THEATER REVIEW: With a nip and tuck, 'Dark' could dance its way to Broadway
By PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, March 19, 2008 2:26 PM PDT ∞
In the Old Globe's world premiere musical "Dancing in the Dark," a troubled musical named "The Band Wagon" bombs in an out-of-town tryout and needs a complete overhaul before it can make it to Broadway.
That's surely not the case, though, for "Dancing," which with just a few tweaks has got the goods to succeed on the Great White Way. A good old-fashioned musical with contemporary humor, big-wow dance numbers and a strong cast (particularly the secondary leads), "Dancing" is the kind of smart crowd-pleaser that Broadway doesn't make anymore.
Bookwriter Douglas Carter Beane adapted "Dancing" from the 1953 film "The Band Wagon" starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. The score by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz boasts classics like "That's Entertainment," "A Shine On Your Shoes" and "By Myself," but the music is only one of the things that makes "Dancing" so entertaining.
"Dancing" is a musical for musical lovers. The time-hopping show-within-a-show is an affectionate spoof of Broadway musicals and the torturous process every musical goes through in its journey to the stage.
Beane's own experiences and his love for theater's unsung heroes (songwriting teams, chorus boys and girls and stage managers) brings a depth to the characters and story you don't usually see in today's glossy, cookie-cutter jukebox shows. And a wealth of theatrical insider jokes will delight true Broadway babies.
The musical still needs shaping. Its choppy first act has too much exposition and takes too long to get to the point. Some of the more-dated "let's put on a show" numbers (like "I Love Louisa" and "Rhode Island is Famous for You") could be easily cut. And the character development for the musical's central star ---- a prickly film idol played by "Quantum Leap"/"Star Trek" star Scott Bakula ---- doesn't hit its stride until the better-written and more-entertaining second act.
In "Dancing," pompous British Shakespearean actor Jeffrey Cordova assembles a theatrical dream team to make a musical that he plans to direct and star in on Broadway (circa 1953) ---- including fading film star Tony Hunter, Tony-winning musical-writing team Lester and Lily Martin and modern-dance choreographer Paul Byrd. But the dream becomes a nightmare in short order.
Tony and Lily have a tortured past (he deserted both her and Broadway for Hollywood 19 years earlier and is returning only because his film career has stalled); with the return of Lily's former love, her jealous husband, Lester, takes to the bottle; Jeffrey wants to turn the light-hearted romantic musical into a pretentious fire-and-brimstone update of "Faust"; the choreographer devises outrageously provocative dance numbers; and Tony and his much-younger leading lady, the choreographer's girlfriend Gabrielle, can't stand each other.
Faced with a seemingly unfixable turkey on their hands, the producers pull out of "The Band Wagon," and it's up to Tony to pull the battling creative team back together and come up with the money to turn this lemon into lemonade. The musical jumps back in time to the '30s when Tony, Lily and Lester were the toast of Broadway, and then jumps surprisingly in the future for a bittersweet finale. Director Gary Griffin does well at keeping the pacing swift and the time shifts clear, and musical director Don York draws a lush retro sound from the orchestra.
Beane wrote "Dancing" in honor of the late songwriting team Betty Comden and Adolph Green (the original screenwriters of "The Band Wagon"), and it's their autobiographical characters in the story ---- Lily and Lester ---- who steal the show in "Dancing." Tony-winner Beth Leavel and Adam Heller get two of the show's best numbers ---- "The Pitch," an elaborate musicalized run-through of their work-in-progress, and the romantic duet "Sweet Music." Leavel is terrific as the brainy, been-there/done-that lyricist and has natural chemistry and warmth with the nebbishy Heller.
And Patrick Page, as the big-headed Jeffrey, is marvelous with his vainglorious husky-amber speaking voice (think "Inside the Actor's Studio's" James Lipton without the tongue planted firmly in cheek) and his easy, polished musical chops.
As Tony, Bakula re-creates the character he's famous for on television ---- a warm, charming, down-to-earth and likable Everyman. The only problem for Bakula is that the audience doesn't get to see this guy until the second act, because the first-act script makes him bland and one-dimensional.
Bakula earned a Tony nomination in 1988, but his singing and dancing skills are no match for the Broadway's-best cast around him. Beane writes around Bakula's limitations, though, having Tony dismiss his own dancing skills with the lines: "kinda gawky, kinda tall, I just hoof."
Bakula's also twice the age of his leading lady Mara Davi (as Gabrielle), but this is also smartly defused in some self-deprecating lines from the get-go. Davi, by the way, sings like an angel and dances like a dream. And thanks to Bakula's innate likability, their second-act May-December romance isn't too hard to buy.
Sebastian La Cause doesn't do much with the underwritten character of the avant-garde choreographer Paul Byrd. Benjamin Howes is endearing as Hal, the stage manager and Jeffrey's longtime partner. And sweet Jacob ben Widmar leads the 11-member ensemble in the small role of Teddy, the dance captain.
Warren Carlyle's choreography is a hoot, particularly the intentionally terrible avant-garde dance numbers. John Lee Beatty created the simple but effective slide-on/slide-off sets and theatrical poster walls (which easily fix the time period during the flash-forwards and flashbacks). David Woolard created costumes, Brian Ronan created sound and Ken Billington designed the lighting.
The musical that Jeffrey, Tony, Lester and Lily create in "Dancing in the Dark" is a work in progress, but it becomes a triumph in the end. Life could imitate art for "Dancing" as well, if Beane can rework the show's first act, do a little score-tightening and redefine Bakula's character. Then, like the fictional "Band Wagon" in the script, they just might end up with a hit on their hands.
"Dancing in the Dark"
When: 7 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; through April 20
Where: Old Globe Theatre, Balboa Park, San Diego
Tickets: $52-$79
Info: (619) 234-5623
Web:
www.theoldglobe.org
