Caught the opening night performance of the Styne/Comden-Green/Kanin musical Do Re Mi last night at Porchlight Theatre in downtown Chicago -- and I'm still chuckling and humming the score. In the most inspired piece of casting I've seen in a very long time, artistic director (and WTTW fundraising spokesperson) Mike Weber is giving the comedic performance of the season as Herbie Kram. He's no pale imitation Phil Silvers -- instead he reminded me a lot more of Fredric March's Wally Cook in Nothing Sacred. Anyway, he's laugh out loud, bust a gut hilarious! Up and coming Molly Kral and Bill Dwyer are absolutely perfect as ingenue/juvenile couple Tilda Mullen and John Henry Wheeler. Nancy Voight really knocks "Take a Job" and "Adventure" out of the park as Kay. Last (but certainly not least) Tommy Novak, Gabriel Fries, and Tommy Bullington are a trio tour-de-force as Fatso O'Rear, Brains Berman, and Skin Demopoulos -- God, I love typing those names.
If you live in the Chicago area and love classic screwball musical comedy, grab a ticket fast to one of the two remaining shows -- it closes on Thurs., 5/24
Please excuse my over-the-top enthusiasm, but I really love this rarely staged Styne/Comden-Green gem and I'd hate to see it not get at least a precursory recommendation on ATC. |
