A Low Budget Fable
Reviewed
3/27/04
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser , Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
Directed by Dee Dee Wood
Desert Foothills Theater
The Cactus Shadow's Fine Arts Center, Cave Creek
(480) 488-1981
March 26th - April 11th , 2004
$10.00 - $20.00
Cave Creek resident Dee Dee Wood has a lot to recommend
her for directing the Damon Runyon -inspired, Frank
Loesser tuner Guys & Dolls: She
is a well-heeled choreographer with multiple awards who happens to have also
been one of the Hot Box Girls in the original Broadway production in the
early 50s. It would seem foolish for Desert Foothills Theatre not
to tap her to helm their production. I'm here to report that their choice
was an inspired one. Time has been taken to give the grand old chestnut new
life. The only problem is that no matter how great your director and how
wonderful your material, there's still the matter of casting, and that has
been a middling proposition for their current production. There are a few
excellent performers, a few solid ones, and one or two that are simply out
of place.
The opening "Fugue for Tin Horns" sets the tone. Sung by Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Bruce Halperin), Benny Southstreet (Michael Stewart), and Rusty Charlie (Michael Druckman) each sings their hearts out, but when the dialogue begins, the acting is mixed. Druckman is a filler, standing and barely emoting, Halperin is pushing; ordinarily a solid presence, he seems preoccupied through many of his scenes. Only Stewart remains consistently funny throughout. So it is with the leads. Meghan Grabel's goody-goody Sarah is an excellent offering. She has a lovely voice and strong presence. Kevin Glenn's Sky Masterson is an oddity. At some moments, he really embodies this high-rolling gangster's self-assurance, while at others, he seems an anachronism, too modern and not enough in the moment to pull it all off, despite his strong voice. The comedic balancing pair of Bobbie Finder as the earnest Hot Box lead chorus girl Miss Adelaide and the harried Nathan Detroit as played by Roy Hunt are a nice match. Finder and Hunt have excellent voices and are strong actors. It is here, though, that the oddest criticism occurs.
The irony of this production is that the weakest part of this otherwise okay show is the dancing. Wood's musical staging, in addition to Helena Saraydarian's dance choreography, is hacked at the knees by a male chorus that have, to a man, two left feet, and Finder shares the same affliction. Two of three of Adelaide's big numbers ought to be filled with dance, but Finder looks awkward on her feet. She sings like a dream, looks all the part, and squeaks her way through her lines in a wonderful way, but how can one understand when she shuffles offstage during her big "Take Back Your Mink" moment to let the dancers take over? Even more difficult to sit through is the underwhelming movement assigned to the male chorus during the seminal "Luck Be a Lady" scene. These disappointments are balanced by the quartet of Hot Box girls who are dancing demons.
While this is supposed to be a musical fable, which gives a lot of leeway to Matt Marich in his set design, the workable set pieces still cannot avoid looking like something made for a high school production. Christopher Rigney's lighting doesn't seem to have many recognizable levels. Diane Welle's costumes are the strongest of design elements, while Toby Payne's sound design ran into several mic problems. Daniel Kurek's direction of the Puma Jazz Ensemble of PVCC is impressive.
This is a production that is strong in spots, but spotty in others. I'd love to see what Wood is capable of when given a consistent cast.
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