Front Row Centre Theatre Review: KISMET

 "Baghdad is the world's gayest playground! There's been nothing like it for a thousand years."

 

There is no possible way playwright Luther Davis could have penned those lines with a straight face even in 1953.  The line comes from his script for KISMET – billed as "A Musical Arabian Night" because Broadway producers in the 1950s considered the word operetta box office poison.  Yet that is exactly what KISMET is, an old-fashioned operetta full or romance set against an exotic background. 

 

Toronto Operetta Theatre opened a limited run of KISMET last Saturday night (April 22) as the final offering of their current season. When it sings, the production is glorious. When the music stops and the convoluted plot and antique jokes take over we are reminded again why the show has not received a major Broadway revival.

 

Truth be told, KISMET was old-fashioned hokum even in 1953 but a hit single of "Stranger in Paradise", a best-selling original cast recording and the cultural accreditation afforded the score because of its effective used of melodies by Alexander Borodin  (1833-1887), a chemist who wrote music as a hobby.  His opera, PRINCE IGOR was actually completed posthumously by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakove and Alexander Glazunov. Yet  it is his most celebrated work, and in the early 1950s a recording of the Polovtsian dances from the opera served as a catalyst to re-introducing his music to the masses.  This in turn, inspired Robert Wright and George Forrest to adapt several of his melodies for the score of KISMET, winning him a Tony award, although he wasn't there in person to collect it.

 

The popular myth is that KISMET was savaged by the critics. Not so. Only two of the seven major critics wrote unfavourable notices, the rest being positive include a pair of out and out raves.  It didn't matter, of course, because audienxces had already taken the show to heart and it settled in for a healthy run. Shortly after the show closed on Broadway, M-g-M released a lavish screen version, and 10 years later original star Alfred Drake headlined an acclaimed Lincoln Center revival.  It has remained popular on CD, claiming no less than six full-length recordings.

 

Indeed, it's the score that makes KISMET soar and Toronto Operetta Theatre gives full measure to the vocal aspects. Terry Hodges offers a strong voiced leading man who makes sure every word of the lyric is clearly enunciated even in a tricky bit of patter like "Gesticulate."  His character is known to most as Hajj though he enigmatically escapes at the final curtain without ever revealing his name.

  

He does have a daughter named Marsinah, and she is played and sung to perfection by Elizabteh DeGrazia.  It helps that she gets three of the score's most lyrical numbers ("Baubles, Banggles and Beads", "And This is My Beloved" and "Stranger in Paradise") but she also gives a credible performance despite some of the lines foisted on her by the script.

 

Her lover, the young Caliph, is sung by tenor Peter McCutcheon making his debut with the company.  His voice belens beautifully with DeGrazia's and his solo numbers soar. He too is let down by a scipt which givs him little subtext to play and direction which tries to make him interesting by appearing bored all the time.  It doesn't work.

 

Speaking of "Bored", what happened to that gorgeous song? It was added for the 1955 film and is often included in revivals but not this time. A shame since it would have given a sensual solo for mezzo Gabrielee Prata as Lalume, wife of wives to the wicked Wazir.  Not that she needed another chance to wow the audience, having already impressed with her first act number "Not Since Ninevah" and joining Terry Hodges to burn up the stage with "Rhadlakum" in the second half.   She also brings a sardonic wit to the role as she casually cuts her cuckolded husband down to size.

 

In that role, Keith Savage is devilishly fun.  Perhaps he could be nastier but the audience clearly loved his performance. His comic number "Was I Wazir" was a highlight, and he had a chance to show off his voice taking part in the second act Quartet.

 

The performers are given fine support by the small but tight orchestra conducted by Derek Bate. With the musical values so well cared for, it's a shame the staging is so lacklustre. Transitions like the "Bazaar of the Caravans" should be a swirl of colour but here the sequence is flat.   In addition to losing "Bored" the production drops "He's in love" and belly dance of the three princesses.  It would almost be better if this production had been offered as  a semi-staged concert version. The spare scenic design would have supported that type of approach. Still there is much to enjoy in this production of a show that is seldom revived these days.

 

 

 

The Toronto Operetta Theatre presents KISMET at the Jane Mallett theatre. Performances continue April 26, 28, 29 and 30.  For tickets visit www.torontooperetta.com or call 416-922-291

 

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