(l-r) Brittany Danielle and Ryan Drummond (as Nick and Nora Charles), with Allison Rich and Nicole Frydman (front) in 42nd Street Moon’s production of Nick & Nora, playing April 1-19 at the Eureka Theatre. Photo by David Allen
Nick and Nora: Mystery Musical. Music by Charles Strouse. Lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. Book by Arthur Laurents. Directed by Greg MacKellan. Music Direction by Dave Dobrusky. 42nd Street Moon Theatre, Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson St., San Francisco. April 1-19, 2015. Box Office: 415/255-8207 or www.42ndstmoon.org.
Nick and Nora survives its resurrection by 42nd Street Moon [Rating:2]
For aficionados of musical theatre from past generations there is a good reason to see 42nd Street Moon’s resurrection of the 1991 flop Nick and Nora since they probably will not have an opportunity to see a full scale production again. This is the first and only full scale production of the musical since it opened on Broadway in 1991after 71 previews of writes and rewrites to last a total of nine days on Broadway. As is their pedigree, 42nd Street Moon pulls out all stops with this staging giving its loyal audiences their money’s worth even though the plot is convoluted and the music non-memorable.
The story is based on the immensely popular 1930s “Thin Man” movies starring William Powell and Myrna Loy created from Dashiell Hammett’s novel. Nick (suave Ryan Drummond) and Nora (a miscast Brittany Danielle) Charles are an urban married couple with martini drinking Nick a whiz at solving murder mysteries and Nora wanting to match his abilities. Her competitive spirit is aroused and she takes on the assignment of solving the murder of a Hollywood actress Lily Connors (a marvelous Cindy Goldfield). As clues and miss-clues pile up the solution to the murder is equally unexpected as those from the movies. Drummond commented in a pre-production interview “. . . movies. . . do not translate well to the stage.”
Greg MacKellan is a master at musical direction and moves the characters in and out of multiple and often non-linear scenes gracefully with panache gaining the most humor possible from the script. Staci Arriaga’s choreography is superlative and Hector Zavala’s 1930s costumes are gems with more than a touch of humor especially for the shoes! Megan Stetson’s dresses for her role as the fireball wanna-be actress Maria Valdez would be envied by Carman Miranda. She, Davern Wright and Justin Gilman have a song and dance show stopper with “Boom, Chika Boom” that is a highlight of Act two.It is Nicole Frydman as much put upon blonde Lorraine Bixby who steals parts of the show. Accolades also go to William Giammona as Victor, Allison Rich as an egotistical actress and hilarious Brian Herndon as director Max Bernheim the initially accused murder. OK, so that’s a tip off, but be advised to beware of red herring clues.
Running time two hours and 40 minutes with an intermission.
C A S T: Ryan Drummond* (Nick Charles); Brittany Danielle* (Nora Charles); Allison F. Rich* (Tracy Gardner); William Giammona (Victor Moisa); Michael Barrett Austin* (Lt. Wolfe); Michael Kern Cassidy* (Edward J. Connors); Nicole Frydman (Lorraine Bixby); Justin Gillman (Spider Malloy; Juan); Cindy Goldfield* (Lily Connors); Brian Herndon* (Max Bernheim); Megan Stetson (Maria Valdez); Reuben Uy* (Yukido); Davern Wright (Selznick, The Other Juan).
C R E A T I V E CAST: Greg MacKellan (Director); Dave Dobrusky (Musical Director); Staci Arriaga (Choreographer); Kris Vecere (Stage Manager); Hector Zavala (Production Manager/Set & Costume Design); Danny Maher (Lighting Designer); Yvonne Ortiz (Design Assistant); Nick Di Scala (Musician Woodwinds).
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.
