Indy Theatre Habit

On Friday night (4-25-08) I arranged to leave a little early from my day job so that I could go to the opening night of “Victor Victoria” at the American Cabaret Theatre downtown.  Seeing the “opening weekend” sign hanging down in front of the theatre gave me a thrill.

I came away with a headache, though, and almost asked for my money back, because of the noise bleed from the musical event going on next door.  I assume it was the ”Polka Boys” playing at the Rathskeller Restaurant’s Biergarten, but in any case I thought I was going to go crazy trying to concentrate on “Victor” with a relentless, discordant, throbbing bass going on at the same time.

However, I stayed put, and other than that one horrible distraction, enjoyed the show very much.  If I had the chance to go again, I would ask for a seat on the right side of the house (stage left.)  The house was too full on Friday night for me to just move myself, but I think that would have helped.

It really is a lovely show, in any case:  funny and beautiful and touching, with lots of crush potential.

It was directed by Bob Harbin, with musical direction by John Austin Butsch, vocal direction by John Phillips, and technical direction by Bernie Killian.  The book is by Blake Edwards, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, and additional music by Frank Wildhorn.  It was originally produced on Broadway by Blake Edwards, Tony Adams, and John Scher. 

I had never seen the stage version before.  I love the movie, but although the stage show is based on the movie, it is different enough that the stage show feels like a completely fresh piece of entertainment.  There are some new songs, for one thing, and several whole costume themes that were not part of the movie.  I now love the stage version, too.

An American vocalist, Victoria (Bobbi Bates) is starving in Paris as she looks for work.  She is taken in by a gay male vocalist, Toddy (Ron Spencer), who convinces her to pose as Victor, a gay man posing as a woman.  She does, indeed, get work this way, singing at a gay club.  All is well until she and a straight gangster from Chicago, King Marchan (Dave Ruark), fall in love.

_I_ fell in love with Toddy.  Spencer plays him with such comfortable joie de vivre!  I could see why Victoria trusted him so quickly.  And his silky, chocolately voice!  I swooned over Dave Ruark the way I always do (I love his voice, and that short haircut looks great on him! I can see why Victoria falls for King) but to my surprise, I swooned over Ron Spencer as Toddy as well. 

Bates sings a new (to me) song called “Living in the Shadows” that is absolutely heart-breaking at first, and then later, when Victoria has “come out” again as herself and is free to love King, Bates sings it with such joy that it is exhilarating to watch and listen to her.  I melted when she sang “Crazy World,” too.

Nathalie Cruz is a riot as the squawking, trampy, wants-to-be-Marilyn-Monroe-but-it-is-never-gonna-happen bimbo named Norma who is traveling with King and his brick wall of a body guard, the multi-talented and deeper-than-he-looks Mr. Bernstein (Darrin Gowan.)   Norma’s “Tango” duet with Victor is funny.  Her two solos – “Paris Makes Me Horny” and the machine gun-filled “Chicago, Illinois” – are even funnier.

(I guess I shouldn’t call “Chicago, Illinois” a solo, though, because Norma is accompanied by the “girls,” who all carry machine guns as well.  It is a fun number.  More about the “girls” and the choreography in a moment.)

Cutie Dane Rogers is hilarious as Henri LaBisse, the sleazy French club owner with a thick-as-Brie accent.  In one scene, he and Gowan, along with Ruark and Spencer, perform all kinds of physical comedy as they run up and down stairs, crawl under beds, and more to evade detection.

Several other people enhance both the comedy and the loveliness of the show:

Karlton D. Turner’s rich voice starts the ”Le Jazz Hot” number and gets everyone dancing.  Later, he portrays King’s shady business partner, Sal Andretti. 

Claire Wilcher demonstrates both her strong comedic skills as the dowdy but efficient assistant, Miss Selmer, and her breathtaking voice as the singing Flower Lady.

Sexy Eric Karwisch as nightclub owner Andre Cassell has an announcer’s voice that made me want to leap to my feet with applause even before I had heard or seen the act he was announcing!   (I was interested to read in my program that Karwisch also designed the show’s poster.)

I didn’t recognize Julianne Inskeep, who recently directed “Proof” at Theatre on the Square, as the drunk and/or mentally off Madame Roget in Act One until I saw her as the Chambermaid in Act Two, but I laughed out loud at the way she served food and fainted as Madame.

Ian Cruz makes a handsome waiter, ”Gregor,” and bodyguard, “Clam,” and reporter.  All three roles add to the humor of the show overall because Cruz plays them with such straight-faced deliberateness.

Annette Hirsch plays the glittering, stuck-up celebrity, Simone Kallisto.  She is accompanied by Toddy’s former lover, the bratty Richard DiNardo (Robert Kingery.)

Several people serve as reporters, dancers, and singers, adding still more delicious layers of comedy, music, and visual beauty.  Here they are in alphabetical order: April Armstrong, Justin Ivan Brown, David Michael Cress, Ian Cruz, Mary Hampton, Annette Hirsch, Jason Johnson, Sue Liechty, Robert Kingery, Vickie Klosky, Michelle Martin, and Karlton D. Turner.

The choreography, by Kenny Shepard and Carol Worcel, is clever: fitting yet unexpected.  I especially loved the moves in “Le Jazz Hot,” “Louis Says,” and the finale, “Victor/Victoria.”

Those were the costumes I loved best, too: “Le Jazz Hot” features a mardi gras color scheme – green, gold, and purple – and beads and other embellishments that made me think of the jazz capital, New Orleans.   The costumes in “Louis Says” play on the title as much as the lyrics do: everyone wears pastel, powdered wigs, and huge, hip bustles, and large shoe ornaments, and other things that make me think of the court of Louis XVI.  The finale is simply dazzling: all whites and golds. 

But I also loved King Marchan’s teal gangster suit,  Toddy’s burgundy and lime satin pajamas, and many other outfits.  Jeff Farley designed the costumes. He and Dan Benslay did the wigs.

My program does not say who designed the set, but I think it must have been technical director and lighting designer, Bernie Killian.   It was dressed by Rodney Tolliver.  In any case, it is charming, and evocative of Paris in the 1930s.  The curtain stays up for most scene changes, and it is fun to watch the set revolve around from the cafe to the multi-level hotel. 

Wendy Taylor is the stage manager, Matt Cunningham is the sound director, Donna Jones and Leighe Disbro are the spotlight operators, and Katie Angel is the deck manager.  For the most part, from where I sat in the audience, the show ran smoothly, which doesn’t always happen on opening night, at any theatre.  

Other than the sound bleed from next door, I only have three technical/design quibbles:

I didn’t believe that petite Victoria was wearing Richard’s pajamas in Toddy’s apartment.  The actor who plays Richard, Robert Kingery, is as tall as a basketball player.  Surely Victoria would have had to roll up the sleeves and legs a bit?

When King Marchan, Norma, and Mr. Bernstein enter the club where Victor/Victoria is performing, they have a whole bit where King stands up to show he is attracted to Victoria, but then sits down when she reveals herself as a man, which makes Norma jump up in delight.  I was the only one who saw this mini-scene Friday night, and that was only because they happened to sit right in front of me and I recognized the actors.  Because they were not lit at all, no one else saw them until after the song was over and they moved onto the stage.   Not even the people sitting next to them had turned their heads when they came in.  Too bad: it’s a fun bit.

During Victoria’s last solo, there is a spotlight on her, but the curtain only comes half-way down.  I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be watching her or the set change going on behind her.

Oh! And at one point Friday night, all of the house lights came on for no apparent reason.  Eventually they went down again, also for no apparent reason related to what was going on on stage.  That is the sort of mistake that can happen at any theatre, at any time.  It’s best just to laugh about it and forget it.

I couldn’t see the band up in the balcony over my head, but it sounded good to me during the times when the “Polka Boys” were taking a break.  The members include John Austin Butsch and Steven Murphy on keyboards, Dave Schurger on drums, Ryna Williams on bass, Gary Garziano on trumpet, and Dorothy McDonald on reeds.

I chatted with Indianapolis Star arts editor Whitney Smith at intermission and, through him, met former Star theatre reviewer Marion Garmel.  I hope she collects her reviews into a book some day.

“Victor/Victoria” continues at the American Cabaret Theatre through June 1st.  Please call 317-631-0334 to make a reservation.  There is a cash bar and concession stand in the lobby.  Drinks and snacks may be taken into the theatre.

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com