In March of 1970, one of the weakest musical seasons of the ebbing Golden Age of Theatre, a star vehicle written by a gang of impressive talents for a woman who couldn't sing bowed on Broadway to consistent acclaim...but only for it's lead. Lauren Bacall made Applause a Tony-Award Winner for Best Musical, and there have been few times when a show with this weak a textual execution has carried away Broadway's top honor. Since that time, this musical version of Joseph L. Mankiewicz' exceptional 1950 backstage movie, All About Eve, has rarely been performed, and its forgettable score, save for the title song, has long ago done what it should. Phoenix Theatre and Michael Barnard have bent to the call of their subscribers and mounted the show, moving it from 1970 to 1974, and put some of the hardest work into a production I've ever seen. The result is a heart- and talent-filled evening of theatrical overachievers in performance, management, and design that are heartbreakingly doing everything they can to breath life into dead on arrival material.
Margo Channing is a Star. She has everything: an adoring younger boyfriend as her Director, a successful playwright to create her material, and a best friend who is her dresser and therapist. She is starting to show her age, though, and little waif Eve Harrington, whom Margo befriends, has plans to usurp everything. The struggle between Margo and Eve is an eternal one, and this backstage drama seems like a perfect setting for a musical, save for the fact that the film's vitriolic fun has been watered down and the music and lyrics are pedestrian when they're not grating.
Faced with a daunting task, Director Barnard and Musical Director Jerry Wayne Harkey have done everything they can to make the show more palatable. The choreography has become Fosse-er, the music funkier, and the energy level of the performers has been ratcheted up to explosive levels. The designers have thought big. The cast is a gem of singing, dancing, and comic talent. Mr. Barnard has found numerous ways of adding bits and shtick related to the era to make the script snappier. These things should please those who aren't sticklers for such things as well-written dialogue and songs. Average audience members will be bowled over by the professionalism and glitz that surround this production. The disappointment will come to those to whom material is as important as style.
The fault lies not in the Stars. Patti Davis Suarez is the real thing. She proves it through her ballads, her showstoppers, and her bitchy moments. Her stage presence and solid voice carry Margo impressively. Rival Eve is played at a lower key by Katherine Stewart, in a way that is almost questionable until Mr. Barnard allows her to give us the goods in the second act song "One Halloween," where she explodes in a justification that explains all previous choices. Robbie Harper comes perilously close to stealing the show as Margo's dresser/advisor Duane. Every look, every inflection of voice, and every breathtaking dance sequence proves that Mr. Harper is just as much of a Star as Ms. Suarez. Chris Vaglio, Ben Brittain, and Mark Stoddard play the other men in Margo's life, boyfriend/Director Howard, Playwright Buzz, and Producer Bill, with the varying amounts of leading man quality and smarmy charm that their roles require. The only disappointing performance comes from Maria Amorocho as Buzz's wife and Margo's friend, Karen, who plays her emotions in a disingenuous way and makes her role into a broader caricature than those around her. There is one moment at the end of the first act where she missed her opportunity to shine.
The ensemble, led by April Umbrianna as talented dancer Bonnie, is the best brought together for a Phoenix Theatre production since Joseph. Ms. Umbriana sings and dances as though her life depends on it, highlighted in her numbers "Applause" and "She's No Longer a Gypsy." There doesn't seem to be a weak link within the entire ensemble, and every one deserves kudos for their overwhelming salesmanship of the piece. They dance Mr. Barnard's intricate and enjoyable choreography with aplomb, and sing with abandon.
The designers have gone for broke with this production. Jim Hunter has created a backstage cage of steel that is vaguely reminiscent of the original production of Sweeney Todd. It is upon this scaffold-work that Mr. Barnard has added an even more interesting element. He has the onstage scene watched by carefully chosen offstage actors in a Brechtian twist that reveals how everything private is public in professional theatre. Michael Eddy's lighting is atmospheric, theatrical, and spectacular as called for throughout the evening. Mathew Gnagy's costumes are an explosion of the tasteless 70s at their most garish, and perfect for the show. Manuela Needhammer's hair and makeup design is perfectly period. The weakest element of the show on the opening Saturday night was David Temby's sound, which encountered numerous problems during the run. Mr. Harkey's orchestra is full, rich, and as strong as the other elements of the show.
By the end of this over two and a half hour spectacle, one can't help but be overwhelmed by the work that everyone involved in the production has put into making this a success. It's tragic they don't have worthy material to support their amazing efforts.
Production Details:
Applause Book by Betty Comden
and Adolph Green, Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics
by Lee Adams
Phoenix Theatre, Phoenix
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(602) 254-2151
September 14th - 30th, 2001