 |
|
Johnny Guitar
The Speakeasy Stage Company
Book by Nicholas van Hoogstraten, Lyrics by Joel Higgins -- Music by Martin Silvestri & Joel Higgins
Directed by Paul Daigneault -- Music Direction - Jose Delgado
Featuring Kathy St, George, Christopher Chew, Margaret Ann Brady & Timothy J. Smith
With Christopher Cook, Luke Hawkins, Drew Poling, John Porcaro, & J.T.Turner
Speakeasy Stage Co. in Roberts Studio -- Calderwood Pavilion, BCA, 527 Tremont, Boston
Nov/Dec 2004
|
|
Show Logo
|
Christopher Chew, Kathy St. George, and The Guitar
|
|
Margaret Ann Brady & Kathy St. George (Bad Blood)
|
John Porcaro, Kathy St. George, Christopher Cook, Drew Poling
|
|
Kathy St. George, Christopher Chew (They are on fire!)
|
Kathy St. George, Christopher Chew (...and he cooks too!)
|
The Boston Globe
`Johnny Guitar' rides western camp to top
By Terry Byrne
Friday, November 26, 2004
From the first moment of ``Johnny Guitar,'' when a lone tumbleweed, obviously attached to a wire,
tumbles across the stage, the tone is set for SpeakEasy's clever, kitschy musical.
A cult classic film of the '50s, ``Johnny Guitar'' defied expectations,
casting women as the gunslingers while celebrating the traditional western's tension between pioneers and newcomers.
The musical version of the film includes a perky, hummable score by Martin Silvestri and Joel Higgins,
ranging from a rumba to a ballad, with some '50s rock thrown in for good measure.
The score's wide-eyed sincerity and goofy camp adds to the challenge of keeping
the show from disintegrating into a ``Saturday Night Live'' sketch. Nicholas van Hoogstraten's
dialogue, mostly lifted from the film, is hilarious, including such arch lines as
``Down there I sell whiskey and cards, up these stairs all you get is a bullet in the head.'' Yeow!
Try saying that with a straight face.
But director Paul Daigneault has a fistful of aces with a cast led by the inimitable Kathy St. George.
We've seen her tell a story in a song in any number of musicals, and in SpeakEasy's production of ``Ruthless!''
she channeled Judy Garland. Here she channels Joan Crawford, not in a cartoonish way,
but just often enough to let us know exactly where we are. With a posture so straight it looks almost painful,
a roll of the eyes and a grimace that makes that slash of red lipstick seem more dangerous than a gun,
St. George delivers a feisty, familiar Vienna, the local saloonkeeper and one-time bad girl
who hopes to make a pile of money when the railroad comes through town.
Her nemesis is Emma (Margaret Ann Brady), the woman who owns most of the town and resents
Vienna's push for change - as well as her popularity with the menfolk. Brady fairly hisses out her bitterness,
and when the two of them are onstage together, the scenes crackle with fun.
The title character is played by Christopher Chew, who has shown he can handle some
complex characters in the Lyric Stage's productions of ``Into the Woods'' and ``A Little Night Music,''
but never has been better than here as the goofy gunslinger.
With his powerful baritone, he delivers his opening number,
``A Smoke and a Good Cup of Coffee,'' with such elan, it makes the joke of a song work.
In Act II, his '50s-pop-star performance in ``Tell Me a Lie'' is worth the price of admission alone.
Later, when he puts on an apron and makes eggs as St. George cleans the guns and sings
the romantic ballad ``We've Had Our Moments,'' it's easy to see why this pair works so well together.
In addition to Chew, newcomer Timothy J. Smith shines as The Dancin' Kid. His rendition
of ``What's In It for Me'' is one of the highlights of the first act.
The quartet of leads gets ample support from a choral quartet of Christopher Cook, Luke Hawkins,
Drew Poling and John Porcaro, who play multiple characters, often morphing from one to the other
with only the addition or subtraction of a hat. And J.T. Turner is solid as Emma's sidekick Mr. McIvers.
Caleb Wertenbaker's simple combination of triangles and squares makes a spare but effective set,
but James Milkey's lighting threw too many shadows that interfered with the action.
Costumer Gail Astrid Buckley has outdone herself, re-creating many of the outfits seen in the movie,
focusing especially on the dramatic blacks and whites. And Jose Delgado makes his four-piece band sound lush,
with crisp guitar solos that provide the perfect emotional accents.
``Johnny Guitar'' may have a paper-thin story line, but the SpeakEasy production is so much fun,
it's easy to relax and go along for the ride.
The Boston Herald
"Deliriously funny! ...One of SpeakEasy's best efforts. Not to be missed!"
The Boston Metro
Johnny Guitar "is silly, campy and ridiculously fun. ... Run to this SpeakEasy Stage Company production!"
Bay Windows
"SpeakEasy hits a high note with Johnny Guitar. ... Kathy St. George gives one of the best performances in Boston this year. ... All in all, Johnny Guitar is yet another urbane, intelligent feather in SpeakEasy's cap."
The South End News
"Johnny Guitar turns a camp film into an even better camp musical. ... What a perfect choice for a SpeakEasy Stage Company New England premiere, one whihc artistic director Paul Daigneault has staged with exquisite simplicity and rollicking charm."
The Boston Phoenix
"A hoot!"
|
Review Links:
BayWindows Review by Thomas Garvey
|
Aisle Say Review by Will Stackman
|
Theater Mania Review
|
|
