Goodspeed Musicals Has Rollicking 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'

"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"

Book by Lawrence Kasha and David S. Landay; lyrics by Johnny Mercer; music by Gene de Paul; new songs by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn; based on the MGM film and "The Sobbin' Women" by Stephen Vincent Benet; directed by Greg Ganakas; music direction and arrangements by Michael O'Flaherty; orchestrations by Michael Morris; choreographed by Patti Colombo; scenery design by Russell Metheny; costume design by Gregory Gale; lighting design by Michael Lincoln

Featured cast in order of appearance:

Ruth, Liz Pearce

Dorcas, Mahri Relin

Sarah, Heather Janneck

Liza, Natalie Stone

Martha, Sara Hart

Alice, Sarah Jane Everman

Adam Pontipee, Burke Moses

Milly Tilden, Jacquelyn Piro

Caleb, Kevin Bernard

Ephraim, Karl Warden

Daniel, David Tankersley

Benjamin, Jim T. Ruttman

Frank, Eric Sciotto

Gideon, Brian Hissong

Performances: Now through June 26

Box Office: 860-873-8668 or www.goodspeed.org

Aside from a couple of times when the feisty Milly Tilden Pontipee smacks her mountain man husband Adam on the backside in retaliation for his similar assaults on her person, there's not much sexual equality inherent in the stage adaptation of the MGM musical, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." Yet, the show currently on the boards at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, Connecticut is so irresistibly good-natured and lively that it's easy to forgive its Neanderthal sensibilities.

All the hootin', hollerin' and hog tying of women begins when Adam Pontipee, eldest of seven rowdy brothers who live in the snowy mountains high above an Oregon town, brings home his bride, Milly, after a whirlwind three-minute courtship. Her feminine presence in the close quarters of the Pontipee cabin sets off a testosterone-induced bride hunt that ends with all six remaining bachelors carting off their prey under cloak of darkness following a combination barn-raising, picnic and social. Once clear of the mountain pass, the boys set off an avalanche that traps the girls in and keeps the pursuing town folk out. By the time the spring thaw finally melts the snow – and the girls' hearts – several months later, love has irrevocably bloomed.

"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is chock full of good old-fashioned song and dance numbers that make the thin story seem much better than it actually is. "Goin' Courtin'," "The Challenge Dance" and "We Gotta Make It through the Winter" give the brothers Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank and Gideon ample opportunity to flex their muscles and strut their he-man stuff while captivating us with their boyish charms and backwoods humility. "I Married Seven Brothers" has a delightfully droll Jacquelyn Piro as Milly demonstrating the spunk and humor that will later enable her to whip her newly acquired brothers into shape as they reluctantly learn how gentlemen win their ladies' hands. "Spring, Spring, Spring" pairs off the brothers and brides-to-be in a fanciful ballet that illustrates the unique and endearing personalities of each emerging couple. The jubilant "Wedding Celebration" at the finale gives the entire ensemble one last chance to kick up its high-spirited heels in good clean fun.

The major weakness in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," unfortunately, is the central character of Adam, played by headliner and perennial swaggerer Burke Moses. Written as a stubborn head of the household who needs to be the boss, Adam is the least likable of the brothers, despite his early self-effacing wooing that does manage to capture Milly's optimistic, if practical, heart. Moses compounds the problem by playing Adam in the second act with a bearish, almost brutish edge. In what should be his most powerful moment on stage – singing the soliloquy "Where Were You?" to his absent wife as he tries to understand the abrupt changes that have occurred in his marriage – Moses expresses Adam's gruffness but not his vulnerability, his anger but not his pain. When Milly later sweetly sings "Glad That You Were Born" to her daughter Hannah, whom Adam has not come home to see, we ache for her loneliness and loyalty. Piro's loving Milly deserves better than what Moses' insensitive Adam gives her.

"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is at its best when the inventive and nearly gymnastic choreography by Patti Colombo is unleashed full force by a uniformly talented and energetic ensemble. Also terrific is the eight-piece orchestra that is augmented by onstage folk musicians who at various times play the fiddle, guitar, concertina, mouth harp, and spoons. The clever and multifunctional set by Russell Metheny transforms quickly and fluidly from wagon to street scene to restaurant to farm exterior to mountain cabin complete with working lanterns and water pump. Evocative lighting by Michael Lincoln is warm during the summer months and cold during the winter and cleverly uses shadows to indicate the leaves of trees and pinpoints to suggest constellations of stars.

Greg Ganakas has directed his able cast at an unflagging pace, which keeps the mood of the show appropriately light and breezy. He has also staged the wooing and chase scenes with exuberant good humor, enabling the audience to take the politically incorrect storyline with a sizable grain of salt.

The women in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" may have been sobbin' initially. But once those boys from the backwoods turned on their country charm, everyone was wearing a big smile.

 

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