Musical ‘Eleanor’ Fails to Capture Her Charm, Verve

For true proof of character, one need look no further than Eleanor Roosevelt’s 1,000-watt smile. Dismissed in youth as an ugly duckling, Eleanor became one of the most influential--and photographed--women of her day, leaving behind a vast photographic record that charts her progress from stiff matron (whose careful deadpan hides a prominent overbite) to suave woman of affairs--her dazzling smile a testament to self-acceptance.

“Eleanor: An American Love Story,” a musical produced by Musical Theatre West at La Mirada Theatre, focuses primarily on Eleanor’s early career as political wife and mother. Unfortunately, neither the show nor Victoria Strong’s performance in the title role sufficiently convey the great animation and charm that were to become Eleanor’s most powerful political tools. Surely, Eleanor Roosevelt was never the plaster saint portrayed here, a Classics Illustrated version of the real woman, sanitized to a state of pristine predictability.

Despite the wealth of biographical detail available about its subjects, this “story” (book by Jonathan Bolt, music by Thomas Tierney, lyrics by John Forster), which covers the years 1894 to 1924, remains essentially a blow-by-blow chronology of Franklin and Eleanor’s courtship and marriage, Franklin’s meteoric rise, his affair with Eleanor’s secretary Lucy Mercer (Dawn Spence) and his bout with polio.

It is only late in Act 1, during Franklin’s love affair, that we feel any real emotional connection to the protagonists--and Franklin’s subsequent struggle with polio gives us overdue hints of Strong’s largely wasted abilities. Up until these crises, Franklin and Eleanor’s lives together seem the stuff of fairy tales, a portrait of turn-of-the-century privilege--gorgeously depicted by Sharell Martin’s costumes and Jeff Weeks’ wigs--that is more sociologically than dramatically fascinating.

Franklin’s overbearing mother, Sara (the sprightly Laura Killingsworth), lends tension--and comic relief--to these early scenes. But although Eleanor had a profound influence on Franklin’s personal and political views, her role in these early years was essentially reactive, and her simplistic progression from dutiful political wife to emergent political activist is the very devil to dramatize. No matter how you spin it, Franklin was the turbine of history. It was only after his death that Eleanor established her own autonomous political clout.

Remarkably like FDR in looks and manner, Tony Cummings crafts a kindly, accessible Franklin, whose devastating allure for the ladies is perfectly understandable. As Louis Howe, Franklin’s political mentor and Eleanor’s later confidant, Paul Kreppel displays the comic timing of a seasoned vaudevillian. Strong-voiced, precociously self-assured Anneliese Van Der Pol shines as Young Eleanor.

Director John Henry Davis keeps the action gliding smoothly, as does Gary Wissmann’s versatile scenic design, which relies on a central turntable to effortlessly spin sets on and off stage. Lee Martino’s choreography is less easeful: “The New Century Walk,” one of the play’s most prominent dance numbers, comes across as more a galumph than a galop. Musical director Todd Helm serves the score well, but the music is unfortunately as unmemorable as this misguided effort’s pallid portrayal of two of the most epochal and dynamic figures in 20th century history.

* “Eleanor: An American Love Story,” La Mirada Theatre, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends July 27. $30-$32. (714) 521-4849. Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes.