Veteran Cast Hustles to Find Pep in Tepid Musical ‘70, Girls, 70’

Let’s say your Aunt Sadie is in town and wants to see some celebrities before she leaves. You could offer her Carmen Electra at the Roxy, but Sadie is 80 and has never heard of Electra.

How about Charlotte Rae, Marni Nixon, Robert Mandan, Jane Kean and William Schallert at El Portal?

That’s about the only reason to catch “70, Girls, 70.” True, this musical has a score by the “Cabaret” team of Fred Ebb and John Kander. But there are plenty of legitimate reasons why it’s rarely seen. Kander and Ebb fans might be happier simply listening to the recording of the original 1971 cast.

Actually, Sadie might be a little insulted by the whole idea of “70, Girls, 70.” It boils down to this: Old people sure are cute, especially when they commit crimes.

Based on a 1958 British play, the main story depicts a group of New York actors in “the tea time of their careers”--a line that seems to be repeated about 10 times. Facing eviction from their old actors’ home, they decide to steal furs to finance their own purchase of the building.

The version of the script at El Portal, by David Thompson and Norman L. Martin, is one that was rewritten in 1990 for a London production and appears to have been touched up since then with more recent slang. Better to have started from scratch. In a program note, director Jim Brochu acknowledges script problems but explains that he had a personal connection to the 1971 original. So he may not have had the heart to discard the original book, even if he could have obtained the rights.

Actually, the fur-stealing scenario is a play within the play. The outer play is about a bunch of old actors--who put on a play about a bunch of old actors stealing furs. The action, such as it is, breaks every few minutes for a vaudeville-style number from this outer play, complete with title cards at the side of the stage.

But this is no “Follies” (which opened just before the original “70, Girls, 70” and no doubt stole much of its thunder, since it covers a similar subject, about a thousand times better). A few of the songs might serve well in a different dramatic context, but some of them are simply lame. “Boom, Ditty, Boom,” for example, is a silly novelty number that opens the second act with a whimper, not a boom.

For this concert-style staging, the cast retires often to chairs and consults visible scripts, rising to their feet primarily for the musical numbers. So some of the physical comedy that apparently was in the original--the fur-stealing shenanigans--seems half-baked.

Still, Rae, as the ringleader, is quite a sight as she scoots around the stage, decked out in bright red, like a human fireplug. The rest of the cast members move nimbly enough and still have the requisite pipes for this kind of material. Barbara Haber and Irene Chapman--who have been seen in their own “Two Grandmas From Brooklyn” act--bring plenty of pep to the show’s most recognizable number, “Coffee in a Cardboard Cup.”

The company behind this production, Shadow Box, took over an already announced season from the El Portal Center for the Arts after the center became insolvent. Shadow Box producer Stan Haberman, who was a board member with the defunct center, is making a commendable effort to salvage the good faith of the subscribers. But any long-range planners for this facility are going to have to find more exciting material.

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“70, Girls, 70,” El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, 7 p.m.; Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m. Ends June 9. $30-$45. (818) 508-4200. Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes.

Charlotte Rae...Ida

Marni Nixon...Eunice

Jane Kean...Gert

William Schallert...Harry

Robert Mandan...Walter

Irene Chapman...Fritzi

Barbara Haber...Melba

Rita Baker...Lorraine

Michael Uribes...Eddie

Book by Norman L. Martin and David Thompson, based on Peter Coke’s play “A Breath of Spring.” Directed by Jim Brochu. Musical director Tom Griffin. Musical staging by Todd Nielsen. Lighting by Jim Moody. Costumes by Shon LeBlanc. Sound by John Mayer. Production stage manager Larry Dusich.