STAGE REVIEW : With Polish, ‘Tinseltown’ Could Sparkle

The Gaslamp Quarter Theatre’s “Tales of Tinseltown” made its West Coast premiere Thursday night amid considerable hype. Before the curtain, a woman dressed in 1930s costume mingled about the Hahn Cosmopolitan Theatre lobby, handing out “gossip” flyers titled “Tales of Tinseltown.” The mimeographed sheets reprinted numerous newspaper stories, many of which indicated that the show’s producers plan to take the Michael Colby/Paul Katz musical comedy on the road, and, eventually, to New York.

Well, don’t pack your bags just yet--there’s still some work to be done. “Tales of Tinseltown” is a splendid idea for a musical comedy, and there is a great deal of quality work in this production, but, for the most part, Thursday night’s staging was a clumsy, scattered affair.

Set in the 1930s, “Tales of Tinseltown” chronicles the tumultuous careers of two star-struck youths, Ellie Ash (Eileen Bowman) and Elmo Green (Bill Perlach). Elmo sets out to bicycle from New York to Hollywood and meets Ellie in Kansas. Together they ride across the country in a search for success. In Hollywood, they meet Elmo’s movie-mogul uncle, who gives them work in the film industry. Elmo writes hit musicals, Ellie performs in the musicals, and the youngsters eventually fall in love.

Everything seems peachy-keen until Ellie’s compulsion for success eclipses her romance with Elmo. She abandons her lover for various men who promise to help her with her career in return for romantic favors. When Ellie gets pregnant, she isn’t sure who the father is and a scandal ensues. For the rest of the musical, Ellie struggles to find a balance between her professional and personal life.

The story is classic musical comedy fare: The hero and heroine set out on a quest with noble intentions, become confused regarding their goals, and eventually must conquer many obstacles to reclaim true love.

“Tales of Tinseltown” follows this formula closely, with one noteworthy exception. In a clever invention, gossip columnist Adele De Rale (Leigh Scarritt) narrates the play’s action from start to finish, providing the audience with “inside” information regarding the events onstage--the play’s title derives from the name of De Rale’s publication, “Tales of Tinseltown.”

This production seems to have everything going for it, including Paul Katz’s upbeat score and Michael Colby’s witty lyrics. To be sure, all of the puzzle pieces are there, but, unfortunately, no one put them together.

Tony Stevens directed and choreographed this show, and both aspects of his work lacked cohesion and clarity. Stevens’ brisk pacing moved the play forward far too quickly, glossing over some potentially funny moments and speeding past several key plot twists.

Also, Stevens cluttered the stage with excessive activity. During the play’s “filming” sequences, the action on stage became chaotic. Actor Michael Tucci (Norman G. Neinstein) moved back and forth across the stage to indicate that he was “filming” the song and dance numbers. But, instead of illuminating what was happening, Tucci’s behavior left the audience wondering where to look and upstaged the other performers.

Similarly extraneous upstaging filled the evening.

Stevens’ choreography wasn’t as distracting, but he did try to be a bit too clever with the physical gags, particularly during the numbers “I Belong in Hollywood” and “Jungle Song.” Less physical action would have served Stevens better.

The cast is uniformly excellent. All eight actors craft solid, believable characters, despite the fact that all the roles are blatant Hollywood stereotypes.

Eileen Bowman delighted in her portrayal of Ellie Ash, the Kansas farm girl who leaves home to find stardom. Bowman is at home playing the innocent ingenue--”Jeepers,” is her expletive of choice--and she is particularly funny later in the play as her character evolves into a jaded, gum-snapping, sexually promiscuous starlet.

Bill Perlach tugged on all of the appropriate heart strings as Elmo Green, the earnest scriptwriter in love with Ellie. Perlach’s apple pie good looks and his bold, emotional singing brought a heightened sense of drama to the production.

Keith Devaney, Peter Ermides, Melinda Gilb and Ellen Harvey all delivered solid, carefully constructed support roles. Devaney, in particular, drew laughs as a geeky, deformed crooner, as did Gilb in portraying the Ethel Merman-esque Bertha Powell.

Set designer Loren Sherman deftly incorporated the Hahn Cosmopolitan Theatre’s revolving stage into his design, creating a spinning environment that cleverly approximated the confusing swirl of Hollywood.

Lindsay W. Davis’ bright, bold costumes are right in step with the 1930s Hollywood scene, and Terry L. Price’s use of spotlights, though often shaky, also created the appropriate environment.

The Gaslamp Quarter Theatre’s “Tales of Tinseltown” possesses all the elements for a quality musical comedy. However, the group needs to spend a little more time fusing all the individual components.

“TALES OF TINSELTOWN”

Book and lyrics by Michael Colby. Music by Paul Katz. Director, Tony Stevens. Orchestrations, Larry Moore and Larry Hochman. Set, Loren Sherman. Lights, Terry L. Price. Costumes, Lindsay W. Davis. Stage manager, Maria Mangiavellano. With Leigh Scarritt, Eileen Bowman, Keith Devaney, Peter Ermides, Michael Tucci, Bill Perlach, Ellen Harvey, Melinda Gilb. At 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays, through July 7. Tickets are $21-$25. Hahn Cosmopolitan Theatre, 444 4th Ave., downtown, 234-9583.