Coward’s ‘Sail Away’ is a boatload of fun

“A revue formula with a mere thread of story,” is how Noel Coward described “Sail Away,” his 1961 cruise-ship musical. On Monday night, Musical Theatre Guild presented this rarity, the show that cemented Elaine Stritch’s stardom, in a concert staging at the Alex Theatre in Glendale

Expertly steered by director Michael Michetti and choreographer Lee Martino, “Sail Away” has dotty charm. Purser Joe (Eric Anderson) rattles off the eccentric passengers who board through a row of deck chairs. There is requisite brat Alvin (Sterling Beaumon) and mom, Mrs. Lush (Lisa Picotte); romantic lead Johnny (Kevin Earley) and his dominating mother (Susan Watson). Mr. and Mrs. Sweeny (S. Marc Jordan and Helen Geller) conceal mutual loathing with vaudeville aplomb. Hayseeds Mr. and Mrs. Candijack (Roy Leake Jr. and Shauna Markey) get laughs merely by entering.

Wacky novelist Elinor Spencer Bollard (Eileen Barnett) brings niece Nancy (Jenny Gordon), who joins aspiring archeologist Barnaby Slade (Kevin McMahon) to become the secondary couple. Everyone awaits cruise director Mimi Paragon (Mary Van Arsdel), who arrives to launch the rousing “Come to Me.” Johnny then traces the lovely title song, interpolated from Coward’s 1950 “Ace of Clubs,” and we’re afloat.

The score is a mixed bag, merging top-drawer Coward (the ballad “You’re a Long, Long Way From America”), character pieces (the Sweenys’ confessional “Bronxville Darby and Joan”) and odd stabs at ‘60s hip (“Beatnik Love Affair”). Still, musical director Darryl Archibald’s crack band produces all the right colors, and Coward’s lyrics are ever welcome.

Plot? What plot? Older Mimi falls for younger Johnny, lets him go, and gets him in a final clinch. That and a sea of tourism jokes constitute the story.

No wonder: When “Sail Away” floundered in Philadelphia, its choreographer Joe Layton noted that Stritch’s acerbic Mimi was stopping the show, but opera star Jean Fenn and baritone James Hurst sank in the romance. Coward cut Fenn’s character, gave Stritch the guy, and saved the show -- barely. (It ran 167 performances but didn’t recover its costs.)

Van Arsdel, a generous, rich-voiced artist, is hardly acerbic. Given this, she is valiant. She has fun opposing Beaumon’s fleet-footed Alvin, and tosses her 11 o’clock number “Why Do the Wrong People Travel?” past the balcony. Earley calmly underplays and, as ever, sings divinely. Their colleagues, Chuck Bergman, Lois Bourgon, Rudy Tronto and William Martinez, among them, have a blast. Jordan and Geller steal the show, but Anderson is a hoot, and McMahon and Gordon demonstrate a ripe ability to sell songs that never needed writing to begin with. One could say the same about “Sail Away,” except that would ignore the undemanding period pleasures of its company.

*

‘Sail Away’

Where: Janet and Ray Scherr Forum at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks

When: 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. April 24

Ends: April 24

Price: $38

Contact: (805) 583-8700 or www.ticketmaster.com

Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Also

Where: Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach

When: 7:30 p.m. April 25

Ends: April 25

Price: $25

Contact: (562) 856-1999