When one looks at this year's nominees for best musical (Tootsie, Hadestown, Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, Beetlejuice, and The Prom), they offer a sharp contrast to the possible contenders from the 1963-1964 season (Hello, Dolly!, Funny Girl, High Spirits, and She Loves Me). That was a season of big musicals starring immensely talented women (Carol Channing, Barbra Streisand, Beatrice Lillie, Carol Burnett, and Barbara Cook). Composer Jule Styne even had two major musicals celebrate their opening nights within two months (Funny Girl debuted at the Winter Garden Theatre on March 26, 1964 and Fade Out -- Fade In debuted at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on May 26, 1964). Along with Styne's legendary score for 1959's Gypsy, these two shows feature two of Styne's best overtures.
Among 1964's nominees for Best Actress in a Musical was Inga Swenson, who gave a heart-wrenching performance as Lizzie Curry in 110 in the Shade, a show with lyrics by Tom Jones, music by Harvey Schmidt, and a book by N. Richard Nash based on his 1954 drama entitled The Rainmaker.
The role of Lizzie Curry has been portrayed by some formidable theatrical talents. In 1954, she was brought to life by Geraldine Page. The 1956 film adaptation starred Katherine Hepburn. In 1992, the New York City Opera staged 110 in the Shade with Karen Ziemba as Lizzie. Fifteen years later, the Roundabout Theatre Company produced a revival of the musical in which Audra McDonald stepped into Lizzie's lonely shoes.
From the time I saw the original Broadway production of 110 in the Shade, I've always been fascinated by this character. Lizzie's obvious backstory is that, after her mother died, she assumed the housekeeping chores as well as the care and feeding of her father (H.C.) and her two brothers. Noah is a cynic who keeps reminding Lizzie that she is a plain-looking woman, a bookworm who hides at home rather than flirting with local men in order to find herself a husband. Her younger brother (Jimmy) looks up to Lizzie for her intelligence, her cooking, and the fact that she doesn't make fun of him because he's stupid and socially inept.
 |
| Andrea Dennison-Laufer as Lizzie Curry in a scene from 110 in the Shade (Photo by: Ben Krantz Studio) |
Sometimes hindsight offers 20/20 vision. Looking back 55 years to the original Broadway production, I can't recall any indication that Lizzie was anything less than physically attractive. If anything, she was probably an introvert whose intelligence intimidated the locals. Many productions dress Lizzie in drab colors and little if any makeup in order to hide the actor's natural beauty (which comes into play during Act II). If Lizzie seems to have given up hope of ever finding a man around whom she could build her life, maybe she just got tired of trying to jump through hoops for a prize that didn't excite her.
San Francisco's 42nd Street Moon is currently staging 110 in the Shade at the tiny Gateway Theatre. One of quirks of this show is that it is very much a play with music rather than a typical Broadway musical. Set in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s (during the Great Depression), the chorus plays a minimal role (its most notable contributions are in the opening number "Another Hot Day," "The Rain Song," "The Hungry Men," and Act II's "Everything Beautiful Happens at Night"). The "Little Red Hat" duet for Jimmy (Elliott Hanson) and his girlfriend, Snookie Updegroff (Kyra Lynn Kozienko) delivers an explosion of energy that almost seems impossible in a prairie town that has been suffering through a long and depressing drought (an interesting piece of trivia: the original Snookie was Lesley Ann Warren).
 |
| Kyra Lynn Kozienko (Snookie Updegroff) and Elliott Hanson (Jimmy Curry) in a scene from 110 in the Shade (Photo by: Ben Krantz Studio) |
While this production has several minor flaws, it does get two things righter than rain. Bethany Deal's costumes make it clear that Lizzie is, indeed, plain to look at (even if her mind is blessed with a vivid imagination). However, unlike some of the other women in town, one thing Lizzie does extremely well is listen to what men are actually saying. She may not show how much of their criticism she internalizes, but she pays careful attention to what she hears.
 |
| Andrea Dennison-Laufer (Lizzie) and Jesse Caldwell as her father, H.C. in a scene from 110 in the Shade (Photo by: Ben Krantz Studio) |
Schmidt and Jones first rose to fame with The Fantasticks (1960), an extremely intimate show whose musical accompaniment consisted of a pianist and a harpist (who also handled several percussion instruments). This production uses the conductor's score for the show (originally orchestrated by Hershy Kay). Whereas many piano reductions for Broadway shows leave one longing to hear the original orchestrations, this one retains every bit of the music's magic without drawing attention away from the singers.
 |
| The cast of 110 in the Shade (Photo by: Ben Krantz Studio) |
Lizzie's romantic options boil down to two men with lots of emotional baggage. File (Brian Watson) is the local sheriff who claims that his wife died before he moved to town (everyone knows that she ran off with another man). An emotionally constipated control freak with poor communication skills, File nevertheless has the potential to become a loving husband and father if he can just take the stick out of his ass.
 |
| Andrea Dennison-Laufer (Lizzie) and Brian Watson (File) in a scene from 110 in the Shade (Photo by: Ben Krantz Studio) |
The newly arrived Bill Starbuck (Keith Pinto), however, is the polar opposite of File. A traveling con man whose latest gimmick is boasting that he can make it rain, he's a restless, impulsive flim-flam man who loves the thrill of adventure. While Starbuck knows how to charm and manipulate people who have run out of hope, he convinces Lizzie to believe in herself. Freed from her self-imposed misery, she subsequently manages to break down some of File's defense mechanisms. By the end of the evening, both men are asking Lizzie to be their wife.
With choreography by Scottie Woodard, Dave Dobrusky serving as musical director, set design by Brian Watson, and lighting by Michael Palumbo, 42nd Street Moon's production has been directed by Josh Marx (who, in addition to layering some Elvis Presley-style shtick on Starbuck for a story set in the 1930s has chosen to gave the con man a girl's doll and a toy dinosaur to use as props). In some moments, Marx has devised unnecessary bits of "busy-ness" for minor characters and members of the chorus.
Scoring strongly in supporting roles are Jesse Caldwell as Lizzie's father, James Schott as Noah, Elliott Hanson as Jimmy, and Brian Watson as File. Andrea Dennison-Laufer puts a different spin on the character of Lizzie, with her rendition of "Raunchy" serving to make the woman seem even lonelier and more socially inept than usual. Keith Pinto's Starbuck drops the braggadocio as soon as he sees how cruelly Noah treats his spinster sister and realizes that he can actually have a positive impact on Lizzie's self-image.
 |
| Keith Pinto as Bill Starbuck in a scene from 110 in the Shade (Photo by: Ben Krantz Studio) |
Performances of 110 in the Shade continue through May 12 at the Gateway Theatre (click here for tickets). Here's the trailer:
1 comment:
Post a Comment