Reviewed 1/7/05
A second attempt at a gala opening, you say? Following their fiasco in the tent, Arizona Broadway Theatre has stepped up incrementally. No, the food’s not their own yet, but they are in their somewhat finished space. The theatre will be gorgeous when completed: wonderful seating, a nice ambience, a stage with fly space. Their current mounting of Lerner and Loewe’s ancient and threadbare kilt-of-a-show, Brigadoon, seems to be in the same state as the facility, which is not quite ready for a gala.
Am I the only one who noticed that it’s been a long-long-loooooong time since anyone produced this Scotch fantasy? I barely remember seeing it on Broadway back in 1980. Where their mounting of Anything Goes had a Reno to light up the stage and a Porter score to keep the audience’s and chorus’ feet tapping, Brigadoon has three memorably enjoyable tunes balanced by a lot of lads and lasses singing about what they’re doing and dancing Jessica Costa’s same five steps with hands raised until another groaner of a joke is cracked. I mean come on, one whole song is called “The Chase,” in which a bunch of men sing about chasing someone around while, you guessed it, chasing someone around. Another is called “Jeannie’s Packin’ Up,” and I suspect you’ll guess what’s going on through that. This show is an also-ran of the golden age of musicals that has fallen into the same pit as musicals like Mame and Funny Girl.
The play was originally mounted in 1947 and is showing it’s age despite
the dropping in of words like “cell” and “Mapquest.” Set
in the highlands of Scotland, the tale follows Americans Tommy (Scott
Dispensa) and Jeff (John Haubner) as they hike before
Tommy’s nuptials. Lost in the mists, they stumble across the titled town,
a miracle from 1706 that reappears once every hundred years. To the inhabitants,
only three days have passed, and they are readying for the wedding of Charlie
(Jason Paul) and Jean (Lauren VanAssche).
Lauren’s sister Fiona (Jeannie Shubitz) falls for Tommy,
and the question becomes will Tommy stay and fall asleep with the town to awaken
in another hundred years. There are plenty of subplots, including Harry’s
(Michael Flosi) jealousy over the wedding and lusty Meg’s
(Emily Mulligan-Ferry) unabashed pursuit of Jeff. An example
of its age is one of Mulligan-Ferry’s well-belted songs, “My Mother’s
Weddin’ Day,” which is a single joke that stopped being pertinent
around the time of the sexual revolution.
There are some good performances. Shubitz is a treat, playing her demure character well and lifting her sweet soprano to glorious heights. Dispensa is a bit too downplayed, but his voice is as impressive as Shubitz’s. Paul’s Charlie is full of energy, even if the chemistry of the romance comes only from VanAssche. Flosi, however, is a one-note baddie, skulking around the stage in search of subtlety. Mulligan-Ferry is as broad and perky as one can stand while showcasing her powerful pipes. Haubner, usually a strong performer, spends a lot of the time in this reactionary character doing little more than dressing the set.
The chorus is big, and it’s loud, and they’re full of spirit, but they almost never seem together when dancing the bouncy choreography. Their spunk is a pretty even balance to their lack of synchronization.
Besides the creaky script, the design team has offered some paltry choices of their own. There is no mention of a scenic designer, which supports my theory that this is a rented set, but did no one notice some of the glaring problems, like that the legs covering the backstage area did not hide the prominent “Exit” sign stage left, or that the pretty scrim of the town had huge cut marks across the top that look like a bad patch job? Sloppy. Darrell W. Fall’s lighting is heavily saturated with colors that are a little too overwhelming, like the ruby-red dusk in the second act that looks like a nuclear maelstrom. Martha J. Clarke’s costumes are excellent creations, and David Temby’s sound design is effective.
I must note that despite my misgivings, the audience seemed eager to offer a standing ovation, so those who are more forgiving may ignore and enjoy. For me, I am starting to believe that the third time will be the charm, and I am greatly looking forward to their upcoming Man of La Mancha, an infinitely better script, for a show that should feature some of the things we've come to expect from a dinner theatre, like their own food.
