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Disclaimer:
The reviewers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheatreLouisville.org. |
Reviews Little Mary Sunshine Book, Music & Lyrics by Rick Besoyan Directed by Gary Tipton
Reviewed by Keith Waits Entire contents copyright © 2009, Keith Waits, all rights reserved.
Little Mary Sunshine, originally produced in New York in 1959, is an affectionate parody of the great age of American musical theatre, poking fun at every hoary cliché from melodramatic operettas from the 1930's to the grand, big stage musicals that came later, such as Oklahoma. I'm not certain everyone will get the joke, but for fans who know their musical theatre, it is a funny and knowing pastiche. This particular production proves to be sound and buoyant entertainment, even it is slightly inconsistent. The plot is intentionally corny and trite, so as to provide fertile soil for the comedy, and is an appropriately predictable meeting of virtuous men and women bound by fate to end up happily hand-in-hand by the finale. The men are modestly titled "forest rangers," but are conceived as junior versions of Canadian Mounties, while the girls are, for the most part, wholesome and proper ingénues from the Eastchester Finishing School. Standing apart from the rest is the radiant (can she be anything else?) Little Mary Sunshine and the stalwart ranger Captain, "Big" Jim Warington. As played by Carrie Cooke and Gary Tipton, they are triumphs of self-conscious and self-righteous virtue, almost too perfect for words. Ms. Cooke sang with a beautiful soprano voice and moved around the stage in her virginal frocks with assured poise, while Mr. Tipton essayed the vain but heroic leader-of-men with aplomb. Highlights among the other cast included Aaron Davenport as the earnest second–in-command, Cpl. Billy Jester. I remember Mr. Davenport as an appealing but stiff presence in an AYUT show last season, but he was much more relaxed and confident in playing the eager-to-please young ranger in this show, earning his laughs honestly, and having fun to boot. He was well-matched by the saucy and sexy Jessica Tanselle as his paramour with a wandering eye, Nancy Twinkle, although she could have turned it up a notch. She had the right stuff; she just needs to do a little more with it. The young rangers and their schoolgirl counterpoints were satisfyingly realized by a group of able young performers that included Josh O'Brien, Andrew McGill, Eddie Dohn, Jeremy O. Brien, Kelly Eubank, Jenniger Glass, Jane Schuster and Jayne Thomas. A characteristic of this company's musicals is that they seem cast with an emphasis on the vocal talent. It was a pleasure to see AYUT head Sandy Cohrs on stage as the richly comic Mme. Ernestine Von Liebedich, singing stronger than anyone else and generally showing How It Should Be Done. Richard Ray does well by General Fairfax, a character introduced late in the play. But special mention must be made of Gary Crockett, Howard Whitman, and Tim Curtsinger. All three portray American Indian characters that push the boundaries of contemporary political correctness with enough care that it seems churlish to raise an objection. They correctly navigate tricky waters and find their laughs without resorting to buffoonery. I suppose it could be said that this show seems a little dated, especially since it targets musical styles that are rarely seen today, but the earnest good energy of everyone on stage wins over the audience. I do wish Mr. Tipton, in his role as director, had seen fit to push for more of the witty staging that could be found in the opening number, "The Forest Ranger," during which we witness the hardy and macho men-in-uniform doing kicks like chorus girls one minute, and striking exaggerated manly poses like body-builders the next. It was a smart and hilarious commentary on stereotypical images of masculinity that found an extra layer that would have been welcome in some of the more pedestrian staging to be found in the later numbers. On a technical note, as with so many community theatre musical theatre productions, the pre-recorded score overwhelmed the live vocals at several points. This was a particular problem during some of the solos, and care should be made to balance out the sound so the audience can hear the worthwhile singing.
Little Mary Sunshine November 20, 21, 27, 28 @ 8pm
Posted Nov. 21, 2009
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