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July 23, 2004
Spend a night under the stars
This summer's TUTS musicals, Crazy for You and Footloose, entertain.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) brings together generations this
summer with Crazy for You and Footloose. Set some
50 years apart, these musicals share the common themes of rebellion,
love and hope for the future. As TUTS productions, they both possess
accomplished casts and crew, feature wonderful music and are a great
way to spend an evening.
The boy gets the girl
Crazy for You is adapted from the 1930 Gershwin musical
Girl Crazy, the cast of which included Ginger Rogers and
Ethel Merman. The "new" version was created in 1992 and
it added 13 Gershwin songs to the production and updated the book,
originally by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, and re-conceived
by Ken Ludwig. The result is a show packed with well-known songs,
innovative dance numbers and a familiar plot to hold them all together
– boy meets girl, falls in love with girl, loses girl, wins
girl back.
Set in the 1930s, Crazy for You takes place in New York,
N.Y., and Deadrock, Nev. Bobby, played by Patrick Lambier, is a
wanna-be singer/dancer being pressured by his mother to give up
such silly dreams and take over the family banking business. As
a "last chance" to prove himself capable of doing so,
Bobby's mother sends him to Deadrock to foreclose on a run-down
theatre. But alas, Bobby falls in love with the theatre owner's
daughter, Polly (Lalainia Lindbjerg). In order to keep Polly and
save the theatre, Bobby comes up with the idea to put on a big show
to raise the money needed to pay off the debt owed to the bank.
Disguised as the director of the famous Zangler's Follies, Bela
Zangler, Bobby sets his plan in motion and the fun begins.
The highlight of this TUTS production is by far the dancing. Director/choreographer
Scott Drewitz puts together some fantastic numbers using props ranging
from telephones to rope to rock picks, with dancers on stacked chairs,
car hoods and roof tops. Energetically and well-executed by the
cast, the best scenes include the performances to "I Can't
be Bothered Now" and "I Got Rhythm."
Perhaps needless to say, most of the music in Crazy for You
is excellent: "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Embraceable
You," "I Got Rhythm," "They Can't Take that
Away from Me," "But Not for Me" and "Nice Work
if You Can Get It" are considered classics for a reason. Musical
director and Jewish community member Wendy Bross Stuart rises to
the occasion, as do the orchestra – which includes community
members Jeff Feinstein and Andrea and Dewi Minden – and the
actors, although Lambier's rendition of "They Can't Take that
Away from Me" was not great on opening night.
Lindbjerg, as Polly, is the strongest all-round performer in the
show. The better singers, unfortunately, only have one song each:
Elizabeth Marie West (Irene, Bobby's jilted girlfriend) gives a
wonderful performance of "Naughty Boy" and Michael Walker
(the real Bela Zangler) barely gets to show off his talent in "What
Causes That?" And proof to the adage that "there are no
small parts," Adam Goldenberg, who is Jewish, shines as the
lanky, dumb cowboy Moose. He delivers his few lines well and proves
himself a good singer in the Cowboy Trio.
The "evils" of dance
While Footloose may be a trip down memory lane for those
of us who were teenagers in the mid-1980s, it is not in the same
"classic" league as Crazy for You. That said, it
is nice to see a more modern musical for a change and the TUTS production
is full of energy and charm.
Based on the movie by the same name, Footloose tells the
story of a high school boy, Ren, who moves with his mother from
Chicago to the small town of Bomont, where preacher Rev. Shaw Moore
rules the town. In Bomont, rock 'n' roll and dancing are outlawed
because it is thought that they only lead to other immoralities,
such as drinking and sex. Not content to toe the line, Ren challenges
Moore's authority and, in the process, infuses the town with a renewed
sense of hope and an appreciation of life.
Ironically – since Footloose is all about dancing –
the choreography in the TUTS show is mediocre. When dancing like
they would at a night club, the actors appear comfortable, but when
required to do more challenging footwork, most of them seem ill-suited
to the task. Especially in the song "I Can't Stand Still,"
Danny Balkwell, who capably sings and acts the part of Ren, appears
to struggle with the dance steps, needing to put a lot of effort
into them.
As in Crazy for You, the female lead is one of the strongest
cast members in Footloose. Katie Murphy as the reverend's
daughter, Ariel, seems right at home acting, singing and dancing.
She is well supported by her "clique" of Rusty (Alana
Hibbert), Urleen (Sophie Olson) and Wendy Jo (Jewish community member
Daniella Goodman). The three friends of Ariel are very funny, as
well as good singers – Hibbert almost steals the show with
her rendition of "Let's Hear it for the Boy."
Other standouts include Bobby Callahan as Ren's best buddy, Willard.
It would have been great to have more of Callahan, but audiences
will have to be content with his one dance number (to "Let's
Hear it for the Boy") and his one song, "Mama Says (You
Can't Back Down)," which also features the hilarious backup
vocals and dancing of nerds Bickle (Chris Adams), Garvin (Jordan
Kilik) and Jeter (Brett Trach). Community member Lisa Ehrlich impresses
in her dual role of Lulu Warnicker and especially Irene, a country-western
singer who opens the second act with the country tune "Let's
Make Believe We Are in Love."
Overall, TUTS' Footloose is a really enjoyable production.
The only major problem with it is the casting of the part of Rev.
Moore. While David E. Campbell is a good actor, he cannot sing.
If he only had one song, this wouldn't matter much, but Moore is
a main character and, as such, has several numbers, the most painful
of which is one of the musical's last songs, "I Confess."
Thankfully, the entire cast returns to the stage and performs "Footloose,"
ending the show on a high, energetic and on-key note. A very cute
curtain call ensures that the audience will leave happy.
TUTS at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park runs until Aug. 21, 8
p.m. It began with Crazy for You on July 14 and Footloose
July 15; the shows are performed on alternating evenings. Tickets
are $29, $24 for seniors/students, $19 for youth six to 16, and
children five and under can attend for free. Call Festival box office
at 604-257-0366 or go online to www.festivalboxoffice.com.
For more information, visit www.tuts.bc.ca.
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