BWW Reviews: Dramatic License Productions Presents Unique Romantic Comedy with DIRTY BLONDE

Playwright Claudia Shear (with an assist in conception from James Lapine) has constructed an interesting take on your typical showbiz biography. Dirty Blonde combines elements and events taken from the life of Mae West, and plays them off of a romantic coupling. It's an odd combination that works charmingly, and provides some insight into what made that particular "dirty blonde" click as a person and as a a performer.

Jo and Charlie "meet cute" at the grave site (crypt) of Mae West on the occasion of her birthday anniversary. Though initially unsure as to what to think of one another, their mutual obsession becomes a common bond that blossoms into something else. Jo is a struggling actress who works as a temp and Charlie has a dream job working in the film archives of the New York public library, which allows him personal access to photos and other memorabilia. While they take in movies, including the inexorable Sextette, a romance begins to form between the pair. But, there's a twist here, Charlie likes to occasionally dress as Mae, he's not a transvestite, exactly, he just likes to wear Mae's clothing. Will the personality quirk come between them, or will true love triumph?

Kim Furlow does fine work as Jo, and also quickly switching costumes to play Mae at various stages in her life, from the young vaudevillian who stirred audiences, and unsettled theatre owners, to the more mature playwright who served time for her salacious writing, through to her up and down film and stage career. Furlow does a good job in all her incarnations.

John Reidy is also good as Charlie, and her also takes on a variety of roles, some of which find him in drag, or flexing his muscles. He even briefly pops up as W.C. Fields to spar with his feminine foil during the filming of My Little Chickadee, which memorably featured the pair. B. Weller also contributes nicely in a wide variety of roles, including her first husband, Frank Wallace and another muscleman who was part of her Las Vegas stage act during the latter part of Mae's career in the mid 1950's. Pianist Jeremy Melton keeps the music flowing throughout, with selections culled from Mae's stage hits, and he does a splendid job of keeping the action moving during the many transitions and costume changes.

Though a bit uneven in spots, Carolyn Hood's direction keeps the tone light and the action briskly paced. She and Patrick Huber do nice work with the projections that accompany and comment on the business taking place on stage. Courtney Sanazaro Sloey's changeable scenic design allows for a variety of locations with a minimum of effort expended to make the transition. Justine Brock's lighting keeps the action in focus, and Joseph Pini's clever sound design allows Furlow to carry on a dialog with Cary Grant (She Done Him Wrong).

Dirty Blonde is a fun production that will fill an evening with mirth and merriment, and offers a historical look at the career of Mae West as well. This presentation by Dramatic License Productions continues through October 2, 2011 in the Artopolis at Chesterfield Mall.

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