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In a mid-sized theater's quest for raising needed capital, there's nothing quite so popular as the revue. They generally have six to eight in the cast, they don't require massive technical involvement, and audiences eat them up like they're the last sweets before fasting. There are plenty out there to choose from. Each segment of theatre, and of the populace, can point to a revue tailor-made for them. Some of these revues are so popular, they even spawn sequels. Phoenix Theatre's latest production, A...My Name is Still Alice, is one of those.
Joan Micklin Silver and Julianne Boyd have created a pro-woman, two-and-a-half hour musical-revue that glimpses at the trials and travails of modern women, ten years after their first tongue-in-cheek look. In its pre-packaged, pre-fab way, it breaks almost no new ground. It ever so lightly touches on a host of women's hot-button topics, such as AIDS, unwed pregnancy, birth control, abortion, motherhood, and many others, while never threatening to push too far, which guarantees it widespread appeal. In a theatrical sense, it has all of the nutrition of whipped nougat. It's important to note, though, that didn't stop the audience members, a great deal of them women, from accepting it as deep, touching, and highly entertaining. Live and learn.
Director Terrance McKerrs has done several important things to ensure this sweet confection a successful run. He has assembled a generally impressive cast who exude belief in what they're energetically espousing. He keeps the production running at a spritely pace, a necessity for revues that chronicle songs that are not of the mainstream. He often creates interesting stage pictures and visual cues that feed the audience what they need.
As for the performers, all range from very good to excellent. The ensemble, consisting of the vocally talented Ellen Benton, the spry Peggy Lord Chilton, a subdued Susan Miller-Dee, the vivacious Robyn Ferracane, a comedically and dramatically impressive Michelle Gardner, and the funny Theresa Springer, do an awfully good job of selling this simple piece. While there is little memorable about the production textually, visions of these six actresses singing, dancing, and waxing poetic remain. Highlights include a wonderfully performed, genuinely touching piece entitled "Baby," about an abandoned infant, featuring Ms. Gardner; a funny song about getting older but not growing up, "It Ain't Over", performed by Ms. Chilton and Ms. Miller-Dee; a silly but enjoyable sketch in the style of women's prison B-movies, entitled "Women Behind Desks" which was performed by the entire cast; and the enjoyable, though a tad manufactured, finale, celebrating "Lifelines."
Beyond these moments, there is a lot of filler that is similar to the kind of sketches Carol Burnett would have done if she were a little more politically conscious. And while it all seems to have melded together hours after viewing, the memory of the enjoyable performances has come to the fore.
Kudos go to the perennially-wonderful Jerry Wayne Harkey, for both his musical direction and keyboards. He manages to turn the three-man band into a solid orchestra for the musical numbers.
Thom Gilseth's scenic design, Michael Eddy's lighting and David Temby's sound are all solid and work well within the play's confines. Carol Simmons' costumes are at times dead-on choices, but at others, work against the actresses inside them, especially for most of Ms. Ferracane's attire.
Phoenix Theatre needs to survive, and has offered its share of cash cows and audience-pleasers, while still managing to produce some more daring works, such as this past season's wonderful but depressing Ghetto. Hopefully, they will be able to sell out houses for people looking to nod appreciatively, be entertained and feel simple connections so that they'll be able to support the harder-hitting works.
Production Details:
A...My Name is Still Alice
Conceived by Joan Micklin Silver and Julianne Boyd
Phoenix Theatre, Phoenix
254-2151
June 12th-June 28th, 1998
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