Five months... FIVE MONTHS after their previous musical comedy, Jumbo, opened at the Hippodrome, the trio of Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart and George Abbott had a brand new one at the Imperial. But far from seeming a rush job, their 1936 On Your Toes can easily be argued to be a huge step forward in refining musical comedy into a sophisticated art form.
The Rodgers and Hart score, a divine assemblage of wit and tenderness set to showtune, Broadway jazz and imitations of more cultured tones, sets a fine example of how the scores of musicals were growing more character specific. Two of the more jaggedly syncopated numbers are meant to be examples of the songwriting skills of the musical's ingénue, Frankie Frayne (who has a crush on the professor) and are filled with jaunty quips like, "It's got to be love. / It couldn't be tonsillitis. / It feels like neuritis / But nevertheless it's love," and "They fly the clouds to come through with air mail. / The dancing crowds look up to some rare male / Like that Astaire male." But when Frankie sings her own emotions as part of the plot, they come out in a simpler voice. Her duet with Junior, "There's A Small Hotel," is a lovely example of plainspoken sincerity and her second act solo, "Glad To Be Unhappy" is a torch song kept on a demurely low flame.
In contrast, Rodgers writes a light minuet as a duet for arts philanthropist Peggy Porterfield and Russian dance impresario Sergei Alexandrovitch that gets its title from twisting FDR's fireside chat promise of a better life for the average man. Hart's lyric derives punch lines from worldlier issues like psychoanalysis, elective surgery and reproductive rights. ("Lots of kids for a poor wife are dandy, / Girls of fashion can be choosy. / Birth control and the modus operandi / Are much too good for the average floozy.")
But, of course, what On Your Toes is known for is the ballets that end each act. Rodgers composed La Princesse Zenobia in the style of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, but Slaughter On Tenth Avenue is a striking composition based on multiple jazz themes - comical, sensual and frantic - that ranks up there with Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue as a great American orchestral piece. George Balanchine, the first ever to be credited as the choreographer of a Broadway musical ("dance directors" were commonly used to simply supply steps) is said to have taken great joy in spoofing his Russian roots for Zenobia (The Bolshoi Ballet, which was in town during the musical's run, took out an ad in the program that proclaimed, "Only The Great Deserve The Darts of Satire.") but Slaughter, the story of a sensual dance hall encounter between a strip-tease artist and a customer that turns violent, is a masterful achievement in musical theatre dance; illuminating the show's theme of American popular arts evolving in complexity. Though both ballets can stand as individual pieces, Balanchine and the bookwriters incorporated events from the plot that spill into their performances, thus making them an essential part of the storytelling.
But what makes On Your Toes a perfect selection for the Encores! concert series is the chance to hear Hans Spialek's extraordinary orchestrations; one of the 75 sets he created for Broadway, including the original productions of Anything Goes, Pal Joey and Where's Charley? Under Rob Fisher's baton, the 29-piece Encores! orchestra impersonates vaudeville pit musicians, a rousing big band, a chamber ensemble and a grand ballet orchestra.
Putting up a concert version of any musical with the limited amount of rehearsal time the unions specify is a difficult task, so while you can nitpick about details of director/choreographer Warren Carlyle's production, the fact that so much is done so well is a reason to celebrate. Those familiar with Slaughter will recognize the Balanchine staging replicated by Susan Pilarre, assigned to the task by the late choreographer's trust, but Carlyle mounts the rest, including an austere and regal Zenobia and the third major choreographed moment, a freewheeling challenge routine between American tappers and Russian pointe dancers, which is loaded with some dazzling inventiveness.The lead role of Junior has been traditionally played by dancers with a knack for the eccentric (Ray Bolger originated the part and Bobby Van and Lara Teeter starred in Broadway revivals.), but Shonn Wiley, a fine performer, comes off more as a traditional juvenile and his comic moments fail to pop out. (It doesn't help that Zenobia's major sight gag involving Junior's body makeup is altered to a far less effective bit.) Still, he sings with charm when paired with Kelli Barrett's spunky Frankie.
Christine Baranski's dry urbane way with wit fits perfectly into her role as a wealthy patron of the arts, especially when delivering the book's most famous punch line, a reaction to Junior's inquiry as to whether a good man can love two women at the same time. The thickly accented Walter Bobbie is delightfully snooty as Sergei and the trio of Karen Ziemba, Randy Skinner and Dalton Harrod get the evening off to a rousing start, singing and tapping as mom and pop Dolan and Junior as a lad.
Encores! raids the professional ballet ranks for the show's two non-singing dance roles. In her first speaking part on stage, Irina Dvorovenko of American Ballet Theatre seems to be having a grand time as Vera Baronova, the Russian diva who flirts with Junior to infuriate her cheating lover, comically tempting him with her droll accent and sinewy sensuality. Her dancing shines with charisma, as does that of Joaquin De Luz who wows the patrons with his shirtless athleticism in Zenobia while playing her arrogantly masculine other half.
Meanwhile, almost exactly one year after On Your Toes opened, Rodgers and Hart opened Babes In Arms, with a score containing five songs that are still today considered classics of the American Songbook. Maybe we'd have better musicals on Broadway if people didn't spend so much time writing them.
Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Shonn Wiley and Irina Dvorovenko; Bottom: Christine Baranski and Walter Bobbie.
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Yes, I know, it's a secret ballot. But heck, I spend all year telling you what I think so I may as well reveal how I voted for this season's Outer Critics Circle Awards, the winners of which will be announced on Monday.
My votes are highlighted in bold, but remember, there are no write-in votes so my choices here may not necessarily reflect what I would pick as the best of the season. After I cast my votes for the Drama Desk awards, I'll be sharing those with you, too.
OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY
Grace
Lucky Guy
The Nance
The Testament of Mary
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Golden Boy
Orphans
The Piano Lesson
The Trip to Bountiful
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN
Ken Billington Chaplin
Paul Gallo Dogfight
Donald Holder Golden Boy
Kenneth Posner Cinderella
Kenneth Posner Pippin
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