THEATER REVIEW : Taking a Magical Musical Ride at the New ‘State Fair’

I never thought I would love “State Fair” but now I do. This 1945 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, written for the movies, raises the burning question: Can two nice youngsters from a farm find true love at the Iowa State Fair, amid the excitement of tractor pulls and hog contests? Believe it or not, when you see Andrea McArdle fall for Scott Wise, you will actually care about the answer.

And, for anyone who cares about the Rodgers & Hammerstein canon, I advise you to get to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts soon, because this new, touring version of the show will be there only through Sunday. (The producers hope to open it, probably for a limited engagement, in New York in the spring).

Never anyone’s favorite musical, “State Fair” bored most movie reviewers in 1945 and again when it was remade (this time set in Texas) in 1962. “Average,” said the New York Times in 1945. “A long way from ‘Oklahoma! ‘,” said the New Yorker. The story that inspired those quotes is this: Under the watchful eyes of their kindly parents (played here by John Davidson and Kathryn Crosby), young Wayne (Ben Wright) and his sister Margy (McArdle) attend the Iowa State Fair. There, Wayne falls for a sophisticated singer, Emily (Donna McKechnie), and Margy for a smooth-talking newspaper reporter (Wise).

This is a filled-out “State Fair,” smartly refurbished by Tom Briggs and Louis Mattioli (watched over carefully by the Rodgers & Hammerstein Theatre Library, which guards its babies as zealously as Disney). Additional songs, borrowed from “Me and Juliet,” “Allegro” and “Pipe Dream” have been added, as have songs cut from “Oklahoma!” and “Me and Juliet.” Given the caliber of the performers here, the more numbers, the better.

On paper, it must have looked like just another inoffensive straw-hat production of a mediocre musical. Yet this “State Fair” drew the likes of McArdle, Wise and Donna McKechnie because there is a shortage of places for real pros to work in the dwindling musical theater. McArdle, the original and to many people the only Annie, has matured into a classic musical-comedy star. Her voice is theater-perfect: supple, strong, full of character. She never hits a false note either musically or dramatically. In her Ellie Mae Clampett costume and saddle shoes, she sings “It Might as Well Be Spring” as if she were introducing a brand-new song, bringing to it the intangible longing a young woman might feel on the eve of a trip that offers all the glitter of the wide world outside the farm.

As her paramour, the amazing dancer Scott Wise is called on to exercise only a fraction of what he’s capable of--it’s kind of like watching an expert chessman sit down at a checkers table. But he is always polished and elegant, even just twirling his girl around on the floor in the charming “Isn’t It Kinda Fun.” He is more able to cut loose in “The Man I Used to Be” (from “Pipe Dream”), in which he dances a fond farewell to his bachelor ways with the sublime anticipation of his brand new happiness. He resembles Gene Kelly in this number not only because he swings on a post and wears his hat jauntily, but because of his effortless grace on the floor. As the nightclub performer Emily, McKechnie’s saucy red curls recall Gwen Verdon and her sultry toughness recalls Rita Hayworth. In an all-fringe skirt, McKechnie, the original Cassie from “A Chorus Line,” oscillates her legs like a dream in her sizzling second-act number, “That’s the Way It Happens” (from “Me and Juliet”).

Ben Wright (the original Jack in “Into the Woods”) is a bit too convincing as Wayne, the hopelessly square country boy out of his league with Emily. He has a lovely tenor but he seems to stop acting when he sings (not necessarily a bad thing in this case).

Co-directors James Hammerstein (son of Oscar) and Randy Skinner have done a terrific job of handling the show’s creaky humor, from the surreptitious pouring of brandy into Ma’s mincemeat to the State Fair mincemeat judges who can’t get enough of the concoction. Also, Skinner’s dances are lovely, true to another time without being stale, thanks, of course, to the marvelous dancers he has assembled. The show is also robustly sung by a chorus that includes a wonderful barbershop quartet.

To paraphrase the show, this “State Fair” is the best State Fair in our state.

* “State Fair,” Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, tonight-Sunday, 8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m. Ends Sunday. $30-$50. (310) 916-8500, (800) 300-4345. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes .

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John Davidson: Abel Frake

Kathryn Crosby: Melissa Frake

Andrea McArdle: Margy Frake

Donna McKechnie: Emily Arden

Scott Wise: Pat Gilbert, The Fairtones

Ben Wright: Wayne Frake

James Patterson: Gus, The Fairtones

Charles Goff: Dave Miller, Judge Heppenstahl, the Fairtones

Susan Haefner: Eleanor

Peter Benson: Harry

Michael Cone: The Hoop-La Barker

John Wilkerson: The Astounding Stralenko, Chief of Police

Tina Johnson: Vivian

Leslie Bell: Jeanne

Jacquiline Rohrbacker: Mrs. Edwin Metcalf

Darrian C. Ford: Charlie

John Sloman: Lem

J. Lee Flynn: Clay

Newton R. Gilchrist: Hank Munson

Jackie Angelescu: Violet

Ian Knauer: The Fairtones

Michael Lee Scott: The Fairtones

A Theatre Guild production based on the screen play by Oscar Hammerstein II and the novel by Phil Strong. Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Tom Briggs & Louis Mattioli. Co-directed by James Hammerstein and Randy Skinner. Choreographed by Skinner. Scenic Design James Leonard Joy. Lights Natasha Katz. Sound Brian Ronan. Costumes Michael Bottari and Ronald Case. Musical Direction and Vocal Arrangement Kay Cameron. Orchestrations Bruce Pomahac. Dance arrangements Scot Woolley. Production stage manager Warren Crane.