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Wonderful, Wonderful Day

The two theaters run by Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut are a bit of a trek for New Yorkers — at least two hours by car, and that’s assuming no traffic problems, which you shouldn’t assume. But the quality of Goodspeed’s productions is such that the trip is almost always well worth it, especially if you plan to take in shows at both of the company’s venues: the Opera House in East Haddam and the Norma Terris Theatre in nearby Chester.

Currently playing at the Opera House is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The beloved MGM movie musical with a score by Gene de Paul and Johnny Mercer was first adapted for the stage decades ago; a 1982 Broadway stint was a huge flop, mostly because the terrible decision was made to augment the score of the film with pedestrian new songs by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn. The Goodspeed version regrettably includes some of those but happily reinstates “Lonesome Polecat,” a funny/sexy song for the brothers that was stupidly cut from the Broadway production to make way for the lesser efforts of Kasha and Hirschhorn.

Whatever qualms one might have with the edition of the show that’s on display at Goodspeed, the production is excellent. True, Burke Moses stresses Adam Pontipee’s male chauvinism a little more than I would have liked, but he’s so perfect for the part in terms of looks, voice, body language, etc. that it hardly matters. Jaquelyn Piro is terrific as Milly, highlighting the humor of a character who can come across as something of a sap if not played correctly. And though most of the actor-singer-dancers playing the other Pontipees don’t look like they’re distant cousins let alone brothers, they’re all amazingly talented; special praise to Eric Sciotto as a hilariously hot-headed Frank and to Brian Hissong, who displays both the voice and the face of an angel as Gideon. (I’ve already come up with a title for his debut CD: They’re Playing Hissong.) Oh, and it’s great to see Anna McNeely in the role of Mrs. Bixby. Director Greg Ganakas and choreographer Patti Colombo have done a bang-up job of fitting this big, bursting-with-energy show onto the small stage of the intimate opera house.

Seven Brides was what really brought me to Goodspeed but, while there, I also took in Flight of the Lawnchair Man in Chester. With music and lyrics by Robert Lindsey Nassif and a book by Peter Ullian, this was an expanded, two-act version of a show that was first presented in 2000 as part of an evening of one-acts titled 3hree at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia. It tells the based-in-fact story of Jerry Gorman, a Passaic, New Jersey mama’s boy who’s obsessed with flight; aided by a sweet toll collector named Gracie, he escapes his mundane existence by strapping a whole lotta helium-filled balloons to a lawnchair and soaring high above the Garden State. Directed and choreographed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, the delightful show featured wonderful performances by Christopher Sutton as Jerry, Donna Lynne Champlin as Gracie, and Susan J. Jacks as Jerry’s mother.

Lawnchair Man ended its three-week run at Goodspeed on June 12, but Seven Brides continues through this weekend. If you can’t get there by then, make a note that Julie Andrews’s production of The Boy Friend opens at the Opera House on July 12.

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Turn That &*@%# Thing Off!!

So there I was at the New York Theatre Workshop, about to enjoy a performance of Songs From an Unmade Bed. As the audience had entered the theater, the ticket-takers had dutifully reminded each and every one of us to turn off our cell phones. But as I sat there, perusing my program and waiting for the show to begin, I noticed that a man two rows in front of me was making a call — not receiving one, making one.

I thought, “Well, he’s really not disturbing anyone unless he forgets to turn his phone off when the call is finished. But will he remember to do so? Should I take it upon myself to go over and remind him, even though he just got a reminder from the ticket-taker?” I opted to keep my seat and hope for the best. We got through most of the show without incident — but then, sure enough, the guy’s goddamn cell phone went off about 10 minutes before the end. In contrast to some excruciatingly loud Broadway musicals, Songs From an Unmade Bed was an intimate, moderately amplified, one-person show, so you can imagine that the ringing of a cell phone during it was horribly distracting. Performer Michael Winther remained in character rather than throwing a tantrum, as I would probably have done, but an audible groan arose from the audience.

As we exited the theater, I went over to the offending guy and asked, “What exactly has to be said to you in order for you not to let your phone ring during a show?” He then tried to explain to me that his phone wasn’t working properly. When I said that this was no excuse and again inquired what should have been done to prevent such a disturbance, he responded: “I don’t know. Shoot me.” That was the end of the confrontation but, if I’d had the presence of mind, I would have retorted: “It won’t do any good to shoot you now; you’ve already disrupted the performance.”

The most infuriating thing about cell phones ringing in the wrong places at the wrong times is that it’s so easily avoidable. I have a friend who gets frequent calls on his phone but, over the 10 years or more that I’ve known him, I’ve never once heard it ring — because he always keeps it on vibrate. Why so few other people choose this simple way to avoid disturbing others is a mystery to me.

I firmly believe that this situation will only worsen until such time as theaters install blocking devices to prevent cell phones from receiving calls during performances — and I’m not sure that will ever happen, though I devoutly hope it will. In the meantime, all we can do is make it clear to offenders that this is not some minor transgression but, rather, a major breach of etiquette and a mark of great disrespect for the performers on stage and for the rest of the audience. So please, folks: If you refuse to keep your cell phone on vibrate, if you can’t remember to turn it off prior to a performance, if you don’t know how to turn it off, or if your phone “isn’t working properly,” leave it home. If not, I’ll say to you what producers and theater owners stop short of saying: Please stay away and let the rest of us enjoy shows without interruption.

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Musicals in Rep?

You’ve probably read reports that, because of the mind-boggling economics of Broadway, a very high percentage of musical revivals tend to close without recouping their investment. Perhaps the most famous case is 42nd Street, which closed in the red even though it ran for more than 1,500 performances, but there are many other examples. Indeed, it’s far easier to name revivals that didn’t make money than ones that did.

Those of us who aren’t investors don’t suffer directly from this sort of thing, but I fear that if musical revivals continue to lose money, there will be fewer and fewer of them as time goes by. I realize that some of these productions are profitable in post-Broadway road tours — but those tours don’t always have the same producers and investors, and even when they do, my guess is that many people would be loathe to wait several years to earn back the thousands and thousands of dollars they put into a show.

Here’s the problem in a nutshell: No matter how well received they may be, new productions of old shows almost never create as much excitement as new shows do and therefore can’t attract enough ticket-buyers to eventually earn at a profit. (The glaring exception to this rule is Chicago, a very special case.) Though lots of people might want to see revivals of Wonderful Town, La Cage aux Folles, et al., there obviously aren’t enough of them to fill the house for eight performances a week and keep a show running in the black. But if a fine production of a show were to be performed only two or three times a week in repertory, packed houses might result.

So, here’s my (pipe) dream: A not-for-profit New York City organization that would present revivals of musicals in rep. Said organization would be supported by a mixture of private and federal funding (I know; good luck with the latter!) and would offer fully staged productions with full sets, costumes, etc., rather than the staged concert versions of shows presented by the invaluable City Center Encores! series. (It’s always great to see a show at Encores! but those presentations obviously don’t have quite the same effect as productions with all the trappings.) Of course, it would be enormously expensive to present three fully-staged musicals per week in one theater — and it would have to be a large venue with copious storage space for scenery, props, etc. But if the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Opera can perform works by Verdi, Puccini, Bizet, et al. in rep (with the aid of huge amounts of funding from various sources), the theatrical powers that be should be able to do the same with the best of Kern, Rodgers, the Gershwins, and their confreres. Our American musical theater heritage must be preserved through the continuation of high quality, full-fledged Broadway productions, and this would be an excellent way to do so. I can dream, can’t I?