Harry Witherspoon (Keith Pinto) and Annabel Glick (Dani Marcus) are rivals for the 6 million dollar inheritance from recently deceased Uncle Anthony (Joel Roster).
LUCKY STIFF: A Musical Murder Mystery Farce! Based on The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo.” Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Music by Stephen Flaherty. Directed and Choreographed by Robert Barry Fleming. Musical Direction by Brandon Adams. Center REPertory Company, Lesher Theatre,1601 Civic Drive in downtown Walnut Creek, CA. 925-295-1420 or www.centerrep.org. Through October 7, 2012
LUCKY STIFF comes alive at Center Rep
Lynn Aherns and Stephen Flaherty will always be remembered as the musical comedy creative team that captured audiences with Ragtime that won honors for original score (Flaherty) and outstanding lyrics (Ahern) on Broadway in 1998. They started their collaborative careers 10 years earlier with a madcap musical farce Lucky Stiff that had a brief Off-Broadway run and garnered a few accolades. Since that time, the show has been around the block making the boards from the midlands of England to New Zealand and is now being made into a movie starring Jason Alexander. On opening night Artistic Director Michael Butler confessed that he had designs on this play for years. And here it is mustering up all the talents of Center Rep for another visual treat and evening of fun. It doesn’t match the brilliant farce Rumors that graced the stage last year but does match the staging of Xanadu. Once again it is Center Rep not to be missed musical.
Surprisingly Butler who is adept at directing physical comedy turned over the reins to Robert Barry Fleming to shepherd the production. It was a wise choice since the multitalented Fleming also choreographed the show. The play is absolutely silly and harebrained with nonstop action that is the stuff good farce is made of. The set is a marvel with the obligatory four plus doors needed for farce but more about that later.
When the lights come up we are treated to a rousing opening number with the entire cast in unbelievable costumes parading about singing “Something Funny is Going On” People in hum-drum jobs often fantasize about what life might be like if they were in other circumstances. Shy, English shoe salesman Harry Witherspoon (great musical comedy tenor voiced Keith Pinto) stuck in a dull job is able to fantasize about where specific shoes will carry the wearers. On this specific Friday night his personal shoes will carry him back to a boarding house run by a landlady from Hades (Tielle Baker) guarded by vicious (unseen but heard) dogs and filled with raunchy denizens from East London.
Rita La Porta (Lynda DiVito) discovers why Uncle Anthony (Joel Roster) has been unresponsive to her advances.
Harry receives a telegram informing him that he has (had) and unknown American casino owner Uncle Anthony(Joel Roster) who has been murdered and left him $6,000,000. Before we find out what is to unfold, enter Rita La Porta (Lynda DiVito who belts her song “Rita’s Confession” with gusto) the legally blind lover of Uncle Luigi whom she accidently shot but has also stolen his funds to buy six million dollars in diamonds. She elicits the aid of her optometrist brother Vincent (Benjamin Pither) for her nefarious mission to get the diamonds back.
When Harry meets the lawyer (Marcus Klinger) he is told there is a stipulation. . . Harry must take the embalmed wheel-chair ensconced corpse (Joel Roster) to Monte Carlo. Don’t ask why, just go and see for yourself.
Every musical must have a secondary love plot. How about a do-gooder dog lover Annabel Glick (diminutive charming Dani Marcus) who represents the Home for Wayward Dogs who will get the dough if Harry doesn’t comply with the will. Of course Harry and Annabel will get together (again) after she brings the house down saying to Harry who calls her Annabel “It’s Miss Glick to you. Sharing a bed does not put us on first name basis [or something like that].”
There we are, all set to move around Monte Carlo to continue the wacky, quirky show. This is Aherns and Flaherty’s first show and some of the songs seem forced but the lyrics are extremely clever and satirical. They give their characters ample opportunity to share the spotlight switching to the plethora of roles they invest. Sexy Taylor Jones as a French chanteuse in high-heeled red wedges dances and sings up a storm to match the scene stealing Lynda Divito. There is a hysterical/terrifying dream-nightmare dance number utilizing Kurt Landisman’s lighting to great effect.
Colin Thompson is always a joy to watch in his many get ups including Uncle Luigi or as an Arab Prince. Marcus Klinger morphs from a stuffy English lawyer to a French master-of-ceremonies and others. The willowy Even Boomer fills every other minor role with class and seems to be everywhere at once. You won’t believe the transformation of Tielle Baker from nosy boarding room hag to a drunken French cleaning maid who complicates the action allowing director Fleming to use all the doors on the stage and upper level ramp for a chase to end all chases.
The inventive Kelly Tighe’s set utilizing a revolving stage allows the action to move smoothly. Christine Crook’s costume designs will surely win a Bay Area Critics award. You will never see a roulette table like the one she designed. Joel Roster earns a Tony Award as The Dead Body for his immobility and ‘stiff’ acting. Running time 2 hours and 10 minutes with an intermission.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com
