There are runs and tears in these ‘Silk Stockings’
Anyone who has seen the 1957 film version of “Silk Stockings,” featuring the sublime music of Cole Porter, knows that the show doesn’t lack for pizazz. The film was based on the 1955 Broadway musical, which in turn was based on the 1939 film “Ninotchka,” starring Greta Garbo.
An amusing romance about a young Russian woman whose proletarian beliefs are upended during an official mission to Paris, the plot hinges on the quaint supposition that fanatical ideologues will automatically jettison their extremist views once introduced to democratic values (and we all know how very nicely that all works out).
Granted, the political humor of this Cold War-era show is a bit creaky. So is Porter’s notion that women don’t really come alive until they don garter belts and bustiers -- torturous apparel now largely relegated to Madonna concerts and Victoria’s Secret overstocks. But there’s plenty of charm to be gleaned, given the right circumstances.
With the ever-stalwart assistance of choreographer Lee Martino, director and adapter Stuart Ross (“Forever Plaid”) tries to revitalize “Stockings” in a “world premiere” at the Carpenter Center.
Sadly, Ross offers up a vaguely amateurish staging that dismantles that vital element of pizazz as entirely as the Berlin Wall.
That’s unfortunate, considering that Musical Theatre West, the show’s venerable producer, has been so notably professional in the past. “Stockings,” which launches MTW’s 56th season, is an undeniably ambitious effort, with nary a rental set or costume in sight. What you see on stage has been created from scratch, from Evan Bartoletti’s scenic design to Sharell Martin’s costumes.
To be charitable, perhaps the bargain-basement look of the physical production is a result of the current recession. However, the prevalent amateurism extends to the performances as well -- a baffling development, considering that so many of the actors are Broadway-seasoned troupers with impressive credits and the kind of on-the-boards experience that should have made them know better.
The most obvious case in point is John Scherer’s turn as Steve Canfield, the role played by Fred Astaire in the film. Scherer may have a terrific voice, but he displays all the romantic charisma of a game-show host. Also problematic is Darcie Roberts as American movie star Janice Dayton. Delightful in MTW’s recent “The Andrews Brothers,” Roberts struggles in a dance role that obviously outstrips her capacities.
Stuart Pankin, Nick DeGruccio and Paul Kreppel do their best as three comical comrades whose Soviet principles soon rinse away in bubbling French Champagne, but even their performances appear obligatory. A shining exception to the general uneasiness is Julie Ann Emery, whose alternately comical and sensual Ninotchka is the highlight of this strained and disappointing evening.
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‘Silk Stockings’
Where: Carpenter Center, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach
When: 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends Nov. 23
Contact: (562) 856-1999, Ext. 4
Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
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