The New York Musical Theater Festival May be spawning something extraordinarily special with their production of PLAY IT COOL. The show, with a book by Martin Casella and Larry Dean Harris, features music by Philip Swan and lyrics by Mark Winkler. Is set in a 1920’s Hollywood jazz club catering to a gay clientele and is owned my Mary (Sally Mayes), who has put all her life’s savings into it. Mary is very much involved with her star vocalist, redheaded Lena (Victora Lecta Cave) his is a time when Hollywood studios were extremely powerful and could force their male stars to stop co-habitating and would arrange marriages for their gay actors. In short, it was an exceptionally stressful and dangerous time for the homosexual community.
Mary is a resourceful woman and knows how to survive in her business. She pays off a detective, effectively played by Micheal McGuirk, who frequents the bar more than he should-- claiming that he does so because he likes the music. He’s amused when a sleazy agent (
Daniel Torres) brings an innocent young man (
Josh Strickland) into the club promising the newcomer that he can make him a star in Hollywood. These five performers are the sole members of the cast which is accompanied by an on-stage band comprised of
Joseph Baker, Matsutaka Odaka and Wayne Dunton. All of them perform brilliantly under
Sharon Rosen’s expert direction.
What makes this production so very special is the score by Swann and Winkler. It is filled with various jazz idioms and boasts wonderful melodies and lyrics that are intelligent and not only move the plot along but explore the emotions of the characters who are singing them. This is such a rarity in today’s musicals which seem to be fixated on the premise that banality reigns supreme.
Most of the cast is exemplary. Broadway veteran
Sally Mayes is outstanding as Mary. Her characterization is letter perfect and her zingers hit the mark each time. She is also a superior vocalist and she can bring down the house with a number like “In My Drag” and then demonstrate he ease with jazz in “Jazz is a Special Taste”. She’s absolutely remarkable in the role.
Less successful is Ms Lecta Cave as her love interest. The actress has much going for her and she wears the slinky costumes of
T. Michael Hall very nicely, but she never really gets under the skin of her character. She sings well but one is always aware of the fact that she’s PLAYING a character and never really BECOMES the woman she’s portraying. That character has an underhanded side and none of that rings true in this actress’ portrayal.
That is not the case with
Daniel Torres. A handsome fellow, Torres is very effective as the duplicitous agent who seems able to charm members of either gender to get his way. The aforementioned
Michael McGuirk serves as the show’s narrator, creating a “film noir” atmosphere for the piece. He’s
exceptional in the role and his rendition of “How Do I Go Home Tonight?” is truly memorable.
With this abundance of talent on stage, it’s hard to believe that there’s one who stand out from the rest, but
Josh Strickland as Will is nothing short of remarkable. Shorn of his Tarzan locks and looking very much like the choir boy his character is referred to in the text, Strickland may be delivering the break-out role of his career. His transformation from a hick singer to a jazz vocalist can easily be compared to what
Laura Benanti undergoes nightly in GYPSY. Strickland’s metamorphosis is every bit as brilliant and perhaps heralds the success that was never actually achieved when he played Tarzan. He’s got a remarkably versatile voice which is very much at home with the jazz elements of the score and he takes on a special luster in the ballad-like segments he sings. His total immersion in the role is a joy to watch even when the dramatic focus is on other characters. He’s a bona fide actor, singer, and he handles the dance moves well too. Gosh by golly, here’s a reality-TV personality who’s really a genine musical comedy talent!
PLAY IT COOL is a damned good show. Its score deserves a recording and the show itself deserves greater exposure. With a modicum of luck it will find a small venue that could allow more audiences to enjoy this remarkable work. Is anything booked into the Circle-In-The Square?
