STAGE REVIEW : A Yes, Yes for ‘No, No Nanette’ at the Starlight

“No, No, Nanette” has a plot--but don’t let that fool you.

What this show is really about is feathers and spangles and beads, tap dancing, dancing through hoops (literally), dancing on beach balls and glorious candy store colors that drape its chorus from hats to spats and be-ribboned feet.

Starlight Musical Theatre’s faithful recreation of a 1971 revival of a 1925 hit is pure, breezy melt-in-your-mouth dessert fare. Those looking for something to chew on should keep looking.

But, if you want to see some fancy dancing and snappy, smiley get-happy tunes, step right up to the open-air Starlight Bowl, where the show spins its old-fangled charms under some newfangled jets--roughly 40 of which zoomed overhead during the 2 1/2 hour show on opening night.

The plot is a series of complications for three flapper-era couples--long-marrieds, newly-marrieds and to-be-marrieds. First, a wealthy Bible manufacturer, Jimmy Smith (Alan Young), who has a weakness for making people happy--in particular three gold-digging women who consider his monetary contributions to their welfare signs of his devotion. No, no, this is not a timely expose of hypocritical Jim Bakker or Jimmy Swaggart-like evangelists with honeys on the side. Jimmy is an innocent who has never, never touched these women. He just likes to make people happy by giving them money and suddenly gets nervous that, when his wife of many years, Sue (Toni Kaye), hears about his generosity, she might misunderstand his honorable intentions.

To get Jimmy out of trouble with his wife, his lawyer, Billy (Kirby Ward) makes believe that he is the one who has been so generous to these women, which gets Billy into trouble with his own wife, Lucille (Beverly Ward). And finally, the title character, Nanette (Sarah Uriarte) spends her time trying to elude marriage to Tom (Todd Dubail) and his “no, noes” just long enough to have some carefree time to herself.

The strength of this production is not the plot, and it’s not the score. Book writers Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel manage to pull 17 numbers out of this piece of fluff. Musical director and conductor Lloyd Cooper may well have made the most of what was there in the music, but there are just a handful of these from the Vincent Youmans/Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach score that are memorable, most notably “I Want To Be Happy” and “Tea for Two.”

But wispy as it is, there is an opportunity for fun. And, despite some slips into sugar overload, directors Don and Bonnie Ward, co-artistic directors of Starlight, find it, unerringly, in the dancing, the antics and the gimmicks. And that often provides charm enough.

And, although the entire ensemble is appealing, it is Kirby Ward (son of the Wards) and especially his wife and longtime dancing partner, Beverly Ward, who steal the show.

When the couple do their “You Can Dance With Any Girl” number, there’s a polish to it that can only come from years--as opposed to weeks--of rehearsal. And, when Beverly Ward does her sultry “Where Has My Hubby Done Blues,” it works as a showcase for a powerful performer who could carry a show all on her own.

Alan Young is genial with his deadpan delivery as the hapless Uncle Jimmy, Sarah Uriarte radiates sweetness as Nanette, Alli Spotts shimmers as Flora--one of Jimmy’s sexy charity cases-- and Priscilla Allen provides a hoot as the maid, Pauline, whose vacuum follows her magically even when she tries to quit. Toni Kaye, as Jimmy’s wife, Sue, overdoes her precious Good Witch delivery, but is fully in her element when she tap dances and later shows that she can flap with the best of the flappers.

Scott Lane outfitted the fine chorus with brilliant colors, sparkle and shine. The sets by Raoul Pene Dubois may be papery thin, but they set the mood for the three distinct acts in Smith’s lavish home, the garden of his Atlantic City cottage and the living room of his Atlantic City cottage. And, by the end of the first act, when the sun went down enough for Gregory Allen Hirsch’s lighting to really kick in, it was a pretty sight under the stars.

“NO, NO, NANETTE”

Book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, adaptation and original direction by Burt Shevelove. Music by Vincent Youmans. Lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach. Staged by Don and Bonnie Ward. Musical director and conductor is Lloyd Cooper. Sets by Raoul Pene Dubois. Costumes by Scott Lane. Lighting by Gregory Allen Hirsch. Stage manager is Elizabeth Stephens. With Alan Young. Toni Kaye, Beverly Ward, Kirby Ward, Priscilla Allen, Sarah Uriarte, Todd Dubail, Alli Spotts, Lauren Marketell and Nancy Streeter. At 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays through June 28. Tickets are $14-$25 with 25% discounts for students and children. At the Starlight Bowl in Balboa Park, 544-7827 or 278-TIXS.