I saw the Musicals Tonight! production today. I feared it might be a little too cutesy and twee, but was pleasantly surprised by it's balance of antic humor with restraint. By comparison with the many other productions I've seen this company do, I'd say this was one of the best performed and sung. Sarah Ziegler as Mary gave what I thought was a fine performance. I know other people think she strives too hard on stage to be funny, but I think she's perfectly suited for the role, as she was a few seasons back in the title role of Leave It to Jane. Her romantic on-stage partner, Captain Jim, was played by Jacob L. Smith in his sixth Musicals Tonight! role. No wonder he keeps getting cast; he's the prefect leading man for musicals: handsome, romantic or funny as the occasion requires, and possessed (like Zielgler) of a first-rate singing voice. Other performers who shone in this production were Savannah Frazier, a splendid soubrette, in the role of Nancy, and Joan Barber, who plays the German-speaking opera singer with zest and charm. Devin Ilaw's Billy Jester sang and clowned very well, but I wish he hadn't pitched his voice so high for much of the performance, when he's obviously capable of speaking in a lower, less pinched-sounding register. The other performers were more than satisfactory. One of the few negative aspects of the production that I observed was the tendency of the show to drag a bit, especially in the scenes with Jay Parananda as the snail-paced Fleet Foot. (I know, intentional irony there, but for me it didn't work, for which I hold the director accountable, and not the actor.) Overall, the show seems a bit too long, but there isn't a single musical number or dialogue scene I'd want to omit. Speaking of omissions, I was sorry to discover they'd eliminated the "swinging" part of the number for the men and women's choruses in the first act, leaving just the "playing croquet" and the "how do you do" sections. (Those familiar with the cast recordings will know what I mean.) It might have made sense in that there's no way to put a swing on the tiny stage of the Lion's theater, but musically the song is less interesting for the loss of this section. Aside from that, however, and a few minor quibbles elsewhere, this is a production that I'd recommend to anyone who likes a silly, charming, deliberately old-fashioned show to take their mind off a winter that just won't quit. (Better act fast if you want to see it, though, as the performances end this Sunday.)
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