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State Fair, a DFW Metroplex Premiere Also see John's recent review of State Fair has arrived in the metroplex, five years after it opened on Broadway. Based on the two films and the novel by Phil Stong about a family going to the state fair, the show follows the adventures of love, pigs, pickles, and mincemeat unfold on the midway of the Iowa state fair. We all know that Rodgers and Hammerstein were already dead when State Fair was mounted for Broadway, so how did they achieve this "new" musical for 1996? The creative team took songs from the films, and songs that were dropped from other R&H musicals, and built a book around them to fit the basic storyline of Stong's novel, and that's where the problems stick out like red flags. It's not the fault of the cast or production staff, but it's very obvious that some of the songs just don't fit into the book. The majority of the songs are really not that remarkable; you see why they were dropped from their original homes in the first place. Then there's the book, a dull, lifeless script with practically no deep character development, or lack of emotional strength. The book is so threadbare, it falls into pieces midway of act two - you can see how the book writers tried to tie all the ends up in one fancy bow for the last scene, but there's no true sense of "timeline". Thus the sappy ending received a groan from this critic. But what could have been a long and dreadful evening of seeing a paste up job in book and score for this musical, actually became a charming and entertaining evening, and that is because of this production's delightful cast and superb production staff. Director Cheryl Denson moves her large cast with purpose and reason. Denson does not fall into the trap that other directors of large cast musicals seem to fall into, that of having the large cast stand in clumps and just sing. Denson has her company move and live at the fair, to purchase food or play games or to react and communicate with others at the fair. When Margy Frake (Julie Stirman) sings her ballad, "It Might As Well Be Spring", Denson has the actress wrap pickles in cloth all the while singing a song about trying to find love. It's those little things that really show a director's strength for keeping the mood "real" and not just "let's get to the next song". Denson works magic in her musicals, and she again succeeds here. Brava to Maestro Karen Albrecht and her orchestra. The sound is lush with live music coming from the pit. The six piece band at times actually sounds like a full orchestra. Albrecht keeps the musical beats, notes, and especially the rhythm at perfect tempo. She also keeps the orchestra from overpowering her singers, instead providing music at a volume equal to that of the voices. Denson is greatly assisted by her amazing creative team. Wade Giampa's bright and colorful backdrops are just beautiful and add so much to the mood of being at the state fair. Giampa's sets are just grand and added so much to the musical. Michael A. Robinson's costumes are sunny side up freshness, keeping in tempo with the period of the 1940s. Robinson uses crisp and clean patterns on the girl's dresses while dressing his men in period suits or authentic farm wear. His beautiful creation for the club singer's first number was my favorite of the evening: a gown of black, with a dusting of glitter, rhinestones, and black feathers. Lighting designer Susan A. White uses fuchsias, lavenders, and hues of dark blue to create a romantic mood, and bright oranges, yellows, and blues to create the outdoor mood of being on a farm. During the number, "Driving At Night", a song the Frakes sing as they drive to the Iowa State Fair, White has the lighting splashed against the wall match the lyrics; she blends the lighting to go from day, to late night, to early morning. Pamela Peadon's choreography is both pleasing and enjoyable to watch. Peadon does not let the dance overwhelm her cast, but molds her choreography to match their abilities. Any choreographer who creates dance steps that fit her company's talent and ability to execute those dance steps with ease earns a gold star in my book. Her best choreography comes in the company numbers, especially, "Our State Fair" and my personal favorite, "All I Owe Ioway". I have always said that in musicals with large choruses, the chorus can make or kill the show. A chorus is as important as the leads; they add life to the situation being presented around them. Choruses can look bland or fall into that horrid routine of overacting, or even worse, all react the same with no individualism at all. You will find none of that in Denson's cast! The many ensemble members are enjoyable and create various characters to play; they change costumes and bring new characters along with these costume changes. Estelle Florey Carter as Judge Heppenstahl is downright hysterical as the spokesperson for the other judges as they taste pickles and mincemeat. I won't spoil it for you, but her acting is a salute to Lucille Ball's "in this little bottle" and is worth the price of your ticket. Joe Strohl must take medications to handle all the various voices and characters he portrays in State Fair. This actor really wears comic characterization like a glove. Strohl plays several characters in the musical, but my personal favorite was that of the photographer, Charlie. Strohl uses a high pitch dialect that reminds me of one of those mean gangster rats in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Strohl takes a small bit role and turned it a scene stealing character. Another actor of many hats is Tony Rhodes. Mr. Rhodes posseses a beautiful high tenor vocal that works perfectly during the harmony of the quartet song "More Than Just a Friend", a quite funny ode to pigs. But Rhodes also portrays other characters, from the kind Chief of Police to the pain in Abel's neck, Dave Miller. When you single out supporting or minor performances, that tells you how strong that chorus is. Leading the principals is Randy Pearlman as Abel Frake, the father of the family whose lives we see unfold. Pearlman has perfect comic timing and just a warm glow about him. The chemistry between Frake and his wife, Melissa (Susan Metzger), is perfect and best displayed in their two duets, "When I Go Out Walking With My Baby", and "Boys and Girls Like You and Me". Pearlman also dances with great ease and energy. He was a major highlight of the evening. Ms. Metzger, as Pearlman's wife is warm, and glows as the mother who feels the grip of losing her children as they grow up. Metzger sings with a strong and crystal clean soprano voice. Jim Lindsay, as their son Wayne, gives a charming and delightful performance of a man who falls in love too fast with the wrong girl. Lindsay was battling a cold at this performance, but he still gave it his all, and it showed. Lindsay creates little comic gems sprinkled throughout his performance such asthe ring toss scene, the meeting of the Police Chief's daughter, and my personal favorite, his hilarious scene of drinking his sorrows. Julie Stirman, as daughter Margy, has a beautiful soprano voice that honestly at times reminded me of Andrea McArdle. Her renditions of "It Might As Well Be Spring" and "The Next Time It Happens" are sung in honey dripped vocals that sound soothing over the orchestra. Michael Turner, as Stirman's love interest Pat Gilbert, brings another winning performance to the show. While Turner at times sounds as though he's straining to reach the high notes and he does not have a strong vibrato or belt, he makes up for it with his acting and dancing, which are both winneing talents. Turner's role was originated by Tony Award winner Scott Wise, and in the Broadway production they added a lot of dance music for Wise. Turner does not try to be that; instead he and Pamela Peadon create an entertaining and amusing dance sequence in "The Man I Used to Be". Turner dances with grace and energy, and his delightful facial expressions add a lot to the song. He has another winner in act one with the duet "Isn't It Kind of Fun?" with Ms. Stirman - the two actors have very good chemistry. There are other very good and energetic performances from other performers as well: Amy Askins is all legs and sexiness as Emily Arden; there is also Scott Michael Morales as Harry, the other guy who has fallen in love with Margy. Kudos also to the cast and backstage crew for keeping the pace flowing quite nicely. There are large set pieces and flown in drops for practically every scene, but the cast and crew quickly get them off and on. It's situations like this that can cause a musical's pace to just go down, but here they know it, and they push forth. Like I said before, the book to me is extremely weak and dull, and the score just does not really do anything for me. I must admit, I am a huge fan of the big belting songs and full company crescendos, but even more of a big and full company ending number, which State Fair needs badly. What makes this production stand out as really good summer theatre is the top notch cast and production staff. This cast really puts their hearts and talents into the show and it shows! State Fair runs through July 1, 2001 at Brookhaven College. For tickets and info call 972-860-4118 Music by Richard Rodgers Based on the screenplay by Oscar Hammerstein II and the novel by Phil Stong Directed by Cheryl Denson |
