BWW Reviews: MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS at The Keeton Theatre

Truth be told, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" is one of my all-time favorite holiday songs - sweetly sentimental, blending holiday hope with a certain melancholic sensibility that is perfect for the season. Thankfully, Casey Gilbert's rendition of the song (long associated with the unparalleled Judy Garland) in The Keeton Theatre's production of Meet Me in St. Louis is beautifully sung and Kate Adams-Johnson directs that particular scene with a seasoned hand and an imaginative, visual aesthetic.

It's a lovely moment that comes late in the second act of the production, featuring music and lyrics by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and a book by Hugh Wheeler (based on the MGM motion picture of the same name), and there are certainly other lovely moments to be found in this rather slight and flimsy musical comedy. The musical's plot mirrors very closely the film's story about a Missouri family in 1903 eagerly awaiting the start of St. Louis' very own world's fair, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (which happened in 1904 and ultimately attracted some 20 million visitors).

There are warm, family moments, some genuine laughs and a few great songs, but another truth about Meet Me in St. Louis is that the film is so vividly etched in our collective memory of popular culture that there is simply no reason for the show to exist onstage. What is so delightful on film is kind of hackneyed and disappointing onstage, despite the best efforts of an experienced and capable director and her talented cast. No matter how good they are - or how hard they work - Meet Me in St. Louis onstage is plodding, lugubrious and boring.

Gilbert, with her eager-to-please nature and spunky demeanor, is fine as the play's protagonist Esther Smith (the role played on celluloid by Garland). She possesses a beautiful singing voice, which is shown to perfection in her performance of the aforementioned "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and "The Boy Next Door," and her trio with Elizabeth Cameron and Stella London (as younger sisters Agnes and Tootie) on "Under the Bamboo Tree." Along with the rest of the ensemble, Gilbert shines in "The Trolley Song," another of my all-time favorites, which is nicely staged by Adams-Johnson (there's a clever trolley onstage!), and Gilbert and Daniel Collins (as John Truitt, "the boy next door" who is Esther's not-so-secret crush) are well-paired on "You Are For Loving."

But the rest of the music is not quite memorable and, honestly, not very good. It sounds like so much filler, and while I like the show's title song as much as the next gay, by the end of the show "Meet Me in St. Louis" is reprised so often that you're likely to groan the fifth time you hear it, despite the best efforts of music director Ginger Newman's experienced band of musicians.

Probably the busiest musical theater choreographer working in Nashville, Adams-Johnson knows her way around the stage and her affection for the material is obvious throughout her direction of the piece. But she's simply ill-served by an underwritten script that calls for far too many scene changes, which are handled far too clumsily, causing the show's action to drag unmercifully. Perhaps it would have been better had some of those scenes been handled differently and the script not adhered to so slavishly.

Adams-Johnson's cast deliver performances that are, across the board, pleasantly diverting. In addition to Gilbert and Collins (who are both destined for bigger and better things), Jenni Higgins is terrific as Rose Smith (Esther's older sister); Trey Palmer is confidently understated as older brother Lon Smith; Jamie London is well-cast as the family's retainer, the Irish maid Katie; and Donna Driver and Kevin Driver are good as the parents of the irascible brood of Smiths (they are particularly winning during their duet "Wasn't It Fun"). Special notice should also be given to Jacob Layne, as Rose's beau Warren Sheffield, and the beautiful Kelsey Queen as Lucille Ballard.

But the real stars of this production may well be Cameron, with her impressive stage presence and sense of timing, and Stella London, who is the perfect Tootie. When the show opens, you hear Tootie's clear soprano singing "Meet Me in St. Louis" for the first time and, trust me, young Miss London will startle you with her innate talents: This kid's going places.

Brad Kamer's set is well-conceived and nicely appointed, illuminated by Kelly Landry's excellent lighting design. Laura Higgins' costumes are lovely evocations of Victorian fashion, save for Esther's gown for the Christmas Eve ball (maybe it's because I can't forget Garland's beautiful burgundy velvet from the movie or the recreation of that same gown in the Broadway production some years back).

- Meet Me in St. Louis. Music and lyrics by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane. Book by Hugh Wheeler. Directed and choreographed by Kate Adams-Johnson. Music direction by Ginger Newman. Presented by The Larry Keeton Theatre, 108 Donelson Pike, Donelson. Through November 21. For details, call (615) 883-8375.

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