Review: Merry Musical Conclusion to Good Theater's Season

In a rare and very welcome bit of programming, the Good Theater has chosen to conclude its seventeenth season not only with a book musical but also with a rarely performed work. Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's very first collaboration, Lucky Stiff is a delightful farce, based on a wild Monte Carlo caper, brimming with silliness and bursting with wacky characters.

The ten-character comedy is a perfect fit for the Good Theater in terms of space, technical demands, and cast. Director Brian P. Allen focuses on developing the quirkiness of the characters and keeping the action fast paced and fluid. Betsy Melarkey Dunphy's choreography wisely concentrates on clever stage patterns and gestures that serve the small stage constraints well. Musical Director Victoria Stubbs at the keyboards plays masterfully throughout, and she has skillfully shaped the score's vocals, performed by an ensemble of first-rate singers.

Steve Underwood has designed the whimsical pink and green set comprised of shifting panels representing playing cards that incorporate a few serviceable props by Jared Mongeau. Moving with choreographic precision and speed, the cast reconfigures these panels many times throughout the play, with Stubbs' piano underscoring the scene changes. Justin Cote designs the clever costumes with some notably humorous touches such as Rita's outrageous leopard outfit and Dominique's femme fatale glam. Iain Odlin's lighting complements the bold colors of the set, while Steve Underwood's sound design - vocal, instrumental, and spoken - is perfectly balanced. Technical Director Craig Robinson and Stage Manager Michael Lynch effectively complete the production team.

Daniel Patrick Smith headlines this accomplished cast as Harry Witherspoon. Smith brings his rich voice and fine sense of comic timing to the part and makes an endearingly awkward, yet charming hero. Shannon Thurston is the perfect foil as Annabel Glick - her serious and prim exterior concealing a womanly vulnerability and longing. Thurston possesses a large, powerful expressive voice also capable of touching lyricism - all of which was showcased in her poignant solo, "Times Like This."

Lynne McGhee makes a sassy, tough, madcap Rita LaPorta and she knows how to use her belt voice to carry a number. As her timid brother, Vinne Di Ruzzio, Mark Rubin creates an amusing counterpart and he, too, sings with gusto. Craig Capone plays Luigi Gaudi with underworld relish, while Glenn Anderson manages to exert a strong presence as the silent corpse of Tony Hendon.

The four members of the ensemble create a variety of lively cameos, and each of them contributes a strong and appealing vocal presence to the company. John Lanham showcases his fine voice as the French maitre'd in the Act One finale, while Conor Riordan Martin is delightful as Witherspoon's punk neighbor and the hotel bellhop. Jen Means has fun playing Witherspoon's nosy landlady and a tipsy chambermaid, while Gusta Johnson gets to use her operatic soprano is a sendup of the sultry Dominique.

For so many reasons, Lucky Stiff makes a striking final show of what has been an exceptionally ambitious season for the Good Theater. Not only does it stretch the company's resources and demonstrate their ability to meet the challenge, but it also testifies to Brian P. Allen's extensive knowledge of and skill in creating musical theatre. The rarely performed Ahrens-Flaherty work deserves this revival. Even though the creative team's later works, among them Ragtime and Once on this Island, eclipse this first effort, this is still an imaginative, melodic, score with witty lyrics and a tightly shaped book. And produced with as deft and sure a hand as it is here, Lucky Stiff offers a thoroughly engaging theatrical experience.

Photos courtesy of the Good Theater, Steve Underwood, photographer

Lucky Stiff runs from March 27 - April 28, 2019 at the Good Theater, 76 Congress Street, Portland, ME 207-835-0895 www.goodtheater.org

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