BWW Reviews: Rivertown Theaters Gets Dirty and Rotten

Once again Rivertown has done it, folks. I mean seriously... I don't think it's actually possible for these guys to put on a bad show. This time, they took us to the French Riviera to hang out with the likes of Lawrence Jameson (played by Robert Pavlovich), Freddy Benson (played by Gary Rucker), and Christine Colgate (played by Kayla Herrington)... each of them con artists in their own right.

We first meet Lawrence who has teamed up with his bodyguard/sidekick Andre (played by Louis Dudoussat) as they trick women at a Casino out of their money. Lawrence meets Freddy Benson on a train, and upon visiting Lawrence's home, Freddy becomes absolutely enamored by all of the money Lawrence has swindled and with the glamorous life he seems to be living. Things don't always go perfectly for Lawrence, though. One woman who he conned, Jolene (played by Kelly Fouchi), decides to inform Lawrence that they are going to be married while holding him at gunpoint. To freak Jolene out and almost force her to change her mind about the wedding, Lawrence decides to get Freddy to pretend to be his crazy brother Ruprecht, which actually works. Feeling almost threatened by Freddy's presence, Lawrence decides that the two are going to go head to head to see who can swindle $50,000 from a woman first. Loser leaves town, winner stays put. The victim? Ms. Christine Colgate, "The American Soap Queen." I won't give away the rest of the story, but let's just say our two swindlers get quite the surprise!

Because there were so many great things about this show and I could go on forever and ever and ever about it, I decided I'd go ahead and list my top 5 favorite moments of Rivertown's DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS.

Here's the list...

1. Kelly Fouchi as Jolene Oakes in "Oklahoma?" - I don't know if anyone else completely lost it during this scene, but I definitely did. The song in and of itself is funny, and the choreography was so fun especially when Jolene pulls out her gun and starts shooting at Lawrence's feet to make him dance! And to top it off, the dancing cactus was BRILLIANT. I don't know whose idea that was, but you are... as the kids say... #winning.

2. "All About Ruprecht" - Come on, now... COME ON. This might've been the most hilariously inappropriate thing I've ever seen on stage. Honestly. Dear, darling, special, completely gross Ruprecht is a character made up by Lawrence and Freddy. Freddy poses as Ruprecht, the repulsive brother that Lawrence doesn't actually have, in an effort to scare away Jolene. And my goodness, if I ever came in contact with a real life Ruprect I'd run for the hills! He eats goldfish (real ones, not the snack crackers), cannot control his inappropriate "cuddling," and (to quote the song) likes to "save up all his farts in a mason jar." It'd make you run too, right? I cried laughing. So good!

3. The "Freddy can't feel his legs" debacle - Let me explain. In order to swindle Christine out of her money, Freddy decides that he's going to play the part of a paralyzed man. Christine, having sympathy on him, agrees to give him the $50,000 to pay for his therapy with Dr. Shuffhausen. When Christine tells Freddy that Dr. Shuffhausen happens to be in the hotel where they are staying, he is shocked to see that Lawrence is Dr. Shuffhausen. Not good, right? So then there's this whole deal where Lawrence figures out that he can beat the tar out of Freddy's legs and Freddy will have to just sit there and take it so as to keep up his story with Christine. It gets funnier and funnier as the beatings get harder and harder (one with a running start from off stage)!

4. The Andre/Muriel love affair - While Lawrence and Freddy are off attempting to swindle Christine, Andre is keeping Muriel (played by Elise Harvey) occupied. Muriel is the first of Lawrence's victims that we meet at the very beginning of the show, and who periodically pops in and out of scenes. Andre and Muriel take a liking to each other in "Like Zis/Like Zat" and give us a disheveled reprise after their night of... well... romping around. I love unexpected romances, and that was certainly one of the best!

5. The plot twist - If you don't want to know the ending, stop reading! Sweet Ms. Christine Colgate, who is so willing to help poor "paralyzed" Freddy and who seemingly adores the suave Dr. Shuffhausen turns out to be the biggest con artist of all. She reveals in the end, by knocking Freddy out and delivering his personal belonging to Lawrence in a suitcase, that she knew about their attempted swindle all along and she winds up taking $50,000 from them! Take a lesson, boys. Never underestimate a woman who knows she's being played! Ms. Colgate went from sweet to sassy in about ten seconds, which took me by surprise. I didn't see it coming!

Well done, Rivertown, for yet another spectacular show! I can't wait until next season!

Speaking of next season, 2015-2016 is Rivertown's very first season ever presenting all musicals: THE PRODUCERS, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, SWEET CHARITY, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, and THE WIZARD OF OZ. It's going to be an amazing season! Get your season tickets here.

ARTICLE MAY ALSO BE VIEWED AT: http://www.nolabackstage.com/single-post/2015/05/30/BWW-Reviews-Rivertown-Theaters-Gets-Dirty-and-Rotten

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