'You Never Know' Is a Champagne Toast to American Musicals

"You Never Know"

Music and lyrics by Charles Strouse; book by Charles Strouse with Rinne Groff; orchestration by Dan DeLange; vocal and dance arrangements by Charlie Alterman and Charles Strouse; set designed by David Jenkins; costumes designed by William Lane; lights designed by John Ambrosone; sound designed by Peter Sasha Hurowitz; musical direction by Charlie Alterman; choreographed by Christopher d'Amboise; directed by Amanda Dehnert

Cast in order of appearance:

Ben Shapiro/Ben Shipley, Ben Steinfeld

The Dancers Upstairs, Kelly Crandall and Jason Lacayo

Luis Mendez, Julio Monge

Abby Sullivan/Ashley Morgan, Haviland Stillwell

Paul/Peter, Gerritt VanderMeer

Irene/Irene Craig, Rachael Warren

Fred/Alan Wetherly, Jay Montgomery

Tom/Simmons, Mauro Hantman

Young Luis Mendez, Darrly Semira

Dad/Vice President, Fred Sullivan, Jr.

Hawkins, Stephen Thorne

Performances: Now through May 22

Box Office: 401-351-4242 or www.trinityrep.com

When an opening musical number called "Clean Sweep" has an aging song and dance man conjuring images of Fred Astaire as he glides across the floor pretending that a broom is his blond-haired soft shoe partner, the stage is instantly set for the nostalgic, affectionate and good-natured parody that is to come. "You Never Know," Charles Strouse's new musical comedy currently receiving its world premiere at the Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, RI, is a light-hearted – and sometimes light-headed – romp back to the days when a musical's storyline was just an excuse for giving us a little bit of romance, a lot of great songs, and a measure of screwball comedy on the side.

"You Never Know" pays tribute to the Great American Musical by centering its plot on the young Ben Shapiro, a would-be composer who decides to pay tribute to his composer-grandfather Ben Shipley by performing his unfinished 1948 musical for the public. As audience members straggle into the rented rehearsal hall (some intentionally, some accidentally), they quickly become part of the show, their real-life characters mirroring the roles they assume in the reading.

There's the handsome, smarmy, and oh-so-perfect Ivy Leaguer Paul who becomes the womanizing politician and conniver Peter. There's Paul's somewhat flighty actress/girlfriend Abby who becomes Peter's boozy and melodramatic actress/wife Ashley. Joining them are Irene, the "other woman" in both scenarios; Fred, an actor who cancels his callback to play Alan, the mysterious president's man who also happens to be attracted to Peter; and Tom, a security guard who finds himself totally absorbed in the character of Simmons, an overeager member of the secret service. Blend these with both a young and an old version of the song and dance man Luis plus Ben's lawyer Dad who reluctantly becomes the Vice President and you have all the ingredients for a delightfully madcap musical send-up.

So why doesn't this at times charming, at times rollicking, and always pleasantly tuneful burlesque really take off? The staging and performances are all brisk and appropriately tongue-in-cheek. The songs are all terrific self-parodies whose biting lyrics set themselves up in sharply humorous contrast to the romantic Latin and bouncy Big Band rhythms that fill the score. The actors all make their characters simultaneously corny but engaging, and the singing and dancing are both lively and fun.

Ultimately it's the endless plot shifts and contrived resolutions that eventually grow tiring. Just when a love quartet between Ben, Ashley, Peter and Alan starts heating up and the rehearsal hall magically transforms into the swanky Florida hotel in which the play-within-the-play takes place, the action is jerked back to the present and halts for regrouping. Similarly, when the grandfather's unfinished musical comes to its abrupt conclusion and characters are left holding loose ends, grandson Ben quickly manufactures his own happy ending for the show, hoping the closure he brings to the past will spill over into his present.

Of course, the artificial nature of the multiple zany storylines can be forgiven when you consider the genre that "You Never Know" is spoofing. In their score, book, and staging composer Strouse and director Dehnert lampoon everything and everyone from Greta Garbo to the Marx Brothers to Busby Berkeley to Howard Hawks. Even Strouse himself seems to be a target when lines like "What kind of a musical is this?" are spewed by the young Ben's ultra-conservative father.

Yet underneath the outrageous broadsides, such as the splashy and hilarious Act I finale "Charity Party" and the bitterly funny Act II actress' lament "Pills and Booze," real warmth is expressed for the art and artists of the musical theater. Songs like "The 'I Don't Know How to Dance' Dance" and "De Sun, De Sea, De Sand" are joyous tributes to the Freds, Gingers, and Genes of this world whose work still inspires us to say, "Now that's entertainment."

Despite a few rough edges, "You Never Know" is in the end an effervescent musical homage to both itself and its sprightly predecessors. In its world premiere at Trinity Rep in Providence, thankfully every bit of its sparkle and fizz has been uncorked.

 

 

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