes a
blues singer in “Honeypot,” taking a one-joke piece and milking
it for a steady stream of laughs while belting double-entendre’d blues.
Burch has a solid set of pipes, and overcomes sappy material with her singing
prowess in “The Portrait.”
The elder stateswomen of the group, Sally Fitzgibbons and Barbara McBain are not the strongest of singers or actresses, but they hold their own by infusing their characters with heart. McBain does a hilariously over-the-top turn as a poet who delivers three “For Women Only Poems.” Fitzgibbons is never given a solo, through her portrayal as a kindergarten teacher hell bent on setting women’s lib back to the 50s is cute.
Gregg Temple’s canned music works. Becca Courtney and Daniel Anderson have created pleasing designs for lights and sound. The collected costumes are generally good, though some choices, such as the blouses for the finale, may match but are not flattering to any of them.
The second Saturday was lightly attended. There were more men than women, and the conversations in the men’s bathroom only proved what I suspected: “This one was for her,” “Well, we went to the Cardinal’s game last weekend,” and other mumbled explanations permeated the antiseptic air. This is a pleasant evening of theatre for women and a wash for their dutiful significant others. It’s not anywhere near as exciting as a rare Cardinal’s or Diamondback’s win, but at least it isn’t the bridal show.