Regional Reviews: Cincinnati
Dinner Theater is alive and well in southwest Ohio. For many years, La Comedia Dinner Theatre has combined fine food with professional musicals to the delight of its many patrons. Typically, La Comedia presents a good mix of newer works such as the Yeston/Kopit Phantom and safe, traditional musicals such as Hello Dolly. Their 2001 season starts with some of both, a safe newer piece, Honky Tonk Angels, from the creator of Always ... Patsy Cline, is described as a "salute to the women of country music". Honky Tonk Angels follows the journey of three women who are fed up with their lives and set out to chase their dreams of becoming country music stars. They meet on a bus on their way to Nashville where they strike up a friendship and decide to pursue their dream together as a trio. The show uses many country music classics by artists such as Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, and Willie Nelson. In the first act, the songs are used effectively to provide the background for each woman and show why they want to leave their unsatisfactory lives. These ladies are either fed up with their drunken husbands, feel limited by their overbearing widowed fathers, or can no longer take the abusive of a harassing boss. Act Two shows the ladies in performance in Nashville and is less successful in sustaining a strong book to the show. The songs are now merely performance pieces and there is little furtherance of plot or character development. The second act is basically a country music concert. Act One ends with the women arriving in Nashville with just a dream. The plot would be better served if the last half of the show had been written to show the struggles and triumphs of the women to make it in the business with a shorter performance section at the end. The company assembled by La Comedia is up to the usually high standards achieved by the dinner theater. The three-person cast, consisting of Leslie Jo Bissett, Monique Kennon-Novotny, and Devan Lee Thompson, are very well-suited to their roles. The characters could easily have been performed as one-dimensional cartoon characters, but these fine actresses and singers bring an added level of depth to them. They also bring energy and enthusiasm to the show and interact well with the audience. Ms. Bissett also serves as Director and Choreographer of the piece and deserves praise. The first act has a strong theatrical feel to it and the entire show flows well. The vocal arrangement is enjoyable, but the arrangements played by the talented five-piece country band seem repetitive. The sets, costumes, and lighting are all appropriate and effective. La Comedia Dinner Theatre has done a good, professional job with presenting this musical. However, Honky Tonk Angels is a flawed piece. Country music lovers will have a great time and general theatergoers will find much to like. The show (as written) is an example of an idea which is, at first, well executed, but which eventually and unfortunately takes the easy way out. Honky Tonk Angels continues through March 11, 2001 and tickets can be ordered online at www.lacomedia.com or by phone at 1-800-677-9505. By now, most readers of this review have likely seen a production of The Scarlet Pimpernel or at least know the score from one of the three CDs available of the show. The show played Broadway a few years back and was revised not once, but twice after its original opening. The production currently touring is most similar to the final Broadway version, with a scaled down set and cast. The Aronoff Center in Cincinnati is currently hosting the touring company. The Scarlet Pimpernel is a fun, energetic musical full of romance, deceit, mystery, swashbuckling heroics, and genuinely laughable humor. An audience member looking for an epic story with deep intellectual or socially important themes may not like this show. However, if one is wishing to be entertained by a smart book, a melodic score, and a great cast, then this is a show for you. The lead role of Percy is magnificently portrayed by Ron Bohmer, who performed the same role in the final Broadway version. He has a strong and wonderful voice, a commanding stage presence, and the comic flair that is required for the role. Amy Bodnar is suitable in the female lead as well. A rather unique situation occurred during the performance reviewed, in that two performers went on in the role of the villain, Chauvelin. William Paul Michals normally performs the role and began the performance as usual. However, after singing his first big Act One solo, "Falcon In the Dive", he was replaced in the role by Aaron Paul, who had to that point been in the ensemble. The announcement that Mr. Michals could not longer continue in the role due to illness was made by Mr. Bohmer during the next scene. Both Mr. Michals and Mr. Paul had exceptional voices and the latter deserves special praise for changing roles with very little notice and performing the role very well. Mr. Paul is considerably younger looking than the usual performer and Mr. Bohmer adlibbed (to great humor) a line about Chauvelin looking quite younger than the last time he had seen him in his first scene with the new performer. The other ensemble members give spirited and professional performances as well. Robert Longbottom is the director of the tour after having taken over the troubled Broadway production after its original opening. His retooled and greatly revised version reopened to much-improved reviews and this production is a scaled-down reproduction of his treatment. The show's book is now clearer, more concise, and more believable. He has dropped, added, and altered the placement of songs to the betterment of the musical. The score consists of very strong melodies supplied by composer Frank Wildhorn and are always serviceable lyrics by Nan Knighton. Mr. Wildhorn, composer of the scores for Jekyll & Hyde and The Civil War on Broadway, is often criticized as writing songs with too much of a pop sound and not writing "theatrical music". While his music is indeed more effective in songs dealing with feelings and emotions rather than those that advance the plot forward, Mr. Wildhorn's efforts here are appropriate, moving, and memorable. "She Was There", 'Into The Fire", and "Where's The Girl" are standout songs. The set and costume design, though scaled down from the Broadway production, is beautiful and effective. Painted scrims are used in many scenes and are simple, yet attractive. The Scarlet Pimpernel is an enjoyable and professionally presented musical in its current touring production. Theatergoers will smile and laugh and be entertained, and that is what this show is all about. This production continues in Cincinnati through January 28 and then continues on with performances in Florida and then Ohio again.
-- Scott Cain |