BWW Reviews: FRANKLY, MY DEAR at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre

After an evening spent in the company of the raucously funny cast of Frankly, My Dear - now onstage at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre - you will never be able to view the cinematic classic Gone With the Wind in the same way again. Never. Ever. Nor will you be able to eat a banana or munch on a bag of peanuts without convulsing in laughter as you recall the antics of Martha Wilkinson's top-flight quartet of actors in this winning comedy.

So consider yourself warned - and if you are a huge GWTW fan, as I am - you may actually have some misgivings about the experience. It's like in The Wizard of Oz, when Toto pulls aside the curtain and we learn the truth about the Wizard. Well, now that I think about it, that also may have been covered in Duke Ensberger and Virginia Cates' wonderfully written script.

It's 1939 and producer David O. Selznick (played by Derek Whittaker) finds himself under the gun: He only has seven days to fashion a shooting script for his epic film version of Margaret Mitchell's worldwide bestseller. Virtually every writer of note (including Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald) has submitted a treatment of the novel only to have Selznick - whose reputation as a controlling perfectionist remains intact in this play - reject every one of them

Thus, Selznick drags in director Victor Fleming (J. Dietz Osborne), fresh off the set of The Wizard of Oz, the other '39 blockbuster he was helming at MGM, and writer Ben Hecht (Chris Bosen), the playwright of The Front Page who had gained a reputation as the go-to script doctor in Hollywood, locks them in his office and together the three men will hammer out a new script in record time. Convinced that solid food will only cause the men to get sleepy during their marathon writing session, SelzNick Maintains that only fresh bananas and plenty of peanuts in the shell , supplied by his trusty secretary Miss Peabody (Jennifer Richmond) will be the trio's only sustenance.

It's a completely outrageous set-up, made even more ludicrous by the very fact that it actually happened. Ensberger and Cates, obviously, weren't in Selznick's tastefully appointed, Art Deco-inspired office during the actual events, but they've done such a remarkable job of recreating that week in 1939 that it certainly feels like they were. And, from my standpoint as a GWTW aficionado, I can say unreservedly that they get the facts right.

Thanks to Wilkinson's superbly fluid direction, which is very cinematic in its development onstage, you feel as if you are in on the whole gambit playing itself out before your eyes. With the quartet of amazing actors who play these larger-than-life characters, you can't help but become totally immersed in the Frankly, My Dear story. Quite frankly, Whittaker, Osborne, Bosen and Richmond are so good that you may actually miss their uproarious antics when you leave the theatre.

Whittaker is at his comedic best as Selznick, whether he's re-enacting scenes from Mitchell's beloved book as Scarlett O'Hara herself, manhandling Fleming and Hecht, ordering Peabody about or when he becomes torpid as a result of overwork, exhaustion and, no doubt, that strange seven-day banana and peanut diet. Whittaker shows his extreme versatility and absolute devotion to his craft as he fearlessly becomes Selznick to bring him so vividly to life.

The reason for Whittaker's fearlessness is likely his immense trust of his co-stars - though perhaps "co-conspirators" would be more precise. Osborne is at his very funniest as Fleming, particularly when he is forced to play the role of Prissy (Scarlett O'Hara's dimwitted maid who "don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies"), when he is flossing his teeth (yes, flossing his teeth) or riding Hecht like he's a bucking bronc. Osborne's Victor Fleming may not be as macho as Fleming's biographers contend he really was (though what man is macho when wearing an ascot?), but he captures the man's bravado perfectly.

Bosen plays Hecht confidently and matches the intensity of both Whittaker and Osborne with his richly drawn, albeit wild-eyed characterization. Again, he displays his immense range in this performance, adding one more tremendously nuanced characterization to his resume.

Finally, as Miss Peabody, Jennifer Richmond is an adroit foil for the three men and obviously proves her mettle in her scenes with her castmates, who busily chew every bit of scenery they can manage between chomping peanuts and devouring bananas. Particularly appealing in her performance is her character's voice, which has just the right amount of Hollywoodesque woman-in-charge about it - and the fact that she looks so terrific in the Billy Ditty-designed wig and costume must be given adequate acknowledgement.

Clearly, the physical comedy in Frankly, My Dear, is ideally realized, adding to the overall zaniness of the show, and you can't help but wonder how much is due to the script's written instructions and how much leapt from the fertile imaginations of Wilkinson and her cast. While the script is exceptionally well-crafted and effectively captures the sense of nostalgia that is so important in a period piece, credit must be paid to Wilkinson for her choices and for her perfect casting.

Kudos are also due to designer Gary Hoff, who created the beautiful Art Deco furniture in Selznick's office, and who once again proves that he sets the standard for theatrical design in Nashville - and whose work deserves every accolade afforded him.

- Frankly, My Dear. By Duke Ensberger and Virginia Cates. Directed by Martha Wilkinson. Produced by Janie and John Chaffin. Presented by Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, Nashville. Through April 24. For tickets, call (615) 646-9977 or visit the company website at www.dinnertheatre.com.

Chris Bosen, J. Dietz Osborne and Derek Whittaker in Frankly, My Dear, at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre

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