George M. Cohan Tonight! Taps Up a Storm

George M. Cohan Tonight! 

 

Featuring Jon Peterson 

 

Music and lyrics by George M. Cohan

With additional material by Chip Deffaa

Choreography by Jon Peterson 

 

Director/Choreographer, Chip Deffaa; Music Director, Sterling Price-McKinney; Set Designer, Lisa Pegnato; Lighting Designer, John Tibbetts; Costume Designer, Nicole Watson; Sound Designer, Ed Thurber; Production Stage Manager, Steven R. Espach 

 

Performances through November 19  Box Office 508-754-4018

www.foothillstheatre.com 

 

George M. Cohan was "The Man Who Owned Broadway" for much of the first half of the 20^th century and I nominate Jon Peterson to be "the man who owns Front St., Worcester" for his portrayal of this giant of the American Musical Theater.  From the opening sounds of his tap shoes flap-ball-changing on the darkened stage, to his jauntily sauntering through his life's journey, to the poignant denouement, Peterson shines as the feisty Cohan.  In fact, he mirrors the talents of his character as he is not only singer, dancer, and actor in the show, but the choreographer as well. 

 

I love tap dancing, so I was smiling from the start and rapt every time he slapped his shoes against the hardwood.  With over 30 musical numbers, Peterson has ample opportunity to show off his Irish tenor, including the trill so reminiscent of the singers of that earlier era.  I sat on the edge of my seat waiting for him to break into dance mid-song and was only disappointed that it didn't happen more often.  The tapping is clean and crisp and classic - the buck and wing, the waltz clog, cramp rolls, and time steps - and not a Savion Glover toe stand in sight.  It takes the audience back to Cohan's time when he was "the best dancer in the country." 

 

Director/writer Chip Deffaa lets George M. take center stage to tell his life story through song and dance.  The son of Vaudeville performers, he made his stage debut as an infant on the Fourth of July, 1878, in Providence, Rhode Island, beginning a lifelong love affair with the theatre.  With his parents and sister Josephine, Cohan traveled the circuit eschewing the normal routines of childhood like attending school and making friends.  The family was close-knit and he certainly got an education backstage.  One of the funnier bits in George M. Cohan Tonight! is Peterson's swishy characterization of fellow vaudevillian Ada Rose Cashman who had quite the impact on the pubescent George. 

 

The lack of a formal education did not hold Cohan back.  He far exceeded all expectations (except his own) as he took charge of the family act at the age of 15 and eventually brought them to the Great White Way.  Once there, the song and dance man cum writer, composer, and producer presented more than 50 shows and had control of seven theatres at one time.  Of course, his ego matched his talent (no small feat) giving him the confidence or bravado to succeed.  Peterson struts about in a way that reflects these characteristics, full of energy and light on his feet.  He breaks into song without breaking stride as he ambles back and forth across the stage.  The man rarely stands still! 

 

While Peterson can belt out the upbeat and patriotic tunes like "The Yankee Doodle Boy," "You're a Grand Old Flag," and the best known "Give My Regards to Broadway," he also croons softly and sweetly on several numbers, most notably "Life's a Funny Proposition After All." In this last song before the Finale, the actor sits down on the edge of the stage between the footlights.  We can hear and see all the angst and life's surprises and disappointments that Cohan felt as he faces the last act of a long running show.   

 

To his credit, George M. Cohan changed the face of musical theatre in America, yet ended up pretty much alone.  His sister and her husband left the act for different and better opportunities, and then his wife left him.  He remarried quickly, and then lost both his sister and father.  He reacted by doing what he always did, which was to work.  When rehearsing late into the night in one of his theatres, he was asked if he ever went home.  He replied, "I'm in the theatre, I am home."   

 

Lisa Pegnato's set is evocative of a backstage space with several trunks and suitcases strewn about, a couple of rehearsal lights, and some random props.  The costume design by Nicole Watson is spot on, from the boater atop Cohan's head down to his Spectator tap shoes.  The lighting is another story as there were a few scenes where Peterson and the stage were not well lit, especially when he was seated upstage.  There were moments of very creative lighting, too, at the beginning and at the end of the show.  The sound was particularly good when the star was tapping away, but there could have been a little more volume for some of his speaking lines.   

 

The last thing I want to do in this review is nitpick, however, as it was an extremely enjoyable 90-minute entertainment for a Sunday afternoon.  The direction and music direction are topnotch, but it is truly Jon Peterson who makes this one-man show work.  He was involved with the development of George M. Cohan Tonight! and performed it Off-Broadway in the spring of 2006, receiving a Drama Desk Award nomination for outstanding solo performance.  With his boyish good looks, his joie de vivre, and his exciting tap routines, Peterson breathes life into George M. Cohan at this New England premiere at the Foothills Theatre.  We're lucky to have both of them on the stage.      

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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