Theater : ‘Can-Can’ Can’t in Long Beach Civic Light Opera Performance

A problematic musical, “Can-Can” was critically drubbed when first produced on Broadway in 1953--for obvious reasons. Although the Cole Porter score yields classics such as “C’est Magnifique” and “I Love Paris,” the book by Abe Burrows is so slight that it barely supports the weight of the show’s lavish production numbers.

These numbers, which featured the virtuosic dancing of Gwen Verdon and the infectious rhythms of Porter at his best, were the show’s salvation back in 1953.

In Long Beach Civic Light Opera’s current production, the footwork and music are little more than a welcome distraction from the overall tedium. When the show’s athletic ensemble is on stage dancing the can-can, the production sizzles like Paris in the summer. Devoid of dancers, the action is often more ho-hum than ooh-la-la.

Granted, a lot of the problems are with the show itself. It’s a puzzlement why, instead of rethinking and revitalizing his flawed vehicle, director David Thome opted for a standard staging that only emphasizes the production’s weaknesses.

The setting--the bustling, bawdy Montmartre section of Paris circa 1884--is potentially a rich artist’s palette for a lively revival. Thome’s direction, disappointingly, is the equivalent of a black velvet painting, campy but derivative.

Thome’s largest single problem is the casting of Gretchen Wyler as Simone Pistache, the charmingly greedy cafe proprietress whose establishment is under fire from the authorities because of the “licentious” dance that is being performed there.

A musical comedy veteran of some 40 years standing, Wyler has a throaty-voiced authority and charm that is undeniable. One can envision her as the ideal Dolly Levy, or Mame--or Mrs. Lovett, for that matter. However, to broach a delicate matter, Wyler is decades too old to play Pistache.

Perhaps if Wyler were playing opposite someone roughly her own age, she could have pulled it off. However, to complicate matters, Jeffrey Rockwell has been cast as Wyler’s love interest, the strait-laced Parisian judge, Aristide Forestier. Now, Rockwell is no stripling, but he is young enough to be Wyler’s son, a fact that his sprayed-on gray temples and artfully applied nasal-labial wrinkles cannot conceal, even in the uppermost loges of this huge house.

Hold on, you say. If Robert Redford can play a believably sexy scene opposite Demi Moore, why should Wyler’s age be an issue at all? And in the best of all possible worlds, it probably wouldn’t be. However, in light of the time period in which the show is set, the age disparity is jarring. And considering the complete absence of sexual chemistry between Wyler and Rockwell, it is just plain embarrassing.

Other problems arise. Although she is sweetly serviceable as Claudine (the role created by Verdon), Tracy Lore lacks the comic edge essential to the role. Also, Garland Riddle’s costumes, although suitably sumptuous, sometimes cross that fine line between the eye-catching and the merely tacky.

On the plus side, Troy Garza’s choreography is sprawling and spirited. Barry Pearl plays Claudine’s scruffy sculptor boyfriend Boris with precision and humor. Eric Garcia, Grant Rosen and David Burnham, who play Boris’ bumbling artist pals, are also savvy crowd-pleasers.

Timothy B. Smith displays a sardonic elegance and unerring comic timing as the salacious, snooty art critic Hilaire Jussac. The comic sequences between the bumbling artists and the self-possessed Hilaire are, apart from the dance numbers, among the few high points in this uneven production. All comedy must be based in reality. Of all the cast, Pearl and Smith seem to understand this best, for their characters, although farcical, are fully fleshed and funny.

If only Thome’ and his stars, however miscast, could have grasped this simple precept, maybe this “Can-Can” wouldn’t be so weak in the knees.

* “Can-Can,” Terrace Theater, Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. Dark Tuesday. Regular schedule: Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday matinees, 2 p.m.; next Sunday only, 7:30 p.m. Ends Jan. 22. $16-$42. (213) 365-3500 or (714) 740-2000. Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes .

Gretchen Wyler: Simone Pistache

Jeffrey Rockwell: Aristide Forestier

Barry Pearl: Boris Adzinidzinadze

Tracy Lore: Claudine

Timothy Smith: Hilaire Jussac

Michelle Zeitlin: Gabrielle

Patricia Everett: Marie

Laura Marie Crosta: Celestine

Erik Garcia: Hercule Fermier

Grant Rosen: Theophile Lapepee

David Burnham: Etienne LeBeau

Kirk Strickler: Paul Berriere

A Long Beach Civic Light Opera production. Music and lyrics Cole Porter. Book Abe Burrows. Director David Thome. Choreography Troy Garza. Musical direction Stephen Bates. Sets John Patrick. Costumes Garland Riddle. Lights Doc Ballard. Sound Paul Fabre. Hair/make-up Elena Breckenridge. Props Deborah J. Dennis. Production stage manager Nancy Ann Adler.