NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT – Book by Joe Dipietro; Music by George and Ira Gershwin. Produced by Lone Tree Arts Center (10075 Commons Street, Lone Tree) through October 26. Tickets available at 720-509-1000 or Lonetreeartscenter.org.
How fun it is to have a really great show to write about and encourage people to see! The current production at Lone Tree is an absolute joy to behold. Everything and everyone works – there are no flaws – no weak links. It’s a silly bit of fluff that will make both adults and kids laugh out loud. The singing is mountain-high magnificent; the dancing is over-the-moon delicious!
Ok, first of all the script. Joe DePietro is the same writer who brought us I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE; MEMPHIS, many other Broadway productions as well as this reworking of Gershwin music. All of the songs in the production were written by the Gershwin Brothers in the 20’s and 30’s for a variety of Broadway shows and movies, some becoming classics as a stand-alone piece. “Someone to Watch Over Me” was originally written for PARDON MY ENGLISH in 1933; “S Wonderful” for the 1927 movie FUNNY FACE; several songs came from the Broadway shows LADY BE GOOD (1924) and GIRL CRAZY (1930). This is music that has held up over the years. DePietro crafted a plot that incorporated humor, was era-specific, and provided a landing place for all this great music. It’s a whimsical tale that involves bootleggers, bachelors, duchesses, chorus girls, bubbles , and butlers. See – it doesn’t have to make sense to be Delightful and Delicious. I’d forgotten how much I like real music.
Because Broadway audiences of 2012 loved a full out dancing show, DePietro included numerous opportunities for today’s dancers to strut their stuff. The choreography designed by Christopher Page-Sanders and performed by this troupe of incredible dancers is overwhelming. Everyone on the stage is having a good time, although they must be totally exhausted by the end of the show. The leads, Billy and Jimmy, have a dance break at the end of Act I that seemed to go on for 15 minutes!! And they were still smiling at the end of it.
Then there’s this cast. The winning team of Marco and Adrienne Leigh Robinson bring their combined charm and talent to the lead roles of Jimmy Walker, a ne’er do well millionaire who gets by on his good looks and his money, but Billie Bendix, a bootlegger with nowhere to hid her hootch, falls under his spell. These two are unbeatable together and outstanding individual performers as well, as anyone who caught Marco’s turn as a troubled husband in CRY IT OUT recently will attest. Adrienne has the voice of a diva with the personality of the girl next door. Marco also “does” drunk very well.
They are more than ably supported by Billy’s gangster friends (Cookie – yes, a mobster named Cookie!) (Shabazz Green) and Duke (Brian Davis). By an improbably set of circumstances, both men end up as the Butler and Chef at Jimmy’s posh Long Island Beach House. Together, they serve up the wildest dinner party ever and end up with romances of their own. Shabazz’s double-take humor is a showstopper and Brian doing incredibly shy is sweet as you watch him fall in love. Local favorite Carter Edward Smith plays the lawman also on the search for the notorious Brown Beard bootlegger but also gets distracted by a love interest.
The women of the cast are allowed to be downright silly. Elise Frances Daniells plays Jimmy’s supposed to be fourth (or fifth?) wife. She has a strictly hands-off policy, however, until the ring is on the finger, and must run interference once Billy shows up. With an indestructible spit curl on her forehead, her number “Delishious” in her elegant bathtub is just that. The Duchess Estonia Dulworth is a crusading Prohibitionist and a diva all rolled into one performed by the amazing Jennifer DeDominici. Determined to delay the nuptials until she finds out the identity of the notorious rum runner Brown Beard, she leads the fight against “Demon Rum.” Fairin Moon Hightower does a sweet turn as a demure chorus girl taken in by Duke’s name and dreams of being a Duchess herself. Anna Maria High brings humor to her short role as Jimmy’s overbearing but loving mother with a surprise for him.
But we can’t forget the dance ensemble who are called into duty as Chorus Girls and Society Guys, FBI agents, the Vice Squad, a pseudo barber shop quartet, and all-around performers. Their dancing is precise, authentic, and so much fun to watch. The opening number at Jimmy’s bachelor party to “Sweet and Lowdown” gets the evening off to a perfect start; they continue supporting the production with sweat and energy to the very end.
The production crew at Lone Tree, starting with Director Kate Gleason, has assembled a top-notch evening for their audiences. Kate has found every bit of fun in the script and embellished it with a creative imagination. Costume Designer Madison Booth caught the era in every amazing costume, from tuxes for the men to multiple fringed outfits for the Chorus Girls to a wedding veil for Eileen, Jimmy’s bride-to-be, that floats down a gigantic, curved staircase. AND everyone got new and beautiful formal outfits for the curtain call! That gigantic, curved staircase was designed by Scenic Designer Kevin Nelson, along with nightclubs, piers, and various other locations that were designed for speed in making quick changes. Music Director Alec Steinhorn schooled the singers on the beautiful music (if you don’t get a tear in your eye when Adrienne sings “Someone to Watch Over Me,” you aren’t human) and led the 14-piece pit band, which included a MANDOLIN!!
Are you getting the picture? If you like good music, dynamic dancing, and an all-around good time for the whole family, here’s your ticket.
A WOW factor of 10!!