Review: MTW Delivers Great Big Stuff with DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels/book by Jeffrey Lane; music by David Yazbek/Musical Theatre West (MTW) /Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Long Beach/directed by Billy Sprague Jr./musical director: John Glaudini/through July 24

Based on a 1980s film starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is terribly silly and much of the dialogue & lyrics imbued with an overabundance of sexual innuendos, but that's AOK, as this is not Stephen Sondheim, but a jazzy, feel good, laugh out loud type of show. As many times as I've seen it, I always fall directly into the trap...like most audience I'm hooked, especially if the two male leads are properly cast. In this new production at MTW, Davis Gaines plays Lawrence Jamison, the king of cons, and could not be more perfect. At his side is Benjamin Schrader as Freddy Benson, the rubber-faced comedic schmuck who pleads with Jamison to take him on and teach him the ropes, the tricks of the trade. These two head up a glorious cast under the uber skilled direction'choreography of Billy Sprague Jr., and what results is a triumphant hit for MTW... through July 24 only.

Scoundrels is set on the French Riviera at a touristy hotel/casino, where kingpin Jamison cannot afford competition. He takes Benson on, hoping to quickly get rid of him, but is he in for one great big surprise. Benson uses his quaint charm to lure lonely women into the lair and becomes more in demand than his partner. It's how both try to outwit each other that makes the plotline tick, and without a superior actor playing Freddy, you really cannot do this show. His over.the.top moves and painfully silly facial expressions make Ruprecht, for example, one of the most memorable characters in the story. Jamison fabricates an obnoxious brother Ruprecht, that requires 24/7 loving care, in order to get out of a marriage to a wealthy, overly ambitious Texan Jolene (Jennifer Kranz). Benson's second hilarious characterization is the man who is wheelchair bound, all due to his passion for love. He and Jamison vie for the affections of the wealthy soap heiress Christine Colgate (Rebecca Ann Johnson). Here Jamison invents a fabulously funny German doctor Shuffhausen who is supposedly the only therapist who can cure Freddy and enable him to walk again. "Ruffhousin' with Shuffhausen" is by far one of the most screamingly funny numbers in the play. Remember Frau Bluher in Young Frankenstein who used pain for sexual pleasure? Well, Shuffhausen works Freddy over and over until... I won't spoil your enjoyment of the proceedings any further...you must see the show to appreciate its every delicious moment.

Under Sprague's deft direction, the ensemble are having the time of their lives. Gaines and Schrader relish every moment they have onstage together and apart. Schrader is oh so consistently playful. Johnson is sweet and lovable as Colgate and Kranz makes a fun-loving cowgirl. Jamison's police chief friend Andre Thibault, as played by Kyle Nudo, is rather demure until he meets wealthy widow Muriel (Cynthia Ferrer). These two have a riproaring affair, a subplot that is almost as delightful to watch as the antics of the principal duo. Ferrer, always a dandy actress, is terrifically gullible as the love starved widow, and Nudo is ever so droll as he lets his hair down to follow her lead.

David Yazbek, who had such a triumph with his first musical The Full Monty, doesn't quite come up to that popular level with the tunes of Scoundrels, but the music is indeed bright and naughtily risque to match Jeffrey Lane's wonderful book. "Great Big Stuff", "All About Ruprecht", "What Was a Woman To Do?", "The More We Dance" are all fast moving romps and "Nothing Is Too Wonderful to Be True" and "Love Sneaks In" make lovely, easy.to.listen.to ballads. Kevin Clowes' set design, Jean Yves Tessier's lighting design and Karen St. Pierre's costumes all add simple elegant touches to the ambiance of the Riviera's obvious charms.

Don't miss Dirty Rotten Scoundrels! The musical is a sheer haven of entertainment, and this superb production will make you laugh from start to finish. Bravo once more to MTW for their sheer professionalism in keeping our musical theatre community ultimately happy and coming back for more.

(photo credit: Caught in the Moment Photography)

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