Review: LuPone/Ebersole Shine in WAR PAINT

Photos by Joan Marcus courtesy of the Goodman Theatre.

In the Goodman's WAR PAINT, the battlelines are deliciously drawn between Team Helena Rubinstein and Team Elizabeth Arden. The two titans of the cosmetic industry who were very much rivals until their deaths are played in equally show-stopping fashion by two-time Tony Award-winning actresses Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone.

And if you are tempted to go into the show hoping to be either Team Christine or Team Patti, you are liable to emerge realizing this is a draw. Throughout the show, each actress plays to her strengths and talent-wise they are both very much equals.

LuPone's feisty immigrant turned industry giant spoke more to me than Ebersole's Canadian farmgirl who longs to be embraced by the upper class society that accounts for the majority of her patrons. There is much to be admired in both performances, though. Here are two women who reinvent themselves and ruthlessly pursue success at the expense of everything else.

The pair are each betrayed by the man in which they confide in. Arden's husband Tommy Lewis (a charismaticJohn Dossett) eventually tires of not being treated as an equal in the business despite his sizeable contributions and goes to work for Rubinstein.

Rubinstein's confident is the closeted Harry Fleming (the always charming Douglas Sills). After Rubinstein expresses concerns that his personal life might impact her brand, Fleming clears his desk and goes to work for Arden.

Each woman expresses some misguided animosity toward the other, when they really should be blaming the man. The situation works to strengthen and legitimize the rivalry, though.

Lewis and Sills are also given a second-act showstopper ("Dinosaurs") in which they initially begin criticizing the folly of both Rubinstein and Arden to recognize the changing trends in the cosmetic industry before each realizes that they too have somehow allowed the world to pass them by. Both actors display some fine comedic talent in the number and under the superb direction of Michael Greif, the scene manages to enhance the proceedings rather than steal focus.

The book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel and lyrics by Michael Korie all go out of their way to treat each of these titans of industry as equals in every sense. Yes, with Ebersole and LuPone at the helm, fans would expect two 11 o'clock numbers and the team does not disappoint. Ebersole is given "Pink" in which Arden's signature color manages to become the only thing left of her legacy. LuPone has "Forever Beautiful" in which an aging Rubinstein takes comfort in the unchanging beauty of her many self-portraits.

The rest of the script feels more like a tennis match than musical, though. There is so much point-counterpoint going on you half expect each of the accomplished actresses to pull out a tennis racket to return a volley.

Each of the acts' opening songs could stand to be re-written, too. "A Woman's Face" which opens the show has each actress seated at a vanity. It's a bit to quiet of an opening and never really builds to the level of an opening number. The second act opener that carries the show's title is also a bit of a clunker. The phrase "War Paint" (also the title of the biography by Lindy Woodhead on which the show is partly based) is taken a bit too literally here as Arden and Rubinstein are forced to reinvent their companies due to World War II rationing.

The term was bigger in Woodhead's book. These women were constantly at war. Not only with each other, but with society that deemed what was an acceptable role for a woman. Yes, these themes come out during the course of the show, but one wishes the song better reflected this sentiment. It's use here is perfunctory at best.

Catherine Zuber's costume designs are efficiently used to set each era (not unlike the close-up shots of make up of the era in Ann Carol Grossman and Arnie Reisman's documentary film "The Powder & the Glory" on which the show is partially based). Rubinstein's later penchant for large necklaces of both gems and beads are certainly on display as are Arden's elegant and almost military couture.

It is perhaps a bit ironic that the most breath-taking moment from a costume-perspective belongs to their mutual rival Charles Revson (of Revlon). Zuber recreates the look of Revlon's iconic 1952 "Fire and Ice" ad campaign from the shimmery silver cocktail dress and fire-red shawl. Anyone who has studied the history of advertising will be familiar with the campaign and will marvel at the level of attention paid to recreating it here. David BrIan Brown's hair design even features the model's signature grey streak.

It also helps that it's one of the few scenes that Tony-award winning choreographer Christopher Gattelli is let loose to do what he does best and it is spectacular. Who knew that Gattelli would be given more to do in a show about a certain aquatic sponge in THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL than he was afforded here?

Despite the show's flaws, the show is an awe-inspiring vehicle for each of its accomplished actresses. It's a rare opportunity to see both Ebersole and LuPone share the stage and neither actress disappoints.

WAR PAINT runs through Aug. 21st at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn. Tickets $44-$182. 312.443.3800. www.goodmanthatre.org/warpaint

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