Review: NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT at CVRep

Question: Who actually expects to see outstanding theatre far from Broadway?

Answer: Most avid theatergoers with discerning tastes expect it.

When a successful theatre company presents a period musical they pray for a hit. With good actors, a witty script, great music, excellent direction, and clever choreography that can transport an entire audience back in time; Coachella Valley Repertory has compiled such a hit.  NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT is a musical featuring glorious songs by George and Ira Gershwin, with a book written by Joe DiPietro. Much like previous Gershwin vehicles Crazy For You (a revamp of “Girl Crazy”) and My One and Only (hatched out of “Funny Face”), NICE WORK (has been assembled from the bones of an existing 1926 musical “Oh, Kay!”) inspired through the book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse. This current CVRep production is light, frothy, entertaining, frivolous, and zany fun with a whimsical charm that will keep a smile on your face the entire evening.  A giddy valentine to old-time musical theatre with nothing on its mind, but delirious amusement... They deliver; Big Time!

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT is unapologetically escapist fare: Billie Bendix  (Jennifer Knox), a tough-as-nails bootlegger, and wealthy playboy Jimmy Winter (Hayden Stanes), meet on the weekend of Jimmy’s wedding. Jimmy has a penchant for marrying chorus girls, but his mother, Millicent Winter, (Joyce Bulifant) has made it clear that she will not turn the family business over to him until he has settled down with a respectable girl. His new intended is Eileen Evergreen (Emily Rose Unnasch), a noted interpreter of modern dance.

Knox plays the tough, feisty, and street-wise character with such ease. Her personal features have a vintage quality that is perfect for this piece. Her singing and dancing talents are reminiscent of triple-threat Hollywood starlets from yesteryear. The outstanding moments for her were the hilarious “Treat Me Rough”... “Hangin’ Around With You!”...  and,  her two Gershwin classic standards,  “Someone To Watch Over Me” and “But Not For Me”.

Stanes is the perfect handsome leading man with all the right attributes that prove he’s really the Cat’s Pajamas. This boyish rogue with a fabulous smile can steal more than scenes, but hearts as well. And vocally -- basically, the entire Gershwin songbook is perfect for this song and dance man.

Unnasch as the spoiled, self-involved, daughter of Senator Max is an absolutely gorgeous clown with a pure legit singing voice. One minute she has you laughing out loud from her rendition of “Delishious” and the next you’re sighing from her perfect rendition of “I’ve Got A Crush On You”. You can’t unsee her manic modern dance routines. Bravo!

This hilarious screwball comedy, NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT pokes fun at the Prohibition era in a clash of elegant socialites and boorish bootleggers, all set to the glorious songs of the Gershwin songbook. Every vocal is sheer perfection.  From the leads to the supporting, and all the way to one of the many frenzied dancing ensemble; they bring the Gershwin standards to life with a freshness of a clear bell tone.

Meanwhile, Billie the bootlegger, along with cohort Cookie McGee (Douglas Graham) is looking for a place to hide 400 bottles of gin from Chief Berry (Tim Ewing)  and Senator Max (Jack McGee).

Graham as the fast-talking, wise-cracking, Cookie takes the stage like a well-seasoned comedian and long-time theatre gypsy. Timing and stage presence raise this gangster character to Co-star billing status. Some of the best laughs of the night came from this funny man.

Ewing as the New York Chief of Police shows up when he is least expected or wanted. Hot on the trail of our hapless bootlegging heroes. Always a welcome presence on any stage – Mr. Ewing maintains a wonderful likeability that changes what could possibly be an annoying character into one that is truly peachy keen.  He does get to show off his singing chops with the Menage a song, “Let’s call the whole thing off” and the affectionate reprise of “Delishious”.  More of Mr Ewing, please!

Jimmy’s Long Island beach house turns out to be a perfect location – until the wedding party arrives at the house for a long-awaited honeymoon retreat. From there, mayhem erupts. Duchess Estonia Dulworth (Cathy Newman), who has brought along her Vice Squad and vows to rid society of its greatest evil "Demon Rum".  Cliffhanger! White Knuckler! Narrow Escape!  Close Shave! But, it’s Gershwin, whatever shall happen? Buy a ticket and find out for yourself.

Newman is in the role of a lifetime for any good character actress. As the repressed, conservative Duchess of Woodford she gets to show off many sides of her comedic abilities. Especially at the dinner table scene and the sweetly awkward “Looking For A Boy” with Cookie.

Supporting characters that rose like cream to the top were Jeannie (Rachel Kay) as the smitten chorus girl and Duke (Brett Cole Young) the lanky, sweetly shy, slightly dumb, bootlegger sidekick. As a secondary storyline, they are charming as hell; especially as they sing the parody of the contemporary love song “Blah, Blah, Blah”.  Senator Max (Jack McGee) is perfectly cast as the stuffy, humorless politician, and judgmental preacher.

Now step aside ‘cause here comes Mama!

Bulifant as the no-nonsense, down-to-earth, mother of Jimmy; brings nearly six decades of theatre, television, and film onto the stage with her -- and it shows.  Her honesty, comedic timing, and natural delivery are enviable. She graces the stage in a non-singing role, but Ms. Bulifant has many years of beloved stage musicals under her skilled Thespian belt – her portrayal of Millicent sparkles without singing a note, and it is quite clear that she enjoys what she is doing.

Director/ Choreographer David Eggers obviously knows this particular style of musical very well. The tongue-in-cheek parody moments and pace make this a highly entertaining feast for Old Broadway aficionados. He also pulls out all the stops as he maneuvers his leads and very talented ensemble through some visibly exciting dance routines. As an observation it looked as if every popular style of dance from the 1920s was utilized: The Foxtrot, the Quick Step, the Peabody, and the Charleston -- just to name a few. Most notably using the ensemble in “Fascinating Rhythm”, and “Sweet and Low Down”; other moments were the stylized Bathtub chorus. Also, smile-inducing,  “Do, Do, Do” with Jimmy and the Boys.  And, I must tip my hat to the extensive and incredibly choreographed curtain call. Just when you thought the impressive dance numbers were completed for the night – the final flourish continued until the curtain fell and the house lights came back up.

Without his core of multi-talented ensemble, this sweet and frothy musical would not be complete:  Noah Bradford, Beverly Durand, Brandon Halvorsen, Cristina Mckeever, Luke Rands, Ali Simon, and J Pablo Stewart.  Even though leads and ensemble work equally hard in this type of show, with this kind of director, the choreography becomes another fully fleshed-out character.

Rounding out the technical team:  Sound Designer: Joshua Adams. Lighting Designer: Moira Wilkie. Set Designer: Jimmy Cuomo always adjusts the mood, tone, and location just right. (Even though we saw the last preview – we knew minor adjustments were still being made for their opening.  Making this already pleasurable evening of entertainment even better.

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT runs April 10 – 28 (extended from the original dates of April 10-21) with performances on Wednesdays & Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Thursdays & Fridays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Talkback Thursday for NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT will be April 18. Talkback Thursdays are held immediately after the second Thursday of each production, offering audience members the opportunity to discuss the plays with the creative teams and casts.

Single tickets are $50-$88 and are on sale now and available online at www.cvrep.org, by calling (760) 296-2966, ext. 115, or at the CVRep box office located at 68510 East Palm Canyon Dr., Cathedral City. Box office hours are Tuesday-Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and two hours prior to performances. Group tickets are available, and can be arranged by calling the box office. To better serve audiences, patrons requesting accessibility assistance are encouraged to contact the box office at least 24 hours prior to their ticketed performance.

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