Theater Reviews : ‘World’: Destination Unknown

More than most musical creators, composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb require the world of their shows’ stories to embolden and amplify their songs.

It’s next to impossible, for instance, to understand the sorry little “Mr. Cellophane” without his piece of the action in “Chicago,” and it strains the senses to imagine the feverish sense of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” outside of that musical’s surreal universe.

And yet the Kander-and-Ebb revue conceived by Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman and David Thompson, “The World Goes ‘Round,” at Saddleback College’s Cabaret Theatre, demands such straining.

Sometimes resembling one of those crazy mail-order sampler CD commercials, and sometimes delivering the goods with real purity from a hard-working quintet of singers backed by Terence Alaric’s piano, the revue--and director Beth Hansen’s production of it--veer all over this “World’s” map.

The bifurcated aims of the show are half tribute to a body of work and half tribute to one important limb of that body: “Cabaret.” Audiences sit at little cabaret-style tables (sometimes jammed a bit too close), where they may order food and drink (though no booze) at intermission. Wally Huntoon’s black set and urbane proscenium frame blend nicely with lighting designer Kevin Cook’s footlights for a faux-Berlin effect.

As a bonus, Kovia Mikhail looks eerily like Liza Minnelli’s Sally Bowles, especially in the anthem, “Maybe This Time.” She’s also front and center in “Cabaret,” turned into a fresh, five-part-harmony jazz tune, and “Money,” which lacks an insinuating mood.

It never quite puts you in Berlin, which “Cabaret” did, even if you were sitting in a standard Broadway house.

The tribute side of this show is more difficult to pin down. The major Kander-and-Ebb shows, besides “Chicago,” “Cabaret” and “Spider Woman,” receive their due: “The Act, “ “Woman of the Year,” “Zorba” and the movies “Funny Lady” and “New York, New York.” But at least half of the show defies any tying together, where one song just leads into another, willy-nilly.

Any show is asking real leaps from an audience to jump from “All That Jazz” to the funny “Class” (Mikhail and Patti McClure having a ball) to “Mr. Cellophane” (Alaric’s one, poor singing number).

Or, at the top of Act II, from the jolly “Ring Them Bells” (costumer Charles Castagno gets tacky) to “Spider Woman” to a love medley of “Only Love,” “Marry Me” and “A Quiet Thing.” The medley itself is deeply felt--Brooke Wilkes and Kent Helwig play it out like a dramatic scene.

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But it’s hard to see where it’s going. Where it does go is a totally different mood: Mikhail and McClure back for their second funny tune, “The Grass Is Always Greener.” Too often, “The World Goes ‘Round” forces this ensemble into navigating mood swings rather than presenting a coherent show.

As traffic cop of the mood swings, Hansen functions very well. As musical director, she could have found a more fluid accompanist than Alaric, but she’s hit pay dirt with this quintet.

Mikhail, McClure and George Quick operate very well on their own, while Helwig appears hesitant and Wilkes is asked by choreographer Susan Cable to do some unfortunate Michelle Pfeiffer bits on top of the piano for “Arthur in the Afternoon.”

Put them together, and this group is suddenly a tightly locked singing machine sending out a real musical charge. You question whether the last impression this fine ensemble should leave is “New York, New York,” but there’s no doubt that they love being a team. At least this ill-fitting revue has that.

* “The World Goes ‘Round,” Saddleback College Cabaret Theatre, 28000 Marguerite Parkway., Mission Viejo. Thursday-Saturday, 8:30 p.m ; Saturday-Sunday, 3:30 p.m. Ends Aug. 14. $15-$17. (714) 582-4656. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes. A Saddleback College Summer Stock production of the revue of music by John Kander and Fred Ebb. Conceived by Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman and David Thompson. Director-musical director: Beth Hansen. With Kovia Mikhail, Patti McClure, George Quick, Brooke Wilkes and Kent Helwig. Set: Wally Huntoon. Costumes: Charles Castagno. Lights: Kevin Cook. Choreography: Susan Cable.