Review: ONE FOR MY BABY at El Portal Theatre

Harold Arlen is a legendary composer. Best known for “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz for which he and Yip Harburg won the Oscar for Best Original Song (and was voted the 20th century’s No. 1 song by the Recording Industry Association of America), he wrote so many other classics as to be almost uncountable.

Scott Thompson and Fred Barton decided to plumb Arlen’s catalog to create the dazzling world premiere jukebox musical ONE FOR MY BABY playing now at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. Couched as a story told by Panama (Lana Gordon) reflecting on her time running the Dreamland nightclub back in 1947, the show boasts a broad tapestry of larger-than-life characters — chorines, gangsters, gamblers, dreamers, crooked cops, wisecracking dames — who come to life, their stories of betrayal, romance, crime, sex, jealousy, and envy intertwining as they strive for success and love at the club. It’s a lot for Thompson and Barton to attempt, but they achieve the complexity of the stories and their characters and intersperse the Arlen songs that punctuate and give nuance to them all while making it look effortless. Each role is distinct, memorable, and has their own arc. With all the stories crisscrossing, it’s astonishing how the production never feels overstuffed.

Each character is brought to life by superbly talented actors, singers, and dancers. The talent on the stage is staggering no matter how large or small the part. The women in particular are standouts: Gordon oversees the drama as Dreamland’s mistress of ceremonies with towering presence; Luba Mason, as Tess, an heiress trying to get her younger beau (an electrifying C.J. Eldred) a slot singing at Dreamland, owns the stage; Meredith (Lianne Marie Dobbs), Tess’ scheming heiress BFF is sexy and humorous without ever being relegated to “comic relief”; Natalie Holt MacDonald as a cigarette girl aspiring for a shot on stage exhibits moxie and a forlorn quality; Amber Wright as Jackie, the club’s headliner dealing with personal problems plumbs pathos and hope; and Jess Val Ortiz, as Kitty, a small-town girl with big dreams who will do what it takes to make them come true, embodies aspiration and drive without ever seeming desperate. And they can all sing like they were born to the stage, their talent truly commanding. They are the fully fleshed-out characters the men are in service to, which is not to say the men aren’t just as talented in their ways (a particular standout is Sean McGibbon, as Eddie, Kitty’s small-town boyfriend—he exudes a boy-next-door sexiness while performing some electrifying dance sequences).

Arlen’s music is used to fantastic effect by conductor and arranger Fred Barton and his ace orchestra, supporting the characters and moving the story ahead. Classics like “One For My Baby (And One More For the Road),” “Get Happy,” “Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home,” “That Old Black Magic,” and “I’ve Got the World on a String” are turned into showstoppers, but the cracking “Down With Love” (Tess and Meredith) and dramatic “Stormy Weather”/“The Man That Got Away” (Jackie, Tess, Panama, and Kitty) really bring down the house.

The costumes by Shon LeBlanc are spectacular, especially some especially stunning gowns, and the multi-level set by Paul Black is a grand backdrop for the nightclub as well as the dramas of its denizens. Director-choreographer Scott Thompson melds old-school Hollywood with big, bombastic Broadway for an exuberant and poignant show that even at 160 minutes doesn’t overstay its welcome. Every actor gets a chance to shine — and shine they do — and there are set pieces that would not be out of place in some of the grandest of theaters. There are only two things marring ONE FOR MY BABY, and they’re significant: There were sound problems throughout, sometimes fully stranding actors unused to projecting without the use of microphones, and the spotlights could not find or stay on the performers to the point of distraction for the actors and the audience. Presumably, those issues were dealt with after opening night, because, overall, it’s a glamorous production, thrilling and moving, nostalgic and, at points, jaw dropping.

Photos by Billy Bennight

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