Phoenix Theatre's Crooners
(out of 
)Mark S.P. Turvin
(home office) (602) 912-0117
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 1/9/98
(out of )The standard way to present a musical revue is to cram as many songs into an evening as possible, and find some threadbare, cutesy throughline to link the songs together. Exceptions to this rule are rare, but the list has increased by one thanks to the work of a big-time record producer and a veteran writer/director/producer. Crooners is a musical revue that dares to include a plot. The result is an enjoyable evening of theatre that has an interesting dramatic element, while still offering a truckload of great 40's and 50's melodic tunes.
The setting is Brooklyn in 1955. Four golden-throated crooner-wannabees are taking lessons at the Brooklyn Academy of Music from singing and attitude coach Soph Antell. While the world is slowly coming to realize that rock and roll is here to stay, these four teenagers are trying to halt the process and keep the traditions of Bing, Dino, Sammy and Perry alive. The four students each represent a different type of lounge singer; one is a slick Italian with a hint of Vic Damone, another is a laid-back velvety-voiced singer the likes of Perry Como. They face external pressures, competitions and internal fighting as they practice for the final presentation in front of record producers and agents.
Phoenix Theatre's production of this new play starts out strong, but halfway through the show on opening night, jitters overcame the cast and crew, making for a shaky finish. Director Peter J. Loewy is generally on-target with casting, especially in the vocal department. There are stretches, such as trying to believe that Valley veteran Rusty Ferracane is a senior in high school, but the plot is well mixed with the music, and Mr. Loewy does a fine job of balancing character and crooning.
Once past the initial physical miscasting, Mr. Ferracane shines as a singer whose success on the Arthur Godfrey Talent Hour threatens to break apart the friendships and overwhelm the trust of teacher Soph, played hilariously by Robyn Ferracane. At one point during a benefit, Mr. Ferracane does a dead-on imitation of Sammy Davis, Jr. that left the audience howling. Quite to my dismay, Ms. Ferracane only gets to sing one half of a song, a sad situation considering her generous vocal talents. What she lacks in singing time is definitely made up for in her acting and comedic timing.
At the heart of the play is nice-guy Arnie Blaine, played by Adam Tyler. Mr. Tyler gives a solid performance, making himself instantly likable, and dazzling the audience with his vocal renditions of such hits as "The Road to Morocco" and "Prisoner of Love." Mr. Tyler manages to maintain his narrator status, carry a good part of the acting in the show through his crush on Soph, and interweaves songs meant for performance with songs meant to drive plot.
As the interloper with a generous talent and ego all mixed together, Tommy DeCampo, Bradford York manages to believably capture the smarmy charm that has become the trademark of all parodies against crooners. His beautiful voice and precise movements make for a formidable package. Finally, as the nearly unbearably stereotyped Italian, Vinni Furtado, Robert Allocca does as well as he can with the smart mouthed, street wise tough. His singing is exceptional, but, through little fault of his own, he is unable to say many of his somewhat offensively predictable Italianisms with much truth.
The production was seamless and enjoyable up until the intermission. Then, on opening night, gremlins seem to have invaded the theatre, causing sound problems, lighting problems, and the occasional missed entry and flubbed cue to make the show seem a tad amateurish. I'll chalk most of these up to opening night jitters, although there seemed to be more there than just one night only problems.
Daniel A. Kurek's orchestra was impressive for a four-man combo, and Jo Ann Yeoman's choreography worked well with the necessary synchronized steps and solo endeavors. John Hood's scenic design was functional and stylized, and Paul Black's normally impressive lighting design integrated mechanized spots that seemed awkward and occasionally missed their mark. Susan Johnson-Hood's costumes were on-the-mark, but David Tremby's sound design seemed flawed, especially when allowing an echo effect in the second act to plague scenes before and after with microphone problems.
To call this show "groundbreaking" may be a bit generous,
but it does attempt to go where few have gone before. The subject
is enjoyable, the drama a welcome change, and should the production
run as tightly as a revue of this sort needs, makes for an interesting
evening of theatre.
Production Details:
Crooners by Brooks Arthur and Bob Booker
Phoenix Theatre, Phoenix
254-2151
January 9th-January 25th, 1998