Review: Signature's SILVER BELLES Is More Nice than Naughty

In preparing his naughty or nice list for Christmas, Santa Claus will certainly want to add Silver Belles to the "nice" column. Signature's new holiday musical is a stocking stuffed with talent and full of holiday cheer.

Brief is the best way to describe Silver Belles. With a 75 minute run-time, the show never becomes cloyingly sweet or as indigestible as a fruit cake, as happens with too many holiday specials. The musical has all the makings of a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, with just a touch of tongue-and-cheek humor to give it a little zing.

Allyson Currin's sharp and witty book has given us a story that's hard not to enjoy. Combined with Matt Conner & Stephen Gregory Smith's spoof of holiday songs, the show is filled with homespun charm and down-home humor.

Every Christmas in Silver, Tennessee, moonshiner Oralene (Donna Migliaccio) directed the town's holiday pageant to raise funds for the local orphanage. After her sudden death, caused by an exploding liquor still, the townspeople work to keep the show and their Christmas tradition alive.

Silver Belles' great strength is its cast comprised of Signature regulars, starting with the incomparable and comical Donna Migliaccio. Before Oralene can enter the pearly white gates, she has to oversee the pageant one final time. Using her spiritual and other-worldly presence Oralene must ensure a successful show without being seen or heard. The setup allows Migliaccio to use her comedic skills to great effect, thanks to Currin's scintillating and quick-witted dialogue.

The show features the types of lovable, quirky and endearing characters you'd expect to find in small fictional towns like Mayberry, Stars Hollow, and yes, Silver, Tennessee.

Ilona Dulaski is the quirky and hysterical taxidermist Berneice, Nova Payton is the seductive four-time widower Gloria and Peggy Yates is Ruth Ann the absentminded former beauty queen still clutching to faded glory. Together, they were Oralene's best friends and the Silver Belles troupe that performed the annual pageant. Naomi Jacobson portrays Bo Jack, the butch town mechanic and radio personality who stage managed the show and often serves as the voice of reason. Bo Jack is also best friends with Earl, Oralene's husband, played with great heart by Dan Manning.

Dulaski is the scene stealer here, and it's hard to beat the funny eccentricity of her character. For example, take this response when the other Belles try to stop Berneice from using the dead animals from her taxidermy shop in the pageant's manager scene:

Ruth Ann: Were there armadillos in Bethlehem?

Berneice: It's called artistic license!

However, the heart of the show rests with Manning. Earl was more than Oralene's husband, he was her songwriting partner. Before she died, he wrote the music for one last song but she never got the chance to contribute the lyrics. The result is the show's anthem, and it's most beautiful number, 'While the Gettin' is Good.' Migliaccio and Manning are heartwarming together and the sense of loss for Earl and love for Oralene is palpable.

Musically, Conner & Smith's work is rather brisk and at times, the weakest point in the show. It's only when there is a clear inspiration does a song really work. At no moment is this more evident than in the country-inspired 'Moonshine' or when they are spoofing classic Christmas songs. The situation is not helped by the fact that only a piano, despite being well-played by Jacob Kidder, is the only musical accompaniment. While it works for the rehearsal scenes, it doesn't create the country sound so needed in the show.

Nevertheless, Eric Schaeffer's attentive direction keeps the focus on the show's strong points, its characters and dialogue. Karma Camp's folksy choreography is the perfect complement to the Silver Belles amateur pageant setting.

James Krozner's rustic and rural set design creates the feeling of a backwater Tennessee town. A faded tree and plywood back wall conjure images of the rural great Smokey mountains, while kitschy multicolored Christmas lights enhance the downhome feeling.

This is Silver Belles world premiere production and it is worth noting that the musical has a lot of potential. Between the original plot, quirky yet lovable character's and a great eleven o'clock number, there's a lot to build on. Musically a few numbers need to be cut or reworked, but for a first production, Silver Belles succeeds in spreading holiday cheer.

Runtime: 75 minutes with no intermission

Silver Belles runs thru December 31st at Signature Theatre - 4200 Campbell Ave, Arlington, VA 22206. For more information and to buy tickets, please call (703) 820-9771 or click here

Photo: Donna Migliaccio Credit: Christopher Mueller.

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